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.  

Cheese for a Wednesday - pt. 29 Washington State's Seastack

My birthday was a while back.  As crazy as life was that month, I still needed to celebrate, and I wanted cheese!  Getting to Andrew's for my weekly fix had been elusive and what better excuse than a birthday!  I was going to need to share my cheese "cake" with others that afternoon, so I thought it might be a little dangerous to bring out the stinky blue cheeses or some muenster.  One needs to gently help people toward a love of the more "black diamond" cheeses.

I didn't have to think about it very long before realizing that Mt. Townshend Creamery's Seastack was the perfect cheese "cake" to share.  With a circumference a bit bigger than a hockey puck and about twice as thick (if my early memories of what the shape of a hockey puck is are correct), Seastack is the perfect size to share (or horde to yourself...).

Because of it's rind, it looks a lot like brie, which makes it accessible to those without a lot of cheese experience, but the similarity ends with the visual.  This edible rind is a result of rolling the cheese in vegetable ash and salt before the aging process as opposed to the bloomy bacterial rind on brie.  The folks at Mt. Townshend say the rind bears a "subtle resemblance to the picturesque islands sprinkled along Washington's northwest coast."  Reason enough to visit, I say.  The paste is rich and creamy, with a hint of sweet pasture and just enough saltiness to encourage you to grab a glass of crisp glass of Pinot Grigio.  Just look at the fantastic goo seeping out of the rind! It spreads beautifully on a cracker, and would probably go well with apples or pears if you had them cut in advance.  Wait until after people have had a taste, and there won't be any left by the time the wedges are ready!

This is my new go-to cheese.  Not only did I have it for my birthday, I've taken it to a baby shower with great success.  Ask for it by name.

Cheese for a Wednesday - pt 26 Happy California Sheep!

Oh my has it been a week.  And it won't be getting any better until mid-April.  Apologies in advance for the lack of posts, but I'm almost done with my MBA, and after that's done, I'll be extra cheesy!

In the meantime, it is a Wednesday, and so I owe you a new cheese!  La Panza Gold  is a sheep's milk cheese from Rinconada Dairy north of Los Angeles in San Louis Obispo County.  It is one of the few dairies that I've found in Southern California (the SoCal:NorCal ratio is heavily weighted in favor of Northern California).  They have 200 sheep and a small herd of goats happily munching away on the grasses of the chaperral overlooking the Pacific.  They also have a farm-stay program, where you can go for the weekend, milk goats and work on the farm.  It sounds like a lot of fun to me - I just have to convince the DH to come with me!

So - La Panza Gold is a hard sheep's milk cheese, with some crystalization, kind of like pecorino romano.  The rind of this cheese is washed with sheep milk whey as it ages, which gives is a really beautiful golden color.  The cheese is shaped in a basket mold, which gives it a really cool look.

You could easily serve this nutty, earthy, sweet cheese by just breaking it up into free-form chunks, and serving it on a cheese plate with some grapes to help bring out the sweetness in the cheese.  It also lends itself very easily to the same kinds of uses a pecorino romano or pamigiano-reggiano - grating onto pasta or what ever you grate hard salty/sweet cheese on.  The other night, I had made some mushroom barley soup that turned into a kind of pilaf when all the moisture was absorbed.  It still tasted great, so I steamed up some brussels sprouts (I just love how cute they are!), and used the carrot peeler to shave curls of this beautiful cheese on top, which really added to the dish.  See the little holes in the peels?

Sweet cheese dreams friends!

Cheesy Oscar Party Ideas!

OK Cheesedreamers, I just got back from Andrew's Cheese Shop (thanks Andrew for appreciating my humor!), and am all set for the Oscars.  Pictures to follow, but I wanted to take a moment to inspire you to cook with humor and creativity for the Oscars.  If not now, when?  Oscars are about creative artists and talented technicians coming together to make something that is so much more than than the sum of its individual parts.

So, in honor of a few of the films up for Best Film, might I suggest the following snacks.  I apologize for the fact that I am not yet even remotely versed in real recipe writing, but I'm sure you can muddle through.  Just remember to take your French Bread loaf and slice it into 1/2" pieces, drizzle with a little olive oil and toast in the oven on 350 until a toasty, about 5-10 minutes.  Then, put enough cheese on each slice, and pop back in the oven to melt.

Avatar
Bruschetta with Blue Cheese, caramelized onion and a fringe of scallion.  Neyteri and Jake Scully they're not, but they are blue, and they do have funny little fringe to connect with the earth (or your taste buds)

Saute sliced onion in about a tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat and stir until soft, golden brown and translucent.  Once the cheese is melted, layer on the caramelized onion and top with a little fringe of green onion.

Inglorious Basterds
Bruschetta with melted muenster (the real stinky stuff!) and garlic with a bit of chopped tomato to represent the aggressive strength of Brad Pitt's team of merry men.

