Goat Cheese Tart

First, this is another installment of free cheese posting. More on that below.

Apparently, everyone likes the goat cheese tart. Right after I made this I got an e-mail from Cooks Illustrated (They’re not shy about sending e-mails, but at least they have a remove me link. I’m a glutton for their punishment.) giving one of their preferred recipes. This one is not theirs.

When Ile de France (http://iledefrancecheese.com/) offered to send cheese this second time I had the choice between Camembert and Goat. My thought was that Camembert is very similar to Brie, which I enjoyed last time. As for the Goat, I’m a huge fan of Mackenzie Creamery’s local goat cheese (haven’t really had the chance to take in Lake Erie’s yet), but have also always enjoyed the imported French stuff. I think there’s difference, and they’re both good in their own right. So the goat option was a pretty easy choice (Note to Alex: While the goat is very good, this is the one I'd really like to try.). Figuring out what to make was a different story.

When I have food related questions, I like to take a step back and think, WWPBD? What would Parker Bosley do? He likes French food, he’s Midwestern, is there more of an expert? So I got in touch, and sure enough he had a few ideas, ranging from baked chevre to goat cheese stuffed chicken breast. They all sounded good. I went with his tart.

Ingredients:
- Goat cheese (room temp.)
- Rosemary (minced)
- Pie dough (I used Jacques Pepin’s recipe)
- Red peppers (roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped)
- Cream
- Salt and pepper

Method:
- Preheat oven to 400 and blind bake tart shell for about 20 min.
- While that's baking simmer roasted pepper in some cream with salt and pepper
- When tart shell is done blind baking take it out of the oven, plop some goat cheese in there, spread it out as evenly as possible, and place it back in the oven
- Puree red pepper and cream mixture in blender (check for seasoning)
- About 10 min. after the tart is cooking with the cheese take it out of the oven, smooth out the cheese, and place it back in the oven until the shell just starts to brown
- While the tart is finishing in the oven, mince some rosemary
- Place some of the red pepper mixture on a plate and top with the finished, warm, tart
- Garnish with minced rosemary

Some white wine, a simple salad, and you have as good a lunch as one could hope for.

As for Parker’s advice, all the wonderfulness of this dish is his. The errors are my own.

More Fish

Whole roasted Lane Snapper, basil, lime, salt, pepper, olive oil.

Roasted at 425 and served with a side of polenta, it doesn't get much better. Share it with a friend and fight over the cheeks and collar. (And yes, one of those slashes went a bit too deep.)

More on this tart later . . . .

Borrowing ideas

Banana pepper stuffed with veal, parsley, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper with a thin tomato sauce. Corn (off the bone to all you Cento frequenters), and toasted bread heels (for all those who are looking forward to The Greenhouse Tavern and have peeked at the posted menu).

Stuffed peppers. These took a few minutes to make, but I think it was worth it. First I roasted the peppers over an open gas flame to get the skin all charred and blistered (there are ways to do this sans gas). Then the charred peppers went into a bowl, which was covered with plastic wrap, and left to sit for a while. While the peppers were steaming from their own heat under the plastic, I chopped up some parsley, pine nuts (didn't even toast them first--what an amateur), and parmesan (chopped, not grated), and minced some garlic.

Once all that stuff was prepped I began removing the skin from the peppers. It's kind of relaxing, kind of tedious. After the skins were removed I cut the tops off the peppers, cut a slit along the sides, and scraped out some of the seeds and ribs. After the peppers were eviscerated I mixed all the non-pepper ingredients, along with salt and pepper, with the veal and began stuffing the peppers chile relleno style.

After the peppers were ready I got some tomato juice (leftover fluid after making a bunch of brushetta--it was basil infused) warmed up in a pan on the stove with some salt and set the oven to 425. The tomato juice had been in the fridge for a day, which was nice because I was able to skim off the water from the top and use just about pure juice for this. I placed the peppers in the juice filled pan (pictured below), and once it was simmering I placed the pan in the oven for about 10 minutes.

The banana peppers added some heat to this dish, and if one was heat adverse but still wanted something like this there are tons of options at the farmers markets. Thanks goes to Maybelle's Mom for getting stuffed vegetables on my brain. Hers were prettier.

The other stuff was simpler. The corn was super sweet, and it just took a quick saute in butter with some salt and pepper to make a really worthwhile vegetable side dish. I forgot how good corn can be. Even without the bone.

The bread was simple ends of baguettes (also part of yesterday's brushetta) that I doused in Spanish olive oil and placed in the 425 oven with the peppers (in a separate pan, of course). As noted above, I stole that idea, if it is possible to steal an idea from a restaurant that has not yet opened.

Sources: Corn and veal from Plum Creek at the Shaker Farmers Market. The bread was from the West Side Market--it was okay, but unremarkable. Olive oil from Mediterranean Imports at the WSM. Pine nuts from the West Side Food Co-op. Tomato juice, parsley, garlic, and peppers from St. Paul's patch, a small community garden on the near west side of Cleveland (I only grew the tomatoes and garlic for this one, the peppers and parsley were from other gardeners--we like to share). Raw milk butter from Stutzman Herdshare.

I'm not sure if this is 99.9% local (is that by weight?), but it was very tasty.

Homemade Cheese

Ricotta, sort of. There are tons of blog posts on the subject (here are two I particularly like) and even a New York Times article. With all the recipes floating around I just kept it simple. Half a gallon of whole milk (it was ultra pasteurized--gasp!), juice from 1 1/2 lemons, and some salt all went into a stainless steel sauce pan. I heated and stirred until the milk barely reached boiling. As for when it's time to pull it off the heat, you'll know when it's there, it's remarkably obvious. Then a quick strain though several layers of cheese cloth. When it was done draining I stirred in some more salt, thyme, and lemon zest for good measure.

This would have been a great use for the raw milk I picked up yesterday, but the cheese was destined for a noodle-free lasagna for work--I guess that's just a vegetable casserole. I'm pretty sure the co-workers don't do the raw, even though it was cooked in the cheese making process. Maybe two people would have tried it, and one won't be there. Sad, really.

As for the lasagna . . . it's enough to say I learned my lesson on the Japanese mandoline. Those things cut through squash, eggplant, and thumbs like a warm knife though butter. I'd like to say it won't happen again, but, unfortunately, I know it will.

Fuss Free Food

Diced tomato (Roma and Jubilee), basil, and brie on toasted bread that had been drizzled with olive oil prior to being placed on a very hot ridged griddle. A little salt and pepper in with the tomatoes and basil and that's all it took. Could've rubbed the warm baguette slices with garlic before adding the cheese and tomatoes, it would have been nice, but why bother? Same with an extra drizzle of olive oil over the top--didn't do that either. Simple was good.

And why should the Italian's have the monopoly on cheese paired with tomato and basil? Despite their problems, the French have earned this much. Indeed, it's hard to imagine how conflicts over the past hundred years or so would have been different had France showed its artisanal spirit in them. Maybe that's what holding us warmongering types up in the food front--too busy with other stuff.

Anyway, too many questions. Perhaps the picture below will shed light on some of the answers.

The ever controversial raw milk. And The CFT, soon to be the proud owner of 1/40th of a cow.

Let's hope we don't get arrested.

When is this guy going to run out of tortillas?

Never, I'm afraid. They're just too convenient. Pictured above are tacos with a classic combination of blanched green beans and potatoes--the beans from the garden and the potatoes, Yukon Golds, from the Market. The mix is normally found in enchiladas or tamales, but I just didn't have the patience to defrost some of the wonderful Sonoran style enchilada sauce my (soon to be ex) next door neighbor made for me almost a year ago. And tamales, despite a deep curiosity and love of Mexican cooking, the ones available at Orale in the West Side Market are just too good to justify me bumbling through making them myself (although I have been looking for an excuse to buy a tub of lard at one of the local Mexican grocery stores).

In addition to the potatoes and beans I included some blanched and chopped early cabbage and sliced green serrano pepper, both also from the garden, grated raw cheddar from the Market, a few splashes of Tapatio, and some creme fraiche. Not much visible color contrast, but it was delicious nonetheless.

And the cucumber salad--my take on sunomono I've enjoyed at Japanese restaurants. Here it's just a diced, seeded garden cucumber (marketmore), salt, pepper, and white wine vinegar. It marinated for a few minutes and was refreshing in its simplicity.

Almost French

Four simple courses, starting with the cheese above. For reasons mentioned in the last post, there will likely be more brie in my future. The wine is from the Market Avenue Wine Bar (50% off takeaway wines), which is sadly moving (closing?) in the near future. A biodynamic Cotes du Rhone winds up being about $16--not bad for a decent bottle. The bread source, unfortunately, is not worth mentioning.

Above is a classic vichyssoise (French or not), cooling in a sink half filled with water and ice packs. I followed a Julia Child recipe, available here. Basically it was just boiled leek whites and peeled potatoes pureed in a blender. I thinned with chicken stock from Souper Market, a local mini-chain of soup shops. They've got it to go fresh or frozen. While it may not have been the best stock in the history of stocks, it was definitely serviceable and beats boiling bones in 90+ weather (others around here have been braver). After blending I added just a bit of creme fraiche (maybe a tablespoon for four decent sized potatoes worth of soup) and seasoned aggressively with salt and pepper. Topped with some fresh chives it was perfect for the summer. Reaction from co-diner after tasting: "What kind of cream soup is this?" It took some explaining.

The fish course was meant to be sole meuniere made with whatever looked good at Kate's (see their writeup here, while it's available). Flounder seemed appropriate. Tom the fishmonger suggested cooking it Charleston style (is there really such a thing?), meaning hatched and cooked whole. I gave it a shot, first seasoning the whole headed and gutted fish with salt and pepper and then dipping it in flour before pan frying in a mix of butter and canola oil. After it was browned it went for a quick trip in a hot oven to cook through.

After it was cooked and resting I wiped out the pan and melted some butter with lemon juice and parsley. The fish was taken off the bone at the table and served with a wedge of lemon and some zucchini batons that were sauteed in butter with salt and pepper.
And finally, garden salad greens with fresh local blueberries. The vinaigrette is Dijon mustard, shallot, cider vinegar, honey (it's the year of the honey bee after all), olive oil, and salt and pepper. While I nearly always whisk a vinaigrette or shake it up in a closed jar, I did this one in a food processor and was pleased with the emulsion--it was even worth having to clean the processor. Next time I'll puree the blueberries with the vinaigrette, as the plump berries on the lettuce leaves were tasty, but a bit awkward.

Now, to learn desserts . . . .

If you send it, I will eat it (and post about it), probably

Or, how I am happily pimping The CFT for 1 kilo of cheese (brie, specifically) while being all about disclosure and transparency. It started like this:

Hello,

While looking for blogs on food, wine and cheese I came across your website and found it very interesting. I’m contacting you on behalf of Ile de France, a French cheese importing company . . . .

First I was flattered, then intrigued, then thought it was a scam, and then intrigued again. So I followed up on the comment and, as promised, UPS showed up with my cheese. The box (nice and reusable):
The cheese:
And the catch:

. . . just remember that you need to mention the source and place a link to our website.

To get that out of the way, it's from Ile De France, and here's their website.

The first thing I did after getting the package was eat the majority of one of the wedges on crackers. Very good, especially once it warmed up to room temp.

I got to work on the rest of the wedge at dinner time. The pork is from Country Gristmill, local Amish farmers. It's good pork. I took a boneless chop (normally I go with bone in, but that's what I saw first at the Market), cut a slit in it, and jam packed it with a slivers of the brie and some basil leaves. After patting the stuffed pork dry with a paper towel, I seasoned it with salt and pepper and seared it in a little canola oil. The chop then went in a 450 oven until it was cooked med. rare/med. No need to brine the pork here, as masking the porkyness would be a shame. The rendered fat on the chop and the velvety melted cheese melded great, especially with the basil adding some freshness.

The potatoes are some local red potatoes, cooked and mashed with the skin and some fresh garlic (the garlic was boiled with the potatoes). As I was mashing them I added the remainder of the brie wedge, some cream, summer savory, butter, and salt and pepper. It worked very will with . . .

The broccoli, which was simply steamed with a little butter and salt and pepper on top. Combined with the potatoes it was like a a nice take on broccoli with cheese sauce. Even though I harvested the broccoli a day or two too late, it still beats the grocery store.

And the broken sauce was just some port cooked down in the pork pan with some butter added at the end. It may not be pretty, but it contributed. And with no stock on hand it was the best I could come up with.

So that's it. I must admit that I was ready to rip on the cheese. Honestly, I wanted to rip on the cheese, and had even thought about some choice words before receiving it. It's from a big producer that overflows the internet with videos and annoying product placements and chef endorsements. But it was very good. Not the most gooey, transcendent cheese I've ever had, and the packaging smacks of mass production, but still, very good. The bottom line for me is that if I'm at a grocery store and need a snack, I'd consider getting a wedge of this along with a baguette (Soon I hope to do a blind taste test with this and other grocery store double creams, along with one "artisan" variety, to see how things stack up--I'll post the results if I do it.). I'd even unabashedly put a wedge of the Ile De France on an after dinner cheese plate . . . at least until we start producing some brie style cheese around here.

And here's a gratuitous meat shot:

Tacos again?

If you're one of the two people who read this blog semi-regularly, you could have seen this coming. The clues were there. Extra corn tortillas from a few posts ago, and a protein heavy meal last post. Too bad there are already so many taco blogs (that last one is close enough).

Above is leftover Millgate Farm ribeye (diced and cooked with salt, pepper, and Bragg's), diced sweet onion, shredded arugula from the garden (we'll see if it's cut-and-come-again), and shredded Meadow Maid cheddar (picked up at the Shaker Farmer's Market, it's made from raw, organic, grass fed cow milk, and a fair deal at $5 a block). Before eating I added some creme fraiche (homemade from Ohio Organic Family Farms lightly pasteurized heavy cream--available at Country Gristmill at the Market--and a bit of my last batch that was made with Vermont Butter & Cheese Company creme fraiche, instead of buttermilk, as a starter) and Tapitio.

I love tacos.

And to go on the record for cheese on tacos. I used to not be for it, and secretly looked down on those who went heavy with the shredded cheese. To me a good taqueria taco has meat, some diced onion, and cilantro and is topped with a squeeze of lime and maybe some hot sauce. But I've been evolving. I still won't ask for a side of cheese at a taqueria (which isn't a problem around here because there's not really one worth discussing, even if Mi Pueblo, the West Side one, does in a pinch), but at home anything goes, especially with the inauthentic tacos I so enjoy. All that being said, I'm still not ready to shred Parmesan on my seafood pasta (but risottos are fair game).

Rethinking the taco

This is really just Part II from two posts back, and keeping with the using leftovers theme. Pictured is the leftover rabbit meat, diced and wok cooked with cumin, cayenne, salt, pepper, and a little soy sauce. Not being quite ready to harvest some of the homegrown lettuce, I chopped up some mizuna that was kicking around. After that, I shredded a few French Breakfast radishes for a topping (and to get some use out of the Japanese mandoline) and quartered one for a traditional garnish. The cheese is from raw cow milk, still hanging in the fridge from the trip up north. In that little silver cup is some creme fraiche thinned with just a bit of water. Doubled up corn tortillas from Super Mercado Rico at W45 and Lorain, a little Tapatio, and it was a truly satisfying meal.

I think tacos are one of the best uses of leftover proteins, or just about anything else (not much better than one with duck confit). Plus, they're versatile. No onions, use radishes. No cilantro, here it was mizuna. Cheese is always optional, hot sauce not so much. And anything sour cream-like absolves all sins. Now to get to work on the rest of the tortillas.

Ramp Pesto

This isn't just an advertisement for my need to purchase a tripod, it's also a nice way to ensure that I'll being enjoying the seasonal wild leeks for an extended period of time. Also amazing is how long a pesto will keep in the fridge, particularly when topped off with a thin film of olive oil. It tastes fresh for weeks (at least). This may not be a traditional pesto, but hopefully no one will be offended.

Ingredients:
- Ramps, cleaned
- Pecans, lightly toasted (walnuts, and of course pine nuts, would be fine substitutes)
- Parmesan cheese, cut in pieces or grated (an aged Asiago or even a Pecorino would be good too)
- Olive Oil
- Salt and pepper

Method:
- Bring salted water to a boil (I was making pasta anyway)
- Dip ramp leaves in boiling water for just under a minute
- Run ramps under cold water and then dry with paper towels
- Roughly chop ramps and add to a food processor with some olive oil and salt and pepper
- Process briefly, then add toasted pecans and some more olive oil
- Process for a while adding oil as you think is necessary to get a relatively smooth paste (or whatever consistency you like)
- Add cheese when the consistency is just about right (grated cheese will incorporate much easier than chunks) and process it in

When the pesto is how you like it store in a clean tightly covered jar. To use, add a dollop or two to cooked pasta (You may want to save some of the pasta water to thin out the pesto if necessary, although the pesto is pretty loose once it mingles with warm, slightly moist noodles.). You probably don't want to add too much heat to the pesto, as it's good as is.

Pictured below is the pesto on farfalle, a pasta shape I can usually do without. Still, it works great with pesto. It's alongside some mock artisanal baguette.

Yes we can . . .

make leftover sauce taste new, and do a whole lot of other stuff depending on who you ask (One of whose commercials are finally going to come to an end, at least for a short bit.). Pictured above is last week's tomato and sausage sauce, this time on pasta, refreshed with some sauteed sliced onions, diced carrots and celery, and dried hot pepper flakes. I also added a touch of cream and some pasta water. It was a whole new sauce.

After a very good dinner at one of my favorite Columbus (Ohio) restaurants, The Burgundy Room, last night, and with another coming up tomorrow at Bar Cento (check this out if you're curious--in collaboration with Slow Food Northern Ohio), a simple comforting meal seemed appropriate. As for The Burgundy Room, Monday night was retail wine night, with some really enjoyable bottles available for under $30. As for the food, the hits included a Snapper Special, a very solid Mixed Greens Salad (with some of the best onions I've ever tasted), a Beet Dip, a Rabbit Confit (served like a rillette), Shrimp and Grits, and awesome Caramel with very good Honey Vanilla Ice Creams. Misses, in the opinion of a co-diner and me, included the Green Apple and Celery Salad, and, in the same co-diner's opinion, Duck Spring Rolls (which I didn't try). Overall a great eating experience.

Does Cleveland's 2182 Bistro and Wine Bar stack up to The Burgundy Room? It's a totally different feel, but it may be the area's closest answer for small plates of pristine food and great wine priced reasonably. Can't say I'm a fan of the location though.

One meal of which I'll never tire

Bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. Plum Creek egg, Country Gristmill Berkshire bacon, and Tillamook cheese. While the bread is only from Youngstown, the cheese traveled a long way. As for that, old habits die hard.

This is no Wake & Bacon from Melt, a nearby place always good for a grilled cheese, but I can still enjoy these for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Let's just hope the arteries can keep up.

New take on an old post

[Photo removed due to grossness]

This is just an alternative way to serve what I previously made here. It was my first time mixing the goat cheese, salmon, and chives together, and it looked better in person. The taste was the same as the alternate presentation, but this style is more conducive to serving at a potluck or for a big group.

In the future I'd crumble the goat cheese well before mixing in the flaked salmon and chives, and I'd mix more gently than I did here, avoiding the white speckles of cheese clinging to the fish and chives that aren't too attractive. With the addition of store bought crackers (something thin and crisp--i.e., not Ritz) it makes for a quick thing to serve to a group. A spoon or knife is necessary, as it's not too dippable. It may look salmon heavy, but it's not.

Late summer pesto

It was greener than it looks, in a couple of ways. The pasta was once again from Ohio City Pasta--this time a thin vegan spaghetti flavored with a couple of things, most notably chives. It came from my monthly food buying group bounty (we're starting a new season if anyone's interested), which also included pine nuts (And local honey, amongst other things. It was a good month).

The timing for the pine nuts was great as basil isn't going to grow around here much longer. The goat cheese brought it all together.

Pasta
- Make as usual (reserve some of the starchy water)

Pesto
Ingredients:
- Basil
- Oil (I used Zoe Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain. It may be sacrilege, but I love Spanish olive oil.)
- Pine nuts (I toasted them very lightly. More like just heated them up.)
- Cheese, grated (I used Parmesan, there are other options.)
- Salt
- [No Garlic. I love garlic, but with the oil and nuts as it is, there was no need to further risk gastrointestinal distress with raw garlic. Plus, a very respectable Italian cookbook didn't call for it.]
Method:
- Add basil to work bowl of food processor with some oil, salt, and pine nuts
- Process until you like the consistency
- Add cheese and process some more to combine

Putting it together
- For a good one bowl preparation add drained pasta back to the bowl it was cooked in (off the heat)
- Add pesto a bit at a time until you get a coating that you like
- If the pesto is not quickly melting to blend with the pasta, add some of the reserved water to loosen the pesto up and stir some more
- Plate and add crumbled goat cheese on top (I got the cheese here.)

The omission of garlic worked well for a few reasons. I think it makes the meal easier to digest, takes care of some serious breath issues, and allows for a smoother (on the palate, the texture was not really too different) sauce, especially with the addition of goat cheese. Part of the reason the garlic was not missed may have been because the pasta had chives in it--I'm not sure, but I won't be adding garlic to my pesto for a while.

"[Goat cheese] . . . Is there anything [it] can't do?"

With apologies to Homer Simpson for taking liberties with the quote.

