Ever walk into a cheese store and feel overwhelmed? Like gosh what should I get? Right now, I suggest getting yourself over to Murray's Cheese either in Grand Central or on Bleecker Street and picking up a Chabichou de Poitou. They are aged to perfection right now.
Chabichou hails from the Loire Valley and is a soft naturally rinded aged goat's milk cheese shaped in a cylinder. Full of bright, citrusy, grassy notes, this chalky, lactic milky cheese is a delight! Goes excellently with a glass of Sancerre! The same classic Loire Valley notes that one notices in a wine you will notice here as well.
At $9.99 for each one, it's a brilliant way to ring in the new week!
In other news - For the next week and a half, Fromagical will be going to Thailand so stay tuned for a little more travel and a little less cheese and well of course my adventures in discovering cheese in Southeast Asia.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Day 726: Super Bowl Cheese Recap
Let me start off by saying Congratulations to the New York Giants! What a season it has been!
Of course I had to choose a Massachusetts cheese and a New York cheese for the game with another cheese thrown in to round things out.
So who was the contender from New York?
Kinderhook Creek of course! The first 100% sheep's milk Camembert style cheese crafted in the Hudson Valley by Old Chatham Shepherding Company. Prior to this round disc of cheesy goodness, most cheeses in this style were crafted with a blend of milks. Kinderhook has a round buttery mouthfeel with rustic nutty mushroom-y barnyardy notes. It's an approachable cheese yet one with an excellently dynamic depth of flavor profile.
And who was the contender from Massachusetts? How about my current favorite blue cheese, Great Hill Blue hailing from Marion, Massachusetts?
Spicy and piquant yet full bodied and creamy with a nice grassy finish. This is a blue cheese that appeals to the blue lovers and the blue doubters out there - it packs a punch but not too much of one to scare those who see blue cheese and run away.
A great matchup of wonderful American artisanal cheese making - how could you possibly choose just one?
To round out the cheese selection, I added one of my personal favorite Vermont cheeses - Tarentaise. Modeled on the great European aged Alpine cheeses, this firm cow's milk cheese is nutty, caramelly, and slightly butterscotchy with light hay notes. An excellent cheese that gives its European counterparts a serious run for their money.
Here's to the New York Giants!
Of course I had to choose a Massachusetts cheese and a New York cheese for the game with another cheese thrown in to round things out.
So who was the contender from New York?
Kinderhook Creek of course! The first 100% sheep's milk Camembert style cheese crafted in the Hudson Valley by Old Chatham Shepherding Company. Prior to this round disc of cheesy goodness, most cheeses in this style were crafted with a blend of milks. Kinderhook has a round buttery mouthfeel with rustic nutty mushroom-y barnyardy notes. It's an approachable cheese yet one with an excellently dynamic depth of flavor profile.
And who was the contender from Massachusetts? How about my current favorite blue cheese, Great Hill Blue hailing from Marion, Massachusetts?
Spicy and piquant yet full bodied and creamy with a nice grassy finish. This is a blue cheese that appeals to the blue lovers and the blue doubters out there - it packs a punch but not too much of one to scare those who see blue cheese and run away.
A great matchup of wonderful American artisanal cheese making - how could you possibly choose just one?
To round out the cheese selection, I added one of my personal favorite Vermont cheeses - Tarentaise. Modeled on the great European aged Alpine cheeses, this firm cow's milk cheese is nutty, caramelly, and slightly butterscotchy with light hay notes. An excellent cheese that gives its European counterparts a serious run for their money.
Here's to the New York Giants!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Day 725 : This week's cheese crush..Black Sheep's Tin Willow Tomme
While down in Gramercy earlier today, I thought I'd pay a visit to one of my favorite cheese shops that I've written about -- Beecher's. I always like to see what they have in their cases to see if there's anything new that I might not know about and today I discovered Black Sheep Creamery's Tin Willow Tomme hailing from Chehalis, Washington. This firm aged sheep's milk tomme was just calling my name, I had to try it.
Crafted actually with the milk from Tin Willow Farm in Lexington, Oregon as Black Sheep has expanded more rapidly than they have had the milk and the capacity to keep up with utilizing the milk of their own flock, this is an excellent example of creameries working together over the shared love of cheese and cheese production. The result is a fabulously grassy, somewhat herbaceous and earthy, crisp citrusy dry firm tomme. A brilliant window into the region's terroir, this cheese is full of delicate nuances, It is a cheese to savor with a nice glass of Washington State Syrah.
