Abondance is an AOC cheese from French Abondance cows, and aged. The recipe has been unchanged since the 12th century. It was a little bitter (tart?), which was fine, as the other cheese we tried later tasted sweet by comparison. Don’t eat the rind.
Prima Donna at Cheesetique
We were meeting friends at RTs in Arlandria, so we stopped at Cheesetique — in Del Ray, also on Mount Vernon Ave. before dinner.
We sat at the bar and had a mac-and-cheese with cauliflower, cheese, and bacon. The also have a large seating area in the back and a front patio.
Then the cheese trays looked so pretty, I had to order one — I chose Prima Donna, a Dutch gouda, aged a year. Nice, but not too salty. It came on a wooden cheeseboard with bread, crackers, cornichons and red grapes. The oniony crackers were a bit much with the mild cheese, but the rest worked. $8 for one cheese plate.
We had a North Carolina IPA with it (Brevard Brewing Company) — don’t know enough to know if a wine would have been better.
You get 10% off your store order if you buy at the restaurant, but I forgot to ask. I wanted to get a French and a German cheese for a friend. They had a ton of French cheeses, and only one German one — Cambozola, a blue cheese.
Grilled Halloumi
Halloumi is a fine grilling cheese. It is a Greek cheese made from sheep’s milk and goat’s milk. It doesn’t melt, but browns and turns a bit crispy. Next time we should brush the cheese with olive oil.
latest cheeses
AKT got some cheese at Whole Foods.
They were clockwise from upper left:
http://www.gourmet-food.com/italian-cheese/cacio-de-roma-cheese-1000526.aspx
gran queso sole 2.0
Murray’s Cheese – Sole Gran Queso
www.murrayscheese.com/roth-kase-sole–gran–queso.html
This hybrid comes from the heart of it all in Monroe, Wisconsin. The format, texture, and general recipe are meant to embody the ubiquitous Spanish sheep milk …
caciocavalio mitica
Caciocavallo – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caciocavallo
Caciocavallo is a type of stretched-curd cheese made out of sheep’s or cow’s milk. It is produced throughout Southern Italy, particularly in the Apennine …
New Carrot Tray Imported from Illinois
Take a good look at the left handle of these new tray Marilyn got me — a carrot, of course. The carrot bowls were a gift from W some time ago — great for holding carrots — and many other things.
The cheeses: Mitica Lou Bergier Pichin, Lamb Chopper Cypress Grove, Cordobes Mitica. From Whole Foods Tenley Town. All were good, but the Mitica Lou Bergier Pichin, a cow from the Italian Piedment region, was especially creamy and good.
The bread was from Palena’s market — one of the top restaurants in DC. Definitely worth the extra stop.
We were at Whole Foods for Brews And Bites! Fill The Grill last Thursday night.
The blue in the bowl is a favorite from Wagshall’s last week: Point Reyes Original Blue, an all-purpose cheese from California. Aged 5 months.
Only in dreams are carrots as big as bears.
“Only in dreams are carrots as big as bears.” Yiddish saying
May Crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage
It was one of those cool days in May that you didn’t mind a hot meal. I bought the corned beef back around St Paddy’s Day (about the only time you can buy it here). It keeps in its package for months (it’s that 41% sodium per serving), or you can freeze it. Rinsing the corned beef before you put it in, and not putting in the packaged juice, helps cut the salt down a bit. But it’s not something you want to eat every week.
I had some fancy, fingerling type potatoes, and they tasted like butter without even adding any. Of course, the horseradish adds a nice bit to both the meat and the potatoes. 11 hours seems like forever, but it works well if you are gone to work all day — or if you are running errands all day on a Saturday. Cooks itself.
Mom also suggested cooking the cabbage with a little of the juice in the microwave — not so salty that way. She doesn’t use the seasoning packet — can’t say it added much either way.
Crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage
Recipe By :About.com
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:20
Categories : Crockpot Meats
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
6 whole carrots — cut into chunks
4 whole potatoes — or more small ones
2 lb. corned beef brisket — with seasoning packet
12 ounces beer
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1 cup water
8 wedges cabbage
In 4-6 quart crockpot, combine carrots and potatoes. Rinse corned beef under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Place in crockpot and sprinkle with contents of seasoning mix. Spread mustard on brisket and pour beer over brisket. Add water. Cover crockpot and cook on low setting for 10-12 hours.
Remove corned beef from crockpot and cover with foil, then put into 200 degrees F oven to keep warm. Add cabbage wedges to vegetables and liquid in crockpot. Cover crockpot and cook on high for additional 30-40 minutes or until cabbage is crisp tender.
To serve, cut corned beef across grain into thin slices. Remove vegetables from slow cooker with slotted spoon and serve with corned beef. Serve cooking juices over the food, if desired. Offer additional mustard and horseradish on the side.
If you have a newer, hotter cooking crockpot you might want to check it after 8 or 9 hours. Although, with this much liquid, there shouldn’t be much problem with anything burning.
Adopted from: Source:
“http://busycooks.about.com/od/beefroastrecipes/r/cpcornedbeef.htm“
Energy Efficient Frother for Making Coffee
It’s not quite as good as a steamer frother on a espresso maker, but it requires no batteries — so this stainless steel, dishwasher safe milk frother is great for making cappuccinos at home. You may also use this pitcher to emulsify salad dressings and make whipped cream blended drinks. HIC Brands that Cook Stainless Steel Milk Frother, 14-Ounce Size
Crunchy, Like Carrots
Popcorn: crunchy, just like carrots.
The microwave popcorn from my local organic store was just too intriguing — probably more expensive than movie popcorn, but I had to try it.
From my local Yes! Market: Quinn Popcorn. I tried parmesan & rosemary. ‘Microwave Popcorn reinvented.” White popcorn. No preservatives.
It’s a kit: you add the oil and the seasonings at the end. At 7% sodium per serving, still a bit salty. But tasty and quick. About 2.5 minutes in my microwave. Fun to try.
I’ve done the brown bag version, but this bag was superior:
The bags isn’t coated like the big guys — it’s some type of waxed / parchment paper. ‘Well, it is special paper that is pressed to make it grease proof.”
Obscenely expensive: 3 bags (5 servings total) for $5.00. And they had to go all the way to Peru and Spain for dried rosemary?
3 grams of fiber. 180 calories per serving.
My birthday cake
Angela made me a coconut birthday cake!