After the bread is toasted the first time, rub each slice with a piece of sliced garlic and then top with the muenster.  Once that's all melted, top with a little fresh tomato

Precious
OK, this is a bit of a cheat, but there is a brand of Mozzarella at my grocery store called Precious, so how about a Tomato/Precious Mozzarella/Basil Caprese Salad.  Just slice and layer and drizzle with a little olive oil and dust with cracked pepper.

I'm kind of stumped with the others.  What cheese represents The Blind Side?  District 9?   An Education?  Up in the Air?  Up?  A Serious Man?  Hurt Locker?  I figure 3 out of 10 is pretty good for a small party.  Any one else doing something cheesy for their Oscar party?   Help me out with some more fun ideas!

Super Bowl Snacking!

Who dat?  Oh yeah baby.  I speak football.  I don't watch a lot of football, but when I do, I get kind of involved.  And, I tend to eat a lot of crap while I watch the game - chips, spinach dip (my favorite!!), nuts, more chips - nothing fancy.  I used to eat chili until the chili-maker retired from the business.  Since I'm now the cheese lady, I figured I could make this Super Bowl even more exciting with some great cheese.  The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills was actually a Super Bowl sale - 10% off if you said "Who Dat" when ordering cheese.  They were also closing early so they could get home, put their feed up, and root on the Saints while munching on some tasty cheese.  One of the owners is from New Orleans, so you can appreciate their enthusiasm.  I just love having another opportunity to bring cheese to a party and look like a rock star.

So, off I went to the game, cheese board cheese knives and cheeses in tow ready to share the cheese love and possibly to distract people from the game for a few minutes.  I think I succeeded, thanks in no small part to the good people at Andrew's Cheese Shop and Noord Hollander four-year old Gouda (top left with a rich orange color).  This Gouda tastes so sweet, I could chunk it up and put it in a candy bowl.  It has the crunchy texture of Parmesean thanks to the crystalization that happens during aging, and has a distinctive butterscotch flavor.

This Super Bowl is also brought to you by Marisa (top right).  This award winning sheep's milk cheese comes from Wisconsin and has a perfect sweet/salty balance.  The high butterfat content gives it a beautiful creaminess.  It is the perfect snacking cheese.

Finally, this Super Bowl is brought to you by La Serena (bottom left).  This was the "challenging" cheese, but even the 11 year-olds liked it!  This semi-soft sheep's milk cheese from Spain spreads great on a cracker when properly warmed up to room temperature.  It has a sharpness and an earthiness that makes it really interesting - one of those cheeses that make you stop and go "Huh.  What was that?"  I will need to spend more time on this one, as its backstory deserves its own post.  If you can't wait, please check out Angela's Food Love blog here for a great description.  I don't think it was as stinky as she thought, but we agree on the exciting flavor.

I think the only one disappointed by the cheese was my sweet friend Tessa (right).  Look how well she begs!  But none for her!  Sorry Tessa!  After the trophy was presented, all the La Serena was gone, and there was just enough Gouda and Marisa left for some good snacks this week.  Hooray!

No matter which team you rooted for on Sunday (or if you just don't care), I hope you had a happy, cheesy weekend!

Cheese for a Wednesday - pt. 21 Appeasement Cheese

I don't know how it works around your house, but if I bring treats (cheese, cupcakes, cookies, etc) into the house with the intent of serving them at a party or taking them to a friend's house, there will be some loss due to the Husband Tax.  Instead of 24 cookies, there will mysteriously be 23.  Instead of 1/4 pound of cheese, there will be 1/5 of a pound (very cleanly cut and put back into the wrapper...).  I don't mind really.  In fact, I've stopped worrying about it all together.  I just bring home a little extra something for us to enjoy together right away (I have impulse control issues too...)

So, last Friday, when I went shopping for cheese to take to meet our friends' new baby, I knew I needed something to take home and eat immediately.  When I explained my dilemma to Andrew, he laughed and called it the "appeasement cheese."  And that's just what it was.  In fact, the Brie from the Ferme de Jouvence in France could appease the most cranky troll.  A hungry husband wasn't even a challenge!

One rule about Brie:  make sure that it has warmed up to room temperature before serving, or you won't be able to taste all the complex flavors inside the bloomy rind.  (Actually, this is true for all cheese.)  The other problem with a cold Brie is that it doesn't have the requisite "gooey-ness" that my husband, and I'm sure legions of others, loves so much about cheese.  I know it's hard to wait (impulse control issues...), but it's really worth it.  In fact, do a little taste test.  Since you won't be able to wait, have a little bit right after you take it from the fridge.  See?  Meh.  Now, wait 30 minutes and try again...fireworks, right?  Told you.

