Raining Cheese

Greetings from the flip side, I am now a married woman. Despite what I thought, I do feel different. However, my appetite is still the same.

Our wedding took place during the pinnacle of a nor’easter; driving rains, 70mph winds, power outages, and coastal flooding. In retrospect, I would not have changed the weather. The storm added to the memory. It made the indoors of a 19th century church-turned-restaurant, full of candlelight and fiddles, that much more cozy.

Earlier that day, my fellow cheesemonger and I created the display as we would at the dozens of fundraisers that we have worked together before, just three-fold. Nine cheeses, four cured meats, seven accompaniments, and assorted breads and fresh fruits were set up smack dab in the middle of the bar. It may sound like overkill, really though, it was impressive.

After the ceremony, the “mountain of cheese” as I lovingly call it, was “unveiled.”
Eventually, some of the cheeses were completely consumed because they were delicious, soft and spreadable. Others, I simply served too much, knowingly, because the scale was visually important to the display. There was one cheese in the mix, though, from a tasting standpoint, that “took the cake.”

Boucher Blue from Green Mountain Blue Cheese was the shining star on the mountain. It is an aggressive looking blue, a mottled cave-aged rind, thick rigorous blue veining, and straw colored paste. The texture is semi-firm, moist but not creamy, and cuts easily into both solid pieces and crumbles with a firm knife stoke. The flavor is balanced and complex. The initial zip of pockets of blue is then surpassed by the lengthy finish of sweet toasty nuts. Smack a morsel of this jammy on a dried fig, or soon enough, a fresh fig and you’ve got flavor satisfaction. Green Mountain Blue Cheese is a part of the Boucher Family Farm located in Highgate, Vermont. Check out their blog to learn more about their cheeses and the interesting history of their farm. http://boucherfamilyfarm.blogspot.com/
MM

World Cheese Championship Contest

Every other year the WCCC is held in Madison, WI. A few of us from Chicago drove out last week to see what it's all about.

The competition has 2000+ cheeses from around the world which was interesting to experience, but my favorite thing was the event that Jeanne Carpenter of Wisconsin Cheese Originals had put together. On the outer ring, were a few select cheeses from around the world, and in the center of the room were tables filled with Wisconsin cheeses.

Chicago is so close to WI, but there are a lot of cheeses we don't see on this side of the border. This celebration was a great opportunity to meet up with some cheesemakers and taste some fabulous cheeses. One cheese that we don't get in the Windy City was the Reserve Bandaged Cave Aged Cheddar from Bleu Mont Dairy. Aged for three years in a cave where the temperature doesn't vary more than six degrees all year round gives this cheese a complex flavor profile that is absolutely addicting.

If you find yourself in Madison at the Dane County farmer's market, look for the Bleu Mont Dairy stand. It's one of the few places you'll be able to find Willi's cheeses.

Did I mention that the man can yodel? -AA

Appalachian: Much More Than a Mountain Range

Early spring of last year, my friend Matt left the comfort of our ideal little Bay Area town to embark on an Appalachian Trail adventure. His goal being to walk the entire length of the trail - from Georgia to Maine. To me this sounds crazy. But Matt's a documentary film-maker and he'd already walked (and filmed) the entire Pacific Crest Trail in 2007, so I knew this was no biggie for him. I mean, I long to be surrounded by pastoral beauty as much as the next person, but I'm just not sure it's necessary to walk 2,175 miles to accomplish this...

Anyway, while Matt was taking his stroll, every so often he'd pop into a town and send us an update on Facebook. One day while I was reading Matt's FB post (and doing my best not to work on our bookkeeping), I decided to Google "Appalachian" and my interest was immediately piqued by a link to Meadow Creek Dairy's Appalachian cheese.

Although I'd not previously heard of this cheese, it sounded delicious: made with Jersey cow's milk, and similar to a French style Tomme, this lightly cooked, pressed curd cheese has a lemony, buttery, mushroomy flavor with a spicy finish. The Cheese Junkie in me couldn't resist so I promptly ordered a piece for my cheese counter, and man-oh-man am I ever glad I did! To me, this cheese is a perfect example of everything that is wonderful about the American Farmstead cheese movement.

We have customers in our store everyday who think the only good cheese comes from Europe, and since our focus is on American cheese we try our best to educate these customers. Having a cheese like Appalachian available for American cheese nay-sayers to try has been priceless in my quest to educate (and convert) Euro cheese snobs. Upon popping a piece of high quality, hand crafted, American farmstead cheese into their mouth, it's a delight to see the scrunched up face of the disbelieving morph into the open, bright-eyed glow of the newly converted devotee. Man, I love my job!

A Cheesy Ode to my Mother

When I was about three and my mother had some shopping to do at the local cheese shop and brought me along for some mother/daughter outing. Hand in hand we entered the store and the scent of cheese came over me like a salty sweet breeze. As we walked to the counter, my eyes took in boxes of stone ground crackers and Melba toasts stacked on wood shelves, wine bottles laying on their sides in wine racks stretching almost to the ceiling and a cooler filled with various cheese spreads in every color.

