Friday, June 10, 2011

Homemade 'Boursin' & some awards...

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Whew! The week is almost through, and I think that since I started blogging, this is the longest I've gone without posting! I still haven't finished up all that I need to do, but I just had to share this recipe with you!

If you read my post where I shared seven things about me, you may remember that I said that I have always wanted to learn cheese-making. I guess, in a way, this post is a start toward that dream.


I have loved Boursin ever since I discovered it 4 years ago. That's when it became available here, and even then, only in a few select stores. Unfortunately, now it's gone off the shelves again, and when I manage to find it, it is really expensive. How frustrating! But there's one thing I've learned ever since I started blogging - if you can't find it in a store, you can probably make it at home! And so I did. I won't claim that my recipe tastes exactly like Boursin, but it is pretty darn close and really, REALLY tasty!

Here is my recipe for homemade Boursin, adapted from a recipe on food.com.

Homemade Boursin
Ingredients
6oz (170g) cream cheese, at room temperature
3oz (85g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 medium cloves of garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice (I used bottled lemon juice)
1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp chives, finely chopped
1 tbsp dill, finely chopped
1/4 tsp sage, finely chopped
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp cracked pepper

Method
1. Make sure the cream cheese and the butter are both soft. Cream them together until light and fluffy.
2. Grate in the garlic using a very fine grater like the Microplane Fine Grater.
3. Stir in the lemon juice, all the herbs and the pepper.
4. Taste, and add more lemon juice, garlic or pepper, if desired.

To shape the cheese, I lined a round container (which has a lid) with clingfilm. Spoon the cheese into the bowl and smooth the surface making sure you haven't allowed any air bubbles to creep in. Fold the clingfilm over the top of the cheese, and close the container with the lid. Refrigerate until firm. Turn out of the container, peel off the clingfilm and serve. You should let the 'Boursin' sit out for at least 5-10 minutes before serving.


I baked bread for submarine sandwiches, but didn't get any pictures because no one wanted to wait around while I took pictures. Oh well! But we had a delicious grilled chicken, roasted peppers & Boursin submarine sandwiches. The flavors really worked well together!


This spread has many uses. Just serve it with a loaf of good bread or crackers the next time you have friends over, or use it on canapes or hors d'oeuvres at your next dinner party. Use it as a stuffing for chicken roulade or make fresh pasta and use it in a ravioli filling. It's great even as a dip with crudites! Any way you decide to use it, I am sure it will be fabulously tasty.

If you love Boursin as much as I do, I highly recommend this recipe. If you've never heard of Boursin before, but you love cheese, I highly recommend it to you too. Try it - you just might love it! :)

This week, a few of my wonderful blogger friends gave me some awards.

Manu, an incredibly talented blogger who writes Manu's menu, gave me this award. If you haven't visited her site, you totally should! She is so talented and posts some amazing & authentic recipes. Her latest Tamarind Chutney is fantastic!



Then Marguerite, from Cajun Delights, gave me ALL these awards. Her recipes always sound so comforting & absolutely delicious! I'm still drooling over her posts on crab cakes and fried green tomato po'boys! You should go say 'hi' to her from me!



Thanks to all you wonderful people for sharing these awards with me! Today, I honestly have no time to write 7 things about myself. But I want to pass on these awards to a few of my blogger friends.

Kate, from Diethood
Kim, from Livlife
Mary, from Inside a British mum's Kitchen
Gina, from SPCookieQueen
Sandra, from Sandra's Easy Cooking

All of them are absolutely fantastic foodies, and if you don't already visit their blogs, you are totally missing out! Go check them out!

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46 comments:

Anju Sabu said...

hey! my comment disappeared!! :(  I typed it out and then it showed me a flash of a preview and then when the whole page loaded, it vanished!
My original comment said that this was cool and that next stop - Brie! I like the new design especially the header!

Briarrose said...

This is definitely on my must try list.  Looks like such a wonderfully, flavored spread.

theharriedcook said...

