Creating a great fruit and cheese plate

When it comes to making a fruit and cheese plate, there are many options. The following are a few things to consider when putting together your plate.

How much fruit and cheese to buy

Before you decide which cheeses and fruit to buy, you need to know about how many people you’ll be feeding. You should also know what else is on the menu. Is the cheese and fruit plate the only appetizer or one of many? Most experts recommend 1 to 2 ounces per person.

How many varieties

Deciding how many varieties is a purely personal thing. Some people like to offer just one special cheese, while others prefer three to five different types. Let your personal tastes and budget determine what you want to offer. A good rule of thumb is that if you are incorporating several different cheeses, it is wise to mix hard and soft varieties. 

Avoid cheese that is too pungent; it can overwhelm the more subtle varieties.

I like to go to Whole Foods where they will let you taste the cheeses. This guarantees that you will love what you buy and you don't have to stick to ones you know and love, you can experiment.

Types of fruit

Using fruit that is local and seasonal is a safe bet. If it’s spring, add strawberries. Use watermelon in the summer and apples in the fall. You can always supplement with grapes, which are good in almost any season. Pears are also almost always available.

Try to choose fruits that won’t darken or that can hold up to being exposed to air for an hour or more.

The Plate

While the plate itself isn’t as important as what you put on it, you will want one that is appropriate for the occasion. If the event has a theme, by all means, match your platter to the theme or occasion. Some suggestions include using a melamine tray found at discount stores and available in colorful styles and shapes.

If the event is more formal, a silver or crystal tray may fit the bill. Or, use a cutting board, which actually is a great choice since it allows guests to slice the cheese easily.

Utensils

Be sure to have a cheese knife for every cheese, tongs, forks, cocktail picks and napkins available for guests to help themselves with.

What to include

You might pick one country and feature their cheeses. Or, you might introduce your guests to a variety of cheese from goat and sheep milk in addition to cow’s milk. A mix of hard and soft is always appropriate for every occasion.

Specific combinations

~Cheeses of France: include a Brie, a Camembert, and a Comte. This gives you a soft, a hard and a fragrant. Small slices of French bread, bright red strawberries and grapes will make a perfect presentation.

~Cheddar plate: You can create an international cheddar platter with varieties from the United States mixed with those of England and Ireland. Cheddar goes perfectly with apples, which apple pie fans have recognized for a long time.

The possibilities are endless, let your tastes and imagination be your guide. The beauty of a cheese and fruit platter is that it requires little attention once it is put out. Just replenish anything that is popular and let the guests enjoy themselves. 

A fruit and cheese plate is safe on the counter for several hours unless it is very warm. If the weather is too warm, refrigerate until the last minute.

Great baking with yeast

Baking with yeast is intimidating for many new bakers. Even some seasoned cooks are not quite sure how it works or how to use it. There really are no secrets to baking with yeast but there are some techniques that will guarantee that you will have a great product every time you bake.

Choosing the yeast

Yeast is a microscopic fungus. It comes in several forms but the average kitchen baker will most likely use active dry yeast. This is dissolved in warm water to activate. This comes in single serve envelopes which are usually attached in a strip of three or in a jar from which you measure your serving.

Yeast may also come in a cake which can be crumbled into dry ingredients or dissolved in tepid water.

There is also rapid rise dry yeast which makes the bread rise twice as fast. If you know that you will be in a rush, this can be the perfect option. If you are using a bread machine, there is yeast that works specifically with your machine.

If you need more information, Fleischmann’s Yeast has a very explanation on their website along with some great recipes. No matter what type of yeast you choose, be sure to check the date on the package. If the yeast is past its usage date it may not produce the results that you are expecting.

For most recipes, the active dry yeast is a good option. For novice bakers, it is a good idea to have a thermometer so that you can melt the yeast in the correct temperature of water. After a while, you will be able to check the temperature on the inside of your wrist but when you are just starting out it is best to follow the directions exactly. If you don’t and your recipe fails, you may not be able to determine exactly what you did to cause the failure.

Choose a recipe

Start simple. Look for a recipe that has been created for beginning bakers. There is a learning curve with baking and using yeast and as you gain experience and confidence, you can expand into more creative recipes but a good pizza dough or white bread is a great place to start or if you have a sweet tooth, cinnamon rolls are also simple and delicious.

