There are leftovers and then there are leftovers. If you haven’t finished up the last of the turkey and stuffing, it’s time for it to go. If that just reminded you of Thanksgiving leftovers lurking in the back of the fridge, well, you’re my kind of housekeeper.
In the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day*, we managed to use up just about everything—except some odds and end of cheese that had suffered from being in and out of the refrigerator one too many times. (Yes, I know you’re supposed to cut off the amount you need, but I always think I need all of it, every single time.) There is a way for those cheese bits to go out in a French blaze of glory: fromage fort.
Fromage fort ("strong cheese") is insanely easy to make, endlessly variable, and has an eau de sophistication that most leftovers don't. The French like to age their fromage fort, which increases its strength (hence its name). I don't have that kind of patience.
Fromage fort (FroFo?) can be eaten straight out of the food processor or, better still, spread on baguette slices and broiled briefly. I used some blue, some brie, and a bit of Humboldt Fog. Perhaps a quarter pound of the first two, and half as much fog. Into the Cuisinart they go, along with a clove or two of garlic (or not). Start processing the cheese, then enough white wine (1/4 cup or so) to create a smoothish paste with smallish lumps. (If the spread ever makes it to the fridge, it will thicken a fair bit.)There, isn't that better than those festive turkey-stuffing balls you were considering?
*I resolve to be a better and more reliable blogger in 2011. Like you care.