Gosh! I don't know why that happened. Disqus acts up sometimes! I am thinking about switching commenting systems. Let's see! Thank you for saying my boursin is 'cool' :) I know you would appreciate it, and I will make you a batch to take home the next time you visit... And making Brie and Boursin are not the same thing, you know? LOL :D I am so glad you like the header... Thanks!

Lizzy Do said...

Wow!  I love the new look of your blog....gorgeous!!  And the homemade boursin sounds wonderful!  Good to see you posting!!!

Kim Kelly said...

Thank so much for thinking of me, my friend!!  You have made my day!  Thanks also the lovely comments you leave for me... I know I've been sorely lacking in the return comment area, but somehow life has gotten in the way of my blog world.  The kids had the last day of school yesterday and I'm hoping to have a bit more time (hopefully I'm not just dreaming!!)
Love the Boursin!  I've not really known what that was, but all of the ingredients are appealing.  This has my husband's name all over it... perhaps Father's Day??!!
Congrats on the Well Deserved Awards!!  Your blog looks beautiful, the colors are really good.

Kate@Diethood.com said...

THANK YOU!!! You are amazing!! I am flattered. Thank you!! 

I'm loving the new design... at first I thought I clicked on the wrong link! Looks really nice! 

Kate@Diethood.com said...

P.S. That boursin looks fantastic! I've never made my own. Thank you for the inspiration!

spcookiequeen said...

Thanks so much of passing these on to me, congrats on receiving so many.  Maybe they've seen the wonderful food over here.  I've never made boursin at home, but I love your reasoning that why not, almost anything can be made at home.  Sorry I'm a little behind since we are moving, but I will pass this on soon.  Hope you have a great weekend.
-Gina-

theharriedcook said...

It really is wonderfully flavorful! Let me know how it turns out if you try it! :) Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Wow... Thank you, Lizzy! I was so nervous about the new look, but I get bored of wallpapers and backgrounds & like to keeping changing things around :) Thanks for your thoughtful comment! :) I'm glad I was able to post :)

theharriedcook said...

You are SO welcome, Kim! I love all that you do on your blog and all the wonderful things you share with us :) Don't apologize for anything - I know how crazy things can get! I hope your husband likes the Boursin... And I am so glad you like the changes I've made on the blog... I was quite nervous about it! :)

theharriedcook said...

You are very welcome, Kate! I truly love your blog and your recipes... I just wanted to share this with you! Thanks for the compliment on the blog :) Appreciate it! Thanks for stopping by! :)

theharriedcook said...

Thank you! It turned out way closer to the original than I expected! I hope you try it! :)

theharriedcook said...

You are so welcome, Gina, and thank you for your kind words about my blog! :) The Boursin turned out really well, and for a fraction of what I would have paid for the real thing :) I hope things are going with the move... I hop you have a great weekend too! :) Thanks for stopping by!

Inside a British Mum's Kitchen said...

Fabulous post!  Good for you - the cheese looks AMAZING - I can just tell how good it tastes - I think it's great to make your own! Thanks SOOOOOOOOO much for the award - you are SO kind and really made my weekend!!!
Mary x

Marla said...

This is so creative & fabulous - I bet much better than store bought Boursin :)

Pudding Pie Lane said...

Wow, you made cheese! You made cheese!! Amazing :) I totally know what you mean about waiting around taking photos though, I always feel bad when I've made something then have to make my friends wait whilst I take 100 difference photos from every angle possible! Congratulations on your awards, and I love the new look of you blog (especially the swirly pattern!)

Manu said...

Look at that!!! I have never made cheese at home!  That boursin looks like the store bought cheese... but I am sure it tastes better... homemade is always better!  Great post Marsha and thanks for the sweet words about me!!! :-))))  

Maris Callahan said...

This is fantastic! Such a delicious spread and costly too but now we can make our own even better!

Maggie @ Vittles and Bits said...

The blog is looking great, love the new design! I also love me some Boursin, I actually think homemade is better! My mom always used to make it, delish!!

Sandra's Easy cooking said...

Congrats on the awards..you totally deserve each and every of them..Thank you so much for remembering me and my blog..I appreciate that!
Ohh and your boursin look amazing..I love it!!! Awesome photos

theharriedcook said...