This cheese is so delicious!  It is sweet and mushroomy, with just a little tang from the rind (Please eat the rind of Brie!  Have you ever seen a Brie where all the paste has been scooped out leaving the sad little rind?  Give it a try.  Just once.  It really adds to the flavor of the cheese - transforming it from just rich and buttery to rich and buttery and a little sassy!)  This particular Brie also features the amazing flavor of spring garlic - fresh and light and not enough to make you need to brush your teeth.  So much so, in fact, that I thought for a moment that our baguette was a loaf of garlic bread.  So creamy and yummy.  And when at room temperature, so gooey and spreadable.  The perfect cheese.

One more thing - as I've been kind of obsessed with self-sufficient farming of late, I'd like to briefly add that according to Andrew, this farm is completely self sufficient in energy, including the use of anaerobic digestion (from the cow patties!!).  I've promised a post on how this works, but haven't yet gotten around to doing the research.  Stay tuned!

In the meantime, keep your eyes out for artisinal Brie, full of flavor and ready to appease anyone!

Cheese for a Wednesday, pt. 20 - Pirate Edition

Yarg!  A basic of pirate vocabulary is also the name of a great cheese from Cornwall.  A really beautiful, special cheese, this cow's milk beauty is an updated version of a 13th century recipe.  A cross between Welsh Caerphilly and English Wensleydale, Yarg is actually named for Mr. Alan Gray, the cheesemaker responsible for developing the modern recipe in 1984.  (Get it?  Yarg/Gray...those Brits are soooo clever!)

When I went into Andrew's Cheese Shop last week to announce my desire to bring back Welsh Rabbit, Andrew offered up Cornish Yarg, made in Cornwall, just south of Wales.  While we ultimately decided it wouldn't necessarily be good melted with beer, even if it was practically Welsh,  it is a great English cheese. At first sniff, you really smell the milky freshness of this cheese.  Then you realize how sweet and "green" it smells.  The green comes from a unique ingredient in this cheese - the Stinging Nettles it is wrapped in!  The good news is that the leaves are frozen to get rid of the "stinging," but there is definitely a tangy flavor that can be attributed to this natural rind. I did  eat the nettle rind, and it really did add extra depth to the cheese.  And it's so pretty!  Whole wheels make an amazing bottom layer of a cheese "cake."

The texture is both crumbly and a bit sticky.  Oxymoronic, perhaps, but it's true.  The flavor is very smooth, with a bit of tart on the middle of your tongue.  The milk that you smell is the dominant flavor of this cheeseThere is a bit of moldiness, and a little (tiny bit of) mushroomy flavor, but that just adds to the old fashioned flavor of this cheese.  And when you realize the original recipe is 700+ years old, that makes sense!

Cornish Yarg is only made at one dairy in Cornwall, but it's made its way around the world.  It's also a great thing to put on the "bucket list" if getting to Cornwall is on your list.

Or if you want to be a pirate...Yarg!

Welsh Rabbit - Friday update

It kept raining today.  Then it started to hail.  HAIL!  In Los Angeles.  Armageddon is right around the corner.  

Since yesterday's post about the legends of Welsh Rabbit, I got a hankering.  Plus, I felt guilty writing about something that I hadn't recently eaten or made.  So, off I headed to Andrew's Cheese Shop when the bell rang at the office for a high quality cheddar and a little inspiration.  He was a bit surprised that I was making Welsh Rabbit.  Why?  I said.  Turns out, in his opinion people don't make it any more.  I suggested that he re-introduce it during one of his Grilled Cheese nights, where he pairs all sorts of grilled cheese with all sorts of beers.  It's perfect - cheese and beer in one bite.  He said he'd think about it.  We'll see...

So, updates to the recipie posted last night...
#1 - Be careful when grating your cheese!  I cannot emphasize enough how much you do not want grated fingernail and thumb in your dinner!  I managed to avoid any thumb, but there might have been some fingernail.  Patience people!  It will all get done, and in less than 20 minutes start to finish.
#2 - I don't actually have anything bad to say about 2 Tablespoons of butter.  I just wanted to show you my cute cow butter holder.  It's one of the few things I've managed to hang onto since my early bachelorette days.  Moo.
#3 - Flavoring and texture.  You might be better off with just 2 Tablespoons of flour.  Three Tablespoons make for a really, really thick sauce (and probably precipitated the need for more beer.  See #4)  Also, I tasted a little more mustard than I would have liked in the final product.  Maybe reduce dried mustard to  1/4 teaspoon and increase the Worcestershire sauce to 2 1/2 tablespoons.  But, perhaps that's just me.
#4 - I found that there was no way that 1/2 cup of beer was going to be enough to give the cheese sauce enough fluidity to spread over our extra thick sliced toast.  I added another 1/4 cup, and then another 1/4 cup.  So, in the end, about one cup  of beer seemed to do the trick.  We used a great British dark ale, courtesy of Andrew's newly instated liquor sales license.  Yay Andrew!  Even with the cup in the sauce, there was enough left over for us to each enjoy a small glass of this rich, hoppy, brew with just a hint of sweetness.  I wish I had a better taste vocabulary for beer.  In any case, it was really good.
#5 - Try to find a nice loaf of bread, and slice it yourself.  Darling Husband was in charge of slicing, and he went with one inch slices.  Toasted to crispy but not too dark it served as the perfect platform.

