Cheeses can be Delinquent Too!

The cooler weather has had me craving washed rind cheeses. Somehow, a little stinky cheese makes me feel all warm and cozy inside. How about you? No? Oh well.

Anyway, I was exploring the delightful Cheese Shop of Silverlake on Sunday, and found this little gem that I had previously seen on a list of washed rind cheese and had a little giggle. This is Hooligan, the prize winning washed rind from Cato Corner Farm in Connecticut. It's pretty wonderful, and if you can get past the initial rank, dirty barnyard smell (appetizing, I know), you are in for a real treat. Not only is it super stinky, but the rind is a cross between an old suede jacket and a moldy peach. But in spite of that, you can tell that this cheese was loved.

This raw cow's milk cheese is aged for 60 days, washed in a brine that includes buttermilk. And really, if you keep smelling it, it will stop smelling like a dung heap, and start smelling more like a grassy green, well worn pasture. I know that doesn't sound so great either, but you should try it. It's pretty incredible.

Anyway, this bad boy is really complicated. After the less than favorable first impression, the paste is incredibly creamy and smooth. Not surprisingly, my first taste was sans rind. It tasted almost tangy. Nothing like how it smelled. With the support of my always brave cheese taster husband, my next sample with with a little bit of rind. So much more depth! Tangy, rich, earthy...and when I squished it up against the roof of your mouth, I could taste some real herby-ness. Really delicious.

This Hooligan isn't for everyday. It isn't something that you will probably want to eat copious amounts of all at once. It isn't for gobbling. It is for savoring. Tasting all of the complex flavors, trying out on your palate, and probably amazing in grilled cheese with a bit of parsley and a rich beer.

Trust me - this is a dream cheese!

A Little French Lesson...

I got the most amazing nugget of cheese on Saturday at the Cheese Shop. I'd gotten a hunk of my favorite Roaring 40s Blue from King Island, Australia for dessert and asked Tony if he could suggest a "main course" cheese to go with it. He hands me this little hunk of love called Reblochon. This washed rind cheese comes from the Savoie region of France - near the border of Switzerland and Italy. Even though it is part of the "stinky cheese" club, it is a great cheese to share with your stink-a-phobe friends. Another fabulous cheese from this area is Beaufort (see Aug. 23 post). Amazing things come from these mountain pastures, and the cows that make the milk for Reblochon are no exception!

According to Steve Jenkin's Cheese Primer, the word Reblochon might come from the word reblessa (French Savoyard slang for to steal or swipe). In the bad old days, you would milk your cow, but then you'd have to give everything you milked to the taxman and/or over-lord. Bummer, right? But if you were clever, you'd fake like you'd gotten all the milk possible out of Bessie, only to go back after the bad guys left to milk her for yourself. Sneaky, right? And the best news is that for whatever reason, the second milking would result in even richer milk with higher butterfat! Whoo Hoo!

This cheese has the most wonderful texture. Smooth and soft, but confident and not goopy. The rind is brine washed, so it has that distinctive smelly-ness, but not so much that you're worried about what is going on your cracker. It has just enough saltiness, and is so rich, with just a little nuttiness. It tasted great with the Pinot Noir we had open, but I bet it would have been even better with a bigger wine. The DH and I could have kept eating, but I knew I had artichoke ravioli with a ricotta/pepper sauce coming out next. Plus, now I have enough left over to have for "Cheese for a Wednesday Night!"

So, don't "reblessa" any of this amazing Reblochon, but keep an eye out, and enjoy whenever you can!