Teese Review

So, it finally came--the ubiquitous Teese! I literally squealed with excitement when I saw the box from Vegan Essentials. And it's as good as they say!

It didn't melt exactly like normal cheese, but it didn't take on the texture of plastic or burn like other vegan cheeses. It did have a little bit of that vegan cheese aftertaste, but only when eaten by itself. Or maybe I'm so unaccustomed to normal cheese that it tastes the same and I'm just not as much of a fan anymore. Who knows!

The first thing I made was pizza, using VWAV dough and sauce and about 1/4 of the Teese package. Here's the before pic:


And here's the after. Melting shot!


It probably would've melted more if I had left it in past eight minutes, but the crust was already brown and I hate brown/burnt crusts. It tasted EXACTLY like "real" pizza, folks. Even my family said so! I ate about half of the pie by myself.

The next thing I used it for was a grilled Teese. I sprinkled garlic powder over the Teese pre-frying, and it was love.


And finally, I made mozzarella sticks inspired by this post on the PPK. I based the recipe very loosely off of her instructions and three or four recipes I found on RecipeZaar. They didn't get stringy like non-vegan mozzarella sticks, but the inside was warm and gooey and good enough for me. Omni approved!

---------

Mozzarella Sticks
Makes 8 sticks


1/4 package Teese (or 1/4 lb vegan cheese)

1/3 cup flour
2 T cornstarch
1/3 cup non-dairy milk

1/2 cup panko (or regular breadcrumbs)
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon basil
3/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme

Oil, for frying

If using a new package of Teese, cut in half width-wise, cut that piece in half length-wise, and cut one of those pieces in half width-wise again. Cut each of those two pieces into four final pieces (lengthwise). If using other vegan cheeses, cut into sticks roughly 3/4" thick and the length of your index finger.

Combine the flour, cornstarch, and milk in a small bowl and the other ingredients in a different bowl. Preheat a pan with enough oil to coat the bottom. Dip the sticks in the flour mixture first, then the breadcrumb mixture. Fry for a minute to two minutes on each side, or until lightly browned.

Serve with marinara or pizza sauce.

---------

Bonus Review!

With my Teese came two Nutrilicious donuts--Cinnamon and Pumpkin Pie. Pictured is the pumpkin pie donut.


These were good. Not traditional, but good. They tasted a bit "healthy", and the soy yogurt glaze had a weird texture pre-nuking. These are worth buying if you miss donuts and don't have the materials to make them, but do yourself a favor and microwave them for twenty or thirty seconds before eating. The cinnamon flavor was okay, but I reccomend the pumpkin pie.

I still haven't used the Soy Curls from my Vegan Essentials order, so I'll either update this post with a review of them later or tell you about it in the next post.

Love,
Jillian Renee