At the end of the day, Darling Husband and I enjoyed a great dinner of cheese, bread and beer.  A perfect food.  And - to add to the success, DH remembered the smell and taste of our concoction from his childhood when his dad (the Scot) would whip up a batch of this easy, cheap (well, not so cheap with fancy imported beer and cheese, but you get the idea) snack.  When you can tap into someone's olfactory memory, I'd say that's a job well done.  Look at that gooey goodness!  What's weird is that the flavors of Worcestershire, beer and mustard blend so well with the cheese that what you have at the end is an all new flavor.   I'm still working on what the profile is, but it is rich.  The mustard is crucial to keeping it from tasting flabby, and the Worcestershire adds it's magical blend of herbs and spices to make this cheese sauce so much more.  Who needs rabbit (or filet mignon for that matter) when you have cheese and bread?

I had bought some broccoli, but somehow it never made the steamer...

Cheese for a Wednesday, pt. 19 - A new sheep in the 'hood

Last week at Andrew's Cheese Shop, I spotted this ancient looking cheese sitting in the case.  "What is this," I wondered out loud.  Samples were proffered, and as per usual, stories were told and comparisons - both ridiculous and relevant were made.

While this cheese, Brebis du Lavort, may look like it's shape was designed by druids back in the 2nd century BC  it was actually created in the 1990s by cheese maker Patrick Beaumont in the Auvergne region of France.  I thought it was pretty clever of Mr. Beaumont to design a cheese that looked like it had been dug out of the ground, or stored in an ancient log  but was created during the Clinton adminstration, about the time that Shabby Chic was really hitting it's stride.  Andrew wasn't so sure that the good folk of the Auvergne are capable of that kind of marketing ploy.  It seems that this area of France is less modern than other areas.   Anyway...far be it from me to judge.  Especially when the cheese is good!

The design is modern, but the mold is borrowed  from a Spanish cheese called Tronchon (which Andrew also has - must get that one for a comparison.).  This mold is caked on thick.  The bark-like texture keeps the cheese nice and moist during the aging process, but I didn't even give it a taste.  Did I mention it's bark-like texture?  This cheese is aged in a in an old water tower, which is unique, I think.  Unfortunately, I learned about this before I tasted the cheese and so, in the back of my mind I was thinking "moldy water tower."  It was interesting how the shape of the cheese seemed to make a difference in each bite.  A bite taken from the top of the "volcano" reminded me of a nice sharp cheddar, while a bite taken from the bulge just made me think of a (tasty) old water pipe.  Very odd.  Andrew claims a definite flavor of hazelnuts.  Maybe I need to eat more hazlenuts.

I think this is one of those cheeses that tasted better in a sample at the store than in chunks.  The complexity of this cheese requires more than chunks and crackers.  Now that I'm full, and all the cheese is gone, I'm thinking that it would have been perfect on a baked potato.  The old water pipe flavor might have mellowed to an "earthy" flavor that would have rocked with some parsley and butter.  Next time.

Sweet dreams!

Cheese for a Wednesday, pt. 18 - Hilarious name edition

From the Basque region of France comes a cheese with the best name ever.  Etorki.  From what I've been able to determine, it is, in fact, pronounced the way it is spelled.  Ee-tork-ee.  Ha!  I love it because it sooo doesn't sound like a French word.  When I was at Andrew's Cheese Store on Tuesday night, another cheese caught my eye (You'll be hearing about that one later.  I promise.).  That one was all wrapped up, and I was almost out the door when I noticed the tag for Etorki.  Again.  I've been bypassing this cheese for six months!  Shame on me.

Anyway, this sheep's milk cheese was described by Andrew as "the Sarah Lee of cheese."  As in, "nobody doesn't like" Etorki.  I have to say, it's probably true.  This is definitely a sheep's milk cheese.  There is a certain salty, oiliness to sheep's milk cheese that is present in Etorki.  What is missing is a kind mealiness - like dry mashed potato (not sure of that analogy, but it will do for now) - that I've had in other sheep's milk cheese.  This cheese is almost unctuous.  Creamy, melt in your mouth goodness that does leave your lips with that sticky, "I just ate something really rich" feeling.  This cheese is mild, and you have to really pay attention to find the nuance, but it's there.  I tasted some mellow black olive, a little bit of grass on a sunny hillside, and a some sweet caramel.  In fact, I was just inspired to make some buttery salted caramels.  Yea.  That's it.

