Category: Wisconsin

Garlic and Dill Fried Cheese Curds

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

This past weekend I had to go to one of our local grocery stores, and typically on the weekend, there are always vendors pushing their local products. I’m somewhat a fan of that, and I always sample their products, and about half of the time purchase their products, only to support local. My first encounter was an older lady pushing her cheese curds. She had a few to choose from, and when my first question was ‘how fresh are they?’, she immediately said she pulled them this morning. You can always tell a fresh cheese curd from that first bite. It should be squeaky, soft, and lightly salty. These were everything that, and more. I loved them.

As my daughter has been asking, A LOT, lately ‘when are we going to make those cheese curds again?’, I decided that this was the time, and a perfect time because the curds from Malcore Foods were really good, especially the garlic and dill cheese curds. I picked up some regular cheddar, as well as the garlic dill, and headed home to show them to my daughter.

Garlic and Dill Fried Cheese Curds
Garlic and Dill Fried Cheese Curds

When I opened the bag, I was a bit skeptical if she, or my boys would like them, after all they had green specs of dill on them! They liked them, a lot. I’ve never fried these type of curds, so I was excited to see how they would turn out. Let’s just say they were gone in a matter of minutes!

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • 12 oz bag of fresh cheese curds, garlic and dill, room temperature
  • 2 cups of canola oil
  • 12 oz of lager beer
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup of all purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp salt

Add the oil to a medium pot, and bring to a medium-high heat. In the meantime you can prepare the batter. In one bowl add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix. In another bowl, beat the eggs and add in the beer. Mix. Combine the wet mixture with the dry mixture to form your batter. Make sure you mix well to get any lumps out of the flour.

Once your oil is heated through, carefully dip a handful of the curds into your batter. Once they are golden brown, this only takes a few minutes, remove them with a slotted spoon or kitchen spider, and place onto a paper towel lined plate to remove any excess oil. Repeat.

How to make garlic and dill fried cheese curds
How to make garlic and dill fried cheese curds

Serve immediately. Again, this bag of cheese curds were gone in a matter of minutes, and all of my kids wanted more! I thought one bag was enough, especially that we are going to the annual State Fair. If you ever wanted something from Wisconsin, and especially our State Fair, well, cheese curds would be the ticket. I’m sure we will get plenty more, and hopefully they have the garlic and dill fried cheese curds as that subtle garlic and tang from the dill really made these cheese curds that much better. Hope you enjoy!

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Garlic and Dill Fried Cheese Curds
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizers
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 5
 
Ingredients
  • 12 oz bag of fresh cheese curds, garlic and dill, room temperature
  • 2 cups of canola oil
  • 12 oz of lager beer
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup of all purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp salt
Instructions
  1. Add the oil to a medium pot, and bring to a medium-high heat. In the meantime you can prepare the batter. In one bowl add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix. In another bowl, beat the eggs and add in the beer. Mix. Combine the wet mixture with the dry mixture to form your batter. Make sure you mix well to get any lumps out of the flour.
  2. Once your oil is heated through, carefully dip a handful of the curds into your batter. Once they are golden brown, this only takes a few minutes, remove them with a slotted spoon or kitchen spider, and place onto a paper towel lined plate to remove any excess oil. Repeat. Serve immediately.

 

Blue Cheese Compound Butter

Dax Phillips 1 Comment

Last week was a great week to say the least. Not only was I able to take a couple of days off of work to take my family camping, but my wife and kids treated me like a king on Father’s Day. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of the whole concept of Father’s Day, but heck I’ll take a bit of pampering and great sentiments from my kids. With that said, my wife had suggested that we have her dad and brother over and we would cook out some steaks. As my wife suggested that she do all of the cooking, I quickly sidetracked her and informed her that I would do the cooking. I was not about to buy great beef and have my wife not be able to handle the grill and get the temperature right on eight steaks. No offense, but it was probably best for everyone.

So my decision on the meal was a steakhouse fare. Ribeye’s, fillets, rosemary baked potatoes, roasted corn, roasted mushrooms, and a simple salad. That’s when I thought I would make a couple of different compound butters; a cilantro and garlic for the corn, and a blue cheese butter for the steaks. If you have never tried the combination of blue cheese, and beef, well please open that door and give it a shot. It’s such a wonderful combination.

Blue Cheese Compound Butter Recipe

This does not get any easier to make, so let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • Your favorite cut of beef, cooked to your liking
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1/4 cup your favorite crumbled blue cheese, room temperature

How to make blue cheese compound butter

That’s it. Basically take the butter, blue cheese, and cracked black pepper and add them to a small bowl.

Use a fork, and mix, and lightly mash the butter with the cheese. You can roll this into a log within plastic wrap if you desire, but I did not go that route with this one. When your steak is cooked, and still nice and warm, add a dollop of the blue cheese compound butter onto the top of it, and dig in.

This butter was a perfect pairing with the perfectly cooked ribeye, and it just made it so much better. Hope you enjoy!

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Blue Cheese Compound Butter
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • Your favorite cut of beef, cooked to your liking
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
  • ¼ cup your favorite crumbled blue cheese, room temperature
Instructions
  1. Use a fork, and mix, and lightly mash the butter with the cheese. You can roll this into a log within plastic wrap if you desire, but I did not go that route with this one. When your steak is cooked, and still nice and warm, add a dollop of the blue cheese compound butter onto the top of it, and dig in.

 

Beer Battered Fish

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

Fish fries are a big deal for us in Wisconsin. Literally, every Friday people are pretty much in search of a good fish fry. I’ve posted in the past regarding the matter, and as much as we love a good fish fry, we pretty much make our own at home. I’m always tinkering with the batter, whether it is adding different seasonings, or different ratios, or even different types of flour, but recently I have been using my go to beer batter.

