What I’ve Learned While Making Cheese

mozzarella stone ball

As you would know from my Harmonious Belly Facebook page, I’ve embarked on a cheese making project. It’s one of those things I promised myself I’d explore in the new year, and I’m really glad I kept that promise. It, among all my recent projects, has been the most humbling.

I’ve made what can only be described as beginner’s mistakes. But I have developed a certain appreciation for the trips and falls I’ve made, and forgiven myself for them – it’s been a big learning experience.

Now, I’ve only attempted to make cheese twice now – a batch of ricotta and a ball of fresh mozzarella. Both are fresh cow’s milk cheeses, and both are what I originally considered to be beginner cheese making projects – in my mind, that meant “easy.” Perhaps for some people it is easy, but for me it wasn’t – in that I did not attain the desired result. The cheeses were certainly edible, but they didn’t take the form or texture that I desired.

So, here are some of the things I’ve learned so far during cheese making.

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Burrata Twice

burrata with melon and prosciutto
Burrata with melon and prosciutto at Ornella in Astoria, Queens
burrata, prosciutto, and figs
Burrata with prosciutto and figs at Il Punto in Manhattan

Last week I had the chance to eat burrata not once but twice! I am consistently mesmerized by burrata, that magical, delicious, amazing cheese. I try to eat it whenever I’m presented with the opportunity.

I first encountered burrata – which translates as “butter” – at Peasant, a restaurant in the NoLita neighborhood in Manhattan. We went there for my birthday a couple of years ago, and it was a wonderful evening, in part because we started with their burrata dish. I was served with roasted tomatoes and the whole thing was just heavenly. I was in food love.

Burrata is basically a fresh mozzarella pouch stuffed with a mixture of warm, loose mozzarella and cream. When you cut into it, it’s very soft and when you taste it, it does live up to its buttery association. It’s a traditional cow’s milk cheese, and a speciality of the Puglia region in Italy.

I would love to learn to make it, too, truth be told.

Last week, I had burrata at two different Italian restaurants – one in Queens and one in Manhattan. Monday night, during our bi-monthly We Heart Astoria Blogger Social, it was available as an appetizer at Ornella Trattoria, a lovely Italian restaurant in Astoria, Queens. It was served with slices of melon and prosciutto, which was seasonal and all delicious.

The following day for lunch at Il Punto, I had a taste of my dining companion’s appetizer, which was burrata served with figs and prosciutto. It was a beautiful seasonal dish, too. I love seeing more burrata on menus around the city.

I’ve also heard that my local Italian Deli, Rosario’s, sometimes carries burrata. Hmm… must inquire about this!

Extravagant Stuffed Dates

cooked dates

So, as part of changing my eating habits, I’ve cut out a lot of refined sugar.  I have a huge – like, Godzilla huge – sweet tooth, so it’s a challenge.  However, my health and general feelings of well-being are greatly improved without all that sugar.

Still, I have had to find ways to cope with the sometimes overwhelming sugar cravings!

One way I do that is by eating dates – medjool dates, to be exact.  I live in an area that has a sizable Arab population, and dates fit prominently in their food culture, so they’re easy to find.  You can even find fresh dates at certain times of the year, usually around Ramadan.  I have a source for incredible medjool dates, just a few blocks from my house.  They are huge, sweet, and have a fantastic caramel-like texture, sort of chewy (especially if you put them in the refrigerator for a little while).  I just love them.  And they satisfy my sweet tooth.

These mondo dates are excellent for stuffing.  It’s easy to extract the pit, and the hollow inside holds a good portion of whatever you want to put in it.  I like to use a fresh cheese – either chevre or a fresh cow’s milk cheese – but bleu cheese could also be delicious.

In addition to stuffing the dates, I like to wrap them in prosciutto di parma.  Natural bacon would also be good.  Then I heat them up.  Simply fantastic – sweet, salty, and smoky all at the same time.  I must thank my friend Laura for teaching me how to prepare these.

They’re also rather filling, I find.  They’d be great paired up with a simple green salad and glass of red wine.

stuffed date collage

Prosciutto Wrapped Stuffed Dates

If you can find proscuitto that is made from free range pigs, and not cured with nitrites but only with sea salt (as is necessary for some PDO/Protected Designation of Origin hams), that would be ideal.  You could also wrap the dates in natural bacon as well.  If you use bacon, only use half slices, and also use a well-soaked toothpick to hold it all together.

12 medjool dates
4 oz chevre or other fresh cheese
12 slices of prosciutto

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Take your dates and pit them by slicing into the date lengthwise, then spreading open the date and removing the pit.  They will look sort of butterflied at this point.

Stuff the dates with 1/2 tsp or so of cheese.  Make sure the cheese is all the way in the cavity of the date.  Close the halves of the date (some of the cheese may peek out a bit).

Roll up each date in a slice of prosciutto.  Set the dates in a baking pan – one with edges, so that any fat won’t spill out and into your oven – and bake them until the meat crisps, about 20 minutes.

Serves 6 an appetizer, 2 as a meal.