9 minute read
Food and Recipes
Make This the Cheesiest Year Ever
ARTICLE COURTESY OF BPT
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ARE YOU IN search of a stressfree and undeniably delicious snack for your family game night? Want to surprise a special person you haven’t seen in a while with a gift delivery? Or do you simply want to kick grandma’s recipes up a notch this year? The solution is simple: Cheese. Not just any cheese; awesome cheese.
Cheese makes everything better. That’s why Josh Gentine, a third-generation member of the Sargento Foods legacy, founded The Big Cheese Co. Well, that, and he got his hands on some extra-sharp, 12- to 15-year aged Wisconsin cheddar. According to Gentine, cheese ages like fine wine, getting sharper and more complex with each passing year. He maintains his cheddar is “the sharpest you’ve ever tasted,” adding jokingly, “it’s so sharp it has a British accent, and it was so good that it was worth starting this new company.”
With that in mind, here are three tips for making this year your cheesiest ever.
Tip 1: Sharpest surprise
Cheese is the perfect gift. “Cheese is our common denominator,” says Gentine. “There are only two types of people in this world: People who already love cheese and people who need to try The Big Cheese.”
With The Big Cheese, blocks are sent directly to your doorstep, so you can send a little love without leaving the sofa. A 2.5-pound block to your foodie aunt, a 5-pounder to the family of four. A 40-pound behemoth sent directly to the door of your friend who’s always entertaining (or will be, once that’s safe again). It’s an unexpected gift that you can be confident will be enjoyed and not regifted or left to gather dust in a hallway closet.
Tip 2: Charcuterie champion
Charcuterie boards have become their own popular subgenre. Some would say a full-fledged movement, with people creating over-the-top, picture-perfect trays packed with premium deli and dairy. The art of the board is all about balance - in color and flavor. Put your folded, reddish cuts of cured meat opposite pale cheeses, next to green olives or grape garnish. Mix and match an assortment of hard and soft cheeses with tapenades and spreads. Temper the salty meats with sweeter fruits like pears or apples. Or keep it simple when you’re looking for something quick and tasty for family movie night. Simply pile up the plate the way they like it, so everyone has options.
Pro Pointer: Serve your extra-sharp, aged cheddar (and other cheeses) at room temperature. When cheese is too cold, its taste is muted. By allowing cheese to come to room temperature, you’re allowing its flavors to come out and join the party.
Tip 3: Sharpen a family favorite
Family recipes that stay the same year after year can become tired or stale, so add a little zing with a cheesy kick. The secret is the sharp cheddar. Adding shreds of the zesty treat brings more complexity to dishes. It’s the perfect way to amp up mac and cheese, bring extra creaminess to grits or polenta, elevate a grilled cheese sandwich, or breathe second life into leftovers like turkey melts.
Try the following recipe for a great new take on a family classic.
The Big Cheese Mac & Cheese
FROM JESSICA SLOMBERG @NYCFOODCOMA
Ingredients: • 1 and 1/2 cups half-and-half • 16 ounces cream cheese, cubed • 2 cups extra-sharp aged cheddar from The Big Cheese, coarsely grated • 1 pound radiatori pasta (or any fun pasta shape!)
Directions:
Bring large pot of water to a boil. Once water is boiling, add plenty of salt and 1 pound radiatori pasta. Cook until pasta is al dente (5-10 minutes depending on type of pasta).
While pasta is boiling, add 1/2 cup half-and-half to a separate large pot or saucepan and reduce about 15 minutes over low heat.
Once cream is reduced, whisk in 16 ounces cream cheese cubes until smooth, then add 2 cups of The Big Cheese. Continue whisking until smooth.
When pasta is cooked, strain and transfer to pot containing creamy cheese mixture. Mix until pasta is evenly coated and serve. For more information, visit TheBigCheese.com.
Easier Access, More Storage, and Better Organization for Your Home
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And for those who may experience challenges reaching cabinets that are too low, too high, or too deep, Shelf Help allows you to make full and far more efficient use of your storage space.
