I have a nice little wedge (maybe 5-6 ounces) of Maytag blue I picked up yesterday to snack on. I was wondering though – is there anything really interesting I could do with it. Mind you I’m not opposed to just eating it with a good glass of wine, but I’d like to know if I could somehow incorporate it into a nice dinner.
Crumble some into a salad.
I’ll second the salad suggestion. One thing I like to do is to crumble some into a salad with a little bit of vinegar and oil and something crunchy (sesame seeds, bacon bits, whatever). Mmmmm-mmmmm.
Make that salad with greens, candied walnuts or pecans, cranberries, and a raspberry vinaigrette. Yummy!
Biffy’s suggestion sounds particularly good. But me? I’d just eat it with a glass of red wine.
Grill a steak and put crumbles of bleu on top of it just before you pull it from the grill. Allow the meat to rest 10 minutes, which will also allow the cheese to become soft and slightly melty. Wonderful flavor.
Make a pizza with it. Brush the crust with olive oil, then layer on carmelized onions, bleu cheese and walnuts, then bake. Yum!
Wine?? Wine doesn’t complement bleu cheese very well. Snack on it with some strawberries with a little balsamic poured over them and either a barleywine or a nice robust porter.
Now you’re talking! I like the salad ideas, but I’ve done that to death.
I think steak is definitely a go this week.
OH OH OH! Steak salad?!
Hmmm…
what do you guys think about that idea?
A tawny port could do quite nicely I think.
Melt it into a basic cream sauce with a little white wine and tarragon and serve with grilled scallops.
Oooh yeah, I did forget about port. A vintage-character port would be really good too.
I’d make a 1/2 recipe of this Shallot and Blue Cheese Spread. Spread it on bread or as a veggie dip. It is so, so good.
If you want to do the anti-salad thing, every now and then I will indulge myself in (to me) the ultimate hamburger: Add blue cheese and bacon. You have not had a burger until you’ve had one fresh off the grill, put some blue cheese on it, and about four strips of nice thick crispy bacon on top of that.
I agree 100%. Of course, if it were my blue cheese, I’d but half on a bacon burger and half inside the mast of a co-worker’s office chair. The burger will provide enjoyment for a few minutes while the “smelly chair gag” keeps on giving!
Mix it with equal amounts of butter to make a compound butter. Put dollops of it on everything - steaks, crackers, sandwiches, your tongue.
Sounds good to me! The only recipe I have wouldn’t work with cheese, though.
That said, I made some really good steak sandwiches from a Cooking Light recipe that you might like. It originally called for gorgonzola, but bleu cheese would work just as well.
Grill up some flank steak and slice it thinly. Pile it onto some crusty rolls, and top it with:
- Cheese crumbles (bleu or gorgonzola)
- Fresh spinach
- Thinly-sliced red onion
- Slices of orange
… and drizzle all that with a vinaigrette made of 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar,
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon orange zest and salt & pepper to taste.
Too many good ideas!
Looks like I’ll be stopping by the cheese shop again this week 
How about some Maytag Macaroni and Cheese ? A quick disclaimer, it IS an Emeril recipe, but I can vouch for it’s goodness. I could eat blue cheese by itself with a spoon and this recipe does it great justice.
Roast some pears with olive oil and crumble blue cheese and walnuts over them. Mmmm… few things better in this world.
If it were my cheese, I’d definitely be going with Beadalin’s grilled steak (salt, pepper, a dash of cayenne).
If I wanted steak salad, I’d follow Beadalin’s instructions to crumble the cheese on top & let it rest. Then I’d slice the steak thinly & serve over strong greens, probably a mix of lettuces & arugula, then sprinkly on dried cherries & a small amount of oil & vinegar. Slice a good tomato if I’ve got one. Crusty roll. Mmmm.
My frozen burrito for lunch is looking less & less appetizing…