Cheese Etiquette

Something new to bring to your next cheese tasting... 

Despite what your current ideas are as an American about cheese plates, the Europeans have a preferred way to participate.   Cheese is a delicate and well cultured food item.  In order for each successive person to have an equal opportunity at tasting the subtleties and nuances of each cheese, all of us that are sampling should make a conscious effort to think about how we're sampling the cheese.  Typically displayed on the cheese plate will be rounds, slices of rounds, blocks, pyramids, logs, etc.  Some cheeses even come in little wooden boxes.  Images on the left show ideal sampling sizes and cuts.  

The interior and exterior of a cheese age differently and provide a gradation of flavor.  The most polite way to sample cheese is to allow every person a portion of the rind.  By taking a moderate and appropriately chosen sample, you - and everyone else - can experience the full range of flavor.

This blog site talks about one American's experience in Italy.  It's definitely worth a quick read, because you can save yourself the same embarrassment as the blogger.  The moral of the story is - it is advisable to not consume the entire cheese plate.  The intention is that the plate to be sampled and then passed along to the next group of diners.  It may seem like an unusual tradition, but we should put forth the effort to honor the French cheese etiquette and eat only a portion of the entire cheese selection.  Is is good to remind oneself that the few samples you do choose from the plate should be savored.  Remember - the idea is quality, not quantity. 

A meal of more than one course usually provides plenty of food.  When the cheese board or plate is passed around after the main course and before desert, it is intended for you to sample and to appreciate the delicacy and fine grade of cheese.  Concentrate on transitioning your palate, and not filling your stomach.  This may be difficult because you will most likely enjoy the cheese selections quite a bit. 

I try to use a mnemonic to keep my correctly chosen sample portions to a minimum while still being able to appreciate the selection: SLICE - SAVOR - SHARE.

Enjoy! 

Coming shortly - a posting about cheese etiquette.   

Goat Cheese for Everyone!

I found a new trio pack of Montchevre this week at Trader Joe's.  See picture.  You get Herb/Garlic, Original & Four Pepper in a lovely size - crottins (small disks).  As usual, I advise pairing with a simple water cracker.  The cracker package in the picture is also from Trader Joe's.  The best presentation for the crottins would be to place each one on its own small decorative plate.  Use the flat, wide spreading knife, as it's a soft cheese. 

Happy tasting! 

Cheese Plate for a Party - Success!!!

Ok. I'm back. Here's the skinny on my successful cheese plate for Brian's party.  As I said in the last post, it was super helpful to ask for assistance from the cheese counter attendant at Whole Foods.  Brad made some really great suggestions and I made a new friend.  Live just can't get better than making a new friend WHILE shopping for cheese.  Fabulous! 

2 semi-hard cheeses.  2 Cheddars;  one yellow cheddar from Wisconsin, 2 year aged.  One white cheddar, 2 year aged made by Cabot (New England cheese maker). Both were very party popular and it was interesting to hear people compare the 2 Cheddars.  (I like to hang around the cheese plate and listen to the critiques - guilty pleasure of mine. It also helps to get feedback from the tasters in order to make decisions for the next cheese shopping occasion.)

1 hard cheese, an aged Gouda.  Not smoked.  That doesn't always go over well with a picky crowd. So Brad suggested an aged, dry, salty Gouda, that had some precipitate salt and an unusual orange color.  This unique cheese went over extremely well with some palates, while Brian thought it was too "stinky".  Which got me thinking about doing a blog post about our more odorous cheeses.  Anyway...

1 goat cheese.  This cheese is one of my absolute favorites.  I can pair this Montchevre with any kind of hard fruit (extra crisp apple, under-ripe pear) or plain, unsalted cracker and it truly shines.  By the way, my favorite cracker is Carr's Table Water Crackers.  This particular goat cheese has just enough herbs and a bit a garlic blended throughout to enhance the goat cheese and not become overpowering.  Again, I highly recommend this as an entry level goat cheese to anyone who has not given goat cheese a fair shake. 

