Ranch Cheese Bites

When I blogged about my massive organization project to index all the recipes I've shared here, I didn't mention that I've also been working on the even-more-massive project of dealing with my huge collection of recipes torn from magazines, given to me by friends, or passed down from family. There's another category of recipes I've been dealing with as well - ones that I personally created for a contest. I used to enter a lot of cooking competitions, most of which required using an original recipe. I came across one I developed for a competition at the 2003 California State Fair featuring Real California Cheese. I haven't made my appetizer since that contest, which is a shame since it's delicious. The judges thought so too, as I won first place and a decent chunk of change for my efforts. 

I'm hoping that adding a digital version of the recipe here will encourage me to make it again, or possibly inspire one of you to give it a try. 

Ranch Cheese Bites

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. Real California Monterey Jack Cheese
• 2 T. plain bread crumbs
• 1 T. ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix
• 1/8 t. pepper
• 1 egg white
• 2 T. butter for frying

Steps:

Slice cheese into 16 cubes, approximately 1" in each direction. Insert a toothpick into each cheese cube and set aside. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, ranch seasoning mix, and pepper. In a second bowl, lightly beat the egg white. 

Dip each cheese cube first into egg white and then into the bread crumb mixture, being sure to thoroughly coat the bottom and four sides. 

Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Place no more than 4 cheese cubes into the melted butter to brown on the bottom. After 20 seconds, turn the cubes to one side. Continue turning every 20 seconds until all the sides have been cooked. Remove from heat and repeat with remaining cubes.

Ranch Cheese Bites should be served immediately or within 30 minutes of completion. The recipe makes 16 appetizers, enough for 4 people.