Thanks so much for all the complements on Tuesday night’s dinner. We had such a great time creating recipes & cooking – it really was a fun evening. I have learned so much over the past year in the kitchen and challenging myself to get more creative, it was fun to feel comfortable planning & preparing a meal like that!
Over the next week (or so), I’m going to share the recipes that we used to create that dinner. My hope is that you’ll give some of these a try or be inspired to create some of your own!! First up is the Amuse Bouche - Microgreen Topped Friendly Cashew Cheese, which I’ve renamed to Truffled Friendly Cashew Cheese.
This is not a recipe I can take credit for, but I can encourage you to try it out!! The cheese came Ann Gentry’s Real Food Daily recipe for Vegan Cashew Cheese. I cut the recipe in half (I didn’t get enough Agar Agar for the full batch) and made only two small tweaks. During the final food processing, after blending all ingredients, I added 2 teaspoons of truffle oil and about 2 tablespoons of chopped chives.
For the presentation, I transferred the cheese into several ramekins for refrigeration. Then I scooped the spoons into the cheese and cleaned off the excess to leave a nice smooth mound. I refrigerated for about 30 minutes, until we were ready to eat. Meanwhile, I sliced two shiitake mushrooms and 4 walnuts, covered in a light coating of truffle oil, and let sit on the counter until ready to serve.
Tip: This cheese sets up really fast, so make sure you are prepared to move when you finish blending and start transferring to containers.
Before serving, I toasted the mushrooms & walnuts in our toaster oven on 350 degrees for 5 minutes and added these to the top of the cheese. A few extra chives were the final touch for some color.
Tada – beautiful and delicious amuse bouche to start the meal off right!
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Questions:
- What are your favorite kind of mushrooms?
- Have you ever made your own cheese before?
- Do you like Amuse Bouches or are they too small of portions for your liking?
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Shiitakes are my favorite mushrooms! I love how meaty they are. I’ve never made my own cheese, but I always want to. This looks like a great place to start. I’m so impressed you did an amuse!!
Thanks Laura – I remember the first time I had an amuse bouche at a restaurant and it’s still one of my favorite treats! :)
I kind of just like basic mushrooms – white and portobello. I’m boring! I’m actually the same way with cheese, just like the basic types, although I’ve never tried a cheese made from nuts. (I had to rephrase my original comment of nut cheese because that sounded really bad! Sorry, I have the mind of a 12 year old boy!)
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I love portobellos, I don’t think that’s boring at all! We laugh at “nut cheese” all the time – you’re in good company. ;)
i like all mushrooms! i’ve never made my own cheese and i’ve never heard of amuse bouche!
You learned something new today – yay! :) Now you need to make your own amuse bouche for your next “fancy” dinner at home!!
I am loving cashew cheese as of late. The addition of truffle oil is genius – I can only imagine how velvety it must’ve tasted!
Nada (One Arab Vegan) recently posted..Millet Stuffed Egyptian Vine Leaves
I’m such a sucker for truffle oil – I use it for way too much in our kitchen. Another great place is risotto – mmm….
Awesome! I adore mushrooms, and on a whim, bought some truffle oil last week. Now I know just what I want to do with it!
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I can’t wait to see what you come up with – I’m sure your pictures will be amazing. :)