Meat and Cheese Platter, For Everyone!

As I continue to mature as a young adult, I am trying to branch out and develop a more sophisticated palate.  I often find, when out to dinner or grabbing drinks and appetizers with friends, the meat and cheese plate is a hot item on the menu.  Being lactose intolerant it obviously isn’t my first choice however, driven by #fomo (fear of missing out) I decided to create a lactose-free and lactose-full meat and cheese plate with my friends for Girls Night!  My very good friends Sarah and Alix have suffered with me through thick and thin and helped me face my many dairy trials and tribulations.  Naturally they were very enthusiastic to take on the meat and cheese plate venture for our fun date. 

Living in Boston, there are so many wonderful specialty food shops to try out.  We went to our favorite delicatessen in the North End to seek out some expert advice.  For lactose-free cheeses, I follow the mantra “the older the cheese, the safer it is”.  Most cheeses naturally contain only 2% of lactose when made!  JUST 2%!  The majority of the lactose is discarded with the whey when the curds and whey are separated.  Who knew that the whopping 2% could give me so much grief?  As cheese ages, the bacteria (gross) that breaks down the cheese to make it parmesan, asiago, blue cheese, cheddar, you name it, digests the lactose - leaving it lactose-free and safe for me!  

We chose parmesan and asiago cheese as our lactose-free cheeses.  Parmesan is one of my favorite cheeses of all time.  It has a nice salty flavor that goes really well with Italian meats and fresh bruschetta (our other menu items).  Traditionally parmesan is aged for about 2-4 years, so you can bet your bottom dollar that lactose is long gone.  Asiago cheese, another Italian cheese, has a very creamy yet crumbly texture much milder than parmesan. We thought it would be wonderful to pair with not only our meats, but also our crackers and fig jam.  Asiago ages for about 20-40 days which seems short in comparison to the parmesan, but according to some serious lactose-free investigation it is safe to consume.  In addition, my lactose-loving friends chose a taleggio cheese that is very similar to brie cheese, however they said it was a little saltier.  Sarah and Alix are possibly two of the largest brie consumers on this planet so I was very proud of them for branching out!

For meats, we went with pepperoni, salami and prosciutto.  All three of these Italian meats are packed with flavor, spices and salt—what could be better!  In the end, these selections made the ultimate Italian meat-and-cheese dream team. Any combination from this plate was absolutely to die for!  We also included fig jam, crostini crackers and olives, all of which took this plate and our newly refined palates to the next level.

In addition to our meat and cheese platter, we quickly whipped up some bruschetta.  We picked up a fresh baguette of Italian bread from our local bakery and sliced 6 even pieces.  We laid them out on a baking sheet and lightly spread butter on top of each piece for some added flavor.  I preheated my oven to broil on high and placed the sheet in the oven, checking frequently to see if they were ready. It took about 4 minutes to reach the perfectly toasted color I was looking for.  Personally, I only toast one side of my bread when making bruschetta with fresh tomatoes and basil— this prevents it from being so crunchy that it is hard to bite into.  When you have a fresh loaf of bread, the last thing you want to do is take away from the delicious flavor and fluffy texture!

For the tomato and basil mixture, I diced two tomatoes and placed them in a small bowl.  I then combined olive oil, garlic, basil, salt and pepper and gave it a stir.  That’s it!  So simple and so delicious.  Top your perfectly toasted bread with the tomato and basil mixture, grate some fresh parmesan cheese, and your bruschetta is ready to serve!  

I have been friends with Alix and Sarah since we were very young, I am so thankful to continue to have them in my life as we grow older.  We have experienced so much together over the years and after much time a part, we are finally back in the same city, making up for lost time!  Truthfully, now that we are back together it is as if nothing ever changed.  Despite all of the maturing and growing we have done as individuals, one fact remains. I still can’t eat dairy and I am so glad they accommodate for this when we get together.  I hope you and your friends can enjoy this lactose-free and lactose-full meat and cheese plate together!  Use it as an excuse to catch up with wonderful friends and try something new.   Just like a great lactose-free cheese, friendship only gets better with age!

Recipe Details: 

Ingredients

1 loaf of white Italian bread
2 large tomatoes
3 teaspoons fresh basil
1 clove garlic 
2-3 tablespoons olive oil (to taste)
salt and pepper to taste 

Preheat oven on broil, set to high.  Slice bread about 1/2 inch thick.  Spread lightly with butter and place in the oven about 3-4 minutes until toasted to taste.  Check frequently to ensure the bread does not burn.  Once toasted set aside. 

Chop two tomatoes and place in a small bowl.  Add 1 clove of minced garlic, chopped fresh basil and olive oil.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Stir until thoroughly mixed.  Top bread with tomato mixture and serve! 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are without a doubt a classic.  They are undeniably delicious! Any time I find myself in their presence, I cannot resist.  As simple as this dessert is, there are a wide variety of chocolate chip cookies out there.  Chewy, gooey, crunchy, etc.  One of the most important ingredients in chocolate chip cookies (other than the chocolate) is butter.  Thankfully, with butter having trace amounts of lactose, it is safe to consume for those of us who are lactose free.  

