Gosh, weeks surely do fly by when you are having fun, I cannot believe it's already time for another GCF, how crazy is that?!? This particular GCF is special as it is coming at you from the South of France.
Before we delve into the GCF, I'd like to tell you all about the fantastic salad I made last
night, truly simple, but when done right with the best ingredients, it is so perfect. It
consisted of heirloom tomatoes, one yellow and one red; a handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped up fresh garlic, chopped up fresh basil, mozzarella di bufala, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and homemade croutons from a variety of left over breads purchased this
past week.Perfectly sweet, savory, crunchy, herbal, creamy -- it just hit the spot after a day of running, sunning, biking, relaxing and more.
Moving onto the GCF, certain flavors present in last night's salad might reappear in today's sandwich, who knows?!? Today's GCF starts with a nice homemade olive fougasse. In case you aren't familiar with what a fougasse is -- it is an oval shaped bread with three bread slats through its center, with chopped up black olives, herbs and olive oil baked into the inside, when fresh, this is utterly to die for! Once you've gotten your fougasse, you need to get your cheese, and guess what it's gonna be?!? One of my beloved Loire Valley goats will allow for just the right amount of lactic creamy goodness and will impart a little of that classic French heated goat cheese flavor. Today's choice is Chevrot, an aged goat cheese that if you ask me is somewhat like the king of the Loire Valley goat's -- so classically fantastic, it will be the perfect addition here. Next up you need some of the quintessential French lettuce -- mâché, so delicate and delish, this is always such a treat here as it is so expensive and not nearly as flavorful in the US. So as to not crowd the sandwich too much with too many ingredients, I like to use some of the homemade tomatillo sundried tomato tapenade found at the marche provencal in the veille ville of Antibes. Once you slice the fougasse in half and layer everything together, I like to top it with a few sprigs of fresh basil, some salt and pepper and then bake in the oven for fifteen minutes. It will be lipsmacking good and make you want to never leave the South of France or transport you here!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Day One Eighty Three - Aging your cheese
Last night's cheese plate consisted of three distinct cheeses -- of course one of my beloved Loire Valley goats, tonight's choice was Saint Marcellin; then there was a Corsican bloomy rind Brebis cheese; and lastly a Tomme de Montagne. The Saint Marcellin was young, creamy, lactic and super fantastic. Interestingly enough, it sure found it's match in the olive oil fennel seed taralli (small round crunchy Italian crackers) -- it was the perfect combo of creaminess, crunchiness, herbaceousness, brightness with a grassy citrus finish. I wonder what would happen if you dusted a Saint Marcellin in fennel seeds, would it impart the same multi-layered flavor? Maybe it's worth a shot one of these days... However, the crunch of the taralli was so perfect, I'm not sure the fennel seed alone would do it.
The Tomme de Montagne was a simple young semi-firm cheese, full of subtle nuances, I could see this is as a fantastic cheese for grilled cheeses or baked pasta dishes. Although delish on it's own, it did not knock your socks off in terms of developed and unique tastes, but it was somewhat of a nice "pause" on the cheese plate. Slightly buttery with a farmyard barnyardy sort of feel, this cheese was a nicely done simple table cheese.
Lastly was our bloomy Corsican Brebis or sheep's milk cheese. I'd wanted to try this to get me psyched up for next week's trip to Corsica and last night, it fell quite flat, however today was a completely different story! Last night, as aptly stated by one of my dining companions, this cheese was a one note "Brebis Brie" -- nothing exciting, just a stereotypical Brie, the only difference was that it was made with sheep's milk. However once this cheese spent an overnight here at Residence El Nil, it was as though it had blossomed and transformed, it grew into itself almost -- it had fantastic nuaces that simply were not present last night -- a sweet creamy herbal and mushroomy paste delivered itself forth on our tongues today. Where was that last night I wonder?
