My favorite recipes
When we went to Cheesetique the other day, AKT found a new Camembert that we’ve not tried: Camembert du Bocage. At least, the box lid was not in our collection so we had to get it. It was very good, of course. ‘Fabrique en Normandie’!
We also got Fontinella, a Wisconsin cheese similar to fontina, Grand Pardo Parmesean, and to fill the blue category, Gorgonzola a very nice blue cheese from Italian cows.
We were in Arlington, so stopped by Cheesetique, of course. We got a very nice sheep’s milk blue from Wisconsin named Little Boy Blue, because the girls liked the name. It is from Tony and Julie’s Hook’s Cheese Company.
I stopped by Cornucopia in Bethesda and picked up some Italian cheeses
Buffalo Mozzarella – a very nice, full-flavored mozzarella, is very nice when drizzled with maple syrup
Cantala (sp?) – an aged Italian sheep cheese, rubbed with herbs. very nice
Asiago – very nice, but not as good as the one ‘imported’ from Italy by someone we know
I picked up a load of bread, which led to a bread “crisis” (we have too much bread here).
We went across town to Wegman’s, a very large grocery store in/near Lanham. It’s only 12 miles away, but with no easy way to get there, it takes a good 40-50 minutes from DC. It’s in a megamall area with a Costco, Best Buy, Petco and more. They had 28 checkouts, a cafe, live music, a bakery and more — but we particularly went for cheese. We’d also read the Washington Post article, “‘Club Wegmans’ in Pr. George’s: Smooth jazz and smoother pickup lines” and seen a special on TV (and then we ended up meeting the chef, Joe Serock, there). We didn’t eat there, though, we went to the nearby Levis Restaurant for BBQ.
Anyway, while we were at the cheese counter AKT turned her back on me and I was unsupervised for a while (probably not a good idea). I found 5 very nice Italian cheese for tonight’s tasting. Wegman’s has a huge cheese selection, including some of the biggest wheels we’ve seen. They have a tasting table, but don’t seem to let you taste the cheese like the Calvert Woodley cheesemonger. However, they did cut several of the large pieces into smaller pieces for us.
We had so many cheeses, we invited neighbor L, who we discovered was also with NC Stat’s Wolfpack. L is a goat cheese fan, and she likes the goat cheese brie from Brookville that AKT likes. She isn’t as much into hard, aged cheeses–we will need to get her a triple-cream next time.
Vento d’estate, a cow’s milk cheese from Monfenera, a historical mountain in Treviso, Italy. Rolled in hay and aged in oak barrels buried in hay and herbs. The name means “summer wind”.
Pecorino Toscano oro Antico, a semi-hard pecorino (sheep’s milk) cheese brushed with olive oil during aging. From the Tuscany region of Italy. Aged one year.
Pecorino Ginepro, made from unpasteurized sheep’s milk cheese from Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Aged for 4 to 6 months and rubbed with juniper berries and basalmic vinegar during aging.
Quadrello di Buffala, a washed-rind (stinky) buffalo milk cheese from Lombardia, Italy. Said to be like tallegio. We found it wasn’t that strong. It was good with the Olive Fougasse.
Gorgonzola mountain piccante is a cow’s milk blue produced in the Piedmonte and Lombardy regions of Italy. D.O.P Mountain Gorgonzola comes in two styles, the younger sweet, creamy Dolce, and the elder, stronger Piccante with its thicker, drier rind and punchier flavor.
The cheeses were all from Calvert-Woodley, a very nice local cheese & wine shop. (clockwise from lower left)
Fromager d’Affinois is a double-cream cow’s milk cheese. We’ve had it before, and it was still very good. Somewhat like the Saint Angel that we had last week, but milder.
Emmentaler, an AOC alpine cheese that was on sale. It looks like traditional “Swiss cheese” with the holes. It was a bit rubbery. Good for fondue (probably), but not the best for a cheese board.
Gruyere, also on sale. Another AOC alpine cheese, but a better texture, and no holes. Good for both a cheese board and fondue.
