For the past several weeks I have been preoccupied with making shades of gray color decisions for a bathroom remodeling project, a project that was supposed to be a simple one. When will I learn that no remodeling project in a seventy year old house is simple? Probably never. But that probably isn't the right question anyway, however, the answer would still be the same. Laboring over color decisions is due in part to once selecting a bedroom wall color that took on very different hues during the day and at night. After three coats of a relatively expensive wall paint painstakingly applied in a relatively large room, I woke up one morning to a bedroom that felt like it was lined with harvest gold refrigerators. Let's just say that wasn't a good feeling on so many different levels. If it was possible for someone to be burned at the stake for spending an unnecessary fortune on paint and making someone spend countless hours painting (and repainting), that someone would have been me.
It wasn't much of shock (at least to myself) when I decided to make a recipe out of Amy Thielen's "The New Midwestern Table" cookbook. Her recipe for a pounded cheese with a port syrup appealed to me for a variety of reasons. In her book, Amy shared pounded cheese recipes have been found in 'books of early American cookery'. Having an affinity for centuries old things, making a century old recipe was one I couldn't resist. In addition to antiques, I also love wine and especially port. My sister, the wine expert in the family, introduced me (or should I say permanently spoiled me) to the Cabernet Sauvignon Port from Napa Valley's Schweiger Vineyards years ago. While it was probably unnecessary to use a port with such depth of flavor in this recipe, I thought it might make a incredible port syrup (it exceeded even my expectations). And lastly, a recipe calling for an aged Wisconsin cheddar cheese (one at least three years old) was also irresistible. The state of Wisconsin holds a special place in my heart as it was the place of my childhood family vacations. Thankfully I had a sorority sister friend on a girl's weekend trip in Lake Geneva brought me back a great aged Wisconsin cheddar (it is great to have friends, even greater to have friends on Facebook who read my pleas and posts).
The Pounded Cheese with Port Syrup and Walnuts is one that epitomizes Throwback Thursday. Why? Because it sort of visually reminds one of those cheese spreads they would serve in the restaurants way back when. Only the flavor in this one is in a league of its' own. Maybe I should have waited to post and share this recipe on Thursday, but it would have been a crime (maybe not a burning at the stakes kind of crime) to delay sharing it with you.
This is one of those recipes using simple, quality ingredients and having simple, non-complicated 'invest hours in' directions. If there was ever a dish where its' flavor and beauty in presentation rivaled its' simplicity, this would be the one. If you live within a hundred mile radius of Wisconsin, it would be worth the drive to buy the aged cheddar cheese, unless of course you lucky enough have friends who are there frequently and are willing to do some of your grocery shopping. And if neither of those are practical options, it is likely you can find at least a three year aged cheddar at your favorite cheese shop (or in the cheese section at Whole Foods). Does the aged cheese absolutely need to be from Wisconsin? No, it doesn't. There are some amazing cheeses coming out of Vermont and the Hudson Valley. The only deal breaker in this recipe in the age of the cheese. Just remember, buy one that is at least three years old.
The modern convenience of a food processor makes making this pounded cheese incredibly easy. Imagine the arm strength that went into pounding the cheese with a wooden spoon in a wooden bowl more than a century ago! After the softened cheddar cheese is processed until pureed, the (salted) butter, dijon mustard, Aleppo pepper and black pepper are added. Scraping the bowl several times, all of the ingredients are processed until reaching a smooth and creamy consistency. If you are not serving the cheese immediately, it can be refrigerated but needs to be brought back to room temperature before serving. I found that whipping it with a hand mixer just before serving restored it back to the right consistency.
The original recipe for the port syrup called for simmering 1/2 cup of port and one tablespoon of light brown sugar for approximately three minutes. Whether I did something wrong here or not, my mixture was not maple syrupy in consistency after three minutes. Not wanting to waste the Schweiger port (this would be a real crime), I increased the tablespoons of light brown sugar to two and simmered for about 15 minutes. The result was a velvety, intense-in-flavor port syrup. The syrup can be made early in the day or the day before as it should be at least room temperature or chilled before drizzling over the pounded cheese. Note: This port syrup would be also perfect served over a beef tenderloin.
No throwback 'deconstructed cheese ball' recipe would be truly throwback unless it was served with Ritz crackers (a cracker first introduced in 1934). The pounded cheese seems to call for a buttery cracker or sliced pretzel rolls. Choose whichever crackers or breads are your favorites. And oh, lest I forget, the Pounded Cheese with Port Syrup and Walnuts pairs well with wine, beer or martinis.
If only choosing paint colors was as easy as making the big life decisions or deciding which recipes to try. I think I will need to remind myself of this thought when I labor over what to make when having some friends over for dinner in a couple of weeks. But at least I already which know which appetizer I will be making. You get one guess.
Pounded Cheese with Port Syrup and Walnuts (very slight adaption to Amy Thielen's Old-Fashioned Pounded Cheese with Walnuts and Port Syrup recipe shared in her book The New Midwestern Table)
Ingredients
Port Syrup
1/2 cup port wine (recommend Schweiger's. But choose a port you really like to drink, one that's a good quality but won't break the bank)
2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
Cheese
7 ounces of at least 3 year old aged Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese, at room temperature
6 ounces (3/4 cup) salted butter, cool but not cold
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (recommend Maille)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch of Aleppo pepper (or can use cayenne pepper)
1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted
Crackers (recommend Ritz ,Townhouse, or other good buttery crackers, or ) and/or sliced Pretzel Rolls
Directions
1. For the syrup, combine port and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until sugar has melted. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened to the consistency of a maple syrup (approximately 12-15 minutes). Remove from heat, allow to cool to room temperature. If not using immediately, cover and place in the refrigerator.
2. For the cheese, cut the cheddar cheese into chunks, place in food processor and process until pureed. Add butter, mustard, Aleppo pepper, and black pepper and process until whipped and smooth (scrape down sides of bowl several times during the processing).
3. Arrange cheese on a shallow dish, drizzle port syrup over top and sprinkle with toasted walnuts. Serve with crackers or sliced pretzel rolls.
Note: Pounded cheese and syrup can be made one day ahead (wrapped separately). To serve, bring cheese to room temperature and whip with hand beaters to restore to its' creamy consistency before serving.