You are so welcome, Mary!  I love what you do at your blog :) Thank you for your kind words about the Boursin! It did turn out pretty good... Thanks for stopping by!

Roxana GreenGirl said...

Love the new header. So cool!!
I love Boursin, actually I love all kind of cheeses. Your must taste way much better than the store bought ones.
Congrats on your awards, well deserved Marsha

Happy Sunday

theharriedcook said...

Thank you for your thoughtful comment! :) It did taste really good! Thanks for stopping by...

theharriedcook said...

LOL :D Thank you, Xinmei... Technically I don't think I made real cheese, but I did make Boursin! And yeah, I feel bad to make them wait too, and so sometimes I just have to let it go and let them eat :) Thanks so much for saying you like the changes! I was really apprehensive about making the changes :) Really glad to get good feedback! Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Manu! I agree - homemade is always better! I loved the way the Boursin turned out :) And you're welcome! You totally rock! :) Thanks for stopping by...

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Maris! It is really expensive here, and I was happy when it turned out so good :) Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Thanks, Maggie! I'm so glad you think so :) I was quite nervous about the changes :) It was my first time making Boursin, and I loved it. I'm sure I'm going to be making it very often! Thanks for stopping by! :)

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Sandra! I really love your blog and so I wanted to pass them on to you! :) You're welcome... And thank you for your kind words about the Boursin :) :) I appreciate it!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Roxana! I am so glad you like it! :) Thank you for our kind words about the Boursin too :) I really appreciate all your kind words! :) Have a great Sunday... Thanks for stopping by!

anhsfoodblog said...

simple, delicious! I love this already!

Diana @ VeggieNextDoor said...

I definitely need to try this with crackers!  I am especially looking forward to making it from scratch because I can use lower fat cream cheese, since it's even more difficult to find low-fat boursin!

Hannah at FleurDeLicious said...

This sounds delicious.  My dad always put boursin in our scramled eggs for special mornings...I'd love having a homemade version to use!  Thanks!

Jill Colonna said...

Marsha, you are amazing.  I love Boursin but having your homemade version is far more interesting than reaching for a packet in the supermarket.  Great idea to put it in chicken roulade and ravioli, too - that's if there's any left after eating it by the spadeful.  Can just imagine the flavours in there with the fresh herbs.
Congratulations on all the awards, too;  fantastic!

Kitchen Belleicious said...

Congrats on your awards and this Boursin looks so delicate and so good. I can picture myself eating the whole thing with my favorite crackers in the world! Great recipe and thanks for sharing!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you! It really was simple to make & delicious! Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Sounds like a great idea, Diana! We don't get low fat cream cheese here, but that sounds fabulous! Thanks for stopping by! :)

theharriedcook said...

Right after I read this comment, I went to the stove and made some scrambled eggs and added a dollop of the boursin. Oh my! So yummy!! Thank you for the idea :) And thanks for stopping by...

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Jill. You are very sweet :) Yes, it was really yummy. Almost as good as the original! Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you! :) The boursin did turn out really good.. I'm sure it would be fabulous with crackers! :) Thanks for stopping by! :)

Gitusabu said...

I wanna try this boursin, I love boursin and this seems easy to make! You're a genius Marsha!

theharriedcook said...

LOL :D Not really a genius for playing around with a recipe :) But I really love this boursin. You should try it! :) Thanks for stopping by!

Luh said...

I know this is an old post, but I'm trying this with slow roasted garlic, I had the idea of just mixing it with store bought cream cheese and herbs, so thanks for this post as clarification for my method, lol. I think I'm going to die from delicious!

Ann said...

Absolutely STUNNING!  I love boursin - and this is wonderful!

Kimmie said...

Whoa. That's super awesome!!! I love Boursin but its so darn expensive! Thank you soooooooooo much!

Sara said...

I bookmarked this recipe a while ago and finally made it today.  Just, WOW!  It is so delicious.  This recipe will go into my favorites.   I was browsing through stovetop mac and cheese recipes on Foodgawker.  The ones that interested me call for butter, garlic, and sour cream or cream cheese for the sauce base  - hey, this boursin will be one-stop prepping and should work great.  Thank you.

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