Maytag Blue – one that we’ve had before. Very good (for a blue), and featured in this month’s Culture magazine.
We took several cheeses to Burlington for Thanksgiving this year. I made cheese plates of all of them, which seemed to go over well.
Claudel Camembert, another camembert we found at La Fromagerie in Alexandria.
A cheese we got at Magruder’s in Chevy Chase.
Marisa, a very nice sheep’s milk cheese that we got at La Fromagerie.
Pecorino wrapped in walnut leaves, from Cheesetique, very nice. ($21.99 a lb).
Thomasville Tomme, from Sweet Grass Dairy, in Georgia. Crumbly, but very good. (Cheesetique, $24.99 lb.)
Buttermilk Blue, from Roth Kase, Wisconsin, very good. (La Fromagerie).
Amadeus: A new cow’s milk cheese from Austria. Like gouda, very nice. A white wax rind. Named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Cheshire: England’s oldest cheese, listed in the Doomsday Book (dated 1085). Very crumbly; it isn’t spreadable, so use a spoon.
Blue Cashel: developed in 1984, it is Ireland’s original artisinal blue, and is the creation of Jane and Louis Grubb, a husband and wife team. Steve Jenkins says “To my mind, what Cashel Blue most resembles is the world’s finest Gorgonzola. I’m rarely out of it.” We thought it was very good.
The 2010 cheese event at the National Geographic was called ‘Come to Cheeses’. The speakers were Steve Jenkins, Www Xxx, and Yyy Zzz. Steve gave a nice talk on each of the cheeses, and the other speakers extolled the virtues of their beer and wine.
Buffalo mozzarello
Bartagnoli Pecorino Taula
milk: Italian sheep
Bartagnoli Pecorino Taula
milk: Italian sheep
Fontina Val D’Aosta Appennina
milk: Italian cow
Guffanti Asiago Vecchio
milk: Italian cow
Guffanti Gorgonzola Staglionato
milk: Italian cow
Guffanti Eborianato di Pecora con Milele
milk: Italian sheep
This is tonight’s selection of cheese from Dino, a local Italian restaurant. They extended Restaurant Week until Sept. 13th. Additionally, they had a “No Corkage Fee” tonight, plus they gave us limoncello at the end of dinner. The service was great, being attentive though not annoying.
It’s Beer week in DC, and we thought about attending a cheese/beer tasting at Cafe StEx. They were featuring Brooklyn Beer (a favorite of TT and I) and Cowgirl Creamery cheese. We’ve mentioned free tastings before and we were up to checking out the bar. Last night we discovered it would cost $20 each, and so between the time and money, we could create our own DC beer week…and so we did.
I walked over to Cowgirl after work with ideas of what to buy in hand. I tried many and ended up with 4 (at least 2 more than planned). The “cow” cheese ended up being the Bellwether Farms’ Carmoday from Sonoma but made from Jersey milk. It’s “a firm cow milk cheese with buttery intensity.” I moved to the “sheep” cheese next, and picked another from Bellwether Farms. Pepato is a cheese with peppercorns in it, and is salty like a Manchego with the spice of the pepper. Finally, I was convinced to round out my cheese plate with a “goat” cheese. Midnight Moon is essentially a Gouda from Holland. The Goat is not overwhelming so W and I agree it’s good.
Not so finally, I was there, and the infamous Pt. Reyes blue was there, so I was “forced” to buy the standard quarter pound. This year has a slightly different flavor, as it’s a bit more harsh. We’ve learned though, different seasons produce different cheese. Maybe we should just buy 3 pounds of it every winter. The Buttermilk Blue from Wisconsin is in the running for “Top Blue” cheese these days but I’m told the Pt. Reyes has a Reserve (we are yet to find or taste).
Tonight’s cheeses were great all around and are suggested if looking for a variety of cheeses that have good flavor and are not overwhelming. Oh…and Pumpkin beer is already out in select stores, so buy it while you can!