Oil-packed herbed cheeses are lovely for summer salads. You’ve seen those jars and tubs in stores. But here’s a secret: you can make your own in five minutes for a lot less money. I bought a log of fresh goat cheese, sliced it into rounds, then packed the rounds in a jar with extra virgin olive oil and seasonings. Two weeks later, I warmed a couple of slices in the oven on a bed of garden vegetables. What a delicious summer lunch.
Read moreDip of My Dreams
Greek salad dip…brilliant. Two of everyone’s favorite foods—hummus and Greek salad—come together on one plate. Wish I’d thought of it. With cucumbers, tomatoes and basil in their glory right now, and good weather luring us outdoors, this layered dip is the perfect start to a summer evening. Use store-bought hummus and pita chips to keep it simple or make your own.
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 moreAlways Something New
Recently, a young man in one of my classes asked me how many cheeses there were. Like…how many in ALL? Who could know? Thousands, surely. All I know is that I keep stumbling on new ones, or at least new to me, like this totally loveable goat cheese from northern Italy. I’m crazy for it on its own, but I intend to drape slices on hot polenta at the next opportunity.
Read moreSuperstar Cheeses of 2019
French showstopper: Tomme Brulée
What cheeses topped the charts at American cheese counters this year? For answers, I polled a few independent retailers around the country about their biggest hits of the past 12 months. I wanted to hear about newcomers that took off, sleeper hits that surpassed expectations and any under-performers that, for whatever reason, finally got traction.
Read moreNew Look for Baked Goat Cheese
Forty years ago next spring, Chez Panisse Café opened in Berkeley and introduced Americans to the baked goat cheese salad. The café’s menu changes daily, but that dish is still on it, a testament to its enduring popularity. As a cook there in the early days, I made a few million of those salads. I still love the combination of quivery cheese and crunchy breadcrumbs.
Read moreAfter the Recall
Photo: Craig Jordan
his past summer, Consider Bardwell’s Goatlet catapulted to glory. For the third time in three years, it placed first in its category at the prestigious American Cheese Society judging. Four months later, the Vermont farm has ceased cheesemaking and its future is in doubt. A positive Listeria test in late September, every cheesemaker’s nightmare, led to a voluntary recall that could doom this 18-year-old enterprise. I didn’t really think co-owner Angela Miller would want to talk about this painful episode, but she surprised me. “I would very much like to help others by telling our story,” she said in an e-mail.
Read morePeak Experience
I should have known the creamy cheese at twelve o’clock would be the class favorite. Never bet against a triple-cream. This one was delightful, I agree, but I found more to love in the six aged cheeses that followed—all of them mountain cheeses from Europe, all made with raw milk and animal rennet. So much tradition and expertise represented on one plate!
Read moreGetting Angry
Penne all’arrabbiata (“angry” pasta) relies on a simple tomato sauce made fiery with dried red chilies. Garlic is permitted; cheese is frowned on. Being a cheese person, I ignore that and reach for the pecorino. When a sample of Laura Chenel’s Spicy Cabecou landed on my doorstep the other day, I thought of another way to make pasta angry. Garden tomatoes and basil, good olive oil, capers, nuggets of cabecou…such an easy no-cook sauce for hot pasta.
Read moreA New Blue to Love
A new blue cheese made with goat’s milk is cause for rejoicing. There are so few. This beauty, from Andalusia, was the region’s first goat blue when it debuted in 2012. Andalusia produces a lot of goat cheese but nothing remotely like this. The innovator? A spunky young woman who married into a cheesemaking family and wasn’t afraid to challenge tradition.
Read more