William Bohannon’s Creole Cream Cheese

Posted by philocrates 5/15/02 6:37:04
pm

1/2 gallon skim milk
1 tablet rennet
1/2 cup whole buttermilk
1 1/4 cups nonfat dry milk
Pinch of cream of tartar

In a large microwave dish heat the milk to 170 degrees F (75
degrees C) and hold for 20 minutes, using the “Hold” function and
the microwave probe attachment.
Immediately stir in the other
ingredients to blend.
Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 24
hours at room temperature.

Drain and discard liquid from the cheese clabber.

Line a colander with 2 layers of cheese cloth and turn cheese
into colander.
Place colander over bowl for more draining.
Cover
with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 36 hours.

Place finished cheese into bowl use as desired.
Keeps 2 weeks
covered in the fridge.

Makes 12 ounces.

NOTES: The cheese only took 3 hours to make.

After the Rennet tablet (crushed well) was sprinkled in the
slightly cooled milk mixture, it clabbered right away (about 1 1/2
hours).
I drained it in the colander then put it in the cheese
cloth and wrung it dry carefully.
The cheese needed several
wringings with rest in between for sufficient drainage.
The
finished cheese resembles Feta crumble cheese but the flavor is
like mild mascarpone.
I put it in the food processor on high speed
until it was very smooth and creamy like mascarpone.
I freshened
the taste with a few drops of lemon juice (store bought mascarpone
contains citric acid).

The cheese was not quite a smooth as the commercially whipped
kind but the flavor was very good.
This recipe is the closest thing
to mascarpone that one can make at home with ease.
A little
tinkering with the proportions should yield a very good clone.

Shrimp Quiche

Pastry
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white cornmeal
2/3 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/3 cup milk

Mix together the flour, cornmeal and salt in a mixing bowl.
Add
the shortening.
Using a pastry blender or your fingers, blend the
shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles
coarse meal.
Add the milk and mix together until the mixture leaves
the sides of the bowl and forms a ball.
On a lightly floured
surface, roll out the pastry and fit into a regular-size quiche pan
or four small quiche pans.

Filling
1 pound boiled shrimp, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/2 pound Swiss cheese, coarsely chopped
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Distribute the shrimp evenly over the bottom of the quiche
pastry.
Arrange the cheese evenly over the shrimp.

Combine the cream, flour, eggs, cayenne, black pepper and salt
and mix well.
Pour over the cheese and shrimp.
Bake for about 35 to
40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out
clean.

Yield: 4 servings

Spicy Cajun Kabobs

1 (8 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast
4 ounces fully cooked smoked sausage
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon minced garlic
1 dash freshly ground white pepper

Preheat gas grill for 10 minutes or light charcoal and allow to
burn down to a gray ash on top.
Soak 12-inch bamboo skewers in
water.

Remove fat from chicken and cut diagonally into 1/2 x 2-inch
strips.
Slice thicker areas in half horizontally so strips are
uniform in thickness.
Cut sausage into 1-inch chunks.

In small saucepan, heat olive oil, chili powder, thyme, cayenne,
garlic and white pepper over very low heat about 2 minutes, or
until fragrant.
Cool slightly.

Dip chicken and sausage pieces into spice mixture.
Thread,
alternating chicken and sausage onto skewers.
Grill over medium
heat about 8 minutes, or until chicken is done and juices run
clear.

Makes 3 servings.

Approximate values per serving: 299 calories, 22 g fat, 71 mg
chol, 23 g protein, 2 g carbo, 1 g fiber, 426 mg sod, 67% calories
from fat

Stuffed Crawfish Beignets (Cajun Pistols)

Source: "http://www.gulf-shores-alabama.net/">http://www.gulf-shores-alabama.net
- used with permission from Lundy Wilder

Close as I can tell, this recipe should make something very similar
to the delightful winning finger-food called the Cajun Pistol at
the Gulf Shores National Shrimp Festival

Filling
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup butter
Minced garlic
Salt and pepper
1 pound crawfish tails
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese or whatever cheese you like
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Shake or two of ground hot pepper

Dough
2 cups Bisquick
3/4 cup water
Vegetable oil for frying

Sauté onion and celery in butter until tender.
Add
garlic, seasoning and crawfish tails.
Simmer 10 min or until all
liquid evaporated.
Set aside and let cool completely.

Add cheese, green onions and parsley.

Beignet Dough: Stir biscuit mix and water with fork.
On
well-floured surface roll out dough.
Cut with 4 inch circle cutter.
Place crawfish filling on half of dough.
Fold circle in half, seal
edges with fork dipped in flour.

In deep pot, heat oil to 350 degrees F.
Fry beignets until
golden brown.

Serve warm.

Makes about 16 beignets.

May be frozen before frying.
Thaw for 10 minutes and fry as
usual.

Pralines

2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3/4 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup water
12 large marshmallows
1 quart pecan halves

In a saucepan combine all ingredients except marshmallows and
pecans.
Cook until a small amount of the mixture forms a soft ball
when dropped into cold water.
Stir to prevent burning.
Add
marshmallows and stir until melted.
Remove from heat and add
pecans.
Beat until mixture loses some of its gloss.
Place wax paper
over cloth and drop pralines by spoonsful on the paper.

Makes 3 dozen.

Roasted Pecan Butter Pecan Pie (Louisiana Cajun)

Dough
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut up
1/4 cup ice water

Sift 1 cup of the flour and the salt into a large bowl.
Add
butter, and working quickly with a light touch, cut butter into the
flour with a spoon and fingertips until mixture is the texture of
coarse cornmeal.
Add ice water and stir until well blended.
Form
the dough into a ball and place on a flat surface floured with the
remaining 3 tablespoons flour.
With a floured rolling pin, roll out
dough to a thickness of 1/4 to 1/8 inch.
Place an ungreased 8
1/2-inch round pie pan face down on top of the dough and cut around
the pan, leaving a 3/4-inch border.
Lightly flour the top of the
dough and fold it in quarters.
Carefully place dough in the pie
pan, with the points of the folded dough centered.
Unfold dough and
line the pan bottom and sides, gently pressing dough into place and
draping a little over the rim.
Flute the edges.
Refrigerate
prepared pie shell until ready to use.

Pecan Filling
1/2 cup pecan pieces or halves, dry roasted until dark
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecan halves

Process roasted pecans in a food processor until they become a
relatively smooth butter, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping sides down as
needed with a rubber spatula.
Place eggs in a medium-size bowl of
an electric mixer and beat on high speed a few seconds until
frothy.
Add sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla extract, salt and
pecan butter.
Beat on medium speed a few seconds until well mixed,
pushing sides down as needed.
Stir in the unroasted pecan halves.
Pour mixture into prepared pie shell.
Place on a cookie sheet and
bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes.

Reduce heat to 325 degrees F and bake until filling is browned
on top and crust on edges is lightly browned, about 40 minutes
more.
Remove from oven and let cool at least 30 minutes before
serving.