What to do with an ENORMOUS slab of parmasan?

Luckily it keeps for EVER so there's no rush.

Parmesan mashed potato is a great accompaniament for lamb, I find (you need something bitter on the side, like a waterscress salad). Lentil soup with parmesan is also a thing of joy. Grate some into a pastry mix for a savoury pie crust.

Equal parts crushed buttery crackers + grated parmesan (+ a generous grind of black pepper) = a great crumb coating for baking mild white fish fillets (we use catfish) or boneless skinless chicken breasts. Brush the condemned with melted butter, roll in crumbs, bake at about 350, different times depending on species of dinner obv. (Pound the chicken to uniform thickness and bake for less time, it won't be so dry around the edges.)

I mentioned the parmesan cheese sauce for lasagna in place of ricotta on the WHYCL? thread last night. I can post that recipe later today if anybody wants it.

Yes please! to the parmesan cheese sauce recipe!

Where else to use parmesan: grated into risotto, shaved over roasted brussel sprouts and pecans, on french omelettes with a little tarragon, in a sturdy souffle, incorporated into butternut squash soup (you can even use the rind for this).

Yes yes sauce please!

Also, the Joy Of Parmesan

I suggested crisps.

Parmesan cheese sauce:

4 Tbsp. margarine
3 Tbsp. flour
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cups milk
2 egg yolks
1 small onion

Chop onion fine; cook until soft in margarine. Mix in flour smoothly; add cheese and dash of salt. Gradually add milk and continue cooking over low heat, stirring constantly until sauce is thick as heavy cream. In small bowl beat egg yolks lightly. Add some of the hot cheese mixture, a little at a time to prevent curdling, to eggs. Then add eggs, stirring constantly, to the skillet with cheese. Cover and cook over very low heat for 10 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

From Phyllis Harper's Country Cooking with Just a Spoonful of Sophistication, 1985

That's the verbatim recipe from Miss Phyllis. My own preference is to use butter instead of margarine, and after last night's carbonaraization, I'll be adding some chopped garlic to the recipe by default, sooner or later depending on how strongly I want it to present itself. Also, that last 10 minutes of cooking could be dropped back to 3-5.

For my largest baking dish, this is not quite enough cheese sauce for lasagna, but it's easy to make a 1.5x or 2x batch. It's freaking RICH.

Her r

Her r?

Mmmmm. When you said it's used in place of ricotta I pictured something different. I've made lasagna that involves a hybrid -- one part Parmesan mixed into two parts ricotta -- but this is something else again. I bet it browns beautifully in a gratin.

Oh, that was the beginning of "Her recipe also includes the meat sauce part, but it's pretty meh." I thought I'd deleted that bit. I'm sure everybody here has a good pasta sauce with meat recipe they could use. Lightly oiled pan, noodles-meat-cheese-noodles-meat-cheese, grated mozzarella (optional), 20-25 min. at 300.

I bet it browns beautifully in a gratin.
I bet you're right, though I haven't tried it. Leftover sauce hardens up, but reheats very well, thinned with a little milk.

mix it with yr regular breadcrumb mixture and oregano and bread pork/chx cutlets. bake 10 min 450 F then flip 5 minutes more...squeeze a touch of lemon overtop

serve with a herbed wild rice / brocoli with crispy garlic slices.

people think i am crazy when they see me using my veg peeler on the parmesan and making these hefty slices but i love the hard cheeses. they curl up beautifully and are great in salad when cut this way. if you're paranoid you wont be able to use it all break it down into manageable chunks and stow in the freezer until needed.

veggie peeler makes good sense, frankly