potted cheese

tomorrow being st.paddy's day and all, i've been to the store to pick-up the supplies for the annual dinner. corned beef, simmered lovingly til oh-so-tender, then gently napped with a simple sour cream, horseradish and mustard sauce. a heavenly mixture of mashed potatoes, cabbage and lots of grated dubliner cheese, baked til bubbly in the oven. really, it's heaven. a scoop of vanilla ice cream with crushed thin mint girl scout cookies for those who need anything else.

this year to start things off, i thought i'd whip up some potted cheese to go with those fabulous 'everything' flat bread crackers from Whole Foods. seems i've been collecting little tidbits and ends of cheeses for a while now and it was time to do something with them.

i love potted cheese. it's absolutely different everytime i make a batch.

what you want to do is collect all your miscellaneous cheeses and inspect them. cut off and dispose of any obviously moldy spots as well as anything that is as hard as a rock. firm cheese is ok. tough cheese is ok. you have to ask yourself this question: will my food processor be able to shred/chop this cheese? if you can't get a knife through it, it is probably too far gone.

now, roughly chop your cheese into manageable bits and whiz in the food processor until very broken down. we're not at the paste stage yet, but you don't want anything larger than say a grain of rice. the time all depends on how old/hard your cheese is.

next, add some softened butter to the cheese. unsalted would be nice, but if all you have is salted, that's fine too. the ration of butter to cheese depends on one thing only: how assertive do you want your potted cheese to be? the butter softens and rounds and smoothes the edges. my current batch of potted cheese contains: a hardened half circle of mimolette, a small wedge of rogue river blue that had not been opened (but had been in that darn refrigerator hiding, for quite some time), a small rectangle of Kraft sharp cheddar, an unidentified block of something semi-hard - my best guess is gruyere. process until almost smooth (or smooth, if that is what you prefer).

here comes the fun part: additions. i always crush a garlic clove or two in my mortal and pestle along with whatever herbs i've got in the house/garden that will enhance my cheese, not fight with it. usually thyme, but parsley is good too. a couple of black peppercorns crushed with the garlic is right up my alley. sometimes i also add a bit of mustard powder. i've never tried this but Carolyn suggests a shallot or two-and that's sounds tasty. i also go through my freezer looking for that zip-lock baggie with the left-over white wine in it. a tablespoon or two is always welcome.

mix everything together thoroughly, put in a crock and refrigerate. wait! you mean i can't eat it immediately? think about it. you've just taken every old, tired, beat up piece of cheese in your icebox and whirled it around with some heavy hitting flavors. wouldn't you want a night to relax first? take some time to get to know your new neighbors? let the flavors mellow overnight, trust me. and, if you are not going to eat this the very next day, take a moment to cover your cheese with some cooled melted butter. protect all that goodness.

so. now you've got potted cheese. once you're ready to consume, take it out of the icebox and bring to room temperature and serve with some crackers or crudite; or slather some on a good piece of bread and toast under the broiler. enjoy!