So, besides being a real crowd pleaser, this cheese is special because it is made exclusively from milk created by cute little black-faced Manech sheep.  After the curds are shaped, the cheeses are soaked in brine for 3-6 months, making a for a rind that is capable of protecting the cheese during the rest of the aging process.  We tasted the rind, and while the texture wasn't great, it wasn't shoe leather, and it had that extra bite of salt that I was missing (I'm only starting to appreciate mild tasting cheeses) in the rest of the cheese.

I don't think Etorki is going to be something that I dream about every night, but if I'm taking cheese for a party where I don't really know people's palates, this might be the sheep's milk cheese on my cheese tray.  It is unusual enough to be a conversation starter (not to mention the fun name as a conversation of it's own), but the complexity of these cheese is subtle enough to please the fussiest taste buds.

Even if you never get to try this cheese, you've got a new alternate cuss word.  Someone cut you off in traffic?  Etorki!  Someone use up all the hot water?  Etorki!  Need some cheese for sandwiches?  Oh yea, etorki!

Cheese for a Wednesday, pt. 17 - Pyreneese Cheese

Imagine - you are walking along through the Pyrenees mountains on a beautiful late summer day.  It is cool enough to wear a light sweater.  The sky is bluer than you have ever seen, the air is crisp and smells of fresh grass and wild flowers.  The hills are alive with the sound of music....You stumble upon a darling little cave that seems to welcome you in.  There is even grass growing into the front of the cave.  A shaft of sunlight beckons you in.  A butterfly flits past.

Got it?  If you aren't completely nauseated by the pastoral vision I've created for you, keep reading because this is how Tome de Couserans smells.  And it is how I imagine the Ariege region of France smells.  Well, perhaps with a slight whiff of cow poop.

Tonight being the first Wednesday in 2010, I thought we should celebrate with a little something special.  Cheesemonger Andrew didn't disappoint!  Couserans is a very special cheese.  It is quite rare, coming from a very small region in France, where I'm sure the livestock out number the people three to one.  It is also a cow's milk cheese in a very sheepy region.  Beyond that, it is just an incredible cheese that melts onto the tongue, leaving it's musty sweetness behind to savor (as I did with a glass of red and a bowl of brussels sprouts).

The natural rind looks like a perfectly baked whole-wheat dinner roll, textured but not wrinkly.  I did try eating this.  Not a great idea.  Better for smelling in this case.  The paste inside is an almost buttermilk cream color, with delicate little holes throughout which add to the tender tooth.  And the taste!  Summer butter, fresh green grass (from that cute butterfly ridden cave), just enough tang in the middle and end to hold your attention, and get you reaching for the cheese knife for another bite!  If I could find that cave, and eat this cheese in that cave, perhaps life would be complete.

Or maybe it's just another Wednesday night cheese dream!

Best CheeseDreams of 2009

Everyone seems to be making a "best of 2009" list for this and that.  To see what local LA cheesemonger professionals think, check out this list.  Very excited to see my friend and personal cheesemonger Andrew at the top of that list.  Way to go Andrew's Cheese Shop!

I had so much fun going back though the blog this afternoon to see how far I've come since my first post on July 27, 2009.  While my memory is pretty great, I also wanted to remind myself of all the cheeses I've tasted since then!  Back then, I was pretty convinced that I would own my own goat farm by the end of the year, successfully husbanding my herd, and milking them for their tasty milk which I would make into delicious artisinal cheeses all by myself.  That brings out the LOLs now!  I certainly have learned a lot since then, haven't I?

Anyway, since then, I've tasted cheese with wine, cheese with beer, cheese with tea.  I've made amazing cheese toasts and fallen in love with sheep cheese in a way I wasn't expecting.  I've learned about cheese from Australia, Canada, Africa and Portugal not to mention California, Washington, Vermont and Massachusetts.  I've fed friends and family and gained a few pounds.  I've had lots of dreams about cheese!  How about you?

So, in a nutshell, here is a list of some of my favorites of 2009.  If you are highly motivated, go back and revisit the posts related to these amazing cheeses.  If you aren't, don't worry - there won't be a quiz!

