Day 912 : American Cheese Celebrations - Day Two : Berkshire Blue

Wayyyy back on Day 488, I had the pleasure of visiting with Ira Grable and learning about the inner workings of one of my favorite local blue cheeses -- Berkshire Blue. This raw Jersey cow's milk cheese aged for just sixty days and crafted in the traditional blue cheese manner was the only blue showcased at Tuesday's tasting.

Biting yet round, grassy yet rustic and farmsteady, with a fabulously spicy piquant creamy finish -- it surely is a big and bold blue. Dense and robust yet fanciful and flavorful.

Excellent with W& J Graham's Six Grapes Port - a reserve ruby port that is full of toasty, smooth, sleek, and dark cherry notes. Intense and rich yet luscious, the perfect fruit forward aromatic dance on your palate with this Massachusetts superstar Blue Cheese.

Day 911 : American Cheese Celebrations - Part One - Grafton VIllage Cheese

Last night I hosted a fabulous tasting of American cheeses and over the course of the next few days - I thought we'd highlight each one of them and tell you all my dear Fromagical readers why they are so fabulous.

Let's start with Grafton Village Cheese's 3 year aged Cheddar. This my friends is a cheddar with roots -- Grafton's history dates back to the 1890s when a co-op of farmers got together to begin producing cheese with their excess milk. This was somewhat of a short lived operation as in 1912, a large fire destroyed their facilities. It was not until the 1960s, that the Windham Foundation came along and rebuilt the operation and restored a sense of cheesemaking life into Grafton which continues to this day. The Windham Foundation is centered around helping stimulate and promote agricultural, economic, societal and cultural growth in the rural communities of Vermont. A portion of your purchase of any cheese crafted by Grafton Village Cheese goes to benefit the Windham Foundation.

Fast forward to 2012 -- Grafton Village Cheese is a big deal operation making hundreds of pounds of cheese on a yearly basis. Experts in Cheddar -- Grafton crafts young and old cheddars, infused cheddars, and pretty much anything in between.

My absolute favorite of their Cheddars is their 3 year. It's fantastically biting and robust yet rustic, farmsteady and creamy. With hints of grassiness and a honest raw roundness -- it is a superstar of a Cheddar. Intensely crumbly in the most wonderful of ways -- those morsels manage to coat every crevice of your mouth. Great on its own or paired with dried apricots and roasted walnuts or sandwiched between two pieces of bread with sliced tomatos and toasted to make a grilled cheese -- it sure is a versatile cheese!

Best enjoyed either with McCall's 2010 Pinot Noir hailing from the North Fork if you're in the wine mood or Brooklyn Brewery's Pennant Ale if you're in a beer mood. McCall's Pinot Noir is all elegance -- full of dark cherry and red berry notes with hints of spice and notes of vanilla -- medium bodied and the perfect Fall local wine to bring out the flavors of the cheese. Not feeling wine -- then grab a Pennant Ale, Brooklyn Brewery's traditional English style pale ale. Bright honey colored with a toasty, crisp hoppy, maltiness and fruity smoothness. A great pairing partner for our Grafton 3 year aged Cheddar.

Here's to the beginning of our American Cheese Celebrations with the wonderful Grafton Village Cheese 3 year Cheddar!

Day 910 : Brunch at Alobar

Location : Long Island City.

Where and what?

An awesome farm to table neighborhood-y restaurant on Vernon Boulevard with fresh inventive riffs on the classics boasting an extensive whiskey list and great cocktails. Definitely more for the meat-lover but with plenty of vegetarian and non-meat options.

The rustic yet sleek interior was full of couples, groups of friends, and young families for yesterday's Sunday brunch. Great coffee and brunch cocktails were the perfect beginning to the meal.

Lemon ricotta pancakes with a seasonal fruit compote were the starter for the table. Tangy and citrusy yet warm and round and creamy, not too heavy and just the perfect palate teaser.

I followed with their Salmon Benny -- a classic brunch dish -- two poached eggs with cured salmon, rosemary, and arugula. Minus the English muffin and hollandaise portion for me but with a side of smoked ricotta and a mixed green salad, it was a savory and aromatic beginning to the rainy grey day. The eggs were poached just right and the cured salmon was just right.

My three dining companions were equally pleased with their meals -- each of us enjoying the elevated rustic farm to table cuisine in the warm and comfortable atmosphere. I look forward to going back for one of their whiskey evenings and for dinner.

Alobar
46-42 Vernon Boulevard
LIC.

Day 909 : Sunday night pairing

It's one of those Sunday evenings where being inside and cozy under blankets with a good friend, loved one, or furry friend is exactly the ticket. There's something about the grey rainy chill in the air that just calls for indoors and cuddling. 

So what to enjoy on an evening like this?

How about a dark chocolate and cheese pairing?

For the cheese - let's go with one of my absolute favorites - Coupole. Made by Allison Hooper and the wonderful folks at Vermont Butter and Cheese is named for its shape in French -- snow covered dome. An aged pasteurized goat's milk cheese with a natural and crinkly soft rind and an ivory chalky lactic interior modeled on the great Loire Valley goats but with that Vermont "je ne sais quoi." Creamy and milky with a nice burst of citrusy grassy fabulousness. 

And for the chocolate? 

How about Maison du Chocolat's Dark Chocolate Bark with almonds, pistachios, and dried fruit. Not too sweet, not too bitter but with just the right creamy, nutty, fruity crunch. 