Throughout the years I have consumed more chocolate chip cookies than I‘m willing to admit. The vast number of chocolate chip cookie recipes out there are overwhelming, and I’ve tried many recipes in an attempt to discover my favorite.  Finally, after years of taste testing, I believe I have found perfection. My recipe is fool-proof and guaranteed to be the most delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies you have ever had.

To start off, combine your dry ingredients: flour, baking soda and salt.  Baking soda will help your cookies rise and give them that slightly fluffy texture.  When adding salt, be sure to check whether your butter is salted or unsalted.  Using unsalted butter allows you to be in control of the salt content and flavor.  If you only have salted butter on hand, just add an additional pinch of salt since the salted butter will provide enough flavor.

Next combine butter (softened), white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract.  I sift the granulated sugar to ensure there are no clumps (just a helpful hint).  Beat the mixture until creamy.  I highly suggest leaving your butter out on the counter for a few hours to soften rather than microwaving it.  However, if you are in a pinch for time, microwave the butter for 5 seconds at a time and rotate the stick of butter until evenly softened.  Be sure not to completely melt the butter.  If the butter becomes too melted and warm it can throw off the texture of the cookie.

Once you have achieved a creamy consistency, add one egg at a time and beat until incorporated. After the butter, sugar, vanilla and egg mixture is smooth and evenly combined, incorporate your dry ingredients adding 1/3 of the dry mixture at a time.  Scrape down the edges of the bowl to ensure all ingredients have been thoroughly mixed in.  

Now for my favorite part…  The chocolate!  I use one whole 12oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Most recipes call for 2 cups which leaves just a few chocolate chips remaining in the bag, and I think that’s crazy.  The more chocolate the better!  No need to waste, plus the extra accounts for some of the chips I nibble on because I just cannot help myself.

To form each dough ball, scoop a teaspoon-sized ball of dough and drop it onto your cookie sheet.  I typically use a cookie scoop when making cookies, but, the drop method allows my chocolate chip cookies to have a little more volume and density to them.  Sometimes the old fashion way is the way to go.  Evenly space the dough balls on the cookie sheet.  

Place the sheet into an oven at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, depending on the oven and desired chewiness.  I always set my timer for 8 minutes and check on my cookies to see how fast they are cooking.  I find that the last few batches I make cook a little faster than the first few because the baking sheet is already warm.  Once removed from the oven, allow to cool for about 5 minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to finish off the cooling process.  

Look for golden brown edges— they are the tell-tale sign that your cookies are ready.  I like my cookies to be chewy with slightly crusted edges.  Sometimes they look a little undercooked in the middle, but they will continue to cook on the baking sheet once they are removed.  In addition, while they are cooling they will firm up and become the most delicious chocolate chip cookies you have ever had.  

There is simply nothing better than a warm chocolate chip cookie, fresh out of the oven.  Share these with your family and friends and they will love you forever!  I have yet to meet anyone who did not like my chocolate chip cookies, so I hope you like them too.  Let me know what you think!!

Recipe Details: 

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

2 eggs 

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  

In a small bowl combine flour, salt, and baking soda.  Set aside.  

In a large mixing bowl combine softened butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract.  Beat until creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Beat well after the addition of each egg. 

Add flour mixture slowly, about 1/3 at a time and beat well.  Finally add chocolate chips and stir until evenly incorporated.  Using a teaspoon, drop rounds onto a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.  Let cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.  Once cooled, enjoy!  

Belgian Waffles & Whipped Cream

On Sundays... we brunch! Last year Mike and I went on vacation to Belgium and were fortunate enough to try true authentic Belgian waffles.  These are the kind of waffles you will have dreams about for the rest of your life, they are THAT good!  Belgium is a place that has perfected some of my favorite treats - chocolate, beer and of course, waffles.  In my humble opinion, it is heaven on earth.  I would absolutely love to go back and enjoy these treats once again but for now, I will have to wait.  Thankfully, Belgian beer can be found in most liquor stores and my favorite chocolates can be purchased online. True Belgian waffles, sadly, are not as easy to come by.

My Nana recently sent me this wonderful baking book titled Cook's Baking Book that had a fabulous Belgian waffle recipe. As soon as I saw this recipe I started reminiscing about those unforgettable waffles in Belgium and I was hooked.  So, when I invited my friend Alix and her boyfriend over for brunch, I thought Belgian waffles would be the perfect thing to serve.  In addition to Belgian waffles, I decided to take it to the next level with some homemade lactose free whipped cream.   Never having worked with yeast before, it was huge gamble to try this recipe when entertaining guests.  I’m happy (and relieved) to report that the gamble paid off— they were the best waffles I have had since being in Belgium, lactose free and equally as delicious!

This recipe was surprisingly simple, but it does require some advanced preparation.  The waffle batter must be prepared 12-24 hours prior to baking, which may seem a little tedious. However, it is a great excuse to be prepared when you are having company over. 

To start off I measured 1 and 3/4 cup lactose free milk and set aside. 

Next I cut 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter into smaller pieces.  I then poured the 1 and 3/4 cup of milk into a sauce pan, added the butter and melted it over medium low heat.  Once the butter was fully melted, I turned the heat off and allowed the butter and milk mixture to cool.