Dalle Charentaise - 8/23/09 - A beautiful, delicate goat cheese.  Like an old French cathedral, but in a good way.
Roaring 40s Blue - Many times since 8/27/09.  Sweet, delicious blue from Australia
Hooligan - 10/5/09 - An incredibly complex washed rind cheese that really makes you work for it's love.  STANKY on the outside, sweet and delicious on the inside.
Avonlea - 10/8/09 - Cheddar from Prince Edward Island.  Beautiful "sunshiny" flavor.  One of Andrew's faves as well BTW.
Marisa - 11/28/09 - Fantastic sheep's milk cheese from Wisconsin

This list is in no way exhaustive.  Rogue River Blue, Birkshire Blue, Brillat Savarin, aged Gouda, Camembert, Muenster, Zamarano, Sao Jorge, LambChopper, Mt. Tam, etc. etc. etc.  also hold special places in my heart.  And let's not forget the cheese mites!  What's so exciting is that for every cheese that I have learned about and celebrated this year, there are so many more out there to explore and discover.  Hooray!!

Here's to a cheesy 2010!

Vacherin Nont d'Or - the Holy Grail of Cheese? Perhaps.

To every season there is a cheese, and winter belongs to Vacherin Mont d'Or (vash-er-ANN moan-DOOR).  This incredible cheese is only available during the winter months, and once it's gone, you have to wait till the next December!  When I got to Andrew's this afternoon, there were so many people there!  I didn't know what to do, and then I saw the guy in front of me getting this a Vacherin Mont d'Or it's darling wood box, and I knew that would be the perfect cheese to celebrate the end of a looooong week.  And lucky me - I got the last one!  Ha!  Collector's victory!

Every book I've read calls this part of the Holy Grail of cheese.  Andrew claims that it is "one of the finest achievements of human civilization."  I'd probably put it behind fire and the wheel, but it might come shortly after that on the list.  What else can I add?  Well, I can agree that it is pretty amazing, and it comes with some cool bells and whistles.  Even though it looks like a scary orange washed rind stinker, it isn't.  It's soft, fuzzy coral rind has beautiful ripples. It comes wrapped in Spruce bark from the mountain trees of Switzerland to keep it from falling apart in it's lovely softness, and is wedged into a safe little box for shipping.  I tried to bang it out of the packaging, but it was stuck.  Which is good because once I dug into the top of this cheese, it was so soft I could probably have used a spoon, and I would never have gotten it back in!

The spruce bark definitely gives this cheese a piny nose.  I also got a little pepper, and when I closed my eyes, I was almost transported to a Swiss mountain top covered in snow.  Unlike the milk in some of the cheese that I've talked about that tastes like grass, or flowers or whatever, this one has a purity to it that comes from cows eating nothing but fresh hay and grain.  It does have a bit of "barnyard tang" but really what you taste is beautiful milky, buttery goodness, a crazy pine tree flavor and a tiny bit of pepper.  Some people say it tastes like scrambled eggs.  I didn't get that, but who knows.  I like my eggs poached.

This is not a cheap cheese - you can't get less than a whole cheese (you'd probably have to pack it in a bag it would be so goopy!).  I spend $32 on it, but it we'll snack off it for a while.  It won't be an every day purchase, but it isn't an every day cheese.  It's a celebratory cheese - for a week survived, for an exam passed, for good times with friends.  Hey - if you're in the neighborhood, drop in, and I'll scoop you out a little on a piece of bread!   We'll share a glass of wine, maybe some figs...mmmm.  Better hurry!  The dog looks hungry!

Lancashire - Three Milkings and Some Butter!

When is a blue cheese not a blue cheese?  When it's Lancashire.  Duh.  Or not.

I was looking for something fun from England - I didn't really want Cheddar, and I've had plenty of Blues for a while.  What to do?  So I went to Andrew's Cheese (again) and got the hook up with this Lancashire.  It's a creamy white cheese with a cool blue streak through it.  I guess that some people think that streak is a bad thing, because the cheesemonger was very quick to let me know that it wasn't really a "flaw," but something that comes with the territory for artisinal  cheese.  I think it makes it kind of cool.

Anyway, I love surprises, and this was a good one!  Lancashire has a nice tangy flavor with maybe a hint of lemon and a nice creamy crumble.  The flavor really hits in the back of your mouth if you break off a chunk.  "They" call it a butter crumble, and that's a pretty good description.  Each little bit that crumbles off is so soft and creamy.  What an interesting texture!  I think it may also be called a butter crumble because the cheese is rubbed in butter to protect it during the aging process.

Additionally, this cheese is made from milk collected over three days - an homage to the old days when a farmer might only have one cow, and it might take three days to get together enough milk  to make a cheese.  This might be where some of the tang comes from.  There's a great website devoted to Lancashire cheese, if' you're looking for something else to kill a few minutes on the internets.

While this was great on a cheese plate, it did cause a little confusion (Friend - Can you make me up a cracker with some of the blue cheese?  Me - Oh, this great Berkshire Blue?  Friend - No, the other one.  Me - That's not blue cheese, but it's tasty!  Friend - Really?  Ok.  I'll try that!  Oooooh Yum!).  I think it might actually make amazing cheese toast.   Mmmmm.  I've got a little hunk of this left.  That may be tomorrow nights dinner.  Darling Husband if you're reading - don't take this one in to school tomorrow!

