I Can't Believe It's Not Cheese?

Hey everyone! Just wanted to say sorry for being delayed with my postings. Lots of good stuff happening these days. But fear not, I'm still continuing my cooking. I wanted to back track to some nights I've experienced and didn't have have chance to share.

Sunday night I made the recipe I've been DYING to make since I've bought Christina's book.

pg. 275 I Can't Believe It's Not Cheese Sauce - from Cooking the Whole Foods Way.

I was having this unbelievable cheese craving this night and I thought, this is going to be perfect! (I must have been going through some major cheese detox).

So, I get all my ingredients together. I didn't exactly have what the recipe calls for. I didn't have sweet white miso so I used my sweet brown rice miso (I think that makes a huge difference). I also didn't have a very good brand of tahini, it wasn't my favorite tasting. (Buying good brands you like make a huge different when you're trying to get the perfect taste).

Let's just say, I believed it was NOT cheese. =/ After much anticipated excitement, unfortunately I was a bit disappointed.

I mean, it looked like cheese maybe? It had a good color to it, but the texture was all wrong. It probably was all my fault. So, I tried to do some improv solutions. To make the sauce a bit thicker, and give it that really gooey cheese texture, I dissolved some kuzu in a little bit of water (about 1 tbs) and stirred until it became thick. That helped a bit. I also thought it just wasn't salty enough. I'm blaming the miso brand for that, however to satisfy my craving of the night I decided to add a bit of sea salt and heat for a minute (just enough to taste). That helped as well.

Overall it was a cool sauce to make. I actually had it 2 days in a row. Once with udon spaghetti noodles and once with semolina penne pasta. I'd love to try this again with different brands next time...however I highly recommend the kuzu for those of you who love your "mozzarella texture cheeses."

I rate this a "B" for Better Luck Next Time. But no hard feelings!! Christina is still the greatest. I'm not giving up on this recipe, I'm positive there is room for improvement.

Try it for yourself!