Foodie Heaven

on Friday night I had a conversation with the KittyMama about lots of things and conversation meandered (as conversations do) to versions of what heaven could be like. She described to me a version that she read about in a book that involved eating.

well, let me tell you, this weekend I've gone to visit foodie heaven. Foodie heaven is a place where I make cheese.

Yes indeedio, I made cheese! I started the cheese on Friday night: 1 gallon milk heated to 86degrees then taken off heat, add 1 packet mesophilic starter, add 1 teaspoon of diluted veg. rennet (2drops in 1/3 cup distilled water), cover let sit 12 hours. In the morning it looked and smelled like yogurt, just like my cheese book said it would! I then poured the curd into my butter muslin (better stuff than cheesecloth), created the most faboo contraption for hanging my cheese, and let it drip, drip, drip for about 8 hours. I then split it in half. One half got salted, the other half got salted and garlic-herbed (parsley, chives, 1 clove garlic, black pepper). The plain salted was nice, but the herb cheese was amazing. heaven. and did I mention I made cheese!

Foodie heaven is a place where I make French Potato Salad with Horseradish Mustard and Fines Herbes and Creamy Dill Cucumber Salad (recipes below).

Foodie heaven is a place where I plan to grill and when I go outside to clean the grill I discover wasps in my grill. Yes, wasps. Ok, so maybe this isn't so much heaven. Sigh. I did successfully knock down the smaller nest that was inside the grill lid, but couldn't get to the really big nest that was on the under-side of the grill. Unfortunately, I will have to use yucky chemicals to send those wasps to waspy heaven.

Foodie heaven is a place where my friends come over (and bring a wasp-free grill!), we stuff our faces with cheese, we grill our BYO-protein, we eat corn on the cob and green beans and potato salad. We forget that the cucumber salad is in the fridge(!) and we don't have room for dessert. Oh, grilled peaches over ice cream...you will be in my belly some day!

Foodie heaven is a place where we talk and talk and talk. We talk about politics and the upcoming primaries and local politicians and national politics and international politics. We talk about our days adventures (hiking a Thirteener! a 15-mile run! making cheese!). We talk about music and tell stories and laugh and laugh. Foodie heaven is a place where I catch myself just sitting back listening to the talk and beaming at how beautiful and perfect everything is. Foodie heaven is a place where we all sit on the ground on the patio after dinner and keep talking until our butts hurt from the concrete and we decide to move inside and watch a movie. And Foodie Heaven is the place where my belly and my heart are so full and so happy that I fall asleep on the couch surrounded by my friends before the movie ends.

And the recipes:
French Potato Salad with Horseradish Mustard and Fines Herbes (a recipe slightly adapted from Cooks Illustrated
2 pounds red skinned potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
2 Tablespoons salt
1 medium clove garlic, peeled, threaded on a skewer
¼ cup olive oil
1-1/2 Tablespoons wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard (I had no dijon on hand, so I used my Annie's Organic Horseradish Mustard)
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 Tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon leaves (this could be omitted)

Directions:
1.Place potatoes, 6 cups cold water and salt in large cooking pot. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce to medium.
2.Lower the skewered garlic into the simmering water and partially blanch (45seconds to a minute). Immediately run cold water over the garlic to stop cooking; remove garlic from skewer and set aside.
3.Continue to simmer potatoes, uncovered, until tender but still firm (thin-bladed paring knife can be slipped into and out of center of potato slice with no resistance), about 5 minutes.
4.Drain potatoes, reserving ¼ cup cooking water.
5.Arrange hot potatoes close together in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet or in a baking pan. A cookie sheet with a rim or a pyrex 9x13 is good for this.
6.Press garlic through a garlic press or mince by hand. Whisk garlic, reserved potato cooking water, oil, vinegar, mustard and pepper in a small bowl until combined. Drizzle dressing over warm potatoes. Let stand 10 minutes. (At this point, the potato salad can be put in the fridge to hold for later. Bring the salad back to room temperature before next step.)
7.Toss herbs in small bowl. Transfer potatoes to large bowl, add herbs and mix gently. Serve immediately.

Creamy Dill Cucumber Salad
3 medium cucumbers (8 oz. each), peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced ¼ inch thick
½ medium red onion, sliced very thin
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup minced fresh dill
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
ground black pepper

1.Toss cucumbers & onions with 1 tablespoon salt in a strainer or colander set over a bowl; weight with water-filled 1-gallon zipper-lock bag, sealed tight.
2.Drain cucumbers at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours. They'll stop releasing liquid after 3 hours, so it won't hurt them to sit longer, but it won't add any more crunch.
3.Whisk sour cream, dill, vinegar, sugar, and pepper in a bowl. Add cucumbers and onions; toss to coat. Serve chilled, adjusting seasoning if necessary.