This cheese was an excellent example of the fact that sometimes cheeses haven't finished their aging processes upon purchase, sometimes your fridge can become cheese cave part deux. Yet sometimes, cheeses like this one just need some time to breathe, they need not to be wrapped too tightly and need to have the appropriate amount of space to occupy their proper presence. Ok, before I get all into this whole cheese needs to breathe as well tangent, let me just recommend if you buy a cheese that you feel isn't living up to it's full potential, unwrap it, place it loosely wrapped in either cheese or wax paper and let it sit in the fridge for at least twenty four if not forty eight hours, you will be surprised at the results you will receive.
Check back tomorrow for an extra special Cote d'Azur grilled cheese Friday.
The Tomme de Montagne was a simple young semi-firm cheese, full of subtle nuances, I could see this is as a fantastic cheese for grilled cheeses or baked pasta dishes. Although delish on it's own, it did not knock your socks off in terms of developed and unique tastes, but it was somewhat of a nice "pause" on the cheese plate. Slightly buttery with a farmyard barnyardy sort of feel, this cheese was a nicely done simple table cheese.
Lastly was our bloomy Corsican Brebis or sheep's milk cheese. I'd wanted to try this to get me psyched up for next week's trip to Corsica and last night, it fell quite flat, however today was a completely different story! Last night, as aptly stated by one of my dining companions, this cheese was a one note "Brebis Brie" -- nothing exciting, just a stereotypical Brie, the only difference was that it was made with sheep's milk. However once this cheese spent an overnight here at Residence El Nil, it was as though it had blossomed and transformed, it grew into itself almost -- it had fantastic nuaces that simply were not present last night -- a sweet creamy herbal and mushroomy paste delivered itself forth on our tongues today. Where was that last night I wonder?
This cheese was an excellent example of the fact that sometimes cheeses haven't finished their aging processes upon purchase, sometimes your fridge can become cheese cave part deux. Yet sometimes, cheeses like this one just need some time to breathe, they need not to be wrapped too tightly and need to have the appropriate amount of space to occupy their proper presence. Ok, before I get all into this whole cheese needs to breathe as well tangent, let me just recommend if you buy a cheese that you feel isn't living up to it's full potential, unwrap it, place it loosely wrapped in either cheese or wax paper and let it sit in the fridge for at least twenty four if not forty eight hours, you will be surprised at the results you will receive.
Check back tomorrow for an extra special Cote d'Azur grilled cheese Friday.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Day One Eighty Two - Chabichou de Poitou
Isn't such a treat when you get to have a cheese that you are typically used to having but the cheese's commute to your plate is greatly diminished? It allows you to taste intricacies in
the cheese that you wouldn't otherwise be able to taste. In case you haven't gathered in my many many musings to you dear readers, I'm a sucker for goat cheese and primarily the superstar goat cheeses from the Loire Valley. I love Crottins, Chevrots, Saint Maures, Selles sur Chers and of course Chabichou de Poitous. Grassy, lactic, fresh and fantastic these cheeses make me smile.
Yesterday, I picked up a young Chabichou that we had for our cheese plate at dinner and if I do say so myself, it was the cat's meow. So young was this Chabichou that it had a creamy side to it; it truly melted in your mouth. You could even taste that these goats were eating some good grass. The cheese itself, a small cyclindrical pyramid was bursting with flavor -- it was bright, citrusy, green grassy, tangy yet creamy lactic and light all rolled into one. This was certainly a treat for me, you just don't find such young, delish Chabichous in the US, the cheese's commute to the plate and consequently to your mouth takes so much longer that although still delish, a lot of it's intricacies and depth of flavor profile are lost. Therefore I plan on savoring each and every morsel of my favorite cheeses while here in the South of France, it is very hard for this to be replicated anywhere else in the world -- food in general just tastes better and is fresher here. However that is not to say America's artisanal and local movements aren't making strides across the pond.
The Chabichou was great on toast last night; fantastic mixed into the homemade veggie quinoa salad and equally as yummy when combined with basil, chives, shallots and egg whites in a nourishing omelette this morning after a long run.
