Kitchen Play(ing) with Land O’Lakes 4 Cheese Italian Blend
Monday, June 25, 2012 at 8:31AM in Appetizer, Breakfast, Brunch, Kitchen Play, Main Dish, Pork, Product Reviews, baking, bread, desserts, fruit, holidays, lunch, opinion, pie, pizza, recipes, snack This assignment for Kitchen PLAY is all about cheese. Specifically, the new 4 Cheese Italian Blend from Land O’Lakes. It combines Asiago, Romano, Parmesan and American cheeses into a cheese that you’ll want to use all over the place. It’s tangy and creamy, sharp and mild--all at once. It’s new in your local delis. If your deli doesn’t carry it yet, get on their case--you want this cheese!
Land O’Lakes is celebrating summer in a big way. Be on the lookout for 30 Days of Outdoor Dining! I’m one of thirty bloggers creating delicious recipes with 4 Cheese Italian Blend, so you’ll have plenty of new ideas for packing a picnic and heading to the park or the beach, or walking right out your door and firing up the grill!
I came up with two dishes just waiting to be packed in your picnic basket. I think you’re going to love them both. Not only are they super simple to make, but they’re bursting with flavor! The first one is a pizza inspired puff pastry tart. It’s got the 4 Cheese Italian Blend, sliced pork and salami, mushrooms, peppers and fresh basil. For the second dish, I went the dessert route. Little puff pastry parcels with the same cheese, sliced apples and cinnamon sugar. Like little not too sweet pies! All hand held, and all easy.
Supremely Tasty Puff Pastry Pizza Tart
Makes one (roughly) 12 x 8 inch tart
1 sheet of puff pastry from a 17 oz package, thawed at room temp for 40 minutes
1/2 pound of sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, plus Italian Seasoning
1 egg, beaten
Sliced Land O Lakes® 4 Cheese Italian Blend
Sliced deli meat (I used a thinly sliced roasted pork)
Small slices of Italian Salami
Jarred roasted red peppers, drained and roughly chopped. (I used half of a small jar, about 8 oz.)
Fresh basil leaves, sliced in ribbons, about 1/2 cup. (To slice into ribbons, stack up the leaves, roll them up and slice across.)
Grated Parmesan Cheese for sprinkling over the top
Heat oven to 400. Place a baking sheet (Mine are 18 x 13”) in the oven to get it nice and hot while you prepare the tart. On a second baking sheet, place a piece of parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium skillet over medium high heat, heat the butter and oil. Sauté the mushrooms until nicely golden brown, about 10 minutes. Season with the salt, pepper and Italian Seasoning. Remove from pan and set aside.
Roll the sheet of puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface. You want it roughly 16 x 12 inches. Cut it in half the long way to form two rectangles, roughly 16 x 6. Put one piece of the pastry on the parchment lined baking sheet. Brush some of the beaten egg along the edges of the pastry--in about a 1/2 inch border.
Start adding your fillings. Staying within the egg wash border, make a layer of the Land O Lakes® 4 Cheese Italian Blend, then sliced pork, then a layer of salami. Next, put down a layer of the cooked mushrooms. Now add the chopped roasted peppers and the sliced basil.
Place the second rectangle of pastry dough over the fillings, and gently press the edges to the bottom. Starting at one corner, roll the bottom edge of the dough up over the top edge, and crimp as you go all around the tart. Gently press the edges with a fork. It doesn't matter if they look messy. Puff pastry is very forgiving and will look beautiful after it's baked!
Brush some egg wash all over the top of the tart, and then dust the top with grated parmesan. Make a few slits along the top to allow steam to escape. Remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and carefully slide the tart, along with it's parchment paper, on to the hot sheet, and return it to the oven to bake for 20 minutes. It should be a deep golden brown when it's done. Remove from the parchment paper, and place it on a rack to cool.
Slice and serve immediately, or pack the entire tart (unsliced) to bring on your picnic or outing. Serve warm or at room temp.
Bonus second recipe!
Apple and Cheese Puffed Parcels
Makes 8
1 sheet of puff pastry from a 17 oz package, thawed at room temp for 40 minutes
1 egg, lightly beaten
8 slices of Land O Lakes 4 Cheese® Italian Blend
1 medium apple, cored and thinly sliced (you don't need to peel it)
Cinnamon Sugar
Heat oven to 400. Place a baking sheet (I use an 18 x 13) in the oven to get it nice and hot while you prepare the tart. On a second baking sheet, place a piece of parchment paper. Set aside.