Definitely glad I tried it and will be hopefully exploring Black Sheep's other cheeses as well in the near future!
Crafted actually with the milk from Tin Willow Farm in Lexington, Oregon as Black Sheep has expanded more rapidly than they have had the milk and the capacity to keep up with utilizing the milk of their own flock, this is an excellent example of creameries working together over the shared love of cheese and cheese production. The result is a fabulously grassy, somewhat herbaceous and earthy, crisp citrusy dry firm tomme. A brilliant window into the region's terroir, this cheese is full of delicate nuances, It is a cheese to savor with a nice glass of Washington State Syrah.
Definitely glad I tried it and will be hopefully exploring Black Sheep's other cheeses as well in the near future!
Day 724 : Drinks and Nibbles at the Neighborhood Restaurant
Dining north of 100th street but south of Harlem on the West Side offers an interesting array of options, many frequented by Columbia college students but it is not necessarily a dining destination that draws tons of crowds from the remaining areas of the boroughs. That doesn't mean that it shouldn't it!
Last night, a few friends and I stopped in for drinks and nibbles at the Neighborhood restaurant. True to its name, this joint was neighborhoody, friendly, and welcoming. Looks like they have excellent happy hour specials, unfortunately we missed them all, but in case you were curious or wanted to come back later in the evening as they have a happy hour from 4 till 7pm and 10 till midnight:
$10 for oysters and a glass of cava
$ 5 glasses of wine, pretty average
$ 3 domestic bottles
1/2 price draughts
$1 thai curry wings
So what did we have instead?
Some lovely Cotes du Rhone and two different appetizers. First off, we split their winter kale salad which was composed of apples, dried cranberries, roasted slivered almonds, feta, a maple mustard vinaigrette and of course kale. This simple rustic preparation was right up my alley -- delish and totally seasonal.
We also split their mac n' cheese which had the option for you to add in truffle, bacon, or lobster, but we stuck with the straight forward parmesan, cheddar version topped with herbed bread crumbs. Classic yet comforting, this was cast iron mac n' cheese done well.
Overall a nice quiet place to catch up with friends with solid straightforward food.
The Neighborhood
946 Amsterdam Avenue
NYC
Last night, a few friends and I stopped in for drinks and nibbles at the Neighborhood restaurant. True to its name, this joint was neighborhoody, friendly, and welcoming. Looks like they have excellent happy hour specials, unfortunately we missed them all, but in case you were curious or wanted to come back later in the evening as they have a happy hour from 4 till 7pm and 10 till midnight:
$10 for oysters and a glass of cava
$ 5 glasses of wine, pretty average
$ 3 domestic bottles
1/2 price draughts
$1 thai curry wings
So what did we have instead?
Some lovely Cotes du Rhone and two different appetizers. First off, we split their winter kale salad which was composed of apples, dried cranberries, roasted slivered almonds, feta, a maple mustard vinaigrette and of course kale. This simple rustic preparation was right up my alley -- delish and totally seasonal.
We also split their mac n' cheese which had the option for you to add in truffle, bacon, or lobster, but we stuck with the straight forward parmesan, cheddar version topped with herbed bread crumbs. Classic yet comforting, this was cast iron mac n' cheese done well.
Overall a nice quiet place to catch up with friends with solid straightforward food.
The Neighborhood
946 Amsterdam Avenue
NYC
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Day 723: New Grilled Cheese Spot Alert on the UWS
Opening Alert!!!
Within the next two weeks, a new grilled cheese farm to table joint is opening on the Upper West Side called Say Cheese. Strictly take out sandwiches, soups, coffee, hot chocolate, s'mores, and baked goods, it will be open from 11 to 6, except on Mondays.
Say Cheese
142 West 83rd Street
NYC
Stay tuned for our Fromagical Reviews!
Within the next two weeks, a new grilled cheese farm to table joint is opening on the Upper West Side called Say Cheese. Strictly take out sandwiches, soups, coffee, hot chocolate, s'mores, and baked goods, it will be open from 11 to 6, except on Mondays.
Say Cheese
142 West 83rd Street
NYC
Stay tuned for our Fromagical Reviews!
Day 722: A Grilled Cheese to ring in Punxsutawney Phil's Shadow
Happy Groundhog Day!
A day memorialized in our hearts and minds by a mixture of a Bill Murray movie and an old wives tale. Yet we always pay attention to what this creature says each and every year on February 2nd and this year as with most years in present memory, the little bugger saw his shadow meaning we have six more weeks of winter. So why not settle in with a nice warming grilled cheese and a pint of lambic?
