I came up with the idea for making some cheese blintzes and then slathering them with the tangy cranberry relish rather than syrup or something like that. This plan of mine worked better than I expected.

Cranberry cheese blintzes are something you should make.

Did you know those are cheese filled?

If you haven’t made blintzes before, they are very similar to crepes. The batter is almost identical, it’s just a bit more eggy and therefore it produces a sturdier pancake. It’s a very small difference though.

Cranberry Cheese Blintzes

Yield: Makes 5-6 blintzes.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

Blintz Batter: (From How to Cook Everything)
3/4 Cups all-purpose flour
1 Cup milk
3 eggs
2 Tablespoons butter, melted (plus you need a tiny amount of butter for cooking)

Filling:
1 1/2 Cups cottage cheese
1/2 Cup cream cheese
1 Tablespoon sugar, or a bit more if you want
Pinch of cinnamon

Directions:

1) Combine flour, milk, eggs, and butter in a large bowl and whisk together. Let sit for 24 hours in the fridge if you make the batter in advance or a few minutes if cooking immediately.

2) Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat with a small knob of butter (or use nonstick spray) in it. Once the butter is well melted and hot, add about 1/2 Cup of batter to the pan and swirl it around so the batter covers the entire bottom of the pan. After about 15 seconds, it should be pretty dry. Then give it a flip using a spatula to help out.

3) Cook for literally 15 seconds on the other side and then take that blintz off and set it on a plate. The blintz shouldn’t be crispy at all. It should be nice and flexible. You can immediately add more batter to the pan and keep going!

4) Mix cheeses, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. It definitely helps if you start with your cream cheese at room temperature.

5) Grab a blintz and put about two tablespoons of filling on it.

6) Fold in the ends so they slightly overlap. Roll up the other two ends until you have a nice little package of deliciousness.

7) To cook, you can do it on the stove or bake at 400 degrees with a bit of butter and sugar on top for 10 minutes. Spray baking dish so they don’t stick! If using stovetop method, add a bit more butter to pan (1 Teaspoon is more than enough) and once it is melted, arrange blintzes in the pan. You can fit as many as possible, but just make sure they aren’t overlapping at all.
Let them cook for a few minutes on one side and then flip them over. They should be slightly browned and crispy!

8) Warm cranberry relish up in microwave.

9) Serve the blintz with a bunch of the cranberry relish!

Making the blintzes

I’ve made crepes before on Macheesmo (although it was awhile ago). These guys are basically the exact same. Start by making your batter by combining everything in a large bowl and whisking it all together. It will be really runny.

You can let this sit for an hour to 24 hours in the fridge so you could make it the night before. I just let mine sit for a few minutes though and it worked fine also.

Runny is good.

Start heating a large nonstick pan over medium heat with a small knob of butter (or use nonstick spray) in it. Once the butter is well melted and hot, add about 1/2 Cup of batter to the pan and swirl it around so the batter covers the entire bottom of the pan. After about 15 seconds, it should be pretty dry. Then give it a flip using a spatula to help out.

Cook for literally 15 seconds on the other side and then take that blintz off and set it on a plate. The blintz shouldn’t be crispy at all. It should be nice and flexible. You can immediately add more batter to the pan and keep going!

If you mess up the first one, don’t worry about it. It usually takes one or two to get the method down.

Eventually though you’ll end up with a plate of lovely blintzes!

Thin, but sturdy.

Making the Filling

Not rocket science people. Mix your cheeses, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. It definitely helps if you start with your cream cheese at room temperature.

Actually pretty good.

Filling the Blintzes

Grab a blintz and put about two tablespoons of filling on it. You can do more if you’re feeling lucky.

Step 1.

Next, fold in the ends so they slightly overlap.

Step 2.

Then roll up the other two ends until you have a nice little package of deliciousness.

Step 3.

The nice thing about these is that there is no rush to finish them. Take your time and just set aside each blintz as you make it. If you roll them correctly they should be pretty sturdy.

Kind of like burritos.

Finishing the blintzes

If I’m just cooking for a few people, I finish these on the stove, but if you are cooking a bunch of these (like a double batch or something), you can also bake these in a 400 degree oven with just a bit of butter and sugar on top for 10 minutes. Just make sure to spray your baking dish so they don’t stick.

If you are doing it on the stovetop though, add a bit more butter to your pan (1 Teaspoon is more than enough) and once it is melted, arrange your blintzes in the pan. You can fit as many as possible, but just make sure they aren’t overlapping at all.

Let them cook for a few minutes on one side and then flip them over. They should be slightly browned and crispy!

Crispy is good now.

Hopefully, you’ve made your cranberry relish already. Again the recipe that I used is from my Thanksgiving appetizer post. I just microwaved mine for a few minutes until it was warm. You could of course just use store bought stuff for this. Any kind of jam at all would be great.

Heat this up for a few minutes.

I think you know the rest! Serve the blintz with a bunch of the cranberry relish!

Eat immediately!

Day after thanksgiving brunch?

These actually aren’t as rich as they look. The filling isn’t all that sweet and the relish is kind of tangy. I think these are actually way less rich than a stack of pancakes and they do have a certain holiday flare to them.

You could obviously go crazy with the toppings and fillings, but this is a great base recipe.

My ears definitely perked up though when he started making his own cottage cheese. Typically, cottage cheese is made with Rennet (most cheese-making uses it actually). I’m much too lazy to go out and find Rennet. It’s one of those hurdles that I have not yet jumped in my cooking “career.” But Alton’s recipe (bless him) doesn’t use Rennet. It uses plain white vinegar. I HAVE THAT.

So I promised my test audience (girlfriend) that I was making my own cottage cheese for breakfast today, to which she replied, “Weird.” It was every bit as easy as Alton promised and I ended up with this.

Easy, slightly out of focus, and delicious.

The recipe I ultimately used was a bit different than Alton’s based on some other sources I checked out and also some comments that were left on his original recipe.

No Rennet and No Fret Cottage Cheese

1/2 gallon 2% milk
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup Half and Half
Salt

Pour the milk into a medium-large saucepan. Bring to 120 degrees. And look. I don’t have a thermometer. I guessed. You want it to feel slightly warm since your body is at 98 degrees. Just go slow and stir continuously.

When it gets to that temp, take it off the heat and stir in the vinegar. It will immediately start to separate which looks freaking awesome. It’s like God all of the sudden says, “There will be Goodness.” And it was true.

Once everything is stirred together, put on the lid and let it sit for 30 minutes. You want to give the curds plenty of time to cool a bit and also firm up. While you are twiddling your thumbs, put a handkerchief or tea towel in a colander which is what you will use to filter this.

Pour the curds and whey through the colander. Gather up the corners of the towel and press the whey out (lightly). Don’t show off your muscles here brother, just a light press will work.

Now the key part. Turn on the cold water and start rinsing off the curds. Keep the towel wrapped tightly around the curd but slowly roll it around. You have three goals here: 1) wash off the vinegar, 2) break up the curds, and 3) cool it off. Spend a few minutes on this. You can’t over wash it.

Now put your curds in a bowl and add your Half and Half. Stir it together well making sure your curds are broken apart. I would taste it now before you salt it. It is pretty salty as is. I added just a few small pinches of kosher salt, but not much at all. DONE.

This would be perfect with any sort of fruit or just by itself. It is surprisingly light. Not quite as heavy or thick as the store bought version. It actually has a ricotta like consistency which is to say – tasty.