This beer batter is a huge hit with my wife and kids, and it has that perfect texture that pretty much goes well with any type of fish.

Beer Battered Fish Recipe

This batter has that great beer flavor, and it has the perfect crunch that allows for the awesome flakiness of the fish.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • Tilapia fillets, or your favorite fish
  • 2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
  • 1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned salt
  • 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 12 oz your favorite Pilsner, very cold
  • 4 cups canola oil

Heat your oil in a pot on medium-high heat until it registers 350 degrees.

Add the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir to combine everything. Once everything is combined, mix in the cold beer, and lightly whisk until you have a smooth batter.

Let the batter rest for about 5 minutes.

How to make beer battered fish

 

Once the oil is heated, submerge your fish fillet into the batter to lightly coat, and raise it out to let any excess batter drip back into the bowl.

Carefully place this fish fillet into the oil, and cook until you have a nice golden brown, roughly 4-6 minutes. Remove with your kitchen spider, or large slotted spoon, and place on a paper lined plate to remove any excess oil.

Season with a pinch of salt, and repeat.

The end result is a crisp batter that is just a perfect pairing with your fish. Feel free to use on cod or halibut as well.

There you have it Milwaukee, that’s my batter that I have been using now for a few years, and it’s one that I’m sticking with.

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Beer Battered Fish
Author: 
Recipe type: Fish
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • Tilapia fillets, or your favorite fish
  • 2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
  • 1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned salt
  • ½ tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 12 oz your favorite Pilsner, very cold
  • 4 cups canola oil
Instructions
  1. Heat your oil in a pot on medium-high heat until it registers 350 degrees.
  2. Add the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir to combine everything. Once everything is combined, mix in the cold beer, and lightly whisk until you have a smooth batter.
  3. Let the batter rest for about 5 minutes.
  4. Once the oil is heated, submerge your fish fillet into the batter to lightly coat, and raise it out to let any excess batter drip back into the bowl.
  5. Carefully place this fish fillet into the oil, and cook until you have a nice golden brown, roughly 4-6 minutes. Remove with your kitchen spider, or large slotted spoon, and place on a paper lined plate to remove any excess oil.
  6. Season with a pinch of salt, and repeat.
  7. The end result is a crisp batter that is just a perfect pairing with your fish. Feel free to use on cod or halibut as well.

 

Grecian Lamb and Tzatziki Grilled Cheese

Dax Phillips 1 Comment

Lately I have been thinking of grilled cheese sandwiches. The grilled cheese sandwich, just by itself, is pure comfort food. A couple slices of bread, some American cheese, and some butter is all you need to have thoughts of childhood, or to remove any stresses of the day. Two of my kids love the basic grilled cheese sandwich (God forbid that my oldest eat anything with melted cheese), and any time they are undecided what to eat for lunch on any given Saturday or Sunday, I also suggest a grilled cheese. There’s something about the low and slow process that I totally love. There is also something about coming up with new ideas when it comes to cheeses, and other ingredients that, well you know, I totally am all about. With that said, that’s when I decided to some up with a twist on a grilled cheese, and go all out, making what I am calling the Grecian lam and tzatziki grilled cheese.

IT WAS TO DIE FOR.

Grecian Lamb and Tzatziki Grilled Cheese

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • 70 g Wisconsin Carr Valley Creama Kasa Cheese, sliced
  • 40 g Wisconsin Black River Blue Cheese, sliced
  • 1/2 lb ground lamb
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 2 1 inch slices of rustic French loaf
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1/2 inch ring of red onion
  • 2 tbsp tzatziki sauce

Ingredients for the Tzatziki Sauce:

  • 1 cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, and diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, grated using a microplane
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup chopped dill
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • salt and pepper to taste

Make the tzatziki sauce by adding all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl, and stir to combine.

Next, form your lamb into a ball. Season with the salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat, then add the lamb. Let cook for about 3 minutes, then smash it down with a large spatula. Flatten it like you would a smash burger. Continue to cook for about 2 minutes to get it nice and caramelized.

Flip the patty, and continue to cook an additional three minutes. Add the onion ring, and let the onion gently cook on top of the burger. Remove the lamb patty and place on some paper towel to let any excess fat be removed.

Spread butter, along with 1/2 tbsp mayonnaise onto each slice of bread. Yes, mayonnaise.

Place the bread, butter and mayonnaise side down, on low heat onto a skillet, then layer the blue cheese. Cook for about 5 minutes on low. When the bread becomes lightly golden, add the cooked lamb burger with the onion ring, making sure the center of the onion is removed.

Continue to cook until the bread starts getting a bit darker golden brown.

How to make a Grecian Lamb and Tzatziki Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Add the tzatziki sauce into the center of the onion ring.

Top with the Carr Valley cheese, then add the remaining slice of bread, butter and mayonnaise side up.

Carefully flip, then weight down with a heavy pan, or bacon press.

Continue cooking on low until the bottom side is golden brown, then flip again, press with the bacon weight, and cook until the cheese is nice and melted on both sides.

Now you want to talk about an awesome grilled cheese, then this is the one. Talk about surprises in this sandwich. You get that nice boldness with the lamb, and then the creaminess hits you from the Carr Valley cheese, then a punch from the creamy and melted blue cheese, only to be balanced with the wilted onion and tangy tzatziki sauce. It was extremely difficult to put this down, and to be honest, it only hit the plate one time before I continued to devour it. Hope you enjoy!