Day 680 : Of less sunlight, stonehenge, and mid-Winter feasts

The winter solstice occurs at 12:30 tonight. Technically that means that the Earth's axis is farthest away from the sun causing places north of the Arctic Circle to experience twenty four hours of darkness. It's also considered a day of rebirth, of gathering together and feasting. So on this day, the shortest of the year, what cheese shall we feast on?

How about Cypress Grove's Midnight Moon?

A six month aged goat's milk waxed rinded cheese. Nutty and caramelly, this cheese has that fantastic aged crystallized crunch to it with a light crisp, citrusy, brightness. Perfect for that Midwinter feast you plan on attending.

Image courtesy of www.cypressgrovechevre.com

Day 679 : Happy Hanukkah!

Over the next few weeks, I plan to look at different food traditions surrounding the holidays -- spanning the globe and across religions. So tonight is the first night of the festival of lights, an eight day Jewish holiday celebrating the rededication of the Holy or Second Temple in Jerusalem during the Maccabean Revolt in the 2nd century BCE. In 2011, a Menorah is lit nightly for the eight nights of the holiday, families exchange gifts and come together over each nightly meal and people are meant to feast on fried foods symbolizing the oil utilized to keep the temple alight for those eight days. Apart from your traditional latkes and doughnuts, this is also a time to eat cheese! Why do I say that? Cheese is considered to be a commemoration of Judith and women in general who have greatly impacted the events of Hanukkah. Did you know that back in olden times, people did not eat potato pancakes, they ate cheese pancakes?

So tonight if you plan to eat plain straight forward latkes simply crafted with potatoes why not top them with Salvatore Brooklyn's to die for ricotta cheese? This luscious milky uncutuous young creamster will take your potato pancakes to a whole new level of yumminess. Wanna go one step further? Well then I think mixing in some chives and sea salt and black pepper to your ricotta would make it even better!

But perhaps you wanted to add some cheese into your latkes not just on top? I recommend utilizing a nice Alpine style nutty cheese because it will enhance the flavor profile of the potatoes and meld all of the flavors together excellently. I'd choose Uplands Cheese Pleasant Ridge Reserve hailing from Wisconsin crafted in the Beaufort style this firm aged cheese is great on its own or shredded and melted into your latkes. Nutty, butterscotchy, caramelly, and rustic with a nice buttery roundness and a tinge of grassy barnyardy-ness, this is the perfect addition to your latke to take it to the next level.

Happy Hanukkah folks!

Day 678 : 'Tis the Season to Give Back.

Looking for a gift for your cheeseloving friend but also want to give back to those less fortunate?

Then I recommend you get Murray's and Heifer International's Cheeses of the World Club. For $150, you receive four cheeses, approx two pounds of cheese, one made with each of the following milks -- buffalo, cow, sheep, and goat. Of the $150, $90 goes to a share in Heifer's Cheeses of the World Club which provides struggling families with a water buffalo, cow, sheep and goat. The idea is that these families will in turn utilize the milk produced by these animals to craft cheese that they can then use to feed their families or to stimulate the family's income. For every ten gifts sold, one family receives all four animals.

You must be curious what cheeses you receive too! Well you get:

Quadrello di Bufala - Think Taleggio's washed rind stink but crafted with water buffalo milk - making for a round, sweet, delicate, stinky and rustic cheese. Great spread on crackers washed down with a nice big Italian red to go along with.

Cabot Clothbound Cheddar - We all know what this yummy guy is from last week's blog but in case you've forgotten -- this aged cow's milk clothbound Cheddar is a partnership between the Cellars at Jasper Hill and Cabot. Nutty, caramelly, rustic, and barnyardy, this would go excellently with a seasonal brew.

Pyrenees Brebis - Classically fabulous Alpine sheep's milk cheese from the Pyrennes. Buttery, nutty, smooth, and all around fabulous, this is excellent with a medium bodied red or an IPA.

Haystack Peak - Hailing from Colorado this is based on the Loire Valley great goat's milk cheeses like Valencay. But Haystack is truly American - bright, fresh, citrusy, and milky, this is excellent with a glass of white wine or perhaps some bubbly.
Happy Holidays!

Day 677 : New Cheese Discovery - Butternut

Nope this is not a squash that's for sure, this is Willow Hill Farm's raw cow's milk Alpine style cheese. This plank six month aged cheese is produced in four pound rounds. Firm and crumbly in texture with a nice nutty rustic barnyardy bite to it. This would be an excellent wintertime snacking cheese or even grated over some pasta in place of say a Parmesan. An awarding winning cheese this previous year at the 2011 World Cheese Awards, it is most certainly worth a taste.

Image courtesy of www.gather.com

Day 676 : Homecooked Brunch after a cold weather run

After a nice run in Central Park in mid-December, who doesn't want a warm and comforting meal before starting your day?
So what did I make to fill that bill?

How about a sauteed kale, sundried tomato, mushroom, shallot and Parmesan egg white omelet? A simple rustic and flavorful dish. Easy to make so you can enjoy that cup of coffee and the NY Times in the process.

Chop up the kale, sundried tomatoes, portabello mushrooms, and half of a shallot. Toss into a saute pan with a drizzle of EVOO, some sea salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Cook over low heat for about eight to ten minutes till the kale cooks down. About five minutes into your veggies cooking, start cooking your egg whites over low heat in another saute pan. Just as the egg whites start going opaque, place your veggies on top. Grate a nice amount of Parmesan cheese over the top and cover and cook the omelet till golden brown. Enjoy.

Day 675 : Valley Shepherd Closing

Last year, I wrote with joy about the opening of Valley Shepherd's first retail outpost in Soho and today I write to inform you it has closed unfortunately. However if you want to visit the only creamery owned small shop, they have opened one in Park Slope at 211 Seventh Avenue. So if you feel like hopping on a train to Park Slope you will be able to discover over twenty different types of homemade sheep's milk cheeses.

Day 674 : How to Save / How to Splurge Dispatch #41

What if a splurge wasn't construed as a monetary concept but more rather something along the lines of a totally and completely decadent cheese, something that you wouldn't necessarily eat all the time but that is a definite special occasion cheese?

Well then I have the ticket for you :

Cowgirl Creamery's seasonal winter cheese -- Devil's Gulch. A fabulous small bloomy roundelle of cheese crafted with Jersey cow's milk and dusted with sweet and spicy red pepper flakes. The interior paste is rich, round, decadent, silky smooth with milky sweetness. The red pepper flakes add just the right amount of kick to this fantastically unctuous cheese. This is the perfect sort of special occasion cheese and it even becomes somewhat festive with its slight reddish exterior.