Volume 10, Issue 090 - May 5, 2006

TGIF ,

I would like to thank our friends, Megan Bykowski, Marilyn Wilkinson and all the fine folks from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board for their help for this week's Foodservice Daily Newsletter. I have learned a lot. When you need to know about cheese, visit www.Wisdairy.com

Have a Great Weekend...You Deserve it!

Parmesan
Parm´-is-on

Heritage:

Known as the king of Italian cheeses, Parmesan originated in the Reggio and Parma regions of Italy. It tastes sweet, buttery and nutty compared to the sharper and more piquant flavor of Romano. Parmesan has become very popular in the United States and Wisconsin leads in the production of award-winning Parmesan.

Description:

Buttery, sweet, nutty flavor intensifies with age. Granular texture. Made from part-skim milk. Aged over 10 months. Serve as a table cheese; shave over salads; grate in cooked dishes, casseroles, pizza; use, freshly grated, to season food.

Appearance:

Pale yellow.

Texture:

Granular.

Flavor:

Buttery, sweet, nutty, intensifies with age.

Source: Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc.

Wisconsin Cheese from America's Dairyland, Entertaining, Cheesecyclopedia, Facts, Awards, Cheesemaking, Special Offers and Great Recipes.

Four Wisconsin Cheese Mostaccioli Vegetable Lasagna

Category: Pasta
Number of Servings: 8

Ingredients:

1 package (16 ounces) frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrot blend
6 tablespoons butter
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 cups (16 ounces) Wisconsin Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) Wisconsin Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, minced, or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crumbled
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) Wisconsin Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup (4 ounces) Wisconsin Provolone cheese, shredded
3 cups mostaccioli, cooked according to package directions and drained*
*1 1/2 cups dry, uncooked mostaccioli

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Thaw frozen vegetables and drain well. Chop coarsely. Set aside.

Microwave butter in 1-1/2 quart bowl on high for 1 1/2 minutes or until melted. Stir in red pepper, onion, and garlic. Microwave 3 to 4 minutes or until pepper and onion are tender. Blend in flour, nutmeg and salt. Microwave 30 seconds. Stir in milk. Microwave 5 to 7 minutes or until mixture just boils and is thickened, stirring every 2 minutes.**

In separate bowl, combine Wisconsin Ricotta cheese, Wisconsin Parmesan cheese and basil. In an additional bowl, combine Wisconsin Mozzarella and Wisconsin Provolone cheese.

Arrange half the mostaccioli in a single layer in bottom of 8 x 12 baking dish. Top with 1/2 of the white sauce mixture, all of the Wisconsin Ricotta mixture, all of the vegetable mixture and 1/2 of the Wisconsin Mozzarella mixture; press down lightly. Top with remaining mostaccioli in single layer, remaining white sauce, and remaining Wisconsin Mozzarella cheese mixture. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

**Alternately, make the white sauce on the top of the stove: Melt butter in medium sauce pan. Stir in red pepper, onion and garlic. Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes. Blend flour, nutmeg and salt into the mixture and cook 2 minutes, stirring. Gradually add milk and cook, stirring, over low to medium heat, until the mixture is thick and comes to the boiling point. Remove from heat.

Recipe © 2006 Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc.

More About Parmesan:

Serving Suggestions:

• Serve a bowl of freshly grated Parmesan on the table with pasta dishes, steamed vegetables, soups, salads and pizzas.
• Add freshly grated Parmesan to hot garlic mashed potatoes or risotto.
• Serve Parmesan chunks drizzled with a good quality balsamic vinegar.

Goes Well With:

• Pasta, rice, other grain-based dishes, vegetable soups, cream and tomato sauces, grapes, figs, plums, walnuts, balsamic vinegar.
• Red wines like Barolo; dessert wines like Vin Santo.

Styles/Varieties:

• Wisconsin Parmesan comes in 22- to 25-pound wheels, half wheels, quarter wheels, and random- and exact-weight pieces.
• Wisconsin cheesemakers produce Parmesan known as American Grana, made in the traditional 75-pound wheel and aged for 15 to 22 months. It is available in a variety of sizes and styles.

Performance Note:

In Italy, the fashion is to serve Parmesan for dessert with fresh figs, walnuts and a sweet red wine known as Vin Santo. Some commercially grated cheeses contain anticaking ingredients that prevent them from incorporating completely into sauces. Freshly grated cheese produces smoother sauces. Many Wisconsin cheesemakers offer freshly grated Parmesan without anticaking ingredients.

Federal Standards of Identity:

• Maximum Moisture: 32%
• Minimum Milkfat in Solids: 32%
• Minimum Age: 10 months

Source: Cheesecyclopedia™ © 2006 Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc.

Food Arts Magazine

Every issue features exceptional recipes, trends in the industry, restaurant openings and chefs on the move, surveys of new equipment, innovative presentation techniques and much more. Foodservice Professionals, sign up for your Free Copy

Pignola-Crusted Snapper with Wisconsin Artisan Cheese

Category: Entrée
Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Coating:

1 1/2 cups toasted pignolas (pine nuts)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon crumbled rosemary
1/2 cup freshly-grated Wisconsin Parmesan cheese
kosher salt, to taste
freshly-ground white pepper, to taste

4 - 6-ounce red snapper fillets*
2 large eggs, whisked with 2 tablespoons milk or buttermilk
3 to 4 tablespoons mild olive oil
1/2 pound (8 ounces) Wisconsin Italian-Style Gorgonzola cheese, softened
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons fresh basil, in chiffonade
1/4 cup finely-chopped scallion greens
lemon slices for garnish

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 360 degrees F. Combine pignolas, flour, rosemary, salt and pepper in food processor and pulse until it's the texture of fine bread crumbs, but not pasty. Mix with the Wisconsin Parmesan and spread on a sheet of wax paper. Dry filets, then dip them in egg mixture, then coat in the Pignola-Parmesan mixture. Press coating on gently to assure it adheres. If time permits, chill on a rack 30 to 45 minutes.

Combine Wisconsin Italian-Style Gorgonzola cheese, white pepper to taste, cream and basil, set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wide, heavy skillet to medium high, add 2 of the filets. When a crust forms and the fish moves easily, turn and brown briefly. Remove, add remaining oil and repeat with the last two filets. Return all filets to the skillet and finish cooking them in the oven until opaque when pierced with a knife tip, or until they reach a desired doneness. Remove from oven and serve each filet on a large "dollop" of Italian-Style Gorgonzola cheese-basil cream. Garnish filets with prepared scallion greens and lemon. Serve hot.

*If great snapper is temporarily unavailable, substitute small, brook trout, salmon trout or sea bass filets, cleaned and ready to cook.

Recipe © 2006 Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc.