"A Little Book of Cheese" may be little, even tiny, but it's big in good food, like a recipe for shells stuffed with mozzarella, ricotta and Parmesan, plus broccoli and pine nuts, which you'll find below.
The author is Chef Debbi Dubbs (above), who really knows her cheeses and food. Dubbs has worked extensively in catering, teaching, product presentations, restaurant management and other aspects of the food world. She also leads culinary tours and has been a corporate chef for Melissa's Produce, where she presented her brand new cheese book.
The stuffed shells (above) got a lot of raves at Melissa's.
So did Dubbs' chicken parmigiana (above).
And her apple pecan salad with goat cheese
And an Italian chopped salad with baby mozzarella balls.
This mixed bean minestrone is sprinkled at serving time with Parmigiano Reggiano.
Three cheeses--Gruyere, fontina and Parmesan--are stuffed into fondue palmiers.
The desserts in the book include chocolate-strawberry yogurt parfaits. Dubbs counts yogurt as cheese and tells how to make it as well as how to make your own mozzarella, cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta and others.
There's a lot of information in such a little book, including how to buy and store cheese, types of cheese and how to create your own cheese board--above is the one she made at Melissa's--followed by 25 recipes.
To learn more about Chef Dubbs, go to her website, www.debskitchen.com. "A Little Book of Cheese" can be ordered through Amazon.
CHEESY STUFFED SHELLS
From "A Little Book of Cheese" by Chef Debbi Dubbs
1 (12-ounce) box pasta shells
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated
2 cups ricotta cheese (15 ounces)
1/4 pound Parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra for the top
Salt, pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup broccoli, cooked and chopped
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 (24-ounce) jar marinara sauce
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook the shells in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain them and run under cold water to keep them from sticking to each other.
Add mozzarella, ricotta and Parmesan cheese to a large bowl and mix together. Add a little salt and pepper, then add the eggs and mix until well blended. Fold in the broccoli and pine nuts carefully.
Spread half the marinara sauce over the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan. Gently stuff the shells with the cheese mixture and place in the pan, nestllng the shells together. Top with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with a little more Parmesan cheese.
Cover with foil and bake about 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking to brown slightly.
Makes about 6 servings.
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