[Sca-cooks] Herbed Baked Goat Cheese Salad recipe

[Olwen the Odd]

>>These are from Cook's Illustrated   November/December 2003
>>Herbed Baked Goat Cheese
>>
>>2. Using kitchen twine or dental floss, divide cheese into 12 evenly sized 
>>pieces. Roll each piece into a ball; roll each ball in herbs to coat 
>>lightly. Transfer 6 pieces to egg mixture, turn each piece to coat; 
>>transfer to Melba crumbs and turn each piece to coat, pressing crumbs into 
>>cheese. Flatten each ball into disk about 1 1/2 inches wide and 1 inch 
>>thick and set on baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining six pieces 
>>cheese. Freeze cheese until firm, about 30 minutes. (Cheese may be wrapped 
>>tightly in plastic wrap and frozen up to 1 week.) Adjust oven rack to 
>>uppermost position; heat to 475 degrees.
>
>         I'm curious - why would they have you roll the cheese into balls, 
>coat it, then flatten it back into disks?  Most goat cheese I've seen has 
>been in cylinders, so why not just cut disks and coat them without rolling 
>into balls?  It seems to me it would be easier and allow for more even 
>coating.
>
>Sandra
>
My guess is to get some of the excess moisture worked out of the cheese and, 
perhaps, to make it clear to some folks that if it goes out of shape as a 
flat disk, that is ok.  That sounds silly I know, but many people are not 
advanced cooks and take literal interpretation of recipes.  If the recipe 
read "slice roll into 12 disks then roll in herbs and then into melba 
crumbs..." and if the disks went out of shape (it is easier to roll a ball 
that a disk) into a ball shape then would they know to flatten the ball back 
into a disK?
Olwen

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