While my mother chatted with some of the other customers, the cheese monger looked over his wood counter at me and smiled. Being the precocious child I was, I of course smiled back. He picked up the slicer from the counter, shaved off a sample of pale cheese with large holes and handed it to me on a cracker. My mother looked over and nodded, saying "Go on. Try it." so I did. The flavor filled my mouth and I was hooked. I wanted more and the cheese monger began handing me bits of cheese to taste while my mother finished her shopping and,sadly, we left. When we got outside the shop, my mother opened her brown shopping bag and pulled out a wedge of Swiss and handed it to me. "This is just for you." she said. From that moment on our trips to the cheese shop became a Saturday ritual.

Now that I am older I appreciate what my mother was doing for me on those weekly trips. She didn't just take me to some shop, but allowed me to explore the counrty through cheese. I tasted Wisconsin in the buttery baby Swiss, Oregon in the Gouda, California had Camembert, and then back home to Ohio through the chevre. So many states producing such different tastes and I never had to leave my own neighborhood to try them.

As a parent, I have tried to do the same for my girls as my mother did for me. Sadly, our local cheese shop closed, yet I have managed to discover new places for cheesy adventures. When I see the look on my daughters' faces as they take the first bite of a new cheese, I understand the joy my mother must have felt watching me and silently thank her for the journey. (RK)

Random Thoughts From the Cheesemines

When Christine and Agela asked for volunteers to help with the social networking aspects of ACS, I was more than willing to help…then today arrived and I found myself intimidated by the prospect of writing about cheese to the one thousand plus other ACS members, 99% of whom know more about cheese than I do…

What was I thinking?

I have been writing about my adventures with cheese for more than a year and a half; since August 2008. After a seven year “retirement” I returned to work in the deli at Fred Meyer (part of the Kroger family). It was physically hard work, especially on my feet and I wondered if I would be able to continue. Then one day I heard the words “cheese kiosk” being mentioned as part of the store’s makeover.

I had seen the cheese kiosk at another Fred Meyer and thought it looked pretty cool. And since I like being cool… or at least thinking I’m cool, I decided to apply for the position of “Cheese Steward” although I pretty much had no idea what one was or what one did. For some strange reason, the food manager and deli manager gave me the job… silly folks that they are… they didn’t realize I didn’t have a clue either…
And so it began…

First I went to the local library and checked out every book they had about cheese; then I went to amazon.com and bought a few more books; and then I began exploring the internet. Even two years ago there was so much less online than there is now. But I read and read and read and I began keeping notes about the cheeses we sold and I tasted… and like a fool I started a blog reviewing the cheeses we sold and I tasted… well, it really was the cat I live with that started the blog after he fell in love with Beecher’s No Woman… but he relies on me to correct his spelling.

And the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know but as they say “It’s the journey and not the destination…” (MW)

Monger's Wedding

At the cheese shop, I help people make decisions every day. While these decisions are not always objective, I do my best to steer my customers down a path of tasty enlightenment. So why is it, mere days before my wedding celebration, that I still cannot decide which cheeses to serve my family and closest friends?

As a cheesemonger, I live in a land of luxury. I have cheese at my fingertips, literally. With so much to choose from, this makes my decision quite difficult. How can a single selection of cheeses represent my husband and me, satisfy my desire to have both European traditionals and American originals, and delight all my guests? As in any marriage, a compromise is in order.

“Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue” the famous wedding cliché goes. This adage could be grounds for inspiration for this cheesemongering bride. Grafton Village Cheddar, Sartori SarVecchio Parmesan , or Vella Dry Jack could be contenders for the “old,” aged & firm category. Cypress Grove’s Truffle Tremor, Cowgirl Creamery’s Red Hawk, or Mozzarella Company’s masterpiece, Hoja Santa--each of these are young cheeses and relatively “new” in concept for the U.S. Featuring a “borrowed” cheese would allow me to tap into our shared love of alpine delights and represent some of our joyous travels together. Jasper Hill Farm’s Winnimere, Uplands Cheese’s Pleasant Ridge Reserve, and Thistle Hill Farm’s Tarentaise base their recipes on European originals. Finally, blue, blue, I love you. The possibilities are endless! If I want to spoil my guests, I will serve them Rogue River Blue, the American Cheese Society reigning champion. Or shall I represent my great state of New Jersey with Valley Shepherd’s Crema di Blue? Either way, I must stash a piece of Stilton in my garter for good luck.

Whatever selections are made, these cheeses will not disappoint. A mountain of treasure it will be! All will gather ’round oooing and ahhing, diving into things they’ve never had before. Swilling wine, beer and cocktails and diving in again, smearing and popping mouthfuls. All greedy with delight, into the wee hours of the night.

MM