It's Superbowl Sunday guys -- the biggest day in American Sports and of course America's sportsbars. Last year, apparently Americans consumed 30.4 million pounds of chips, pretzels, dips, and other snacks. Insane right?? Can you believe that? I wonder what Morgan Spurlock will be eating while watching the Saints play the Colts?
Well instead of giving you a recipe for a killer Superbowl snack, I'm going to give you a recipe for one of my favorite sweeter grilled cheeses. In case you are dying to know what I'm making for my friends party this afternoon though, I'll tell you -- hummus! I am not a big fan of all these American snack foods that are inherently bad for you and full of yucky chemicals so I figure a nice batch of homemade hummus and some of Stacy's Parmesan and Herbs Pita Chips will do the trick!
I was thinking about what I wanted to write about today earlier and while running this morning with a friend in the Park, we were discussing cheese and she mentioned her favorite cheese pairings involved honey and nuts..and I thought, bingo! I was going to give you guys my recipe for my favorite sweet grilled cheese today!!
I think all successful grilled cheeses start with a great bread and for this one, I recommend either the Raisin Walnut from Amy's Bread or the Raisin Walnut from Grandaisy on the more affordable end of the spectrum, if you are feeling like you want a splurge, go with the Raisin Walnut boule from Balthazar Bakery, definitely outstanding, decadent, and the perfect treat! Ok now, you've got your bread, lets discuss cheese choices now:
There are two distinct routes you can go with this sandwich, you can go the goat, young-ish route OR you can go the blue route. The exciting thing is that, with exactly the same ingredients in each sandwich, you are able to create two such distinct sandwiches. So in essence, guess what, I'm giving you two sandwich recipes. That brings up a good point, if for some reason you don't like my suggestion for what pairs well with the ingredients, you should feel free to substitute your own favorite cheese, if you love it, I am sure you will love the sandwich.
Just in case you are watching your waistline, a fun little factoid -- goat milk based cheeses are the lowest in fat and I think the lightest in flavor/texture and well probably my favorite cheeses, that is not to say I don't love Sheep and Cow milk cheeses, but goat milk cheeses stole my heart first.
Ok back to cheeses, lets start with the Goat route, I recommend you do a young to medium aged goat's cheese.
Here are a few options:
1. Bucheron - probably one of the easiest French goat cheeses to find at supermarkets here in the US. It is aged for about six to ten weeks and has a lovely bloomy rind and a chalky, quintessentially goat-y center. I like using the rind in the sandwich, I know some people don't, but I think it is delish!
2. Cana de Cabra - This is Bucheron's Spanish cousin, also a log goat's cheese, with a bloomy rind and a chalky center and I think somewhat more delicate flavors.
3. Westfield Capri - This cheese is very different than its European counterparts that I listed as options one and two. It is a very young, vegetarian, pasteurized goat cheese hailing from Massachusetts. It has very delicate flavors and pairs wonderfully with the raisin walnut breads.
4. Vermont Butter & Cheese Coupole - This is one of my favorites, it is made my an excellent cheesemaker based out of Vermont who was one of the first people to revolutionize the American artisanal cheese movement in the 70s. She used traditional french cheese making techniques mixed with the specific American terroir and the product is her delish bloomy rind bell shaped coupole.
Ok now for a few blues:
Just a little precursor, I adore blue cheese but I know that there are a lot of people out there who find it disgusting, trust me, try a few blue cheeses with me and you will be a convert.
1. Fourme d'Ambert - don't worry guys, this isn't your intense and piquant Roquefort, it is a subtle, nuanced, creamy but earthy raw cow's milk blue from France.
2. Cashel Blue - Moving over to Ireland, this is also a gentle farmstead-y blue, missing that extra oomph that turns people off to blues.
3. Rogue River Blue - hails from Oregon and is a little more piquant, but is an outstanding, award winning blue cheese, that if you haven't tried, I sincerely recommend, it will show you how far the American artisanal cheese movement has come. Not necessarily a beginner blue, but outstanding and a must try.
4. Jasper Hill Bayley Hazen Blue - moving across the country, back to Vermont, we find Bayley Hazen Blue which in case you were curious, is named for a road partially built during the Revolutionary War times with a goal of being an invasion and capture route for Canada. Needless to say, this is an outstanding blue, really unique flavors, I tend to believe because of the dryness of the blue's paste.
Ok now that you have chosen your cheese from one of the eight options above, and have sliced your bread. Grab a handful of pecans and walnuts and some artisanal honey. Did you know honey is one of the best foods for you these days? Apparently a spoonful of honey a day helps with all sorts of ailments.
Crush up the walnuts and pecans somewhat, just into small pieces...grab your bread and lather honey on one side of the bread then stick the nuts on to the honey so they don't fall out of the sandwich then top with your cheese and the other piece of bread and bake!
It's time to eat this delish creation, you must be wondering what to pair it with, right? Well if you have utilized goat's cheese, I recommend either a nice Sauvingnon Blanc or if you are in a more beer-ish mood, I think a nice Belgian white/wheat ale or a traditional Belgian blond. It will be a different sort of pairing, but nonetheless I think wonderful.
If you used the blue, definitely go for a port! I recommend Paso Ports, a small production out of the Central Coast of California if you want to keep with an American theme. If not, go for Quinta do Infantado, a small production port out of its name sake country, Portugal.
YUM!
Check back tomorrow for another recipe, but if you wanted to read on, I thought I might ramble for a few more sentences..
I was thinking while running yesterday, yes I do a lot of my thinking while running, since I am running so much, it allows me to zone out and let my mind wander...anyhow I was thinking, that I would tell myself, like Julie Powell, I would dedicate myself to writing about cheese daily for the next year and see where I end up, maybe I will be in the exact same place, but maybe not, and that's the exciting thought.
Just like I love seeing someone discover a piece of art they love and want to make theirs, I also love someone's face when they try a cheese that is so unique and nuanced that they are in heaven! It is such a special and even somewhat intimate moment because you can see that this cheese struck a cord inside an individual.
So, I hope that my musings over the next year will inspire you to experiment with cheese and try some cheeses that you would not have dared touch previously.
I am here for questions and for feedback.
Check back tomorrow for more.
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