Cheeses of Germany. An Assiniboine Park Conservatory event

I haven't made a lot of German food lately but the theme for this event for the Assiniboine Park Conservatory was the Cheeses of Germany. It is worth the hunt for these specialty cheeses. Camobozola cheese is readily available in most local markets but Tilsit, Quark, Esrom, etc. are available at the Ellice Meat Market on Ellice Ave. Lovely German cheesecake made with Quark is available next door at Lang's Bakery.

Each recipe has a delicious pairing prepared by Gary Dawyduk, Product Ambassador from the MLCC.

To Start:
Wasmas cocktail
½ glass beer (Erdinger Dunkelweiβbier, #574236, 500ml, $3.59)
¼ part Cognac (Rémy Martin VS, #20412, $17.57)
¼ part Cola
(traditionally served in a 36 oz. Stein)



1. Fried Cambozola

Paired with Tokaji 5 Puttonyos 2005 – Royal Tokaji Co. (#1054, 250 ml) $22.09

4 oz mixed greens
6 oz Cambozola, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1.5 oz pecan halves, roughly chopped
1 oz dried cranberries
1 egg
Breadcrumbs
Butter
Balsamic vinegar reduction

Set up salad with balsamic vinegar and add salt and fresh grounded pepper to taste. In a small bowl beat egg. Dip Cambozola slices into beaten egg and coat with breadcrumbs. Mix salad and vinaigrette. Sprinkle with cranberries and pecan nuts. Melt butter in a small frying pan at medium heat. Fry Cambozola shortly from both sides until golden brown.
Arrange Cambozola on top of salad and crown with balsamic vinegar reduction.

2. Tilsit Soup

Paired with Baron Dark Lager (#712835, 500ml) $2.78

2 ¾ cups skim milk
1 ¾ cup whole wheat bread crumbs, fresh
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup Tilsit cheese, shredded
Nutmeg
Paprika
Chopped parsley

Place 1 ½ cups of the milk in a blender with fresh breadcrumbs and mustard and process on low until smooth. Place mixture in a saucepan with remaining milk and the cheese. Cook over low heat, stirring until the cheese melts and the soup is heated through. Do not boil. Pour into bowls and garnish with nutmeg, paprika and parsley.

3. Quark Kartoffeln

Paired with Prosecco di Valdobbiadene – Mionetto (#432369) $20.04

Boil potatoes in salt water.
Mix quark (whole milk quark) with about 1/3 vol whole milk
add to taste: salt, paprika, pepper
Stir in any of the following yummy fresh things:
dill, cilantro, finely chopped tomato, yellow or red pepper, sweet onion. (I tend to put in about 1/4 volume or so of veggies)

Serve fresh quark mixture over hot potatoes.

4. Käsekuchen (German Cheesecake) With Cherry topping


Paired with Beerenauslese 2006 – Schmitt Söhne (#4936, 500 ml) $14.35

The filling is made with low-fat quark instead of cream cheese and egg foam is folded into the filling to give it a slightly fluffy consistency. Lemon and vanilla give the filling a fresh flavour.

The crust is essentially a sweetened pie crust (pâte sucrée).
Ingredients
Crust

* 9 oz / 250g all-purpose flour
* 4½ oz / 125g butter
* pinch of salt
* 1 oz / 30g sugar
* 2 egg yolks
* 2-3 tbsp water

Filling

* 1 lb 10oz / 750g quark (regular, not non-fat), see note for a substitution
* 2 oz / 60g melted unsalted butter
* 4½ oz / 125g sugar
* 4 egg yolks
* 4 egg whites
* 1 tbsp vanilla extract
* zest and juice of 1 lemon
* pinch of salt

Preparation

* In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt, then cut in the cold butter.
* Add egg yolks and water. Then knead with your hands just until the dough is smooth.
* Wrap in plastic foil and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
* Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C.
* Grease a 10 in / 25cm spring form with butter.
* Roll out the dough, then press it into the bottom and the sides of the spring form.
* In a mixing bowl (or large food processor) combine quark, sugar, egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Beat until well blended then mix in the melted butter.
* Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.
* Carefully fold the egg foam into the quark mixture.
* Pour mixture into the spring form.
* Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes (or until done). The top should be lightly browned and the filling should be set.
* Turn off oven, open door and let cool for another 15-20 minutes.
* Remove form from oven, run a knife around the edge and open the spring form.
* Transfer cake to a plate or platter. Let cool well before serving.

Notes

* We are lucky enough to have quark available in one of our local little markets. A good substitution for the quark is low fat cottage cheese, just place it in a food processor, add a bit of milk and process until very smooth. Others recommend using only sour cream.
* During baking, the filling will rise quite a bit and fall when cooling down. This is normal and no reason to worry.

Yields 1 10 in / 25cm diameter cake

Preparation time: ca. 2 hours plus the time the cake needs to cool.

Enjoy!

Grilled Esrom Cheese Sandwiches were paired with Vino Noire – Dr. Zenzen (#887976)and $15.42
Iced Strawberry Wine – DD Leobard (#620799) $19.95

To Finish:
Reservoir Dog
1part Jagermeister Herbal Liqueur (#117101, $25.85)
1 part Irish Cream (Bailey’s, #5959, $29.99)