Beautiful Berkshire Blue

As part of my Thanksgiving "Pilgrim's Progress" cheese spread, I needed a cheese from Massachusetts.  Trouble was, Andrew's Cheese Shop only had one cheese from MA in the case on Wednesday when I went in to procure my dairy delights.  It always makes me nervous when I don't have choices, but the one cheese they had sounded kind of interesting.  I took Berkshire Blue home untasted.  What choice did I have?  It was all about location, location, location for this tasting.

I wasn't disappointed!  This blue cheese (on the right - duh) is a great find for anyone who loves blues.  It might not be a great cheese for introducing your blue cheese phobic cheeses to your obsession with blue mold.  It is a bit on the tangy side.  That said, it also has a great earthy sweetness, with a great creamy texture.  It was great on a bit of cracker (I tried to eat it without carbs, but it stuck to my fingers!  Not a terrible problem to have, but it was slowing me down.) with a glass of port.

The website for this great artisinal cheese betrays their love for their Jersey cows.  I can't say I blame them.  Not only are they adorable, with their big brown eyes, but their milk has a higher butterfat content, and they are apparently smarter than your average cow.  Kind of fun.  And really, if you devote your life to turning someone's milk into cheese, wouldn't you prefer if they weren't just a bunch of great udders?  I digress.

If you can find this one, buy it!  You won't be sorry.  It's only available in a few shops around the country, but they'll ship it to you for special occasions if you ask nicely (and give them your credit card number).

Happy Post-Thanksgiving!

Happy post-Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope your day was full of friends and family, lacking in drama, and sporting a great cheese plate!  Even though all of my genetic family was hundreds of miles away, I enjoyed a beautiful day with friends, starting with turkey in the park under sunny skies, followed by a movie and a cheese course curated by yours truly.  The good part was that I didn't have to cook, the bad part was that now that I'm considered the "cheese expert" of the group, the pressure was on!

I couldn't just bring any old cheese.  The good news is, I am definitely feeling more confident about my cheese choices after six months of experimentation.  The only problem - there are too many great cheeses to pick from!  What to do?

Why, track the "Pilgrim's Progress" of course!  "Huh?"  you say?  Well, those poor persecuted Pilgrims started their journey in England (amazing cheese choices from there!), spent a while in the Netherlands (can anyone say 5-year Gouda?), and finally ended up on Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts!  I am so clever!  Well, at least when I went into Andrew's Cheese Shop on that mission, they said they hadn't heard of that theme before...  Anyway, the RSVP list started out at 5 (including Darling Husband and myself).  I had picked up a Lancashire from England, a 5-year Gouda from the Netherlands, and the amazing Birkshire Blue from the Birkshire Mountains of Massachusetts (ok, the Pilgrims probably didn't get that far inland, but whatever!).  I had about a pound of cheese, which would have been fine, but then the list grew to 8 and then to 10.  Yikes!  Man Who Sneers at Goats (Cheese) jumped in with a few additional cheeses, including a Petit Basque from Spain.  I also brought along a Camembert from France.  We rationalized that the Catholic Pilgrims who traveled across Spain and France to the beautiful cathedrals during the Middle Ages were also Pilgrims (albeit not the kind that ate turkey and corn pudding with the Native Americans who hadn't yet realized that they were a threat to their very existance).

I'll be posting about a few of the cheeses over the next few days as you recover from turkey overload and start planning your holiday parties.  Are you planning cheese boards?  Let me know!

I Heart Hartwell!

As you may or may not have noticed, I haven't gotten a chance to buy cheese in over a week.  It's been rough, I tell ya! You know you're a cheese addict when the reason you are cranky about working late is because you won't make it to the cheese store before they close!  I got out of work in time to make it to Andrew's Cheese before they closed today.  Happy Friday to me!  I kind of went on a buying binge.  (I have a Blue Cheese challenge planned for tomorrow night - stay tuned.) 

To celebrate surviving till Friday, I picked up a cute little cheese from Vermont's Ploughgate Creamery called Hartwell.  I had read this cheese somewhere, and was excited to see it at the shop, but didn't realize that I would have to buy the whole cheese (about 8 oz for $13- not that much, but still...).  It's ok though.  Money well spent.  What an delightful little cheese.  Darling Husband and I managed to work our way through half of it with no trouble at all.

When I first unwrapped it and took a whiff, there was a definite ammonia smell coming off this bloomy rind cheese.  Not too surprising, considering the spots of grey mold amongst the soft white bloom.  It was a little overpowering, but as it came up to room temperature, the smell seemed to dissipate.  It just needed to breathe a little (as all cheese does).

