Say Cheese...one more time!

The festivities are over, the guests are gone and you are left with the task of wrapping up the cheese from your cheese board. What to do with it all?

You could constantly snack upon it until you and everyone else in the house are cheesed out. You could dig out and dust off the fondue set you inherited from your parents or if it was long enough ago, that you received at your wedding. You could have a blue cheese omelette for every meal for a week. You could try freezing some but soft and fresh cheeses suffer for it. Cheddar can be shredded and frozen but it is only suitable in cooked foods, like the fast and delicious soup recipe below. I'd go for the soup.

Quick and Easy: Cheese and Vegetable Soup


This soup is a great way to use up left over cheeses, like the ones I was left with after New Years Eve. While cheese soup isn't the most ideal food if you are needing to watch your fat intake, it is nutritious, easy-to-make, and kid friendly.

I used a Thornloe Blue, Monforte Tuscano hard sheep cheese, PC triple cream Brie, Camembert and some old Cheddar. Some cheeses melt better than others but, as is the case in the one I made, the ones that don't melt nicely can be scooped out with the spoon or a cracker; an extra bit of fun out of your food! So don't worry if it turns out funny--it's food not a fashion show, just eat it!

For the uber-fat conscious, (shouldn't be eating this anyway!) you can let it cool and remove the disc of fat off the top. Save the disc to use in cooking or to put a pat or two onto some vegetables. You can also skim the fat off while it's still hot if you are wanting to eat the soup straight away. Just be sure to save the hot fat in a mason jar for future use, when a cheese flavour would be compatible with what you are cooking.


4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into lardons
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 tbsp minced banana pepper
2 c thinly sliced cremini mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced  optional  (I didn't use any but of course it would go well. )
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
butter as needed
1 tbsp flour
1/4 c white wine
1 cup milk
6 - 8 c chicken stock, depending on your cheese amounts
800g - 1 kg cheese, shredded or diced
salt and pepper to taste
fresh herbs to finish

Heat up a large soup pot and drop the bacon into it. Cook until browned then add the onions. Lower the heat, cover and let cook for ten minutes. Add the pepper and the mushrooms and seasonings; cook 5 minutes longer.

Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes to remove the 'flour' taste. It may be necessary to add more fat to the pot before adding the flour.

Deglaze the pot with the white wine, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the stock and milk; bring up to heated. Add the cheese to the hot broth a little at a time, stirring to blend. Serve immediately upon all the cheese being melted. Top with some fresh basil or thyme or finely chopped flat leaf parsley.

Serve this rich and delicious soup with some whole grain bread or crackers and a fresh green salad (or one out of the bag, just try to avoid ones that have iceberg lettuce or add-ins. Iceberg lettuce is notorious for chemical use, poor handling conditions due to a low personnel: high product demand ratio and it is the most nutritiously defunct lettuce of them all. I stick with a blend of radicchio and romaine or even plain baby spinach and arugula mixed at home).

I reheated this the next day in the microwave and although it was separated, the oozy-gooey dollop of melted cheese at the bottom of the bowl was a simply wonderful treat after slurping up the very flavourful broth.

Quick and Easy: Artichoke Cream Cheese Pie

This is another recipe utilizing leftovers, my favourite kind of cooking--resourceful and creative! Here I used up the leftover artichoke hearts from the olive/pickle platter. Once you become experienced at leftover creations, you'll be able to purchase any ingredients you'll need for them beforehand. I knew there would be some food still so as I was shopping for those items I served at New Years, I had this idea in mind and picked up the phyllo dough, cream cheese and cream at the same time. Everything else I already had on hand which makes it not only an easy dish to make but inexpensive as well. This flan is very portable in spite of the fragility of phyllo dough and it is equally good cold as well as hot.

2/3 pkg of phyllo dough

10 thick cut slices of bacon, chopped

8 oz canned or deli-serve artichoke hearts, drained

8 oz block cream cheese

1/3 c Miracle Whip (or mayonnaise)

1/3 c 4% cottage cheese

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 onion, chopped small

1/4 c 18% cream

salt and pepper

1 tbsp dillweed

hot sauce (optional)

bacon drippings for phyllo sheets
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Sauté bacon until well browned. Drain and set aside.

In processor, pinch off chunks from the block of cream cheese. Whiz. Add artichokes, miracle whip, cottage cheese, parmesan, salt and pepper. Whiz. Turn out into a bowl. Add bacon and mix.

In a bowl, beat eggs and cream with the dill weed.

With a pastry brush and bacon drippings grease a springform pan. Lay a sheet of phyllo in the pan and brush with drippings. Keep layering and brushing, turning sheets 45 degrees each time until about 2/3 of the package is used. As you layer gently push dough into the pan to fit.

Add the egg mixture to the cream cheese mix and incorporate loosely. There should still be large chunks of cream cheese.

Pour out into the pan. Fold over the phyllo ends and brush with more drippings. Cover with foil and bake at 400 for about 35-45 minutes or until puffed and cooked through like a fritatta.