1 soft cheese.  Brie.  Traditional and refreshing at the same time.  With so many options, it was a difficult decision. Nonetheless, I did choose a double cream, French Brie (and a large slice, at that). It was only $7 for a considerable wedge and I was entirely pleased with my selection.  I am not always a fan of rind, but in this case I ate the rind right along with the gooey goodness inside.  This Brie really won me over.  I think the best starch pairing for this Brie was a day old baguette, sliced thinly like crostini.  Yummmmm!  Oh, make sure to serve your Brie room temp.  No need to heat - the best flavors will come through at about 70 degrees. 

So there you have it!  And not a morsel left to take home with me.   That just leaves more cheese shopping for me to do in the near future, I guess.  Can't complain about that! 

Cheese Plate

I co-hosted a party yesterday and was honored to bring a cheese selection. I had a general idea of what I wanted to buy, but found it extremely helpful to ask for assistance at the Whole Food's cheese counter.

I will post details on the cheeses selected this evening. Thanks for your patience! Love, The Cheese Guru

Something Simple, Something Good

This is a terrific way to overcome your fear of fresh mozzarella.  I think the majority of us take one look the that tub filled with balls of white cheese floating in an opaque water bath and become slightly queazy.  I know I still do.  But you really need to give this fabulous cheese a try.  I'll tell you how and I can guarantee that in the process you'll have a new appreciation for it.

My first foray into fresh mozzarella started at Costco.  I'm not kidding.  Costco has a terrific double pack of fresh mozzarella.  BelGioioso (pronounced "bel-joy-oso") packages it dry, for the most part.  So no weird liquid to deal with.  Surprisingly, you'll actually end up using it up quicker than you think, so don't be intimidated by the large amount of cheese.  

I like to pair this with another Costco product - the fresh, organic ciabatta rolls.  They come in a large bag, and can be found next to the more tantalizing sweets.  

Slice open the ciabatta bread (if you're choosing other bakery product, find a fresh baked bread that is light and has plenty of large air pockets (like an English muffin on steroids). Cut into one of the Belgioioso mozarella packages.  Take the cheese loaf completely out of the packaging (it may be a little slimy, I'm not going to lie).  Use a serrated knife and slice a few wheels off approximately 1/4 " thick.  Place the cheese directly onto the ciabatta and then directly into your toaster oven (see, I promised this would be simple...).   Use the oven setting at 350 degrees.  Sometimes, I put it through one toast setting before I switch to the oven setting.

It allows for a crispier crust when you're using defrosted bread.

When the cheese starts to bubble and ooze,  filling in the airy places in the bread, pull it out of the toaster oven.  Drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil over it, sprinkle a little bit of dried oregano, and enjoy! 

After this, you'll never be able to look at commercial pizza the same way again.  And you'll totally be in love with fresh mozzarella!

To store the cheese properly, simply place the remaining fresh mozzarella into a sandwich bag and release all the air before sealing. Tada!

Leaving, on a jet plane... Don't know when I'll be back again...

CheeseGuru is off on another adventure.  This time I'm headed to Nassau, Bahamas.  I don't know if I'll encounter any local or specialty cheeses, but you never know.  They could be hiding the goats and cows somewhere...

I'm keeping my mind open to all sorts of possibilities.   One of the island dishes is conch, a sea mollusk and an important staple of the Bahamian diet.  Upon doing some research on conch dishes I've found innumerable ways of preparing the conch - we're talking about Bubba Gump Conch-style... conch salad, conch fritters, conch chowder, cracked conch, stewed conch...and the list goes on.  

The only tie I can find to cheese at the moment is Bahamian Mac & Cheese, which isn't all that innovative.  For other local dishes and an extremely interesting list of food in general (including avocado cheesecake) go to http://www.bahamasgateway.com/bahamas_recipes.htm.

