Praise cheeses
A Pinch of Salt
By Donna Marie Riani
I have always believed that the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach. I used to think the way to mine was paved with chocolate. Trust me, I do love chocolate. But the older I get, I realize it’s cheese.
I’ve had a longstanding love affair with cheese. Beautiful, creamy, melty, tangy cheese. I have a drawer in my fridge that contains nothing but. When the mood strikes, I reach in the drawer and pull out a little chunk of cheese, put it on a cracker, drizzle over a little local honey and pop it in my mouth. For me, it’s the ultimate snack.
I could not have moved to a better place than Oregon. Not only do we have our own Cheese Guild, but also an Oregon Cheese Trail. The icing on the (cheese) cake is that many of these cheese makers have won prestigious awards for their craft.
We have more than 20 artisan cheese makers in our great state. You will find all manner of cheeses made from the milk of cows, sheep and goats. Each of these milks adds a distinct flavor. You have the characteristic tanginess from goat’s milk, the slight sweetness and richness from sheep’s milk and the nutty, grassy flavors of cow’s milk. These different milks in the hands of a cheesemonger produce something one-of-a-kind and delicious.
Cheese comes in an endless variety of colors, forms, flavors and textures — from a creamy, buttery brie to a bold, funky, crumbly blue. The more you age it, the more intense its flavor gets. When you talk about the art of cheese making, you are really talking about science. You have to consider the environment, temperature, humidity, rubs, brines and microorganisms. Oregon cheese makers take it a step further and use local ingredients like hard ciders, wines, marionberries and grape leaves.
Science was never my strong suit, so I have a hard time wrapping my head around all of this. I just know that when it comes to cheese making, science has never been more delicious.
The recipe I’m sharing with you is an oldie but a goody. I did the math and realized I have been making this for more than 15 years, so I think it’s safe to say I love it.
This recipe is a celebration of cheese. The thing I love is that this dish is so easy to make. It takes minimal preparation and the bake time is short, but the flavor is huge. Initially, when you look at the recipe you wonder if the cheeses will clash. Trust me they don’t. They all play well together and complement each other. Each cheese brings something different to this dish. If you head to the dairy aisle of your local grocery store, you will see that many of them carry Oregon-made cheeses. A wise man once said “To cheese or not to cheese, that is NEVER the question.” I couldn’t agree more!
Pasta with Four Cheeses
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup grated pecorino or parmesan, your choice
• 1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
• 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola (Oregonzola is my fav)
• 1/2 pound shredded mozzarella
• Small handful of roughly chopped basil leaves
• 1 pound of penne or ziti pasta
• Softened butter to coat the baking dish, about 1 tablespoon
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Cook the pasta four minutes less than the package directions tell you to. If you boil the pasta for the full amount of time, by the time you bake this dish in the oven, the pasta will be overcooked and mushy.
While the pasta is boiling, take the rest of the ingredients, except the butter, and place them in a large bowl. Stir to combine and set it aside.
Drain the cooked pasta well in a colander. Any excess water will make your sauce thin and watery.
Add the drained pasta to the other ingredients in the bowl and stir it to combine.
You can either place all the ingredients in a buttered 13x9” baking dish or you can place it in six individual serving-size ramekins that have been buttered. If I’m making this for myself or my family I use a 13x9” pan. If I am serving this to company, I use ramekins. It looks a little fancier.
Bake in the preheated oven until bubbly and brown. This will take about 10 minutes.