Cheese for a Wednesday - pt. 30 Carre de Pitou

I love goat cheese.  Not only is their cheese delicious, smooth, tangy and complex, goats are just darn cute!  And if I can find a goat cheese that also falls into the category of "spreadable" as defined by Darling Husband as something gooey that won't break your cracker when you try to spread it, I buy a lot of it.  A few weeks ago, my friend Andrew - cheese monger extraordinare - gave me a taste of Carre de Poitou a soft, spreadable Loire Valley goat cheese that some might consider part of the second coming.  I try to have a little restraint when tasting cheeses at Andrew's, but in this case, I found myself licking the paste right off the paper so as to get every last little bit!  This rare square (carre is French for square) is the perfect cheese to get any party started.  It is both sweet and tangy, and it's bloomy rind makes it a great brie substitute for anyone with cow's milk allergies.  But don't tell your guests that it's a brie.  This cheese doesn't have the unctuous creaminess of brie nor the ivory paste.  This is a bright white goat's milk cheese with a soft, edible rind and an almost milky interior.  See how it's starting to run after 10 minutes?  Andrew actually sent it home with an ice pack.  That's how sensitive this lovely is.  

I'd love to have a picture of it at full "run," but DH had gobbled most of it before it was fully ready even though I told him he would be able to taste even more of the fresh grassy flavor if he waited.  There were (miraculously) a few leftovers, which he enjoyed as part of a very upscale grilled cheese a few days later.  Look how sad the dog is that he won't be getting any of that cheesy goodness literally sliding off the bread in it's melty quest for greatness.  I didn't get any of these cheesy canapes either, though DH was kind enough to let me take a photo before he snuck out to the "man cave" to inhale his snack while muttering like Golem about his precious cheese.  


If you are lucky enough to find this cheese at your local shop, buy enough to share and enjoy with a nice crisp bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and good friends.  

Science Monday and Vendeen Bichoone

A while ago, the great state of Wisconsin voted to name Lactococcus Lactis that official state microbe in honor of all that it does in the production of cheese (according to the New York Times, Wisconsin leads the nation in cheese production).  How great is that?  A little weird, but pretty cool.

This got me thinking - there must be microscopic differences in the microbes that help various cheeses around the world make the transition from milk to fromage.  Cheeses are all so unique - based on the type of milk used, what the animal was eating before being milked,  what processes were used in making the cheese, what molds are introduces, how and where the cheese is aged.  What if I could do my own research to discover the molds and microbes in my favorite cheeses?  Ultimately, could I re-create famous cheeses in my kitchen?  (Well, no, probably not, but still...maybe we could create something new from something old - a hybrid as it were)  All I was lacking was a little equipment and know-how.

And then, I started talking with my friend the Professor, who has a PhD in biochemistry and a lab at CalTech.  He didn't see how it could be that difficult, and encouraged me to start my little science experiment.  So, last Friday, I visited his lab and returned home energized and with a bag full of petri dishes prepared with agar substrate to encourage bacterial growth.  All I needed was the right test subject.  Mwa ha ha ha!

I found it in an amazing Loire Valley cow's milk cheese - Vendeen Bichonne.  This semi-soft cheese ( it will totally gum up your grater - so just eat giant hunks of it) is aged in an abandoned tunnel, which explains the mealy grey rind and industrial basement smell coming off of it.  Don't let the outside fool you though.  The paste inside is sweet, rich and creamy with just a hint of the green pastures where the cows graze.  There is also an earthiness present in the cheese, but it doesn't taste anything like the rind smells.  Maybe a little bit of slate - if you were to lick a wet slate paving stone it might taste a little like this, but only if the paving stone was covered in rich, creamy, sweet cheese.  I can't say enough about how much I love this cheese.  I want to melt it onto a nice piece of home made wheat bread and enjoy it with a glass of a Spanish Tempranillo.  Bliss.

Anyway, in my attempt to harness to magic of this cheese, it became the first subject in my science experiment.  As you can see, under completely sterile conditions, a small slice of cheese was rubbed onto the plate, which was then labeled and placed in a temperate, dry location in the kitchen (on top of the tortillas and next to the coffee maker).  I can't wait to see what grows!  Hopefully, there should be some results soon.  The Professor has said that he might be able to help me take up close and personal pictures of my biological blooms.  Looking forward to having something fun to share with you!

Italian Cheese and Wine Pairings - with a nod to the martini!

Last night Darling Husband and I went to our first wine club meeting since December, and as luck would have it, the focus was on Italy.  Fantastico!  There are probably as many delicious Italian cheeses as there are delicious Italian wines.  Since we have both red and white wine drinkers in the club, I wanted to bring a little something for everyone to enjoy that would elevate the wine tasting to another level.  Plus, a cheese board isn't really a cheese board with just one cheese, right?

First up (on the right), was a delicious, mild, 4 week old goat cheese from the Piedmont region of Italy called Tumin Rutulin.  The edible ash rind is from the juniper plant.  The one that makes gin, yes.  But it turns out juniper also imparts it's sweet deliciousness to goat cheese.  The sweetness from the juniper was immediately obvious to me, but maybe because I knew about the juniper ash in advance, my mind was playing palate tricks on me.It can't hurt that the goats helping to make this cheese probably munch on nothing but sweet mountain grasses and flowers.  Perfect on a little slice of bread, and absolutely spread-able while retaining a soft crumble.  It would also be amazing in a salad with some spring greens and some blueberries.  In fact, I'm eating it right now with my fingers!  It also helped mellow out an angry little Pinot Grigio, giving it a nice smoothness.  Man Who Sneers at Goats (Cheese) will sadly never give this one a try, but my slightly cheese-phobic friend really liked this one last night (even before a few glasses of vino)!