Kneading

Most baked goods that are made with yeast require kneading. It really is not difficult but it takes a little time to get the feel of the dough and to understand when it has reached the level of elasticity that you want. You are basically going to turn the dough out onto a table or board and press down on it with the heel of your hand. You will then pull the dough over onto itself and press down again. You will turn the dough, press it and fold it and then turn it over and begin again. You will notice when the texture of the dough begins to change.

Raising

Yeast needs to expand. After kneading you will place the dough in a bowl, cover, place in a warm place and leave it to double in size. Some recipes require that when it has doubled, it needs to be punched down and rise again. After the second rising, the dough is ready to be formed and baked.

As you can see, there really is no secret to using yeast; it just requires a little work and lots of patience. 

The results, however, make it all worthwhile.

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Candy you can make without a thermometer

Let’s face it; unless you have been making candy for years, you are going to want to use a candy thermometer. Even though your grandmother and countless generations of cooks before her never had access to one and still managed to prepare batches of sweet delights, that doesn’t mean that you want to go down that road. However, there is some candy you can make without a thermometer.

There are reasons why you might need to make candy without a thermometer. Maybe you don’t own a candy thermometer or maybe yours just broke and you don’t have time to replace it. Whatever the reason, once you understand what the hard/soft ball stage is you will be able to produce many sweet treats without having to resort to your mercury helper.

Cooking sugar

When you are cooking sugar, it goes through several stages. When a small amount of the mixture is dropped into a cup of cold water it hardens up. How hard it gets determines which stage it is at. If it flattens out in the bottom of the cup it is way soft, if it turns into a brittle ball it is probably overcooked. You need to learn what a softball is and what a hardball is. It’s that simple.

Fudge

One of the simplest things to make without a candy thermometer is fudge. Fudge comes in a great many varieties from fudgy chocolate to luscious flavors like peanut butter and the seasonal favorite pumpkin. Fudge can be made without or without resorting to cold water and testing the hardness of a ball of sugar. I prefer this method since it makes the sort of fudge that my mother made but many recipes use other easier methods including using marshmallow.

Peanut brittle

Another simple candy to make without a thermometer is peanut brittle. All it requires is peanuts add sugar, it is that simple. It doesn’t have to be just peanuts either, how about walnut or almond brittle or the family favorite, pistachios. The nuts are so good for you that you can even convince yourself that this is a somewhat healthy snack and in moderation it is great.

Pralines

When looking for recipes to make candy, it is easy enough to find ones that combine both the temperature that the mixture needs to reach and the ball stage. Once you understand what temperature represents softball stage, you can adapt recipes yourself.

Pralines are the next level of candy to try, more ingredients and a little more difficult but still easy enough for a beginner to tackle. Just follow the recipe as closely as possible for the best results.

These are just a few of the many delicious candies that you can make even if you have never owned a candy thermometer. But as a side note, owning one does make your life a lot easier and is well worth the investment if you want to try lots of candy making.

Slow cooked short ribs

I love short ribs, I have, however, never made then at home. There is something just so luscious about this fall off the bones meal. Luckily, I found a package of short ribs for $5 off and decided this was my chance. It was about a pound of short ribs.

I looked at a recipe on my phone for short ribs to get myself off on the right foot. As I suspected, browning the ribs before throwing them in the slow cooker was the way to go. Being me, I didn't measure anything at this point. What I did was put flour, garlic powder,  salt and pepper into a ziplock bag and added the ribs one at a time. If I had to estimate, I would say 1/2 cup flour 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp garlic powder.

I browned the ribs in a combination of butter and olive oil.

When they were all browned I add them to the slow cooker. I made the cooking sauce with two cans of stewed Italian style tomatoes, 1 can beef stock, 2 Knorr beef stock tubs, tsp garlic pepper sea salt, and 1 tablespoon of Worcester sauce.

I cooked this for hours on high, I would say 6-7 hours. The meat was fall off the bone tender. In the last 15 minutes I used Wondra to thicken the sauce, I used several teaspoons.

I served this over mashed potatoes. The sauce was so good that I saved the left over to use again, we both loved it. The four ribs were enough for the two of us. I had to rush out after dinner and I forgot to take a picture of the final product but I can tell you it was amazing.