Lambics unlike ales and lagers are produced with spontaneous fermentation causing their flavor profile to be funkier and more unique than a traditional beer but that's what makes them exciting if you ask me. There are a variety of producers that tend to infuse different fruits into their lambics creating sweeter nuances.
Following in last week's footsteps utilizing Grandaisy's Pullman, tonight let's utilize their raisin walnut bread instead. On either side of the bread, spread a nice layer of our Vermont Butter & Cheese's Cultured Butter then place a nice layer of Beth Farm's Kitchen Fig Jam, tangy yet savory and sweet. Next up top this with a nice chunk of Great Hill Blue and some home roasted hazelnuts for a nutty roasty crunch. Toast away and enjoy with your favorite Lambic.
Great Hill Blue is raw cow's milk non homogenized blue cheese from Marion, Massachusetts. It packs an excellent spicy, piquant punch while maintaining a creamy round mouth feel that will go perfectly with the rustic nutty sweetness of the remainder of your grilled cheese.
This is a pairing where big flavors complement bigger flavors, perfect to stimulate your palate to get you through the rest of the winter!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Day 721: In honor of National Dark Chocolate Day...
Did you know February 1st was National Dark Chocolate Day? And it was also the day Grand Central Station opened to the public in 1913?
Two very exciting factoids for this first day of the second month of the year, right?
So let's suggest a dark chocolate pairing then in honor of this day!
How about Lazy Lady Farm's Thin Red Line paired with Mast Brothers Dark Chocolate Bar infused with Maine Sea Salt and a glass of Blanc de Blancs? Does that not sound fabulous to you? Sweet, savory, creamy and delectable!
Lazy Lady Farm's Thin Red Line is a bloomy rinded goat's milk cheese coated in vegetable ash with a line of Spanish paprika that divides the chalky, milky, citrusy bright paste in two adding a spicy, tangy, meaty smokey bent to the cheese. Pair that alone with a glass of Blanc de Blancs -- 100% Chardonnay grapes, bubbly and fabulous, and you will be in heaven. The bubbles of the Blanc de Blancs, like say a glass of Ruinart, will cut right through the creaminess of the cheese and enhance the flavor nuances on the whole -- each light yet with a sense of weightiness. But add in the Mast Brothers Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Bar and it will take the pairing to a whole new level.
Mast Brothers Chocolates are the only bean to bar chocolates being crafted here in New York. Where do you think they are produced? Brooklyn of course, in their own converted chocolate factory! They utilize beans from small farms all over the world including the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Brazil and more along with infusing local ingredients into each bar, crafted with love and care. This is not your average supermarket Tollhouse chocolate my friends -- these are artisanal chocolates that will wow you. So add in a morsel of their Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Bar to your cheese and bubbly pairing in honor of National Dark Chocolate Day!
Two very exciting factoids for this first day of the second month of the year, right?
So let's suggest a dark chocolate pairing then in honor of this day!
How about Lazy Lady Farm's Thin Red Line paired with Mast Brothers Dark Chocolate Bar infused with Maine Sea Salt and a glass of Blanc de Blancs? Does that not sound fabulous to you? Sweet, savory, creamy and delectable!
Lazy Lady Farm's Thin Red Line is a bloomy rinded goat's milk cheese coated in vegetable ash with a line of Spanish paprika that divides the chalky, milky, citrusy bright paste in two adding a spicy, tangy, meaty smokey bent to the cheese. Pair that alone with a glass of Blanc de Blancs -- 100% Chardonnay grapes, bubbly and fabulous, and you will be in heaven. The bubbles of the Blanc de Blancs, like say a glass of Ruinart, will cut right through the creaminess of the cheese and enhance the flavor nuances on the whole -- each light yet with a sense of weightiness. But add in the Mast Brothers Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Bar and it will take the pairing to a whole new level.
Mast Brothers Chocolates are the only bean to bar chocolates being crafted here in New York. Where do you think they are produced? Brooklyn of course, in their own converted chocolate factory! They utilize beans from small farms all over the world including the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Brazil and more along with infusing local ingredients into each bar, crafted with love and care. This is not your average supermarket Tollhouse chocolate my friends -- these are artisanal chocolates that will wow you. So add in a morsel of their Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Bar to your cheese and bubbly pairing in honor of National Dark Chocolate Day!
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