# freezing goat cheese?



## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

i have about 3 #'s of goat cheese left over from a wedding i just catered...the dish, not that it's important, was a goat cheese and leek stuffed chicken breast with a grape mandarin orange sauce....so the goat cheese has sauteed leeks in it.....how long will this last with the leeks? can i/ should i freeze it? will it break down  and become grainy like cream cheese does when it's frozen? any suggestions? i was thinking or rolling it in saran, like a compund butter to freeze it......  a sauce? in a pasta? if i can't freeze it  to use it later in a sauce or somehow use it in cooking, i'll probably just put it on the tables to go with the bread basket instead of butter, but would like a better use for it...would love some ideas and suggestions...thanks

joey


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

I freeze 2 & 4 # tubs of fresh chevre all the time.....under 6 months it's fine just eating stright.  with leeks, not so sure about it breaking down.  You could make a stuffed pasta dish or stuff more chix breast for a special or stuff tiny charred peppers with it as an appetizer.

How'd the wedding go?


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

shroomgirl,

 thanks for the reply and asking about the wedding...with the exception of a minor pyschotic breakdown on my part when the ovens were not cooking the food on schedule(for 100 guests) and then they got fire engine hot and they(wedding party) decided to have a bar at the ceremony site at the last minute but didn't have any set ups, ice, glasses, mixers, cups etc and we had to haul it and provide a bartender, and everything was pushed backed 45 minutes while i'm trying to make sure the salmon entree was not  going to be overcooked or held, and i spilled a pan of hot orange sauce all over my brand new pants and chef coat, and the hot water heater for the dishwasher was only working on one element and the bimbo coordinator who was totally ripped didn't as she said 'network' with me about timing, and the fact that it went on for 2 hours later than planned....it was great...guests and vendors(photograghers, dj etc.)said best food they ever had at a wedding, but you know how that goes...very long long night...but in the end good..amazing what goes on behind the scene, huh?... back to the goat chhese, one thought i had was to  perhaps use it to make ravioli?...i have fresh pasta sheets and also eggroll wrappers...you think that would work okay on the freezing end?..yeah, i know, lots of extra work, but still would like to maximize the niceness of the goat cheese and leeks...in the end though, i might just say f*** it and try to freeze a small amount of it to see what happens or just put it on the tables with bread...one exception...right now, it will be a long time before i want to prep/cook another chicken breast with goat cheese and leeks..i can't even look at the leftovers, in fact i had a jerk chicken hot dog tonight that was soo totally awesome ...anyway, thanks for letting me dis a bit and as always thanks for the advice/suggestions..i do truly appreciate your time....

joey

 as a funny aside...went to do some final clean up as the health department is coming tomorrow for inspection and on the floor under the 110 year piano was an envelope...oh...containing the marriage license! gotta love it!!!

joey


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

"we had to haul it and provide a bartender"? hope you charged an enormous amount for this.....you were not responsible.

Timing with Catering weddings can be difficult.  Between travel time, photos, ect...there can be a huge hang time.  So, having aps that take care of the crowd....then as much food that can be made in advance (poached cold salmon....great example) and shtuff that needs just to be heated through.  Or a grill that can cook all in time.  No crazy amounts of hot food that expires.   Crazy making....seriously co-ordinators can be PIAs....especially if they don't know food.

Ravioli will get you a good return and freeze well.

Dang I hate messing up new clothes....started caring back up a while ago....

My pleasure.


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

shroomgirl,

 yeah, they got charged...not plenty, but enough( remember, they are friends) and they had lots of nice apps as well...when you mentioned stuffed pasta for the goat cheese, you mean like manicotti or stuffed shells? duh? lot easier than ravioli...one other aside about the coordinator and the wedding...i asked them not to put the cake table in front of a very large 'picturesque' window overlooking the lake and a 13,000 ft mountain as the sun BEATS into it in the afternoon...ALL afternoon....of course, she didn't listen and sure as taxes, the cake began its meltdown and the whole backside icing melted off and was starting to droop to one side by the time of the cake cutting ......so, i made her cut and serve it...big shot! yeah, sometimes, its just the simple little pleasures that are priceless.......

