Yesterday we met at the farmer’s market that is every Thursday near the Navy Memorial.  I didn’t get there in time to get blue cheese from Everona, but I was able to get some Shenandoah.  It was good, as usual.  Sheep’s milk.

I also got some feta and mozzarella from Blue Ridge Dairy Company, in Leesburg, Va.  We tried the feta already, and it is quite good, if a bit salty.  We’ll try the applewood smoked mozzarella next.  All from Jersey cows.

The other day I got some montasio cheese from the Italian market in Arlington.  It is a very nice cow’s milk cheese from northern Italy.

Sheep
carr valley cave aged marisa aged six months; rich, sweet, round la valle, wi

abbaye du bellocq a level of silky caramel smoothness only benedictine monks can achieve, pyrenees, fr

Cow

*old man highlander naturally ripened for 6-9 months, semi-soft, creamy & buttery honesdale, pa

l’amuse gouda aged 24 months; nutty with crystaline texture; deep & complex beemster, holland

Blue

valn d’alos bleu d’auvergne soft & buttery; mildly spicy with notes of grass & wild flowers languedoc, fr

Meat:

bentons tennessee ham 14 mos tn

la quercia prosciutto americano ia

Salumi framani toscano

House Made — didn’t try any of these.
chicken liver parfait
pork butter
smoked lamb liverwurst
suckling pig testa

Maureen called me from Texas to watch chef and cheese expert Jason Sobocinski, called The Big Cheese,  on the cooking channel. We don’t get it (only food tv), but I went to the website. It says: The US is now the biggest cheese producer in the world and creates over 350 high quality. She says W would do a better job — which was very sweet of her. One of the recipes on the site has our favorite blue:  Penne with Point Reyes Original Blue, Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach. It just premiered on May 1, and they don’t have much on the website yet.

5-Spoke Creamery Redmond Cheddar is made from raw cow’s milk and aged for 60 days.  A very nice cheddar that we think is from Pennsylvania. Also melted well for breakfast on toast.

Manchego – a regular.

Societe Roquefort, (which I think is one of the most common brands), is very nice, one of our favorite blues. As it is an AOC, it is made from raw sheep milk according to the rules.

For National Cheese Fondue Day, the Melting Pot offered free fondue. WT was out of town and had set up the reservation, so NA and I got to take advantage of it at the DC location on 19th Street. We had just been to a lovely program at the Italian Embassy, so we were in the a festive cheese mood. The restaurant is a pretty place, much cozier than the family-friendly restaurant in nearby Arlington, VA. The staff was quite friendly, and the place was quiet. They make a big production out of making the actual fondue at your table, and that is quite fun. The hostess let us know: Every Wednesday: Wine Down Wednesday! 50% off select  bottles of wine. The waiter, Charlie, and his trainee suggested salads and desserts, but they weren’t pushy. Charlie knew a bit about wine, and he checked with the bartender when we had a question. We went with Verdemar’s Spanish Albarino, and it went well with the Swiss cheese fondue. (There were many types of cheese fondue, but we decided to go with a classic).

Charlie prepared our fondue in a double-broiler-type fondue pot on the table with white wine, garlic, fresh lemon juice, grated Swiss Gruyere and Emmentaler, topped off with black pepper and nutmeg. It was accompanied by bread chucks, some veggies and granny smith apples. It was just perfect for 2. I’d give the fondue and service a good rating, but they need to work on the softie American bread–a good, crusty French bread would have added to the experience.

During the week you have to park on the street, and of course, we had parking meter issues, so bring plenty of change and call the phone number on the side if you have issues.

Belletoille Brie, a nice triple-cream brie from France.

Petite Basque, a sheep milk cheese from the Pyrenees mountains of France, near where Manchego comes from.

Parrano, a Dutch Gouda-style cheese.

Caseificio dell’Alta Langa Robiolo a washed rind (smelly) cheese from Bosnia

Maytag Blue – one that we’ve had before, but we prefer other blues.