National Cheese Lovers Day

If you're a cheese lover, then you probably already know that you're called a turophile. The word turophile is a combination of the Greek words tyros, meaning cheese, and philos, meaning love of. There is no firm evidence of how humans discovered cheese making, but legend tells us it was likely that someone created the first cheese by chance. Thousands of years ago, people transported milk and stored it in sheep's stomachs. Left to sit a few days, the proteins would separate into curds and whey. From there, preserving the solids with salt may have seemed a logical next step. Salt was a highly valued preservative in ancient times.

Here are a few cheese related recipes to celebrate:

Cheddar Scallion Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

½ cup thinly sliced scallions

4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon unsalted butter,melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, black pepper and salt in a large bowl until combined. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, work cold butter into flour mixture until butter is in small, flattened pieces and mixture is crumbly. Stir in scallions and ½ cup cheese. Add ¾ cup buttermilk, and stir just until dough comes together, adding up to ¼ cup additional buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, and knead 3 to 4 times just to bring dough together. Pat dough into an 8x6 inch rectangle. Fold 1 short side a third of the way over toward center. Fold opposite short side over folded end. Rotate dough clockwise 90 degrees. Pat out dough into 8x6 inch rectangle and repeat folding procedure. Pat dough out into an 8x6 inch rectangle. Cut dough into 8 rectangular biscuits.

Sprinkle remaiing ½ cup cheese into 8 mounds about 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheet, scattering cheese just a bit so some cheese will stick out from under biscuits. Place each biscuit rectangle on a mound of cheese on baking sheet. Brush tops with melted butter. Bake biscuits in preheated oven until goldern brown, about 15 minutes.

Cheese Grits

2 cups milk

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup uncooked old fashioned grits

2-1/2 cups shredded sharp ceddar

pepper

Combine milk, broth and water in a large saucepan. Bring to boil. Add salt. Whisk in grits. Reduce heat to low. Cook stirring frequently, until creamy, 15 -20 minutes. Stir in cheese until melted. Season with pepper and additional salt to taste.