In the beginning of the meal, there were cheese straws. So goes the meal, so goes the blog. I am beginning the project with a dinner for my family in New Jersey, because they are A) a very receptive audience to my cooking and B) not very picky and C) Don't mind being written about on the blog. Right, guys?... right? These first three recipes, Cheese Straws, Plum Torte, and Chicken a la Marengo are all available online, which is good, because my book hasn't gotten to me yet. I did all the cooking for this dinner at my parents' house, which was great, because my Dad did all the dishes (for real. I think the hardest thing about this project is going to be doing the dishes. Do you know how much I hate to do dishes? I hate to do dishes A LOT. But! The beginning of the project had a chief resident dishwasher, which I am very thankful for.
Cheese straws are a Southern thing that my Yankee New Jersey upbringing was never familiar with. I did not grow up with these adorning buffet tables, and holiday gatherings, and potluck dinners, and now I wish that I had. The end note in the recipe says that the first time a cheese straw recipe was run in the New York times in 1878. It's really cool to think that something that I'm making in my kitchen to start off a dinner party in 2010 was made in kitchens over a hundred years ago
I used a sharp cheddar from New York, and and the straws turned a lovely golden color. The crushed red pepper gave them a really nice kick, and I really like how elegant they look in a glass. These are definitely an item that I could see bringing to a party- they are really easy to put together (even without a food processor, which I don't have- I used a pastry cutter) The next time I make them though, I'm going to whip out a ruler- my straws weren't all that even, and it was driving me a little bit nuts.
They were hard to roll out, but I'm pretty sure that was user error- I probably could have added a little more milk, because the dough was breaking up some as I rolled it out. It was mostly okay though. They baked up excellently.
Definitely in the make-again category!
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