21 hours ago, Smithy said:While I have your attention, @Nancy in Pátzcuaro: I'm about to go on a hunt for Mennonnite cheese. I've learned that it's a Chihuahuan specialty. You're considerably farther south than that, but I wonder how widespread that cheese is. Do you get other states' specialty cheeses? Does Michoacán have a specialty cheese of its own?
Glad to hear that you ultimately located some Mennonite cheese. We can get it here at Costco in large blocks, but I've seen the signs along the highway in Chihuahua advertising cheese from Mennonite farms. It's very mild, except for the one with chiles in it, and it melts well. (One of these trips we should stop to see if there are other flavors, but by that time in the trip we're heading for the border and are reluctant to stop.) Around here we use queso fresco for chiles rellenos.
Somewhere in the archives is a post I made several years ago called My Spanish Teacher's Chiles Rellenos. They're finished in a light tomato broth that doesn't make them soggy. I agree that it's a real production to make them--roast and peel the chiles (and be sure to buy flat ones, not curved or curly because they're easier to roast and peel), stuff them with queso fresco, batter them (separate the eggs and beat the whites), fry them, and then finish them in the tomato broth. Not something you do for everyday consumption but very delicious for a special occasion. In fact you can spread out the steps over several days, including frying them and putting them in the fridge to be finished later in the tomato broth. When I make them I put on some good music and plan to spend a couple of hours on the process. The beauty part of these chiles rellenos is that they are also delicious the next day. In fact my Spanish teacher actually prefers them the second day. She taught me a good trick for roasting poblanos--rub each chile with a very light coating of oil. It makes the skin pop off faster so that the chile doesn't overcook.
I make a chile relleno casserole-type dish for breakfast that has all the same ingredients (roasted chiles, queso fresco) but deconstructed: tear the chiles into thick rajas (strips), layer them with slices of queso fresco, mix eggs and milk together with S&P and some red or green ground chile, pour over the chiles and queso, crumble queso fresco on top and bake. It's always well received, even when people are somewhat leery of spicy food. Every now and then you'll find a poblano that's hotter than most, of course.
As for cheese specific to Michoacan, I can't think of one. Given the quantity of goats around here you'd think someone would be making cheese, but they raise these goats for meat, not cheese making. In general Mexican cheese is disappointing, especially considering the vast variety of fine cheeses in the rest of the world. In general cheeses are used for cooking but not as part of a cheese plate, for instance.