I really do like pasta, and these gnocchetti were perfect for the sauce. This couldn't be much easier to make, and the goat cheese sauce concept offers lots of possibilities. The recipe:

Pasta
- Boil pasta in salted water
- Have sauce ready by the time the pasta is done

Sauce
Ingredients:
- Goat cheese, broken into chunks (I used my standard, Purple Haze, but any decent one would do. For $3 they sell great little logs of a less revered, but still great, goat cheese at Gallucci's in Cleveland. Any excuse to go to that store is worth it--http://www.gustgallucci.com/. Don't let the Euclid construction deter you.)
- Tomato, roughly diced
- Olive oil, extra virgin
- Parsley, chopped
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- Heat olive oil in a frying pan
- When oil is hot add tomato
- Cook down the tomato, pushing down on any big chunks with your cooking utensil once they soften
- Season
- Once oil and tomato mixture is combined, add a little bit of the starchy pasta water and mix
- When the basic tomato sauce is how you like it, reduce heat as low as it will go, add goat cheese, and stir well and constantly
- Once sauce is well combined add just-drained cooked pasta, mix well, and season, adding parsley
- Serve

It's all pretty basic. The key is not to overcook the goat cheese, which really isn't too difficult. As for other things to thicken with goat cheese, the technique works well with pan sauces made with stock and/or red wine. Same idea of lowering or turning off the heat and stirring the cheese in. It's worth going easy on the heat and taking your time making the sauce. Too much heat and the cheese separates--not very attractive or tasty.

Why we should annex Canada

At least the French speaking parts. This is my take on Poutine. It's what happens when you keep planning a trip to Montreal, but the trip keeps getting pushed back. This cost a lot less than a flight out there, but the cheese curds were hard to come by, and it's hard to find someone to enjoy these with in C-town.

The curds came from my trip to Northern Michigan. They were vacuum packed, and, sadly, were not squeaky by the time I got to them. Still, they tasted and melted great. Good thing too, because if they squeaked I might never make it to Montreal.

I'm pretty sure the potatoes are Carolas. They came from the farmer's market. I was looking for Russets, but they weren't available yet. These worked great.

Gravy/Sauce
Ingredients:
- Chicken stock (See Risotto post, below. This was the frozen leftover.)
- Flour
- Fat or oil (I used peanut oil.)
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- I thawed frozen stock in a sauce pan while making the roux
- For the roux I mixed equal parts oil and and flour in a hot cast iron skillet
- I whisked the roux into the stock until the gravy was just thinner than I wanted it to be (It thickens up a bunch. If it winds up too thick just add water.)
- Season to taste

Fries
Ingredients:
- Potatoes, cut into fries
- Fat for cooking (I used duck fat, of course.)
- Salt
Method:
- Heat fat (I used a wok to minimize the amount of fat needed.)
- Peel potatoes and put in a bowl of water once peeled
- Once all potatoes are peeled, slice them into fries one potato at a time, putting the cut potatoes back into the water as you are going along
- Once all the potatoes are cut, drain the water from the bowl they are in and give them a quick dry with paper towels
- Now line a plate with paper towels (This is a paper towel intensive meal.)
- Now fry the potatoes, in several batches if necessary as to not overcrowd the wok (As for the heat of the fat, I don't use a thermometer. If the potatoes sizzle, then it's good.)
- This is the first frying--once the potatoes are pretty limp, but not colored, remove them to the paper towel lined plate
- Repeat with next batch if necessary
- Once all potatoes are fried the first time, raise the heat and repeat, keeping the fries in the fat until they are slightly colored and sound kind of hollow
- Remove batches from the second fry to new paper towels, add salt and pat to remove clinging fat (Make sure to drain the fries well when they're coming out of the fat--I use a spider, which is available for not much money at any decent Asian grocery store. Here's a link to one at my favorite online wok store, The Wok Shop, in San Francisco: http://wokshop.stores.yahoo.net/brassskimmer.html.)

Cheese Curds:
- I just broke up the curds into somewhat even sized pieces--they were more irregularly shaped before they began melting (Shredded mozzarella or cheddar would have been good too.)

To put it together I put down a handful of fries, some curds, some more fries, some more curds, and ladled over the gravy. It's worth all the pots and pans and cutting and frying.

New Jersey tangent:
I loved this dish. But, keep in mind that I grew up in New Jersey, where I ate Jersey Shore cheese fries at the The WindMill on Ocean Avenue in West End every summer. Not sure if it's still there, but if it is you can't miss it--it's a giant windmill. There's not much better than getting a giant crisp-skinned hot dog, some cheese fries, and sitting on the upstairs balcony of that WindMill. Max's in Long Branch may have had slightly better hot dogs, but after eating one right before going nightfishing for Bluefish in rough seas I never went back. Then, if you need dessert, nothing beats the Lighthouse, in Long Branch, for Italian ices--http://www.lighthouseitalianice.com/history.html. Really, it's one of the best things ever, even if you normally don't like Italian ices.