The recipe called for 2 eggs whisked together with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. I love the taste of vanilla in my waffles and really wanted that flavor to come through.  After doing a very thorough taste test in Belgium, I noticed that in all the waffles we tried they had a fabulous vanilla flavor to them.  So, with this recipe, I decided to err on the side of more vanilla and added an extra teaspoon. I didn't feel 2 teaspoons of vanilla was over powering at all, but you can make adjustments to taste.

 

I began working on the dry ingredients by measuring out 2 cups of flour and placing it in a large mixing bowl.  I then added the sugar, yeast and salt.

This recipe only calls for 1 tablespoon of sugar (surprising, I know!), which my sweet tooth wasn’t sure would be enough.  The waffles in Belgium had this delicious pearled sugar in them that added a hint of caramel flavor.  I wanted to recreate this same flavor but, having never used yeast before, I was afraid to mess with the sugar to yeast ratio.  You don't want the yeast to have too much sugar to nom on or else your batter might come alive, just kidding (I hope).  The batter actually doubled in size over night with just one tablespoon of sugar, I can't imagine what would have happened had I added more. Also, where I knew I was going to make homemade whipped cream, making really sugary waffles might have created a sugar over load.  In the future I want to experiment with pearled sugar in my Belgian waffles, but for now I decided to take on only what I felt I could handle.

 

Once the butter and milk mixture was fully cooled I slowly added it to my dry ingredients, whisking until they were evenly combined.  I then poured in my eggs and vanilla extract, and stirred until everything was thoroughly incorporated.

After combining all of the ingredients, I covered my mixture with a lid (plastic wrap works too!) and placed it in the fridge overnight.  Do not be alarmed when you wake up the next morning and see your batter—it will likely have doubled in size and lost the beautifully consistency you left it with.  Not to fear, once whisked in the morning it will return back to its original form, but will now have the wonderful ability to rise!

Now for the whipped cream.  Homemade whipped cream is so easy and tastes so much better!  To prepare, I put my mixing bowl in the freezer right when I woke up.  I always chill my mixing bowl in advance when making whipped cream, as I find it helps the whipped cream to form its peaks faster.  For this recipe all I needed was a cup of heavy whipping cream, a little sugar and vanilla extract.  To make this lactose free I pretreated the whipping cream with the lactase drops for 24 hours.  So simple yet so delicious!  

Whip the cream, sugar and vanilla for about 3-5 minutes until soft peaks form.  Whip until desired texture—the longer you whip, the firmer the mixture will become.  We took some extra dollops of whipped cream and put it in our coffee, which was fabulous and I HIGHLY recommend.  

Once the whipped cream is to desired texture, transfer to a bowl and set aside.  If you are going to make this in advance, cover the whipped cream with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.  Depending on how long it is in the refrigerator it may need a quick whisk before serving.

Last and most importantly, it was time to bake the waffles!  I have an electric waffle iron, but the recipe actually recommends using one that goes in the oven.  This worked just fine, so whatever you have will do the job!  Coat one side of the waffle iron evenly with the batter, making sure to fill the whole surface.  Be careful not to pour too much batter on the iron, it WILL overflow and make a huge mess.  My waffles cooked very quickly in about 2-3 minutes so do not walk away from them!  I felt they were ready once they were golden brown.  This recipe yields about 8 waffles, so I cooked up all the batter and they were ready to serve!

Yes, they were as fluffy and delicious as they look!  

We topped our waffles with whipped cream, syrup and fresh strawberries.  YUM!!! I am glad they turned out well, the yeast was worth the gamble!  Seeing as we ate every last bit, these waffles definitely met my Belgian waffle standards. As much as I would love to go back to Belgium, this recipe will tide me over in the meantime.  I also was not able to have whipped cream on my waffles in Belgium but thankfully here at home, I can have all the lactose free whipped cream I want!  Happy brunching!

Recipe Details:

Ingredients

Waffles:

1 3/4 cup lactose free milk

8 tablespoons butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons dry-active yeast

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whip Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream (pretreated to be lactose free)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons sugar

Cut up butter into 6-8 pieces.  Place butter and milk in a medium sauce pan over low heat until butter is melted.  Once butter is melted, set aside to cool.  In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Mix together until thoroughly combined.  Slowly whisk milk and butter mixture into the dry ingredients until the batter is smooth.  In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs and vanilla. Add the egg and vanilla mixture to the batter, whisking until evenly incorporated.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.

Once the batter has been chilled and is ready to cook prepare the waffle iron to the manufacturer's instructions.  When the waffle iron is ready, remove the batter from the refrigerator and give the batter a quick whisk.  The batter will have doubled in size.  Use about 1 cup of batter for a 9 inch waffle iron, cover the iron completely with the batter and cook per instructions or until golden brown.  Once cooked they are ready to serve!

For the whip cream take one cup of lactose free whipping cream and pour into a chilled mixing bowl.    Add sugar and vanilla.  Using a hand beater, beat for about 3-5 minutes until soft peaks form.  Beat to desired firmness.  Ready to serve once desired texture is achieved.