Muenster is a soft American cheese which is often confused with munster, a french cheese. American muenster is prepared differently and sold earlier in the maturation process, so it's very mild. Muenster has an orange rind made from cow's milk and colored with vegetable dye.
With Vegetables
Muenster's soft texture and mild flavor make it perfect for grating and sprinkling over vegetables. For an authentic Southwestern dish, cook zucchini or Mexican summer squash with tomato chunks and corn. Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic salt and a bit of onion powder if desired. Sprinkle the muenster over the top just before serving. The dish is known as "calabasitas."
For a cold muenster and veggie dish, enjoy chilled, diced tomato and chunks of muenster. You can add balsamic vinaigrette and pepper with cilantro, lemon pepper seasoning or a dash of garlic salt. Basically any seasoning you can use on a tomato is fair game. It's important to keep this dish cold so the muenster doesn't get too soft.
Muenster Souffle
Epicurious offers a recipe for muenster cheese souffle, though it calls for French munster cheese, which is very pungent; use American muenster for a milder souffle. Mix a souffle base of milk, butter and flour together in a roux, then cool to room temperature. Coat the baking dish in bread crumbs, and add the egg yolks. Stiffen the egg whites.
As with any souffle, the challenge with the muenster cheese souffle is folding the egg whites into the roux. Incorrect procedure can cause your souffle to "fall" or give you a quiche instead (which is a delicious way to eat muenster anyhow). Blocks of muenster are stirred in with the egg white, and the souffle is ready after about half an hour of baking. It looks poofy and browned on top when ready. For variation, experiment with different herbs like sage or thyme. You can also add some minced veggies, though you don't want to add too much weight to your mixture, so keep them minimal.
With Chicken
Combine two mild-flavored ingredients -- chicken and muenster cheese -- to make a savory meal. For a twist on cordon bleu -- chicken stuffed with ham and cheese -- stuff a boneless piece of chicken with bits of cooked bacon, green onions and muenster cheese. Season with a bit of garlic salt, pepper and onion powder to taste.
For a southwest treat, chicken Colorado, serve shredded chicken in an ancho chili pepper sauce. Cook ancho chilis for 30 minutes, blend with fresh garlic and strain carefully. Season with salt and pepper. Heat cooked, shredded chicken in the sauce for 15 to 20 minutes. Grate fresh muenster on top before serving. Though you can make this recipe with other types of cheese, the muenster's smooth taste counters the acidic flavor of the ancho pepper nicely.
Tags: muenster cheese, garlic salt, salt pepper, American muenster, before serving