Hello my dear friends, I apologize for the delay in writing to you but it surely has been a whirlwind of a weekend -- a trip down to DC, a dinner, a brunch, seeing old friends, and oh wait, yes of course, my first marathon. Don't worry, we will get to the marathon on the next post, but here I want to focus on one of my favorite cheese shops in the nation -- Cowgirl Creamery.
Cowgirl Creamery is based out of Point Reyes Station, CA, and has two retail shops nationwide -- one in San Francisco and one in Washington DC. So, where do you think my first stop was when off the bus in DC, you guessed it -- Cowgirl of course!
Walking into Cowgirl Creamery on F Street between 9th and 10th, you know you are entering a one of kind sort of place. Upon entering, you walk through a small coffee section off to your right and a case with prepared salads and sandwiches to your left, next up you come to their crackers and preserves, then their wines, and finally, their cheeses! Now I know I have written about Cowgirl Cheese's before but let me refresh your memory, they are known for their homemade bloomy rind cheeses, such as Mt. Tam; their freshies, such as their Fromage Blanc and Chevre Frais, but on top of their homemade masterpieces, they also have an excellent selection of local cheeses from small creameries up and down the East Coast. It is here, I first discovered the cheese I write about alot, Old Kentucky Tomme. One of my favorite parts about Cowgirl is the fact that you are able to discover and try a huge variety of artisanal, small production, American cheeses from creameries across the US -- it is a place that showcases how far American artisanal cheesemaking has come! On this trip to Cowgirl, I knew I needed to get
some of their St. Pat, their spring specific cheese, wrapped in stinging nettles and just the perfect blend of creaminess and vegetable-ness. But apart from that, I knew I wanted to experiment and I sure did. Here's a selection of the other goodies I got:
1. Tome des Recollets : The one non-American cheese I got, this was one of the most unique cheeses I have tried recently. A mixture of goat and cow milk from France, these cheese is lovingly cared for. After its aging period, it is first washed in Sauternes (a French dessert wine) and then rubbed with juniper berries, red tapered cayenne peppers, heady leaves of savory and white and black peppercorns. Quite the procedure, huh? Well trust me its worth it! What you get is a semi soft cheese with delicate herbal hints, a slight piquant/spicey side from the peppercorns and the cayenne, which is brilliantly balanced out by the sauternes bath it received.
2. Twig Goat Tomme: Produced in West Cornwall, Vermont, this small cylinder of deliciousness has a natural rind protecting the raw goat milk goodness inside. This goat tomme is aged about eighty days. Upon completion of its eighty day aging process, you get a clean, sleek, tangy and outstanding semi-hard goat's milk tomme that packs in all of the elements of a great goat's cheese. This baby is delish with a nice Chenin Blanc. A true winner from Vermont.
3. Brabander : A new-ish cheese from Fallsdale Farm in Tyler Hill, PA, we quickly grabbed the last sliver of goodness available at Cowgirl's counter that day. A raw cow's milk dutch/belgian style cheese with an unusual bumpy/lumpy washed rind. This baby is aged for four to twelve months depending on the batch. What you get in return is a somewhat salty, barnyardy, farmsteady crumbly cheese -- unique and delish! You can tell that the small quantities of this cheese were made with lots of love! I'd pair it with a fruit compote, like maybe a cranberry rasperry sort, or even cherry. The sweetness of the compote will accentuate the saltiness of the cheese.
That is all I purchased, I exercised great restraint! We also tried cheeses from small creameries in Maryland, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Poughkeepsie, New York -- plenty of options for my next visit!
I think a trip to Cowgirl shows you that America's small farms are certainly catching up to their European counterparts -- experimenting with age old styles and reinventing them and making them truly new and distinct. If you are ever in Washington DC or San Francisco or Point Reyes Station, CA, I encourage you to visit Cowgirl -- it will open your eyes to the world of American artisanal cheeses.
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