One use that was perfect for the new Teese was a margarita pizza. The round shape of the tube and the soft creaminess made it a good stand in for a buffalo mozzarella on the classic pizza.

I also used some to make up a batch of mozzarella sticks. I kicked up my previous recipe by using panko bread crumbs and adding vegan bacon bits to the breading. The Teese did not preform as well as I might have liked, and they were more like breaded cheese curds (but still very tasty). I may have not fried them long enough to get the frozen Teese to fully melt.

Ok, for my last recipe for the Teese blog challenge, I decided to go with the appetizer classic potato skins. A relatively simple endeavor, but oh so good.

Potato Skins

2 large russet potatoes, thoroughly washed.
cheddar style Teese
vegan sour cream
Vegan bacon bits
Scallion, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 400°. Prick the potatoes with a fork and bake, directly on the rack, until cooked through, about 45 min. Let the potatoes cool until they can be handled. Heat oven to 425°. Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the insides, leaving about 1/4″ on the shell. Brush both sides of the potato skins with oil and top with Teese. Bake on a cookie sheet about 15 min, until the potatoes are lightly browned. Top with bacon bits, sour cream, and scallion.

Continuing with the Chicago Soy Dairy Teese blog challenge, my next creation hails from our neighbors to the north. Perhaps the greatest gift the Canadians ever gave the world, poutine is the ingenious combination of french fries, gravy, and cheese curds. Traditionally poutine used a thin brown (usually beef) gravy, rather than a thicker, creamy gravy. For mine I used Better Than Bouillon No Beef Base for the broth. If you prefer you could use a good mushroom stock instead (purchased or home made). The creamy texture of the Teese lends itself perfectly to be a replacement for cheese curds, and may be the best use I found for it.

Vegan Poutine

2-3 large baking potatoes
3-4 oz Mozzarella Teese, crumbled

Gravy
2 Tbsp Earth Balance
2 Tbsp flour
2 cups vegan beef flavored or mushroom stock
salt and pepper
Oil for frying

Peel the potatoes and cut into approximately 1/2″x4″ fries. Place the fries in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan heat the Earth Balance over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for several minutes to make a dark roux (it should be a dark brown, but not burnt). Stir in the stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the gravy begins to thicken. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Heat oil to 375°. Drain potatoes and pat dry with paper towels. Fry, in batches if necessary, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, and season with salt and pepper.

Place fries on serving dishes, pour gravy over the top, and top with crumbled Teese.

This was a 6-8" loaf and it only held about 1/2 the dip, so you may have left overs.

For my second creation for the Chicago Soy Dairy Teese blog challenge I decided to take on the party classic, spinach artichoke dip. I added smoked salt to give it a deeper base flavor and served it in a sourdough bread bowl. I would note that this recipe makes a lot of dip so you may want to plan on saving half for later.

Smoky Artichoke Spinach Dip

1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup flour
2 cups soy milk
5 oz Mozzarella style Teese, shredded or cut into small pieces
1 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
1 tsp smoked salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
10 oz spinach, washed and chopped
2 14oz cans artichoke harts, drained, rinsed and chopped
black pepper
1 round sourdough loaf
chips, bread, pita, etc for serving

Preheat oven to 400°

In a medium sauce pan heat oil over med-high heat. Add flour and cook for a few minuets until it turns golden brown. Stir in soy milk and cook until it begins to thicken. Add smoked salt cayenne and nutritional yeast and adjust seasoning to taste. Add teese and stir through to melt. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a saute pan heat a small amount of oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until soft and translucent. Add garlic. Stir in spinach, one handful at a time, until all is incorporated. Stir in the artichokes and cook for a few minuets. Fold in the Teese mixture and mix well. Season with black pepper and adjust salt if necessary. (The dip can be served at this point)

Cut the top off the round of bread and scoop out most of the bread inside the loaf. Fill with dip and bake on a cookie sheet for about 10 minutes. Serve with the removed bread and additional chips, crackers, etc.

Recently the folks at Chicago Soy Dairy were kind enough to send out some samples of their tasty vegan cheese, Teese, to those of us in the vegan blogosphere to see what we could come up with outside of the usual pizza or lasagna. Here is the first of what I came up with, more is on the way.

Portabella Teese Steak Sandwiches

2 Large Portabella Mushrooms, stems and gills removed and thinly sliced
1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 Anaheim, ancho, or other mild green chili, seeded and thinly sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cub dry white wine
salt and pepper
2 Sandwich rolls or a baguette cut into sandwich size lengths
3-4 oz cheddar flavored Teese. Cut into small chunks

In a saute pan, heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add onions and cook until they begin to soften. Add pepper and chili and cook for a few min until peppers have began to soften. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and add wine. Cook until mushrooms are thoroughly cooked (the onions and peppers should be nearly caramelized by this point).

Split the rolls 3/4 the way through and lightly toast. Briefly heat the Teese in the microwave in a small bowl until melted. Divide the mushroom mixture between the rolls and poor the melted Teese over the top.