Enjoy your Wednesday folks! Check back tomorrow for tonight's cheese plate and more.
the cheese that you wouldn't otherwise be able to taste. In case you haven't gathered in my many many musings to you dear readers, I'm a sucker for goat cheese and primarily the superstar goat cheeses from the Loire Valley. I love Crottins, Chevrots, Saint Maures, Selles sur Chers and of course Chabichou de Poitous. Grassy, lactic, fresh and fantastic these cheeses make me smile.
Yesterday, I picked up a young Chabichou that we had for our cheese plate at dinner and if I do say so myself, it was the cat's meow. So young was this Chabichou that it had a creamy side to it; it truly melted in your mouth. You could even taste that these goats were eating some good grass. The cheese itself, a small cyclindrical pyramid was bursting with flavor -- it was bright, citrusy, green grassy, tangy yet creamy lactic and light all rolled into one. This was certainly a treat for me, you just don't find such young, delish Chabichous in the US, the cheese's commute to the plate and consequently to your mouth takes so much longer that although still delish, a lot of it's intricacies and depth of flavor profile are lost. Therefore I plan on savoring each and every morsel of my favorite cheeses while here in the South of France, it is very hard for this to be replicated anywhere else in the world -- food in general just tastes better and is fresher here. However that is not to say America's artisanal and local movements aren't making strides across the pond.
The Chabichou was great on toast last night; fantastic mixed into the homemade veggie quinoa salad and equally as yummy when combined with basil, chives, shallots and egg whites in a nourishing omelette this morning after a long run.
Enjoy your Wednesday folks! Check back tomorrow for tonight's cheese plate and more.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Day One Eighty One - Welcome to the South
Greetings from a magical place in the world dear readers...first off, let's announce the winner of yesterday's marriage Mondays and instead of delving into a recipe, I thought I'd share with you all some of the fantastic cheeses we are having here in the South of France.
So folks, who do you think won?
The answer is contestant two! Why you may ask? Well just as yogurt has many beneficial cultures that help aid the immune system, nourish and energize your body, so does yogurt cheese, it will give you energy, help fight off any pesky germs you may have caught on the plane, and will be satisfying and delish without packing on too much of the fat.
Seeing as I'm writing to you all from my iPhone and cell service is expensive, I apologize if my posts aren't as long and in depth as they normally are.....
Moving along, let's discuss last night's cheese plate. The nice thing about being in France is that you can find delish artisanal cheeses at the Casino or supermarket, the kind that cost an arm and a leg in the US here are much more reasonably priced.
For our welcome to France cheese plate, we got the classics - a Selle-sur-Cher, a Loire Valley ash ripened goat's milk cheese; Petit Basque, an aged cyclindrical sheep's milk cheese; and of course some blue Fourme D'Ambert, a medium bodied cow's milk cheese, mild on the piquant qualities, but strong in flavor. It's always such a treat to taste each cheese and feel the difference in freshness, crispness and body in flavor, and the ultimately melt in your mouth qualities of true homemade French cheeses. As our days go by, the cheese choices will transition to the more adventurous but for right now, tasting these cheeses in the country in which they are made, totally changes them and you all at once. You feel as though the drama of big city life is quickly dissipating from your bones.
Check back tomorrow for some Provencal recipes!
So folks, who do you think won?
The answer is contestant two! Why you may ask? Well just as yogurt has many beneficial cultures that help aid the immune system, nourish and energize your body, so does yogurt cheese, it will give you energy, help fight off any pesky germs you may have caught on the plane, and will be satisfying and delish without packing on too much of the fat.
Seeing as I'm writing to you all from my iPhone and cell service is expensive, I apologize if my posts aren't as long and in depth as they normally are.....
Moving along, let's discuss last night's cheese plate. The nice thing about being in France is that you can find delish artisanal cheeses at the Casino or supermarket, the kind that cost an arm and a leg in the US here are much more reasonably priced.