Ultimately, the smell is one of the most amazing things about this cheese.  When I took a little piece (including the rind) and stuck it right under my nose, I swear that it smelled like fresh raked leaves.  You remember that slightly damp, earthy, crispy leaf smell that would surround you when you jumped in a pile of leaves as a kid after you worked all afternoon to make the pile?  Maybe you raked leaves yourself recently  Sadly, there aren't that many delicious piles of leaves being raked up and jumped into in Southern California, but I still remember that smell, and the memory of those leaf piles came right back to me when I smelled Hartwell.  An amazing gift to get from a cheese.

This cheese is delicious spread on a little baguette with a glass of Merlot.  The paste is rich and buttery, with just enough tang.  Smooth and delicious, with enough complexity to be interesting without being difficult. Eat it with the rind.  Without it, it is almost too rich (not necessarily a bad thing, but I personally need the contrast).

Hartwell is made in Vermont at Ploughgate Creamery by two cheese artists who after years of making cheese for others, decided to start making it themselves.  They started in May of 2008, and their cheeses are made in small batches from milk they buy from neighboring Vermont farmers.  It's that kind of amazing story of knowledge, gumption and guts that I just love.  They are working so hard, and it's really paying off!

I now heart Hartwell, and I am pretty sure that if you can find it, you will heart it too.

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.

One Cow, One Cheese

Yes, "Wrapped and Covered Week" was officially over last week, but this one is just to special.  It comes from the Jackson Farm in Oroville, WA and expert cheesemaker and farmer Sally Jackson.  And this cheese is so special that the milk to make this cheese all comes from a beautiful Brown Swiss cow named Renata.  The cheese is, of course called Renata.  How great is that!  When Renata is sick, there is no Renata cheese (which happened a while ago when she nibbled on a wire and got a case of "hardware disease).  Luckily, Renata is doing well at the moment, and her amazing cheese is available if you know who to ask.  I asked my friend Andrew over at Andrew's Cheese Shop for a chunk to try.  I'd been wanting to try it, and since it is wrapped.

Anyway, Renata is one heck of a cow.  Whatever she's snacking on in the fields is amazing.  I swear she's eating herb salad rich in parsley and sorrel.  According to the website, all the cows graze in the farm's aspen pasture every day.  How dreamy!  This cheese has a bit of the tang that comes from a washed rind cheese, but none of the sticky-ness.  Darling Husband thought it was strong enough to compete with "the white part of a blue cheese."  I didn't think it was quite that strong, but it was really creamy, nutty, tangy and herbal.

The leaves certainly keep the cheese moist, which I think helps make it so creamy.  You can't eat them, though.  In fact, if you've ever rolled your own cigarette or smoked an unfiltered cig, picking out the leaf bits out of your teeth  whilst eating cheese reminds one of picking tobacco leaves from your teeth during your smoke.  A gross analogy, I know, but it's what came to mind.   (Yes, I used to occassionally indulge.  No more - clouds the ability to taste cheese!)  The mold layer under the leaves isn't really that tasty, and the texture is a little mealy.  Not for the faint of heart, but not terrible.

I think I might really enjoy Renata as a bit of cheese toast, but at $38/pound, it would be a little more extravagant than my current budget will allow.  For now, I'll enjoy it with a little Cabernet Franc and a cracker.

Cheese for a Wednesday, pt. 9

This week has become "Wrapped and Covered" week. Everything I've brought into the house, shared with Darling Husband and tortured Perfect Dog with has been packed with something - peppercorns or grape sediment. Tonight, I visited with Andrew's Cheese with a very specific goal in mind - wrapped cheese. Cheeses wrapped in leaves during aging get a lot of flavor there, and I'm pretty sure the leaves help keep some moisture as well. Beyond my requirement for having wrapped cheese, I didn't have anything in mind. Goat cheese, blue cheese and many other cheeses come wrapped.

So I tell Andrew of my quest, and without blinking he says "Rogue River Blue." And with good reason! This award winner from Oregon was created by Tom Vella's son. Which didn't mean anything to me either until I learned that Tom Vella invented Monterey Jack! So we're dealing with cheese royalty here. This cheese is also the big brother of the Smoky Blue that I shared with you a few Wednesday's ago. It was, in fact, listed as one of the Best of 2009!

And here's why. This amazing blue cheese is wrapped in Syrah grape leaves and macerated in pear brandy during the aging process. It is so creamy, with just the right amount of tang. It just melts on your tongue. The blue and grey green streaks running through it are beautiful, you can definitely taste the pear and a little bit of sweetly salty nuttiness. With a little glass of port, this was the perfect way to end the day!

This grape wrapped blue isn't what I was expecting to walk away with this Wednesday, but I'm so glad it came home with me!

Sleep tight, wrapped in grape leaves and sweet dreams!