Question. Can I freeze the blue cheese crumbles I use to toss with salads?
Answer. Soft cheese should not be frozen, but you can freeze hard and semi-soft cheese. Just keep in mind that freezing changes cheese's texture. And while most experts agree that freezing is acceptable, though not the ideal method for preserving cheese, most are not as stringent as Steven Jenkins in Cheese Primer: "Cheese suffers enormously from being frozen, so simply get the notion out of your head," he writes.
Katie Neuser, manager of the information center at the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, explained that cheese's texture changes after being frozen because protein and milk-fat portions in the cheese freeze and thaw at different rates, with a tendency to make semi-soft and hard cheese "a little bit crumbly."
But since you're interested in freezing crumbles, go right ahead.
Freeze (up to 6 months) only pieces 1 pound or less.
Thaw cheese in the refrigerator, and use within a few days of thawing.
Q: I have a recipe calling for 1/2 package compressed yeast. Can I substitute dry yeast?
A: Yes. There's an equal exchange for compressed yeast or fresh active yeast, which is an extremely perishable yeast sold as tiny square cakes, and active dry yeast, writes Sharon Tyler Herbst in Food Lover's Companion. One 0.6-ounce cake of fresh yeast is equivalent to one envelope of dry yeast, or 2 1/2 teaspoons.
1. Place flour, salt, baking powder in food processor fitted with metal blade. Add butter; process, pulsing machine on and off, for several seconds, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg yolk, water; process just until dough forms a ball, several seconds more. Do not overprocess. Flatten dough into disc. Place in 9-inch pie plate lined with foil or 9-inch fluted tart pan. For pie plate, press dough into bottom and three-quarters of the way up sides. For tart pan, press dough into bottom and up sides. Prick bottom with fork. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight. Heat oven to 375F. Uncover. Bake 20 minutes or until golden; cool.
2. Cut red peppers into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Alternately arrange red peppers and cheese on bottom of tart shell. Top with prosciutto; sprinkle with rosemary and zest. Bake 10 minutes. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack. Remove from pan onto platter. Garnish with rosemary.
Variation: To make minitarts, prepare dough and shape into 24 balls. Press into bottom and up sides of 1 3/4-inch diameter mini-muffin pans. Prick bottoms with fork; refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight. Bake in 375 F oven 15 minutes or just until cheese is bubbly. Cool slightly; remove from pans. Makes 24 minitarts.