Roll the puff pastry sheet out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle about 16 x 11 inches. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut it into 8 rectangles. Place the rectangles on the parchment lined baking sheet.
Brush some egg wash on the edges of the rectangles. Take one slice of the cheese and fold it in half, then place it on one of the rectangles of dough. Repeat with the next 7 pieces. Next, take a few pieces of the apple, and cut them in half, slicing across the apple, to make smaller pieces. Place 3 or 4 pieces of the apple on the lower half of the cheese pieces.
Fold the pastry rectangles in half, covering the cheese and apple, and seal the edges. Starting at one corner, roll the bottom edge of the dough up over the top edge, and crimp as you go all around the tart. It doesn't matter if they look messy. Puff pastry is very forgiving and will look beautiful after it's baked!
Brush the tops of the parcels with egg wash, and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar. Remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and carefully slide the parchment paper and the parcels on to the hot sheet, and return it to the oven to bake for 15 minutes. They should be a deep golden brown when they're done. Remove from the parchment paper, and place them on a rack to cool.
These are wonderful warm or at room temp.
Be on the lookout for more outdoor inspired dishes with Land O Lakes 4 Cheese Italian Blend--and look for the cheese at your local deli! Follow Land O Lakes on Twitter at @LandOLakesKtchn and search the hash tag #kitchenplay to follow along for more 30 Days of Outdoor Dining.
For more information on Kitchen Play, sign up here.
Disclosure Statement
This post was sponsored by Land O’Lakes as part of the Kitchen PLAY SideCar series. All opinions given are my own.
Be sure to check Kitchen PLAY every day for the next fabulous recipe featuring new LAND O LAKES® 4 Cheese Italian Blend or LAND O LAKES® Deli American Cheese. Then, get in on the fun by leaving a comment with your own “30 Days of Outdoor Dining” tip for dining al fresco this summer. If you do, you’ll be entered to win a lovely grilling prize pack, including one grilling spatula, one marinade brush, one set of tongs and one grill scraper. Kitchen PLAY will be giving away four prizes total, one each week! Please visit Kitchen PLAY for sweepstakes guidelines.
Reader Comments (13)
These look so delicious. I love alternatives to the traditional pie! Thanks
Yummy! I love cheese with apples in dessert, just so good.
I get the end piece!!
I'll take one of each, please. Yum!
I loved this cheese! So tasty, right? (I'll be posting on the 27th) Your pizza sounds fantastic and I love the combination of apples and cheese too! YUM! Wonderful post!
These look so great! When I have friends over for eating outside,I like serving cold drinks in bottles in steel tubs with ice!
Ohhhh, these both look SO good!
That Apple and Cheese Puffed Parcels are amazing! Plus that Supremely Tasty Puff Pastry Pizza Tart looks so delicious! Thanks for sharing these! Will give it a try this weekend. But I might experiment on something and add a pinch of curcumin in it. :P
Oh yum! These's not much better than apples and cheese, in my book. Love the look of this! :)
so I'm curious if this cheese is hard or soft, ie. can it be grated easily, or would it have to be frozen for a bit first? You could always get a big hunk of it and grate it up and use it on pizza, and then grill the pizza. That is how I would prob do it as I hate using the oven in this kind of heat. your idea of using puff pastry instead of pizza dough was interesting. I have never thought to use puff pastry in this type of manner before. Honestly, I've never used the stuff but have only seen dessert recipes with it being used. I never think to buy it!
I bet also it would taste super on an italian grinder hot from the oven! yum
Hi Erica!
It's a soft cheese, just like sliced American deli cheese. It would be perfect in grilled cheeses! But yeah, if you wanted to use it on pizza, you could ask for a hunk of it, and then grate it yourself.
Puff pastry is fantastic for last minute things. Just pull it out of the freezer to thaw for about 3-40 minutes, and then use your imagination! Tarts, little hand pies, fruity and sweet, savory, etc.
This cheese would be fabulous on a hot sub or like I said, grilled cheese. Over meatballs on a sub roll? Heaven! The flavor is tangy and mild at the same time. Ask for a sample at your deli--they'll let you taste some!
Thank you!
I made your apple and cheese puffed parcels last night as a snack for a dinner party. I need to say, thanks for sharing! Everyone loved it and begged for the recipe. I told them I would send them your link, and that is what I am doing now!
Looks so fancy, but sounds really easy to make! Perfect for parties! Thanks for sharing!