The Best Cheese Advertising Award Goes to...

ok - So who's seen the new Sargento's commercial?  It's great!  more Euro than American  in style - US advertisers just can't make food look that sensual.  Close up frame of someone cutting off a slice of cheese, frame of a woman eating the cheese and LOVING IT!  Then cut to a frame of pizza pie that looks super tasty.  

I only caught part of it because I was at the gym, and the music or voice overs could be a complete buzz kill (I was hooked into my iPod), but I have to admit that Sargento (who doesn't really make the best cheese) has a great ad.  Let me know if you've seen it so I can tune into that channel and try to catch it again.

It's all in the sauce!

One hasn't lived until one has made alfredo sauce, successfully, from scratch.  I tried my batch for the first time last week, and I have to admit - it was edible!  And I believe that the flavor for the alfredo sauce hinges mostly on the cheese choices.  I picked a block of aged parmesean and some lovely asiago. The following is a short (not quick) recipe for a cheese lover's sauce (beware, it's rich, so I recommend serving over pasta as a side dish):

1/4 c. butter

1 1/4 c. heavy whipping cream or half 'n' half

1/1/2 c. shredded parmesean

1/2 c. shredded asiago

2 garlic cloves

chives

black pepper

canned mushrooms

pine nuts

1 - heat butter over low/medium heat

2 - add garlic cloves (slightly crushed, but mostly whole) and simmer

3 - after 10 min, or when garlic starts to brown, add chives

4 - slowly add cream until cream is heated (do NOT boil - dairy fat will separate and you'll need to start over)

5 - remove garlic chunks and chives

6 - take bowl w/ freshly shredded parmesean and asiago, add 1/3 of the cheese to the heated cream mixture, stirring almost constantly.  it may take some time to get the hard cheese to "melt"

7 - add the second portion of cheese, melt and do the same for the remaining portion. 

8 - the hard cheese may not melt to satisfaction; it may be a bit grainy.  That's ok.  add black pepper to taste.

9 - 5 min before serving add canned mushroom pieces and pine nuts.  these ingredients will help thicken the sauce.  

10 - you can turn off the burner and set sauce aside while you prepare the remaining parts of the meal.  Simply reheat over low setting.  Pour over hot cooked pasta and serve. Enjoy! 

Cheese to avoid

As a cheese lover you must contemplate whether or not you wish to eat reduced fat or (gasp!) fat-free cheese. I recommend that you save your calories and indulge in full-fat cheese. It must be an enormous challenge for a cheese producer to retain flavor when removing the fat. The best example of a mostly tasteless reduced fat cheese is Sargento's Reduced Fat Swiss Cheese made from 2% milk.
Instead, try a deli cut Alpine Lace Swiss Cheese. Pair with a tart apple, fresh whole wheat bread and a dressing of choice.

Hot Cheese of the Week

Most recently I have come across a Gorgonzola Piccante that is just fabulous. For those of you cheese lovers that don't like stilton or blue cheese, but enjoy the strength and depth of flavor that a gorgonzola brings, try the Piccante. I find it well paired with Hearts of Romaine Lettuce, walnuts, dried Cherries from Cherry Republic and a nice balsamic dressing. Enjoy!

Welcome to the World of Cheese

Hello Cheese lovers! This is my new blog about my favorite food.  Honestly, who can survive without cheese?  your sandwich would be bare, your salad without flavor, your grilled cheese without... need I say more?  

This blog is not intended as an encyclopedic resource.  And I don't, by any means, claim to be an expert on cheese.  My intent here is to simply share my passion for cheese with you and provide assistance and inspiration on finding ways to enjoy and appreciate it.  You can look forward to quick recipes, postings about new finds, bad rinds, and great pairings.  I am also here for advice on good party combinations and quick tips.  

I look forward to our future conversations.  And don't forget to smile when you're shopping for cheese!!!