Bleu cheese goes well with fruit.
Most people would cringe if you asked them to eat mold. But as an ancient French cheese maker discovered when she left her cheese in a cave for storage, mold can make some cheeses taste really good. Bleu cheese, or blue cheese -- "bleu" is French for blue -- gets its distinctive blue spots and streaks from penicillium molds. There are dozens of inventive ways to use it besides just dressing a salad.
Salads
Blue cheese dressing is available in pretty much an grocery store or restaurant. Most people know pour it over a salad. But there are more creative salads using blue cheese that you may want to try. Blue cheese mixes nicely with walnuts and avocado. Another recipe calls for blue cheese with beets and walnuts. Straight can be sprinkled onto Romaine lettuce and grilled for a hot salad.
Meats and Poultry
Chicken breasts stuffed with blue cheese and bacon make a unique and delicious entree. Many people have tasted hot wings dipped in blue cheese dressing. Flank steak marinated in olive oil, vinegar, brown sugar and garlic is nicely complemented with a sauce made of buttermilk and blue cheese. There are plenty of hamburger recipes that incorporate blue cheese right into the burger. These can be eaten as a meat entree or in a sandwich.
Soups and Sandwiches
Beef stew with smoked paprika and chipotle can be topped with blue cheese and chives for a spicy soup. Slice up that cold chicken and an avocado, fry a strip of bacon, put it all together with blue cheese and a layer of fresh lettuce between two slices of bread for a great lunch sandwich. For a simple vegetarian meal, try making blue cheese and celery soup. Bleu cheese also goes nicely in a cauliflower soup.
Sides
One very intriguing recipe suitable for non-vegan vegetarians is linguine with gorgonzola, potatoes, green beans and sage. Gorgonzola is a type of blue cheese. This dish could be served as a side or a main dish. Potatoes like blue cheese, and some people fold blue cheese into their mashed potatoes. Green veggies pair well with blue cheese, too, especially green beans and asparagus. Blue cheese makes a number of tasty fillings for mushroom caps or bits of cracker and flat bread.
Desserts
Don't neglect blue cheese with sweets. Baked pears with blue cheese make the perfect mix of sweetness and saltiness in a mouthwatering presentation. Blue cheese can be fried between two flour tortillas with fruit and brown sugar compote. Even a dish of mixed fruit can be enhanced with a sprinkle of blue cheese. And of course, there is always cheesecake, for which there are a number of very nice blue cheese recipes.
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