For our welcome to France cheese plate, we got the classics - a Selle-sur-Cher, a Loire Valley ash ripened goat's milk cheese; Petit Basque, an aged cyclindrical sheep's milk cheese; and of course some blue Fourme D'Ambert, a medium bodied cow's milk cheese, mild on the piquant qualities, but strong in flavor. It's always such a treat to taste each cheese and feel the difference in freshness, crispness and body in flavor, and the ultimately melt in your mouth qualities of true homemade French cheeses. As our days go by, the cheese choices will transition to the more adventurous but for right now, tasting these cheeses in the country in which they are made, totally changes them and you all at once. You feel as though the drama of big city life is quickly dissipating from your bones.
Check back tomorrow for some Provencal recipes!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Day One Eighty - Heathrow and other traveling thoughts for Marriage Mondays
Morning folks. I'm sitting in the crowded and epically large Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport waiting for my flight to the South of France. You just don't find airports like this in the US -- it took us ten minutes on an inter-terminal
bus to go from terminal three to five, it's like taking a taxi from the Upper West Side down to the West Village, without any traffic of course, that's big if you ask me.
And of course it's got all the amenities to boot - high end shops, WH Smiths, Boots pharmacies, sushi bars, coffee houses, regular bars serving English fry ups, sandwich places, the list goes on and on -- if you have to have a layover, it's not a bad place.
You could walk for miles and still find new offerings!
As it was that weird hour where I should be eating breakfast but everyone here in England is thinking of lunch, I settled on a simple sandwich of fresh mozzarella, oven roasted tomatoes, pesto and arugula, perfect as a breakfast/lunch and easy on the wallet and on my stomach, always sensitive after a night flight.
Well folks, that gets me to this week's Marriage Mondays, what cheese goes best with or counteracts jet lag?
I know this sounds like a weird marriage Mondays but just go with me here. You know how it's said if you have a banana the potassium will help counteract jet lag?
Well I think that there's a cheese that does the same...
Contestant Number One : mozzarella - could the cheese that I had on my sandwich here at Heathrow be the cheese that helps counteract jet lag?
Contestant Number Two : Yogurt Cheese - low in fat this smooth buttery cheese is great for cooking. It has a mild flavor, nothing overly fantastic on it's own, but it melds with a variety of different flavor profiles.
Contestant Number Three: Roquefort - King of French blue cheeses, rhizome is a stinker, piquant, spicy and delish. It just awakens your senses!
So folks, which contestant will it be?!?
Check back for tomorrow's post from the South of France for answers.
bus to go from terminal three to five, it's like taking a taxi from the Upper West Side down to the West Village, without any traffic of course, that's big if you ask me.
And of course it's got all the amenities to boot - high end shops, WH Smiths, Boots pharmacies, sushi bars, coffee houses, regular bars serving English fry ups, sandwich places, the list goes on and on -- if you have to have a layover, it's not a bad place.
You could walk for miles and still find new offerings!
As it was that weird hour where I should be eating breakfast but everyone here in England is thinking of lunch, I settled on a simple sandwich of fresh mozzarella, oven roasted tomatoes, pesto and arugula, perfect as a breakfast/lunch and easy on the wallet and on my stomach, always sensitive after a night flight.
Well folks, that gets me to this week's Marriage Mondays, what cheese goes best with or counteracts jet lag?
I know this sounds like a weird marriage Mondays but just go with me here. You know how it's said if you have a banana the potassium will help counteract jet lag?
Well I think that there's a cheese that does the same...
Contestant Number One : mozzarella - could the cheese that I had on my sandwich here at Heathrow be the cheese that helps counteract jet lag?
Contestant Number Two : Yogurt Cheese - low in fat this smooth buttery cheese is great for cooking. It has a mild flavor, nothing overly fantastic on it's own, but it melds with a variety of different flavor profiles.
Contestant Number Three: Roquefort - King of French blue cheeses, rhizome is a stinker, piquant, spicy and delish. It just awakens your senses!
