In the Kitchen: Are you a cheese addict?

Newsletter: In the Kitchen: Are you a cheese addict?

A recent study draws a relation between cheese and addictive behavior.

Oct. 28, 2015 12:05 AM PT

Fellow cheese enthusiasts (or shall I call us addicts?), Jenn Harris recently reported on a study validating what cheese lovers have been saying all along: certain foods, like cheese, are related to addictivelike eating. To help you get your cheese fix, we share some of our favorite "cheesy" recipes.

And while duck addiction may not be a thing, it certainly seems to be a fall and winter staple. If you've never cooked it (or maybe it's been a year or so and you feel a bit rusty), we share a primer on cooking duck -- with recipes, of course. And wine pairing suggestions.

— Noelle Carter

Is cheese really like crack? Drilling down on the science behind the viral cheese study

For those who believe their addiction to cheese is real, a recent study by the University of Michigan, published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine, reads like a validation — scientific proof that food addiction does exist. Deputy Food editor Jenn Harris reports.

According to a new study, cheese is as addictive as certain drugs.

Eric Boyd / Los Angeles Times

Blue cheese beignets and 5 other recipes to satisfy your cheese addiction

Have you heard the one about cheese being as addictive as drugs? Whatever you may feel about the science behind the study, it does accomplish one thing. Well, for some of us at least. It legitimizes those cravings. Here are six delicious ways to satisfy your jones, topping or flavoring everything from doughnuts to dessert, chicken to vegetables. Because, cheese.

An elegant mound of tiny Cabrales blue cheese beignets drizzled with a peppery honey gastrique.

Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Cooking duck is simpler than you think

So you've ordered Roy Choi's killer smoked duck at Pot in Koreatown. And you've beaten the French bistro crowds for the duck confit at Republique or Church & State — or the duck ragout at Maccheroni Grill in downtown L.A., if you prefer your duck in Italian. And you've even hit the best of the duck barbecue places elsewhere in Koreatown and the San Gabriel Valley. Still, there comes a point when you need to eat dinner in your own kitchen.

If you love the particular richness of duck — it's more assertive than the blank canvas of chicken — but you've never tried to tackle it at home, it's not as hard as you might think.

Sauteed duck breast with apples and tart greens in the Los Angeles Times studio on Oct. 8, 2015.

Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Some bold red wine suggestions to pair with duck

Save your timid reds for other birds; duck demands a wine that's bold. Rustle up a bottle of Syrah, Grenache, Malbec or Tempranillo. S. Irene Virbila reports.

Sauteed duck breast calls for a bolder red wine.

Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Gracias Madre’s Key lime pie

If you're vegan or lactose-intolerant, finding a decent dessert to enjoy can be hard, if not impossible. Which is why we loved the Key lime pie from Gracias Madre in West Hollywood. With a filling that's rich and creamy with just the right level of tartness, a perfectly crumbly crust and a light whipped topping, this is one dessert sure to please everyone at the table, even the nonvegans (they might never guess if you don't say anything).

Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Jonathan Gold's 101

The 101 is coming! The Los Angeles Times will publish Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants, the authoritative annual guide to local dining, on Nov. 4. The print edition will be delivered to The Times’ Saturday subscribers on Nov. 7. For more information go to latimes.com/getgold. Official hashtag #JGOLD101

Check out the thousands of recipes on our Recipe Database.