The tangy, grassy, citrusy, lactic and milky notes of the cheese will play off of the rustic nutty elegant nuances of the chocolate for the perfect marriage of flavors.

Day 908 : American Cheese Month at Casellula

For American Cheese Month, Casellula has a focus on American artisanal cheeses on their extensive cheese menu -- little known and showcased cheeses from Washington State to Texas, Tennessee, New York and much much more. So what cheeses did we sample?

From their Bloomy and Soft Ripened section we had Dinah’s hailing from Kurtwood Farms in Vashon Island, Washington.  This decadent bloomy pasteurized cow cheese was full of unctuous, round buttery notes. Infused with the local terroir and the scent of ocean breezes - this is an elegant cheese perfect for a glass of bubbles. Paired with Casellula's Sweet Cardamom popcorn, I think the cheese got lost but on its own, it was spectacular!

From their Washed Ripened section we had Dancing Fern hailing from Sequatchie Cove Farm in Sequatchie, Tennessee. This washed cow's milk cheese was earthy, piercing, meaty, and rustic with a down home sort of bent. Classic round cow notes abounded here, perfection with a nice Ommegang Abbey Ale perhaps. Casellula served it with pickled quail eggs and although I love anything pickled and I love quail eggs, I thought the cheese got lost when paired with the pickled eggs.

From their Cooked and Pressed Section we had one of my absolute Vermonter favorites -- Consider Bardwell's Manchester. This firm raw goat's milk cheese is all sleek rustic elegance with an earthy barnyardy bent and a grassy ctirusy twang. Great with a nice medium bodied white or an earthy smooth red. Casellula paired it with Oregano roasted tomatoes which brought out the cheese's herbaceous aromatic notes in a beautiful manner.

Lastly from their Blue section we had their Two-Faced Blue from Willapa Hills Farm in Doty, Washington. This semi-firm mixed cow and sheep's milk cheese was the perfect balance of spicy, salty, piquance and round, buttery, creaminess. A dynamic blue that appealed to the novice blue cheese lover and the more advanced blue cheese aficionado. Paired with their Macadamia, Cashew nut brittle, the final pairing almost became like dessert.

Overall a really fun salute to American Cheese Month at Casellula! I look forward to going back to trying a variety of their other selections.

Casellula
401 West 52nd Street
NYC

Day 907 : Lunch at Amali

The revamped Persephone, now known as Amali is located on 60th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues, a busy thoroughfare of a street. Walking in, the classic white washed walls and rustic barnyardy feel of Persephone are gone as is the go-to menu composed of Greek standbys. In its place is a somewhat modern yet sleek farmhouse interior with the corrugated walls adorned with abstract photographs. The menu is Mediterranean farm to table driven, heavy on the appetizers and share-able plates at lunch. Unique and bold combinations of flavors like Eggplant with Calabrian Chili Honey Vinaigrette, Sesame, Cilantro and Yogurt along with Corn Fritters with Smoked Sheep's Milk Ricotta and Okra made up a large percentage of their small plates. Although we did not have the pleasure of trying any of these inventive flavor combinations, I would most certainly go back to explore them.

What we did have to start was their Cheese Plate composed of Fiore Sardo, Pecorino and Grana Padano accompanied by a plum quince jam and caramelized nut clusters. Don't get me wrong - I like all three of these cheeses but they are all firm and have somewhat of a similar consistency -- a unique choice for a cheese plate as traditionally you want to showcase a series of cheeses with different textures and flavor profiles. To their benefit - their cheese selection does change on a daily basis apparently.

Then I had their Octopus a la Plancha served with celery, oregano and a red wine vinaigrette which was simple, savory, sleek, and fabulously flavorful. This was all about the Octopus and allowing it to shine and shine it did! 

We also tried their Spiced Squash Panna Cotta topped with pistachios and served with Marcona Almonds and a Balsamic sorbet. A very unusual dessert that although it made your mind think of Thanksgiving was quite aromatically fabulous and a bold dessert menu decision. 

Overall a lovely meal in a convivial atmosphere -- the menu surely takes its risks in the same way that the design pushes itself with the corrugated walls. A nice modern update of a Greek classic.

Amali 

115 East 60th Street

Day 906 : Happy American Cheese Month!!!

Happy October! In case you did not know - it is also American Cheese month. An entire thirty one days dedicated to celebrating the fabulous world of American artisanal cheeses. Over the course of this month, if you stop by any of the following cheese purveyors and purchase a cheese passport for $10, you will receive discounts ranging from twenty to forty percent off of a wide selection of American cheeses. The deals and specials differ by the day and by the place - check out the full list on each of their websites. So if you are not familiar with American artisanal cheeses or absolutely adore them and want to enjoy more of them this month or want to explore new cheeses, then get yourself to one of the following local retail shops and pick up a passport:

Artisanal - 2 Park Avenue
Beecher's - 900 Broadway
Brooklyn Victory Garden - 920 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
Casellula - 401 West 52nd Street
Eastern District - 1053 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn
Lucy's Whey - 425 West 15th Street in Chelsea Market
Murray's Cheese - Grand Central & 254 Bleecker Street
Saxelby Cheese - 120 Essex Street
Stinky Brooklyn - 215 Smith Street, Brooklyn

A pretty impressive list of cheese purveyors if you ask me - so stop into one or all of the above and celebrate American Cheese Month as much as you can!