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 moreNew Blue to Dream About
Do you eat more blue cheese in winter? I know I do. That big, spicy flavor is what I want when it’s cold outside. I love it melted on polenta, crumbled in an escarole and radicchio salad with walnuts, or on a cheese board after a bowl of vegetable soup. So this new blue from New York landed in my kitchen at just the right time. I think it’s dreamy, and even my husband—not a blue-cheese enthusiast—gave it a rave.
Read moreSomething Old, Something New
In my never-ending hunt for new cheeses, I sometimes overlook old favorites. Manouri, the Greek sheep cheese, is definitely one of those. I hadn’t bought it in a long time, but by chance I brought some home the same week a gift bottle of olio nuovo showed up. Now there’s a love match. This moist, mild, creamy cheese is always one of the best buys at the cheese counter, and it soars with a splash of peppery just-pressed olive oil. Make some toast. Toss a salad. Time for lunch.
Read moreWho Gets Your Cheese Dollars?
Mission Cheese/Page Bertelsen
At this inflection point in the pandemic, it’s hard to predict where will we shop for cheese in 2021. Will we continue to buy online because it’s safe and easy, or from the big-box stores because it’s cheap? Or will we return to the small independent merchants who provide the service, selection and smiles we love? The demise of San Francisco’s Mission Cheese and Portland’s Cheese Bar made me anxious about what lies ahead. My recent conversation with Sarah Dvorak of Mission Cheese reminded me that, as consumers, we have to decide what we value. Low prices, selection, quality, knowledgeable service, convenience, personal safety…what matters most to you?
Read moreMargrit Mondavi’s Blini
I’m looking forward to lowering the curtain on this no good, very bad year. At my house, we’ll be celebrating quietly with Margrit Mondavi’s blini and a bottle of bubbles. I had the pleasure of collaborating with Margrit on two memoirs, and her buckwheat blini recipe is in one of them. The wife of vintner Robert Mondavi, Margrit was a fine cook but, by her own admission, not a patient one, so she made her blini with baking soda, not yeast. She put crème fraîche on top, but I have labneh in the fridge and like the tang.
Read moreGood News for a Change
Photo: Victoria Pearson | From Cheese & Wine by Janet Fletcher
I don’t eat cheese or drink wine for my health, but it’s gratifying to learn that both may have benefits. When a study recently published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease suggested that daily cheese and wine consumption correlated with mental acuity, you could practically hear glasses clinking around the globe. We like getting the doctor’s approval for what we’re going to do anyway. Astonishingly, compared with 48 other foods, cheese topped the charts. It was by far the most protective against cognitive decline in older adults studied over a decade. I spoke to the study’s lead investigators, from Iowa State University, for some insights into this unexpected outcome.
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 moreYour British Cheese Checklist
Of course you want some buttery Stilton on your holiday cheese board. So do I. But Britain has so many more sublime cheeses to try. Alas, with a no-deal Brexit looming, Britain’s cheesemakers are at risk, potentially facing a huge drop in sales to Europe. Time to show them some love. I asked Tracey Colley, who runs the UK’s Academy of Cheese, to name the 10 British cheeses that every American cheese lover should know. Availability is spotty, unfortunately. Importers have been reluctant to bring in the best from Britain because punitive tariffs implemented last year have made these costly cheeses even more so. Stephanie Ciano of World’s Best Cheese, an importer, says she is hopeful that the tariffs will disappear under the new Administration.
Read moreGive One, Keep One
Bread or crackers? I rarely teach a cheese class without someone lobbing this question. Don’t make me choose. But, truthfully, crackers are inching ahead now that I’ve discovered these wonderfully seedy, crunchy, crackly shards made in Buffalo. What a great stocking stuffer for a cheese lover, although you’ll probably want to stockpile a box for each one you give. That’s how I hope you’ll feel about all the giftables I’ve rounded up for this post. One for them, one for you.
Read moreTurkey Chilaquiles Time
At the small neighborhood market where I buy essentials for Mexican cooking, the meat counter has thick Mexican-style crema and slabs of moist queso fresco in bulk so I can buy just as much as I need. With Thanksgiving looming, I’ll need some of both for turkey chilaquiles. My husband and I are splitting a turkey with friends (I joked that I wanted the front half), but even so, we are sure to have plenty left over for one of my favorite cheese-topped Mexican dishes.
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