Wisconsin Parmesan

The Great Parmesan Cheese Enigma – https://slate.com/life/2025/09/italian-food-parmesan-cheese-parmigiano-reggiano.html

Grandi said that Wisconsin Parmesan, not Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano, has “stayed more or less true to the original recipe.” He also told me the name of a Wisconsin company that he thought was making just this type of old-school classic Parmesan: Sartori. Sartori, founded in 1939, is now a fourth-generation company headquartered between Milwaukee and Green Bay. It sells a variety of cheeses that are likely available in your local supermarket, as well as 72 countries worldwide. And Sartori’s Parmesan does look very different from contemporary Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano. It’s smaller, with that black rind. It also appears to have a different texture.

I just bought some Sartori parm for the weekend. Then I stumbled upon this article.

January 18, 2025

Relative risks (RR) for colorectal cancer were calculated for intakes of all 97 dietary factors, with significant associations found for 17 of them. Calcium intake showed the strongest protective effect, with each additional 300 mg per day – equivalent to a large glass of milk – associated with a 17% reduced RR. Six dairy-related factors associated with calcium – dairy milk, yogurt, riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium intakes – also demonstrated inverse associations with colorectal cancer risk. Dr Sheena Meredith. Dietary Calcium Cuts Colorectal Cancer Risk by 17% – Medscape – 08 January 2025. https://www.medscape.co.uk/viewarticle/dietary-calcium-cuts-colorectal-cancer-risk-17-2025a10000e0?

Citation and links to the original study – Papier, K., Bradbury, K.E., Balkwill, A. et al. Diet-wide analyses for risk of colorectal cancer: prospective study of 12,251 incident cases among 542,778 women in the UK. Nat Commun 16, 375 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55219-5 – https://rdcu.be/d6G1Q

September 20, 2024

Cooking For One is Not Fun (unless you’re making a Sweet Potato Chicken Quesadilla)

Cooking For One is Not Fun is still not fun even after yesterday’s mini-rant. The plan was simple: go to the store, buy two rotisserie chickens, rip the meat off the bones and make a quick simple dinner. Well I didn’t fix any dinner and now I have a tub full of cooked chicken. After a hearty breakfast of pancakes, peanut butter and banana I started thinking about lunch.

I found two small sweet potatoes, tortillas and Monterrey Jack cheese.

Quesadilla time!

1 medium sweet potato (or two small ones)
cooked rotisserie chicken, small dice
Salt, pepper, chill powder, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, cumin
olive oil, butter or margarine
tortillas
Sharp cheddar cheese and or Monterrey Jack
Sriracha (be careful with this)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lightly grease with some olive oil.
Scrub the dirt off the sweet potatoes and split them lengthwise. Place cut side down on the greased aluminum foil covered baking sheet and bake. (small to medium 30-45 minutes, large will take an hour or so). When done, remove from oven and allow to cool.
Scoop potatoes into a mixing bowl. See the list of spices? Add a pinch of each. The actual amount depends upon how much potato you’re working with. Mix well and set aside.
Heat a griddle or large pan on the stove, medium flame.
Butter or margarine one side of a tortilla. If using butter, add some olive oil to the griddle because butter burns. Tortilla buttered side down on the griddle. Fill one half side with potato and dot with chicken and cheese. Flip the other half over so it looks like a quesadilla. Brown on both sides. It’s done when the cheese is melted and the filling is warm.
Repeat. Eat.
Bet you thought I forgot the Sriracha. If you like spicy go ahead and add to your potato mixture along with the rest of the spices. Or use Sriracha as a drizzle or dipping sauce. Just remember if you add this to the potatoes before grilling I assume zero responsibility for the searing burn in your throat.
Actually, go ahead and use your favorite hot sauce.

Yeah, the picture above is cheating. Here’s the real shot.

The Bottom Line

Tasty. But I said it before and I’ll say it again. Cooking For One is Not Fun and this was a lot of work to make one quesadilla. At least I’ve worked out the spice combo and the flavors are fine. I did end up mixing a few dashes of Sriracha into the potato. Cooking for one needs to be quick, simple, filling, and nutritious. This quesadilla did not meet the “quick” criteria.

In the future consider the following:

Bake and season the potatoes the night before to allow the flavors to marry and to save time when actually making this quesadilla.
Make more than one quesadilla. Trust me on this.
Tabasco brand Sriracha (an unpaid endorsement).
Buy and debone your chicken ahead of time.

This post is #9 in my One Rotisserie Chicken, 50 Meals – The Concept series that I started 12 years ago. At this pace I won’t live long enough to finish the series. At least no one pays me for my content. Maybe I’ll change the title to One Rotisserie Chicken, 10 Meals and declare this series done.

August 3, 2022

Does Eating High-Fat Dairy Cause Heart Disease or Obesity? Has the Science Changed In The Last Decade? — The Skeptical Cardiologist

As promised, the skeptical cardiologist has reviewed, refurbished, republished and revised his first ever post (first published 12/27/2012) which challenged the advice presented by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the American Heart Association, and every mainstream nutritional guideline published since 1985. I’ve added some links to subsequent posts which support my statements, improved the formatting,…
Does Eating High-Fat Dairy Cause Heart Disease or Obesity? Has the Science Changed In The Last Decade? — The Skeptical Cardiologist

Thank you Dr. Pearson.

August 12, 2021

Probiotics in Cheese? Yes!

Is cheese a healthy source of probiotics?

Q. I’m trying to add more probiotics into my diet. Is cheese a good source?

A. Probiotics, good bacteria that can contribute to gut and overall health, can be found in some types of cheese as well as in dietary supplements, fermented foods, and yogurt. Typically, probiotics are in cheeses that have been aged but not heated afterward. This includes both soft and hard cheeses, including Swiss, provolone, Gouda, cheddar, Edam, Gruyère, and cottage cheese.

Harvard Health Blog — https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/is-cheese-a-healthy-source-of-probiotics

11 Types of Cheese That Contain Probiotics — https://fermenterskitchen.com/11-types-of-cheese-that-contain-probiotics/

Lifelong learning. The end of formal schooling should not be the end of your education. I keep my brain active by trying to be less stupid each and every day. Who knew some cheeses are good sources of good bacteria?

Since the beginning of the pandemic I’ve been eating more cheese. I became a lot less worried about the saturated fat and more focused on the nutritional benefits. Now I have another reason to eat more feta cheese. The next taco meal will be Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw – (NOT) Bon Appétit.

Category: Dairy