fontina Archives - The Midnight Baker

Gourmet 3-Cheese Macaroni & Cheese

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 00:00:56 +0000

Macaroni and cheese made for an adult palate. Asiago, Fontina and Bleu cheeses make the sauce very special.

I’ve wanted a totally red baker for quite a long time. Finally found some and treated myself.

If you’re wondering what red bakers have to do with all of this, I always wanted them because that baker would become the one I always made macaroni and cheese in. Nothing was more appetizing to me than seeing a great-looking macaroni and cheese in a red vessel.

Call me crazy–and you’re probably right–but I’m an incurable bakeware addict and like special pans for certain dishes.

I didn’t want to make my go-to Classic Cheddar Bacon Macaroni & Cheese this time. I wanted something a little more sophisticated. The original was one I found on BHG when I was picking recipes to pin to one of their boards. That recipe contained chicken and used different shaped pasta.

Since I didn’t have any cooked chicken on hand I couldn’t add any, but wanted another addition in the dish so it wasn’t “plain.” Not that it’d be bad plain–it’s wonderful!

I had some button mushrooms in the crisper that I wanted to use. What I did was sear these mushrooms in a bit of butter so they’d have a really deep flavor. Added to the casserole, they made it more interesting, they tasted great in it and it kept the meal totally meatless.

Since it’s meatless the way I made it, it’s a perfect Lenten dinner. And Lent is right around the corner!

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Gourmet 3-Cheese Macaroni & Cheese

Macaroni and cheese made for an adult palate. Asiago, Fontina and Bleu cheeses make the sauce very special.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Total Time1

Course: Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, pasta, vegetarian dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cheese, mac and cheese, macaroni

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 799kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

8 oz uncooked casserole-sized elbow macaroni
8 oz fresh button mushrooms
5 tbsp butter divided
1 clove garlic minced
3 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1 cup shredded Fontina cheese
1/2 cup crumbled bleu cheese
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

Instructions

Cook macaroni as per package directions EXCEPT cook for about 2-3 minutes less so that the macaroni is slightly firm in the center. Drain and set aside.
Saute mushrooms in 1 tbs of the butter until mushrooms are brown and seared. Set aside
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray or grease a 11 x 7-inch deep baking dish (about 3-inches high. If you don't have a deep 11 x 7, use a 13 x 9).
In a large (3-4 qt) saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt 3 tbs of the butter and add the minced garlic. Cook the garlic about 3 minutes or until it becomes aromatic. Do not brown the garlic.
Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
Gradually add the milk while stirring to prevent lumps. Cook, stirring frequently until sauce begins to get thicker and begins to bubble.
Gradually add the cheeses, stirring until the cheeses are entirely melted.
Add the mushrooms and macaroni, stirring to blend well.
Place in prepared pan.
Melt the remaining 1 tbs of butter in a small saucepan. Add panko crumbs and toss to coat.
Sprinkle buttered crumbs on top of casserole.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until crumbs are golden brown. Let the casserole sit for 10 minutes before serving

Nutrition

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Cheese & Potato Stuffed Pork Chops

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Potato & Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops

A pleasant change from the usual bread stuffing. These pork chops are stuffed with potatoes and Fontina and Asiago cheese. Directions for slow cooker included!

A few weeks ago, friend and fellow blogger Tara from Noshing With the Nolands did a similar pork chop dish where the chops were stuffed with Asiago cheese. They looked delectable!!!

I wanted to do something similar and I had some nice center-cut bone-in pork chops hanging around in my freezer. I also have an excess of potatoes and some Fontina cheese I bought for another project. As many of you know, my fridge ALWAYS has Asiago cheese in it.

Also can be made in the slow cooker

You have to slice the potatoes ultra thin, or they won’t cook well. I give the option of using the frozen shredded kind that are used to make hash browns. But remember to thaw them first. And whatever potato you use, pat them try or else the filling may be watery!!

