Black Pepper Beef on Hazelnut and Blue Cheese Cracker

2013-january-february-1859-magazine-portland-recipes-noble-rot-heidi-tunnell-leather-storrs-black-pepper-beef-cracker-close-up

Heidi Tunnell Catering

Cresswell | heiditunnellcatering.com

Chef Heidi Tunnell

Black Pepper Beef on Hazelnut and Blue Cheese Cracker

Makes 100 crackers

These little crackers are great just for snacking on or for use with a cheese platter. Crackers are a chef’s best friend and something I recommend to home cooks to make and keep on hand in their freezer. You never know when that unexpected guest is going to stop by and it makes for a unique appetizer.

Total time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

1 stick (4 ounces) butter, softened

1/2 pound Rogue blue cheese

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/4 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped hazelnuts

Directions

Cream butter and cheese together. Add flour, salt and pepper, scraping down the sides as needed to fully incorporate. Add your finely chopped nuts at the end. (Make sure these are finely chopped or it will make slicing the crackers difficult.) Roll into logs (like making freezer cookies), wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. When you are ready to bake, remove them from the freezer and let them sit for 20-30 minutes. Slice into thin rounds, about 1/8-inch thick. Line up on a parchment lined and sprayed sheet pan. Bake at 350°F until they are lightly browned, about 10-15 minutes.

Cracker Toppings

Caramelized Onions

Slowly cook down thinly sliced onions in oil until soft and golden brown.

Black Pepper Beef

Use grass-fed tenderloin or an eye round (or any beef cut that stays tender when sliced thinly). First cut the pieces down to sizes that will slice into rounds about 1 inch in diameter. Next coat the pieces in freshly ground pepper. Sear the pieces in a hot cast iron pan on all sides; we tend to keep the pieces nice and rare. Cut beef into thin slices.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.