So folks, which contestant will it be?!?
Check back for tomorrow's post from the South of France for answers.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Day One Eighty - Transatlantic cheese travel
Good evening ladies and gents, as I'm just gearing up to head off to the airport for a two week vacation in the South of France and Corsica (don't worry you will hear about it all!), I thought why not advise my faithful readers on a few rules of thumb when bringing cheese back from overseas. Unlike fruits, veggies, and other perishables, cheese is most certainly allowed back into the US. However folks, don't think that you can bring all cheeses, soft and hard on the airplane with you.
As a rule of thumb, only harder cheeses are allowed in the cabin, softer cheeses are allowed in your checked luggage. You may think that there are really in depth reasons for this separation, yet folks, I regret to inform you, it is simply that the customs agents believe that the softer cheeses will stink up the plane and therefore prohibit these cheeses in the passenger cabin. Do not fret though, the hold where one's bags are stowed is cold enough to sustain these cheeses from Europe to the USA.
That's pretty much it folks. I wouldn't try and bring extremely fresh soft chevres or pungent blue cheeses but other cheeses should be good to go!
Have a wonderful evening. Look for tomorrow's post from Heathrow Airport.
As a rule of thumb, only harder cheeses are allowed in the cabin, softer cheeses are allowed in your checked luggage. You may think that there are really in depth reasons for this separation, yet folks, I regret to inform you, it is simply that the customs agents believe that the softer cheeses will stink up the plane and therefore prohibit these cheeses in the passenger cabin. Do not fret though, the hold where one's bags are stowed is cold enough to sustain these cheeses from Europe to the USA.
That's pretty much it folks. I wouldn't try and bring extremely fresh soft chevres or pungent blue cheeses but other cheeses should be good to go!
Have a wonderful evening. Look for tomorrow's post from Heathrow Airport.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Day One Seventy Nine - A fast easy fresh tuna salad
After a long day of running around, I wanted something simple and quick for dinner and since I'm leaving town tomorrow, my fridge is not nearly as full as it might otherwise be on a weekend, so I thought I'd make my version of a healthy tuna salad on fresh crusty pane di sesamo from the Gourmet Garage.
This was easy, quick, nutritious, and full of veggies and protein! So I thought why not share this recipe with you all, it's easy as pie!
1/2 - full can of tuna in water (depending on hunger level)
1 1/2 teaspoons of fresh chevre with herbs
Handful of mixed greens
1 celery stick sliced
5 cherry tomatoes diced finely
1/4 cup of diced crisp yellow pepper
1/6 chopped red onion
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Maille Dijon Mustard
Oregano
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Black Pepper and Salt
1. Dice all the veggies
2. Toss all together in a bowl and mix until all of the ingredients are nicely blended together.
3. Serve on top of toasted crunchy bread with a glass of crisp white wine.
Although not very glamorous and exciting this simple recipe will hit the spot when you're running around from place to place. For those of you used to mayo with your tuna, you will be surprised that mustard, olive oil and chevre create just as sufficient a creamy quotient as the mayo.
Enjoy folks.
This was easy, quick, nutritious, and full of veggies and protein! So I thought why not share this recipe with you all, it's easy as pie!
1/2 - full can of tuna in water (depending on hunger level)
1 1/2 teaspoons of fresh chevre with herbs
Handful of mixed greens
1 celery stick sliced
5 cherry tomatoes diced finely
1/4 cup of diced crisp yellow pepper
1/6 chopped red onion
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Maille Dijon Mustard
Oregano
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Black Pepper and Salt
1. Dice all the veggies
2. Toss all together in a bowl and mix until all of the ingredients are nicely blended together.
3. Serve on top of toasted crunchy bread with a glass of crisp white wine.
Although not very glamorous and exciting this simple recipe will hit the spot when you're running around from place to place. For those of you used to mayo with your tuna, you will be surprised that mustard, olive oil and chevre create just as sufficient a creamy quotient as the mayo.
Enjoy folks.
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