Sunday, April 5, 2009

Port Salut, Week 14

About the April Fools' cheese-- I really did want to try vegan 'cheese,' but when I went to the Teeter on Wednesday, I just didn't have the heart to purchase "Cheddar Veggie Shreds" or "American Veggie Slices."  After weeks of fantastic cheese, I couldn't bear to buy a large quantity of 'cheese' that most books and countries don't recognize as such.  Thus, the cheese blog tragically went a week without cheese.

Yet, this is the part where happiness and cheesiness come in.   Port Salut (POOR sah-LEW) was plentiful and on sale.  Per usual, I had not the faintest idea what to do with this cheese.  Laura Werlin's book, Cheese Essentials, describes Port Salut as "very popular among Americans" because of "its lack of assertive flavors" and recommends using it when cooking rather than eating it plain.  With that in mind, I went for a breakfast sandwich-- easy, homey, and hard not be delicious.  

Port Salut
Smell: Kind of like a strong deli Muenster
Cost: $9.99/lb


Step One:  Basil butter the pan.  I've been finding the neatest things in the freezer aisle lately.  See those green cubes? Two tablespoons of chopped basil!

Step Two:  Add eggs (4) and generously season bacon with cayenne pepper.  Bacon is one of the reasons I'm a vegetarian wannabe.  Right now, I love Pederson's uncured applewood smoked bacon with lots of cayenne-- the bacon becomes sweeter with the heat.

Step Three: Add some cheese!  Once the eggs are cooked, remove from heat and add cheese. I used a bit less than half of the wedge I got.  When I make this again, I would use even less.  The cheese was so soft, no shredding was required- it melted nicely into the eggs.  (For my longtime readers-- I got new heat-proof spatulas! Huzzah!)

Step Four: Enjoy!  Happy breakfast, happy belly!

Verdict: Port Salut tasted great in the eggs with basil, but it was just so-so on its own (mild cheese with funny aftertaste).  More of a supporting actor kind of cheese, Port Salut is no Denzel.  

End tally: Midnight Moon > Lamb Chopper > Manchego > Paneer > Comte > Irish Cheddar > Vermont Cheddar > Emmentaler > Bucheron > Delice d'Argental > Brie > Red Square > Port Salut > Stilton > Pecorino Romano > Monterey Jack

2 comments:

  1. veggie shreads are actually really good on pizza! we use them all the time when making GF food :3

    that kinda of breakfast makes my poptarts seem very lackluster :<

    huzzah bacon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That poor breakfast plate, smiling ever so lightly, unaware of its impending doom... deep within the reaches of a happy stomach 7=^)

    So Yummy!!!

    ReplyDelete

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