Posts Tagged ‘National Cranberry Month’
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Celebrate with Wensleydale & Cranberries
October is National Cranberry Month in America. For two days, the official celebration of this North American native fruit overlaps with British Cheese Week, which ends October 2nd. So, what better cheese to showcase this time of year than Wensleydale with Cranberries?
First created around 1145 by Cistercian Monks who settled in Northern Yorkshire, Wensleydale is named for the ancient village of Wensley that lies in the valley (or dale) of the Ure River, which flows through the region.
Cranberries are one of America’s food treasures. This healthy, little red fruit is known for being high in antioxidants, having a refreshingly tart flavor and a beautiful, festive color. Legend has it “cranberry” is actually derived from the original name of “craneberry” as the fruit’s flower resembled the shape of a crane’s neck.
Our Wensleydale with Cranberries blends pure, traditional Yorkshire Wensleydale together with juicy, sweetly tangy cranberries for a truly remarkable marriage of flavor. Made with pasteurized cow’s milk, Wensleydale’s fresh, clean taste- with delightful lingering notes of honey- and its flaky, open texture simply begs to be joined with fruit. It is a thrilling cheese for both the palate and the eye.
The dramatic presentation of this cheese’s creamy-white interior flecked with succulent, richly colored cranberries is a must during the holidays but is also a wonderful whenever cheese. Definitely sweet enough to dazzle as a dessert cheese, Wensleydale with Cranberries’ unique, balanced flavor will also vibrantly enhance salads and beyond.
Cranberries and Wensleydale cheese are an enchanting combination of flavors that pair well with lighter, fruity red wines, sweeter whites or Champagne.
Here are a few ways our home gourmands celebrated British Cheese Week with this beautiful English cheese:
Euna’s Vegetable Dip with Wensleydale and Cranberry Cheese
1lb Wensleydale Cheese crumbled
16 oz of sour cream
2 carrots diced
1 cucumber diced
1 stalk of celery diced
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together
Serve with crackers or vegetables.
Jen wrote in, “One of the best cheeses I’ve tried because I love cranberries. And great with beer. I put it on my salad with nuts…4 days in a row. It spiced up the boring Italian dressing. Also I sautéed broccoli, carrots and red peppers and sprinkled Wensleydale with Cranberries on top. Finally— sliced on gluten free rice crackers with corona lights to wash down was perfect.
The Ferraros couldn’t wait for British Cheese week to begin, writing, “We served up the Wensleydale with Cranberry with the US Open, a glass of sauvignon blanc and good old Triscuits! A great way to end a long weekend with awesome tennis, fine wine and a cheese that actually tasted like dessert. We felt like we were eating cheesecake!”
While Monika actually made cheesecake! Below is her recipe (which Coombe Castle tried and loved the English twist on a favorite dessert.)
Monika’s Wensleydale with Cranberries Cheesecake
Ingredients for Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour 4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
Finely grated zest of ½ orange
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
Ingredients for Filling:
11 oz Wensleydale with cranberries, room temperature
1 lb whole-milk ricotta, drained in a cheesecloth-lined sieve set over a bowl 5-6 hours, chilled
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of ½ orange
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
8 oz sour cream
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Directions for Crust:
Pulse flour, sugar, salt, butter and zests in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add yolk and vanilla and pulse just until mixture begins to form a dough. Spread dough over buttered bottom of a 9.5 inch springform pan and prick all over with a fork. Chill 30 minutes. Wrap springform in foil and bake crust in middle of oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes, and cool on a rack.Decrease temperature to 325°F.
Directions for Filling:
In standing mixer, beat Wensleydale until smooth. Discard liquid and cheesecloth from drained ricotta and add ricotta to mixer. Beat Wensleydale and ricotta until smooth and creamy. Add eggs one at a time to mixer, beating after each addition until incorporated and scraping sides of bowl before adding each egg. Beat in vanilla, sugar and zests. Beat in flour. Fold sour cream into ricotta mixture. Butter side of springform pan and pour filling over crust. Bake in baking pan in middle of oven 1 hour until cake is golden and just set in the center. Turn off heat and let cake sit in the oven for 2 hours. Let cake cool completely in springform pan on rack. Chill, loosely covered, at least 4 hours. Remove side of pan and transfer cake to a plate. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Thank you to everyone who sent in ideas for enjoying one of the most festive cheeses of England.