On the left, cut into cunning little triangles, was the Pecorino Ginepro.  Pecorino identifies this as an Italian sheep's milk cheese, while Ginepro lets you know that the rind is washed with balsamic vinegar and juniper berries during the aging process.  I wasn't planning on having a juniper theme for the party, but there you go.  I must be craving a martini...  Anyway, the sheep's milk here is nice and rich, with just a touch of oiliness on the lips after, and the juniper and balsamic lend a woodsy, salty, sweetness to the cheese.  Sometimes, I find that rind coatings don't make a  huge difference in the flavor of the cheese, but this combination of acid and fruit really come through here.  This cheese was perfect with the red wine from Calabria that I brought.  The gaglioppo grapes in this wine had just enough tannin without being too overwhelming, and the richness of the cheese gave extra body to an already delicious wine.  I'll be snaking on those cheese leftovers after dinner.

I am thrilled to be turning the last few months of Cheese Dreams into cheese realities!  What have you been tasting?

Cheese Makes Everything Even Better!

It has been a whirlwind week.  My parents are in town for the holidays, and well, there were the holidays!  So much fun was had by all.  The highlight so far has been an overnight in Santa Barbara wine country.  We visited Firestone vinyard for a tour and tasting - a nice intro to the area for the parentals.  Turns out they were having a MASSIVE sale, and so Darling Dad will have a case of wine waiting for him upon his return home.  The next day, we went to the little tasting room for Coquelicot, and enjoyed many tastes in their lovely garden area (don't hate on the Cali girl for her lovely Xmas weather...).
**Please note - the pic here is of Darling Husband at a wine tasting over the summer -the weather here isn't THAT great.  Neither Darling Mom or Dad would consent to having their pics on the web.

Because I am the cheese head that I am, I packed a Camembert and a bit of Birkshire Blue into a bag for the trip with a ice pack and some crackers.  As we sat down at the table for the first of three Chardonnay tastings, a Sauvignon Blanc tasting, I cracked out the Camembert.  Perfect!  Rich creamy cheese with rich oaky whites.  We got distracted by the multitude of tastings, and were well into the reds, when Dad commented that he didn't really like a particular Cabernet.  Remembering that everyone's taste buds are different, I didn't get defensive, but realized that it might be time to break out the Birkshire Blue!  Nothing like a bit of tangy cheese to help you focus on the fruity flavors of a perhaps slightly tannic red (tannic wine is the stuff that makes your mouth feel like all the moisture has just been sucked out by a high speed hair drier - not particularly appetizing).  It worked!  Upon further reflection, Dad decided that he didn't mind the wine as much with the cheese.  It is possible that he was just being nice, or that we were on tasting #7, but I think that there is definitely something to be said for the magic that happens to your tastebuds when you mix a little wine and cheese together.

Be it a cube of grocery store cheddar at a cheap art opening or a wedge of Camembert  at a winery, or a left-over nugget of whatever cheese for a night at home with the hubby, it all tastes good!  Celebrate the holidays or any day with a bit of wine and cheese!  Two great tastes that taste great together.  (I'll let your brain puzzle out which old marketing campaign that phrase comes from...)

Wine and Cheese. Duh.

I love cheese.  I love wine.  I love to eat cheese and drink wine at the same time.  I know there are official/suggested combinations of cheese and wine that bring out the best in both, but I always forget the rules when faced with the decision.  Kind of like when I'm in the video store and totally forget what movie it was that I wanted to rent (it even happens now with Netflix...sigh).  If I'm planning a party, and know what the wine is, I can do a little research before getting the cheese.  There are some good websites, and a fun "cheese clock" that comes in kind of handy.

The good news is that in my world, if things aren't exactly according to the rules, knowing that there are some rules, and knowing what you like go a really long way.  I went to a wine tasting at Pourtal in Santa Monica, highlighting wine from Close Pepe Vinyard.  Amazing wine BTW.  If this was a wine blog, I'd have a lot of very complimentary things to say.  Point is, my friends bought my tasting, and I was in charge of picking out cheese (supplied for the restaurant by Andrews Cheese Shop!).  I knew there were Pinot Noirs on the tasting, but was sure there were other wines too.  I ended up with an Ossau Iraty sheep's milk cheese from the French Pyrenees, Zamarano cow's milk cheese from Spain (like Manchego, but in my opinion tastier!), and an Allegra goat's milk cheese from California.  They weren't quite right, but they were pretty good.  The richness of the Ossau Iraty really went well with the smoky Syrah with interesting herbal undertones.  Nice and rich, kind of floral, and perfect on a little slice of toasted baguette.  Yum!  The goat cheese went nicely with the Pinot Noir even though it probably would have gotten a better chance to shine with a Sauvignon Blanc.  Whatever.  It was a delicious cheese and a delicious wine!  A little tangy, a little sweet, creamy with a light ash coating on the rind.  The Zamarano was nice and nutty, with a sweet saltiness (is that possible?).

The point is not to panic when faced with the decision to choose a cheese plate.  Just remember what you like, try to remember why you like it - is it rich with butterfat?  Is it nutty?  Is it tangy?  Is it bold or mild?  What kind of wine are you drinking?  Is it bold and in need of something strong to go with it?  Is it acidic?  Full of drying tannins?  Bubbly?

What do YOU think it would taste good together?  Remember - that's the final test.