have another wedding coming up...this one is in a horse pasture( for 150), so you know what that means...no water, electric, refrigeration, etc......another friend...don't know why i just don't say no but i can't.  would love to pick your brain sometime...i'm thinking something involving a smoker or upscale bbq or grilling...think keeping things cold enough is more problematic than keeping things hot.....love the idea of the poached salmon...oh yeah, its 2+ hours away, so just transporting the food becomes a challenge...i have been offered the use of a horse trailer to transport, but i'm a little leery of, well, you know, horse poop near my food...who am i, annie oakley? thanks

joey


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Tell you a story about a Large Banquet we had for Bnai Brith.. 600 people Prime Rib dinner New York City had a total blackout. We were 15 stories up, no lights except emergency, no elevetors, bathrooms worked on electric pumps, no amp or speaker system worked.

   First thing we did was put a 5 arm candleabra on each table. Stoves were gas so no problem there. Served the dinner, but then they could not have speeches cause no mikes working..I was working as Manager there. At end of night one of the committee guys said to me."Are you going to knock something off the bill?"' I looked at him laughed and said We are not responsible for an act of God. whole city was out, and I was not going to charge you for candles or candleabra rental, but now I might. He shut up.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

The cheese freezes pretty good. Ca nbe made into patties , breaded and fried and can be placed on top of a salad.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

No Joey, much easier to do cold or room temp instead of keeping hot hot......

Feel free to call I can work you through it.

Menu, it's all in the menu.  And the customer does not decide what you can or cannot do, especially if it's a friend rate.


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

thanks shroomgirl..i'll probably take you up on that offer once we get closer..unfortunately the bride's mother(my friend) is back east with her sister who is in palliative care(brain cancer), so naturally the family will be dealing with that first. 

chef ed...think i am just going to freeze it as is for now and deal with making something with it later. that way if for some reason it doesn't work out, i won't have wasted my time. our opening is this friday, and my prep list is already two miles long and getter longer...how come it never seems to get shorter? as soon as something gets crossed off the list, something else is added!!!....i make a similar goat cheese patty...panko them and bake them,not fry, to top salads...good idea though  to make and freeze, thanks.....

gotta love new yorkers!!!....speaking of stories...its not quite as big as yours but a full dining room is a full dining room....a few years ago on a very stormy night we had a full house and the grill was completely covered with steaks, lamb and fish. all of a sudden KA BOOM! we took a direct hit from lightening...no lights,bathrooms, fans, dishwasher, water pump...nothing. the cell was so intense that you could feel it rumble as it went underneath the building. the restaurant is essentially an island of its own...there is nothing else but the building on a small spit of land in the water. so now, i got a room full of customers, a grill full of food with no more than flashlights to finish cooking and serving by(plus lots of candles). problem was that when the electric went off, so did the hood system...kitchen started to get smoky from all the steaks on the grill and then drift into the dining room. customers couldn't/wouldn't leave...there was nowhere to go and it was a deluge outside. i finished cooking off the food on the grill and got it to th eright customers, but refused to grill anything else due to the smoke/fire hazard. fed everyone else saute items, which was a bit of a pain with one hand holding a flashlight, but somehow all got fed...when the lights finally came back on, the customers booed! they were enjoying the light show!...go figure!!

joey


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## mavenfoodscater (Jun 2, 2011)

If you just eat it right after it is defrost it is fine. but don't expect it to be as good as it was before you put it in the freezer!!


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## kitchenchef (Jul 27, 2009)

I find freezing our local goats cheeses does not work unless you are going to either fry or grill the cheese after defrosting.

Rather buy smaller pack sizes which should keep months in the walk in.


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

yeah,i had some left over from a party that had sauteed leeks in it...it was used as a chicken stuffing...just wasn't sure how the leeks would hold up in it, but i did freeze it and defrosted it last weekend and added them to mashed potatoes for our special side.....i've never tried grilling it though...how do you do it...coat it in panko or something?

joey


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