Recipes: Artichoke Benedict and Boursin Baked Potatoes

Quick Tips For Enhancing Your Menu
For Garnishes, Eggs, and Potatoes

Garnishes

Grate at the Table: For maximum flavor and impact, grate Parmesan or Romano at the table, directly onto the soup, salad or pasta dish.

Asiago on the Side: Take a young Asiago or Parmesan directly from the cooler, shred into long, unbroken strips and arrange on a plate with a steamed green vegetable as a perfect complement to a lamb or veal entree.

Kids Say Cheese . . . And Smile: Make every plate you serve a delight for children by cutting slices of cheese into fun shapes. For example, use a cookie cutter to make seasonal shapes like hearts, pumpkins and Christmas trees.

Autumn Soup & Cheese: For a memorable dish make a creamy pumpkin or butternut squash soup, garnish with strips of creamy Mozzarella and a handful of popped corn.

Cream Cheese Garnish: Shape cream cheese into small bite-size balls, then roll in chopped nuts or chopped parsley. Serve as a garnish with almost any kind of dish, from morning eggs to evening meal dessert.

Bite-Size & Flavor-Packed: Top bite-size portions of Double Cream Brie with sprigs of dill slices, jalapeño peppers, sliced olives, peppercorns, or tiny shrimp. Serve as colorful, flavorful appetizers or hors d'oeuvres with drinks.

Add Color to the Plate: Edam or Gouda cut into wedges, with the bright red wax left intact, adds a welcome splash of color and enjoyable flavor to almost any plate presentation.

Provided by Dairy Farms of Wisconsin

Eggs

Easy Cheesy Scramble: When scrambling eggs, sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese just before removing from the pan.

Omelet: Add oomph to your omelet menu with a spicy omelet made with chopped green chiles and tomatoes, sliced ripe olives and shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

Cheese Frittata: The Frittata , the "Italian omelet," is made flat, not folded. Make it savory by adding chunks of tomato, onion, green pepper, herbs and lots of shredded Mozzarella and Fontina cheese.

Sensational Quiche: Quiche is a popular item round the clock. Whatever variety of quiche you serve, make sure it has lots of real cheese—Swiss, Parmesan, Ricotta, Italian semi-soft cheese.

Cheese-Topped Omelet: Top a ham omelet with a slice of White Cheddar topped with a slice of Golden Cheddar. Melt the cheese slightly before serving.

Provided by Dairy Farms of Wisconsin

Artichoke Benedict

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients

4 medium California Artichokes
4 slices (1/4-inch thick) Canadian bacon
4 eggs
Blender Hollandaise Sauce (recipe follows)

Prepare and cook artichokes as directed. Turn artichokes upside down to drain. Spread leaves open like flower petals. Carefully remove center leaves and fuzzy centers from artichoke bottoms with a spoon and discard; keep artichokes warm. Brown Canadian bacon slices in skillet. Poach eggs in boiling, salted water. Place bacon slices into artichoke centers, covering bottom, then top with poached eggs. Spoon on Hollandaise Sauce and serve immediately.

Blender Hollandaise Sauce

Makes about 1 cup.

Blend 3 egg yolks, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt in electric blender. Using low speed, slowly add 1/2 cup hot melted butter or margarine. To keep warm, pour into heat-proof dish and cover. Place in sauce pan of hot water. Stir occasionally. If sauce thickens too much, add 1 or 2 teaspoons water; beat until smooth.

Provided by California Artichoke Advisory Board

Potatoes

Cheese Fries: Transform plain french fries into taste-tempting Cheese Fries: serve them topped with flavorful melted Pasteurized Process cheese.

Twice Baked Potatoes: Make ever-popular Twice Baked Potatoes even more appealing with the addition of piquant grated Asiago.

Sunshine Hash Browns: Offer your breakfast hash browns with a topping of flavorful Cheddar, Swiss or Brick.

Swiss Roesti Potatoes: Serve Swiss-style Roesti Potatoes: boil, peel and shred potatoes; blend with Swiss cheese, place in a heavy pan and fry in lots of butter so the cheese melts on the inside and forms a crisp crust on the outside.

Tangy Potato Salad: Offer a twist on cold potato salad—mix cooked, diced potatoes with Italian dressing, onions, celery, spices and diced Swiss cheese.

Hot Potatoes & Cheese: Real Cheese adds zing to your hot potato dishes. Add nutty Swiss Cheese to Au Gratin, Gratin Dauphinoise or Scalloped Potatoes.

Cheese Potatoes Bake: Almost any variety of cheese makes plain baked potatoes into a satisfying meal in a peel. For added flavor, top the melted cheese with sautéed mushrooms, crunchy bacon bits or flakes of tuna fish.

Provided by Dairy Farms of Wisconsin

Boursin Baked Potatoes

Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 1 hr 45 mins

Ingredients

4 fairly large potatoes, scrubbed
215g (4 oz) Boursin Leger
50g (2 oz) Cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and Pepper

Fillings

125 g (4 oz) ham, diced
50g (2 oz) sweetcorn or
175g (6 oz) mushrooms, finely chopped, and sautéed in 15-25g (1/2-1 oz) butter or
225g (8 oz) fresh or frozen broccoli, boiled until tender.

Provided by Boursin Spiced Gournay Cheese

This page originally published as a FoodDay article in 1997.