You may recall that I went crazy for these crackers last year. They’re from Top Seedz, a small company in Buffalo, New York. Many of you told me you bought some and found them as irresistible as I did. Now you can make them. At home. So they’re as fresh as can be. Top Seedz has developed a packaged mix for home bakers, and it really works. I made the crispy shards pictured above.
Read moreFromages Without End
Who knows whether Charles de Gaulle really said, “How can you govern a country that makes 246 cheeses?” If he did, he was underestimating. I think I’ve had 246 French cheeses myself, and I’m still discovering new ones. Take a look at the seven beauties I served last week in my “France Off the Beaten Path” tasting and see how many you know. Two were new to me. And I have to say, the class favorite surprised me.
Read moreWandering the Backroads
My dream job—and maybe yours, too—would be traveling the backroads of Europe as a Cheese Explorer, hunting for undiscovered cheeses at local farmers’ markets and in off-the-beaten-path bistros. I don’t get to do this but, fortunately, others do. That’s how American distributors keep receiving exquisite, unusual wheels from Europe that are hardly known there. This goat’s milk beauty comes from a scenic part of western France called Venise Verte (“Green Venice”). Did you even know this lush, canal-laced region existed? I didn’t, but I intend to go at the first opportunity. Maybe I’ll stumble on more goat cheeses as fabulous as this one.
Read moreStar Power
This little French beauty has a charming name and a touching back story. But more important, it’s delightful and just right for warm-weather cheese boards. Add a leafy green salad with lots of chopped fresh chives, a baguette and a bottle of Sancerre. Acclaimed affineur Hervé Mons had a hand in this cheese’s creation, so you know it’s sublime.
Read morePass the Goat Cheese, Please
It doesn’t happen as often as it used to, but I still get people telling me they don’t like goat cheese. Really? You’re writing off the whole vast category? I’m pretty sure these folks mean they don’t like tangy, chalky fresh chèvre that smells like a goat barn. I don’t either. But who wouldn’t fall for the two lovelies pictured here? Both are French, nutty, mellow, marvelous and made from goat’s milk, and we’ll be tasting one of them at Cheese O’Clock on February 18.
Read moreHomemade Panforte for Holiday Cheese
It’s not the holidays around here without homemade panforte. Although I’ve never met a panforte I didn’t like, I like mine best. It’s moderate on the spicing and heavy on the toasted nuts. Plus dried figs, honey, cocoa, aniseed. Oh, yum. Back in the day when we had dinner guests, I would put thin slices on the cheese board with a mellow, creamy blue (here: Fourme d’Ambert) and open a sweet wine. This year at my house, it’s panforte for two, but that won’t be a problem.
Read moreCheese Takes a Beating
Travel woes: (clockwise from upper left) Camembert au Calvados; Clochette; Burrata; French ashed cheeses
Maybe cheese wasn’t the first thing you thought about when President Trump announced a 30-day ban on flights from Europe last week. But cheese is, indeed, a victim. It won’t be getting on planes, either. All those lovely soft spring goat cheeses from the Loire Valley…fresh mozzarella and burrata from Campania…delicate robiolas from Piemonte…these cheeses and many others have effectively had their passports revoked. “Trump said it’s not going to affect cargo, but it doesn’t work that way,” says Stephanie Ciano of World’s Best Cheese, a major importer.
Read moreNew Year, New Drink
A pretty Champagne cocktail to ring in the New Year? I’m a big fan of this one, which I think I invented but, like so many recipes, it probably already existed. Let me know if you know it by another name. I call it the Ruby Yacht. It is elegant, it shimmers in a flute, and it is way too easy to drink. If it becomes your house cocktail, well, you’re welcome.
Read moreCheese Whisperer
When I see the name Rodolph Le Meunier on a new cheese, it’s my signal to seek no further. That’s the cheese I want. Le Meunier is a cheese whisperer, uncovering little-known gems in. hidden corners of France and maturing young cheeses made by others. Some of the cheeses in his product line are exclusive to him, like this crusty wheel from the Pyrenees. To know it is to love it.
Read moreSummer Crush
Where has this luscious cheese been all my life? How many bagels have I slathered with gummy cream cheese when I could have used this fluffy spread instead? It’s French, it’s not high in fat (well, as cheese goes) and it’s going to be a summer staple in my fridge. Hors d’oeuvres just got a whole lot easier. Pour yourself some rosé, make some toast and meet your new favorite fresh cheese.
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