I got a wonderful tip from reader Jean T. who made these but instead of cutting a “pocket” she used thinner pork chops and put the filling between 2 thinner chops. I LOVE this because it’s a time saver!

These are also easily made in the crock pot. The directions are below the “standard” cooking method below.

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Cheese & Potato Stuffed Pork Chops

A pleasant change from the usual bread stuffing. These pork chops are stuffed with potatoes and Fontina and Asiago cheese. Directions for slow cooker included!

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Total Time1

Course: Comfort Foods, Pork

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cheese, potatoes, stuffed pork chops

Servings: 4

Calories: 421kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 center cut bone-in pork chops about 3/4-inch thick
2 medium potatoes sliced VERY thinly*
1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
1/4 cup shredded asiago cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
3 tbsp melted butter divided

Instructions

*Pre-frozen shredded potatoes (sometimes called “hash brown”) may be substituted. Use about 2 cups.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
Make a “pocket” in the chops to hold the filling. Here’s a very good video explaining how:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPKF3sQBRAM
Peel the potatoes if you wish. I used white new potatoes so eliminated this step. Slice the potatoes ULTRA thin…so you can read the newspaper through them. For this, I used my box grater–the side that has the “U” shape. Otherwise use a mandolin to accomplish this. You may also substitute frozen shredded potatoes that are thawed if you don’t want to bother with the thin slicing. Pat the potatoes to remove excess moisture between paper towels.
Place potatoes in a medium bowl. Add the cheeses, salt, pepper and 1 tbs of the melted butter.
Stuff each chop with 1/4 of the potato-cheese mixture. Place in prepared pan. Brush with remaining melted butter. Sprinkle lightly with additional salt and pepper.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 40-50 minutes.
SLOW COOKER METHOD:
Proceed as above, except don’t prepare a baking dish.
Place chops in a 5-7 QT slow cooker. Try to angle the chops with the stuffed pocket angled upward.
Cover and cook on HI for 4-5 hrs.

Nutrition

Cheese & Potato Stuffed Pork Chops

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Three Cheese Orzo with Broccoli

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Three Cheese Orzo with Broccoli

Quite possibly the perfect side dish! This orzo is easy, cooks quickly and is flavored with asiago, fontina and parmesan cheeses!

If you need a quick and easy side dish, stop right here because this is it!

Easy and cheesy

I recently discovered fontina cheese, thanks to my friend Melissa G (aka Ms 7-Up) who made a spectacular and mouthwatering mac and cheese with it. She told me I MUST try fontina! So I did and I love it.

The asiago and parmesan here add the zing. Asiago is a pretty strongly flavored cheese which offsets the creaminess of the fontina. The parmesan is the balancing flavor. You can sub romano for it if you want.

Takes only minutes to prepare

You can also substitute half-and-half for the heavy cream but I strongly recommend using the heavy cream. There’s not much of it, but it goes a long way. I prefer it to lesser-fat creams since it’s thick and when it combines with the cheese you have instant rich cheese sauce.

The Recipe

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Three Cheese Orzo with Broccoli

Quite possibly the perfect side dish! This orzo is easy, cooks quickly and is flavored with asiago, fontina and parmesan cheeses!

Prep Time10

Cook Time8

Total Time18

Course: side dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: broccoli, broccoli and cheese, orzo, three cheese

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 387kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 cup orzo uncooked
1 1/2 cups chicken stock*
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup frozen chopped broccoli
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup cream I used heavy cream
2 tbsp grated parmesan
2 tbsp shredded asiago
2 tbsp shredded fontina
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

*You may also use 1 1/2 cups water with 1 stock cube as a substitute
Steam broccoli until bright green and crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.
Place orzo, chicken stock and olive oil in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until liquid is almost absorbed (about 5-8 minutes).
Uncover orzo and fluff. Add the broccoli, butter and cream. Stir until the butter is melted. Add the salt & pepper.
Add the cheeses, remove the pan from the heat and stir until cheeses are melted.
Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Three Cheese Orzo with Broccoli

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