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Shelf Help
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New Exhibitions Opening Emporium Center March 5
THE ARTS & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at The Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from March 5-26. A free reception with the artists will take place on Friday, March 5, from 5 to 8 pm. That same evening outside on Gay Street (weather permitting), enjoy music of Knoxville Opera’s singers with Artistic Director Brian Salesky at the piano.
All visitors to the Emporium are required to wear a mask and maintain physical distancing guidelines. Most of the works will be for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition by visiting the Emporium Center in person or the online shop at www.knoxalliance.store.
Lower Gallery - A1LabArts: GRIT
A1LabArts proudly announces GRIT, its first members’ show of 2021, featuring 2-D and 3-D work in a variety of media. In the past 12 months, life has changed for the entire world dramatically. To persist, each person has had to draw upon their inherent grit. Grit changes the softer surfaces it comes in contact with (as does sandpaper). Grit is used as a pigeon digestive aid. Add an “s” and you’ve got a southern staple. It’s fortitude, resolution, courage. When doing strenuous tasks, we grit our teeth. For this particular show, we’re asking members to show us their interpretations of GRIT.
At the opening reception, they will announce a $100 Best of Show and several Honorable Mentions.
A1LabArts, a Knoxville-based 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1995 by local artists, is dedicated to multi-disciplinary and experimental exploration of contemporary art issues in all media.
Upper Gallery - New Group Exhibition
Seven local artists who are members of the Arts & Culture Alliance are proud to present an exhibition of recent works made using a range of media. These artists include Betty Bullen, oil and acrylic painting; Geri Forkner, weaving, felting, and fiber arts; Jack Retterer, photography; Alex Rifwald, photography; Paula Shahid, paintings; David Smith, woodworking with movement; and William Tate, telling stories through collage. Read more about the artists at www.knoxalliance.com/group-march21.
Display Case -
Foothills Craft Guild: Fine Crafts
Foothills Craft Guild is pleased to showcase the work of more than 15 artists working in a variety of media such as fiber, wood, stained glass, hand stitched bead art jewelry, clay, leather, glass, and more. Foothills Craft Guild is the oldest member craft guild in the State of Tennessee and has earned a reputation nationwide as one of the best in the Southeast region. Their vision is to continue to set standards that encourage artisans to take advantage of new technologies and techniques to design and create works of beauty. They are dedicated to expanding their educational activities about fine crafts and creating strategic partnerships to encourage the continuation of fine craft.
The Foothills Craft Guild, Inc., is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization chartered in 1968 in Oak Ridge to promote fine crafts by 1) setting high standards of creativity and excellence of execution for a variety of handcrafts, 2) providing demonstrations, scholarships, and education about fine craft for people of all ages, and 3) promoting the sale of fine crafts. Atrium - Adam Rowe: Knot Theories: An Exploration of Partial-dimensional Geometry Knots are continuous lines twisted in such a way to give the illusion of lines overlapping in the same plane. Using a formalized system of knot creation, the artwork here represents knots in multiple “in-between” dimensions in three categories, each based on a partial dimension: 1. Unicursal, self-contained lines which appear to overlap on two-dimensional surfaces 2. Tiled surfaces of regular polyhedra 3. Elements of non-orientable surface segments
Adam Rowe is a Knoxville native with a background in print and screen design. He enjoys looking at art in terms of visual problem solving, with a fine arts approach to graphic design.
North Wall - Ephemerality: Works by Charlotte Brindley Charlotte’s artist statement: Beauty can be both resplendent and macabre. I see the goodness of the world, but I also see the darkness. Tragedy and beauty are complimentary enigmas. I hearken back to the Gothic and Italian Renaissance eras of art history for my creations. In some of my paintings, I create works inspired by the tiny pages of illuminated manuscripts on a large scale. Other pieces are more straightforward and symbolic. By breathing life into the illuminated pages of the ancient past, I find inspiration to explore the realms of my imagination. Times long gone by are as familiar as the present. My work explores themes of injustice, impermanence, and depravity but also passion, joy, and what is beautiful beyond words. In the end, my works are an extension of myself and how I see the world around me.
The exhibitions are on display at the Emporium Center, located at 100 S. Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. The Emporium is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. Visitors are required to wear masks and refrain from eating or drinking in the galleries. For more information, call 865- 523-7543 or visit www.knoxalliance.com.
