Balsamic Marinated Cheese Food

MARINATED CHEESE APPETIZER

Steps:

• Cut cheddar cheese and cream cheese into 1/4 inch slices, then again in half.
• Using a small dish, place cheese slices on end alternating cheddar and cream cheese.
• Make the marinade by combining sugar, basil, salt, pepper, oil, vinegar, pimento, parsley, onion and garlic.
• Pour marinade over cheese, cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Serve with crackers.

MARINATED CHEESE

Steps:

• Slice each block of cheddar cheese into twenty 1/4-in. slices. Cut each block of cream cheese into 18 slices. Create four 6-in.-long blocks of stacked cheeses, sandwiching 9 cream cheese slices between 10 cheddar slices for each stack. Place in a 13x9-in. dish., In a small bowl, combine the roasted peppers, oil, vinegars, onions, herbs, sugar, garlic, salt and pepper; pour over cheese stacks. , Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning cheese blocks once. Drain excess marinade. Serve cheese with crackers or toasted bread.

BALSAMIC HERBED MARINADE FOR GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Mix vinegar, lemon juice, orange juice, lemon peel, garlic, basil, rosemary, and oregano in medium bowl.
• Gradually whisk in oil.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Pour mixture into glass baking dish or a pickling jar.
• Add goat cheese; turn to coat.
• Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 2 days, turning occasionally.
• Transfer goat cheese to platter.
• Spoon marinade over.
• Top with sun dried tomatoes and or black olives.

BALSAMIC MARINADE FOR GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Mix vinegar, lemon juice, orange juice, lemon peel, orange peel, garlic, basil and oregano in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into glass baking dish. Add goat cheese; turn to coat. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 2 days, turning occasionally.
• Transfer goat cheese to platter. Spoon marinade over. Sprinkle with bell peppers.

BALSAMIC MARINATED SHRIMP WITH LINGUINI

Steps:

• Toss dressing over shrimp in small bowl; cover.
• Refrigerate 20 minutes to marinate.
• Remove shrimp from marinade and pour off excess liquid.
• In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook linguini until al dente, about 7 minutes.
• Heat large skillet on medium heat; add shrimp.
• Cook 3 minutes or until shrimp turn pink, stirring frequently.
• Remove shrimp from skillet and cover to keep warm.
• Add tomatoes and half of the basil to same skillet; cook and stir 3 minutes.
• Stir in cream cheese until well blended.
• Add shrimp; cook until heated through, stirring occasionally.
• *Note: I kept 3-4 ladles of the salted pasta water aside, before I drained the linguini, in case the pasta sauce became thick (just to help coat the linguini evenly).
• In a large serving dish, toss the hot fettuccine with the shrimp and sauce mixture.
• Sprinkle with the remaining chopped basil and shredded cheese.

BALSAMIC MARINATED TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA SALAD

Steps:

• Mix together first five ingredients for dressing and toss in cheese and tomatoes.
• Chill until ready to serve.

BALSAMIC RIB-EYE STEAK WITH BLEU CHEESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine 1st four ingredients in a ziploc bag or shallow pan.
• Add steaks to marinade.
• Marinate for 1-2 hours, turning steaks in marinade frequently.
• Grill steaks to desire doneness.
• I grill for 3-5 minutes on each side for medium-rare/medium doneness.
• While steaks are grilling, combine vinegar and bleu cheese to a creamy consistency.
• Serve sauce as a condiment to steaks.