Saturday, February 23, 2008

The Ultimate Cheese Pizzas

Three great cheeses just got better! Impress your friends with a signature pie! A MUST TRY! This will give the Pizzazz you need in your Pizza!



Make a pizza with 1 pound each of Smoked Mozzarella, Smoked Provolone (rated two of the best Pizza cheeses in America on recent U.S. talk shows), and Mozzarella Pizza cheese. Combine the three of these cheeses with some fresh tomatoes, basil, Prosciutto, Pepperoni, Chorizo or whatever toppings you desire to make a great pie!




Thursday, February 21, 2008

Spicy & Extra Cheesy Macaroni & Cheese

Today we are posting a great recipe for macaroni and cheese. This particular recipe uses two types of our cheese; BLACK WAXED X SHARP CHEDDAR, and JALAPENO CHEDDAR. If you do not want to make it spicy you may want to substitute our Muenster cheese or regular white sharp Cheddar for the Jalapeno Cheddar- they also make wonderful macaroni & cheese! However take our word the two cheeses in this particular recipe combine perfectly to make a spectacular dish!
INGREDIENTS:


1 POUND COOKED MACARONI ELBOWS
1 POUND BLACK WAXED X SHARP CHEDDAR CHEESE
1 POUND JALAPENO CHEDDAR OR PEPPER JACK CHEESE
4 CUPS OF MILK (WHOLE)
1 EGG
SALT & PEPPER TO TASTE
HALF A STICK OF BUTTER OR MARGARINE
YOUR FAVORITE HOT SAUCE TO TASTE (OPTIONAL)

DIRECTIONS:
  1. COOK ELBOWS IN SALTED WATER
  2. BEAT THE EGG AND BLEND IN THE MILK, SALT, & PEPPER AND SET IT ASIDE
  3. SHRED BOTH OF THE CHEESES AND SET THEM ASIDE
  4. BUTTER A 9 x 13 INCH CASSEROLE DISH
  5. ADD 1/3 OF THE COOKED ELBOWS, AND LAYER WITH 1/3 OF EACH OF THE SHREDDED CHEESES. REPEAT THIS STEP TWO MORE TIMES WITH THE REMAINING ELBOWS AND CHEESES.
  6. POUR THE MILK MIXTURE OVER THE MACARONI
  7. WITH THE REMAINING BUTTER IN SMALL PIECES SPREAD EVENLY ON THE TOP LAYER.
  8. BAKE AT 350°F FOR 45 MINUTES
WE HOPE YOU ENJOY!

Monday, February 11, 2008

From Cheese Curds to Cheddar Blocks

Ever wonder how Cheddar is made? The first Cheddar is believed to be produced in England sometime around the turn of the 12th century. However, the history here at Golden Age Cheese does not quite date back that far... We have produced many varieties of Cheddar since 1983. The Cheddar process is fairly long but simple.


Once all necessary steps in the cheese-making (Cheddar in this case) process have been taken in order to convert the milk into cheese, you are left with large solid slabs known as "matted curds". Next the matted curds (large solid slab) will be milled to create smaller Cheddar nuggets; these smaller nuggets are now known as Cheddar cheese curds. The Cheddar cheese curds are then salted and shoveled into Cheddar molds. These molds are then put into a press which forces out all of the remaining whey (liquids) and causes the warm curds to form into a single block of cheddar. Typically 41-43 pounds of curds are shoveled into a Cheddar mold. The curds are pressed in the mold for typically 1-3 days. After the curds have been pressed there is one 38-40 pound block of Cheddar. The Cheddar making process is then complete. The finished product (for up to 6 months) is known as "mild Cheddar", the terms: "medium", "sharp" and "extra sharp" come later once the block of Cheddar has been set to age. The longer the cheese has been set to age the "sharper" the flavor of the Cheddar.

Cheddar curds shoveled into the Cheddar mold:

Cheddar curds are being pressed into Cheddar