Wood turning demonstration
On Sunday AT and I went to the Montpelier Mansion in Laurel. There was a woodturning demonstration there, and Jeff Bridges made AT a wooden goblet. It was interesting.
It started with a stick.
Then he started cutting it.
More cutting.
And more cutting.
They were from Chesapeake Woodturners.
And finally sanding.
And in minutes there was a goblet!
Fondue in a Microwave Box
We were skeptical, but this 3-cheeese Emmental, Comté and Gruyère cheeses mixture melts into one another to form a thick and creamy fondue. No preservatives, but certainly not low-cal. We split the container up into two, separate fondue parties, and that worked fine. Surprisingly smooth, and ready in under five minutes. La Fondue is available at Trader Joe’s 17.9 oz • $5.99.
American Pere Brie
American Brie. “A French Style Brie made in America” Missing the great texture of French Brie. And it”s a small box. Where did we get this?
Cowgirl Creamery Fondue
Cowgirl Creamery has assembled paper bag fondue kits for under $20. It’s easy to make your own, but it was nice to have all the rinds removed and just exactly what you need – with no preservatives.
Ingredients:
1/2 pound Cave Aged Gruyere
1/2 pound Wagon Wheel
1 clove crushed garlic
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt & pepper to taste
Dice cheese into small cubes. Heat fondue pot, add crushed garlic clove. Deglaze with white wine. Sloly add cheese until meled and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat.
Served with cubed bread or raw veggies for dipping. Nice if you have a small crockpot or fondue part to keep it warm.
It serves 4, so we split the recipe and did it a half at a time.
Cheese at Flight Jacket Night Takes Off
We went to the National Air and Space Museum for the annual Flight Jacket Night. Richard C. Kirkland, pilot, author and artist was the speaker. He flew 103 combat missions in P-38 and P-47 fighters with the famed “Flying Knight” squadron in the southwest Pacific during World War II. He and his wife had nine children — and of course now have multiple grandkids and great grandkids.
We are members of the Air & Space Society, and the staff, including Elizabeth, Rachel and Christina did an excellent job of the program and the reception beforehand. The food and drinks were excellent, and the setting couldn’t have been better — right in the middle of the new exhibit, Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight.
Highlight for us: the cheese. All surprisingly delicious – not like the cubes you get at many receptions:
1. (Alpine) Pleasant Ridge Reserve Cheese. Artisanal American cheeses reminiscent of French Gruyere style cheeses. It was awarded Best of Show at the 2010 American Cheese Society conference, an accolade it won in 2001 and 2005 as well. Pleasant Ridge Reserve was named U.S. Champion at the 2003 U.S Championship cheese contest. It’s the only cheese ever to win both national competitions. Pleasant Ridge Reserve is made from the non-pasteurized milk of a single herd of Wisconsin cows fed & managed using natural, “old world” practices. Dodgeville, WI, Uplands Dairy.
2. Cheddar with Carmelized Onions. MODESTO, CALIFORNIA Fiscalini Farms. This cheese has a firm, crumbly straw colored flesh; a nutty, slightly smoky, earthy taste; and a more round finish than most aged cheddars. It looks like it might have been Bandage Wrapped Cheddar, but it was hard to tell at the reception. It hand-turned daily for the first two months of its life, and it is aged for 18 months. We skipped the onions, but they say it is delicious with many types of fruit and even red / white wines.
3. Amablu® “St. Pete’s Select” blue cheese with a fig chutney. Cave aged a minimum of 100+ days in Faribault, MN at the Faribault Dairy Company. Our first cheese aged in genuine sandstone caves; Hand-made from unpasteurized cows milk from local farmers.
Good Cheese at Trader Joe’s
We didn’t think much about the cinnamon cheese, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t have a decent selection.
W had been reading the book Camembert (Boisard), but this is the first time we had seen some from Normandy. It came in a cute little box “Le Rustique” with red and white checked paper. Signed by Fromager Jean Verrier. Normandy is the home of Camembert. It was smooth, creamy and with great flavor. It was hard to move on to the other cheeses it was so good.
We had Spanish manchego — just, it’s been criticized as being the only Spanish sheep Americans know, but it’s a good, salty standby.
The blue: Stagnolia Blu (Italian for Blue Foil) was nice and creamy. We assume it’s cow cheese. The blue was a subtle blue.
A good cheese night.
Cinnamon Cheese NOT
We’re not much for flavored or “infused” cheeses, and here is another NO to add to the list. TJ says: “Creamy Toscano Cheese Dusted with Cinnamon. This cow’s milk cheese has the nutty flavor of Parmesan and the creamy texture of English Farmstead cheddar. Each wheel is coated in cinnamon, which gently infuses the cheese with a subtle sweet-warm spice as it ages. Only at Trader Joe’s. $7.99 a pound. ”
We say no. Wimpy flavor. What would you eat with it? Not appropriate for a cheese tray. Apple with cinnamon cheese fondue? No, buy a better cheese and add your own cinnamon — though cinnamon and cheese probably isn’t for me.
Aged 9 months; Wisconsin, USA. Maybe if we had tried pairing it with a brawny port…
Cabrales and Beyond in Culture cheese magazine
Cabrales and Beyond (Touring the hidden valleys and farmstead
cheesemakers of northern Spain) is a good article about cheese in the Asturias area of Spain. The author, Gerry Dawes, highlights it on his blog.
We got as far as buying some cabrales (kah-BRAH-lays) from Calvert Woodley, and it was wrapped in leaves (not all are). A creamy and earthy blue, but since a number of cheese from this area in Spain can be called cabrales, we weren’t sure if this was one of the recommended ones or not — but we would recommend it anyway. Traditionally, it is made with a mixture of cows’, sheeps’ and goats’ milk, but now it is most often made with raw cows’ milk. They let you taste the cheese before you buy it at Calvert Woodley, so you can’t go too wrong.
This issue of Culture also includes: a 36-page beer guide.
Happy National Cheese Day
Somehow, W got through National Cheese Day without any cheese. I had this great salad at lunch at Jaleo’s “Ensalada de remolacha con citricos“, a salad of red beets, citrus, Picón cheese and pistachios with Sherry dressing. Picón: A three-milk blue cheese from the mountains of Picos de Europa in the Northern region of Cantabria. Instead of cheese, we went to the Kennedy Center for John Pizzarelli (Bucky’s son) & Jessica Molaskey — After meeting on the set of the Broadway musical Dream and falling in love, singer and guitarist Pizzarelli and songstress Molaskey have performed together and individually on stages around the world for years. We’ve seen Pizzarelli a number of times, and he shone along with the rest of his Quartet, Larry Fuller (piano), Martin Pizzarelli (Bass) and Tony Tedesco drums). Didn’t know before: There is a show called Radio Deluxe with John Pizzareli.