What to do for the last weekend of 2012?
Why not go spend it in East Hampton with one of my closest friends for a weekend of relaxing, movies, cooking, red wine, around a fabulous fireplace?
Of course I had to bring cheese for this wonderful weekend, right?
Standing in front of the Murray's Cheese counter in Grand Central the other day, I decided it was time to get some thing different -- something rustic and earthy, warming and round, nutty and spicy.
How about Moringhello di Bufala?
A Buffalo milk cheese sporting a natural rind that has been basket aged for between two and four months crafted by the Gritti Brothers at Quarttro Portoni farm in the Lombardia region of Italy. A bright, citrusy, lactic tang goes hand in hand with an earthy, musty, rustic, round, moist density and a semi-firm consistency. The great thing about this cheese is that it is full of flavor and has a fantastically dynamic character but is still light and not too rich. Great paired with dried figs to bring out the round, earthy, sweetness of the cheese. In terms of wine, I would enjoy it with a medium bodied Italian red that is fruit forward with a nice earthy side to it.
The perfect cheese for a winter-time weekend in the country!
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Day 950 : Vacation Day Cheeses
I feel fortunate to have the pleasure of having the week between Christmas and New Year's off, it is one of my favorite times to have a staycation in Manhattan -- see friends; catch those movies and museum shows that I never seem to have the time to see; relax and read; and most of all take advantage of all of the wonderful pleasures the city I call home has to offer!
How often do you get to enjoy seeing a movie at 11am on a weekday or sit and chat over a glass of wine and cheese with a close friend in the middle of the afternoon? It sure is a treat!
If you're having a staycation, then I surely recommend stopping by Avoce in the Time Warner Center for a selection of their cheeses. At $19 for five different Italian cheeses with individual compote pairings, it is an excellent deal and surely don't forget the complimentary ricotta and homemade foccacia that comes along with.
Of the cheeses currently available - I recommend having the following five cheeses :
Sottocenere - Hailing from Veneto, this cow's milk cheese is infused with black truffles and aged on its exterior with nutmeg, coriander, cinnamon, licorice, cloves and fennel. Paired with a grappa raisin puree. The cheese is elegant and sleek, rustic and earthy yet round and flavorful -- a holiday treat!
Gorgonzola Dolce - The classically fantastic Italian cow's milk blue that is both approachable, luscious, and round yet spicy and dynamic. Appeals to the blue cheese lover and novice all at once. This was served with honeycomb to add a naturally earthy sweetness to the blue.
Asiago d'allevo - Aged Italian cow's milk cheese - we all know it, we all love it. Quite the versatile sort! Paired with a green olive tapenade to bring out the vegetal rustic characteristics of the cheese.
La Tur - One of my all time favorite Italian creamsters composed of a mixture of goat, sheep, and cow's milk, this is decadence in a morsel. Round and unctuous, this cheese begs a glass of bubbles to go along with it. Served with homemade pistachio brittle to provide a crunch and texture to the milky cheesy paste.
Pecorino Oro Antico - Aged sheep's milk cheese with a deep nutty, caramelly, butterscotchy bent and an all around fabulous winter feel. Great with a glass of red wine! This was paired with homemade Pinoli Butter to accentuate the nuttiness of the cheese.
Overall the perfect place of an afternoon staycation glass of wine and cheese!
How often do you get to enjoy seeing a movie at 11am on a weekday or sit and chat over a glass of wine and cheese with a close friend in the middle of the afternoon? It sure is a treat!
If you're having a staycation, then I surely recommend stopping by Avoce in the Time Warner Center for a selection of their cheeses. At $19 for five different Italian cheeses with individual compote pairings, it is an excellent deal and surely don't forget the complimentary ricotta and homemade foccacia that comes along with.
Of the cheeses currently available - I recommend having the following five cheeses :
Sottocenere - Hailing from Veneto, this cow's milk cheese is infused with black truffles and aged on its exterior with nutmeg, coriander, cinnamon, licorice, cloves and fennel. Paired with a grappa raisin puree. The cheese is elegant and sleek, rustic and earthy yet round and flavorful -- a holiday treat!
Gorgonzola Dolce - The classically fantastic Italian cow's milk blue that is both approachable, luscious, and round yet spicy and dynamic. Appeals to the blue cheese lover and novice all at once. This was served with honeycomb to add a naturally earthy sweetness to the blue.
Asiago d'allevo - Aged Italian cow's milk cheese - we all know it, we all love it. Quite the versatile sort! Paired with a green olive tapenade to bring out the vegetal rustic characteristics of the cheese.
La Tur - One of my all time favorite Italian creamsters composed of a mixture of goat, sheep, and cow's milk, this is decadence in a morsel. Round and unctuous, this cheese begs a glass of bubbles to go along with it. Served with homemade pistachio brittle to provide a crunch and texture to the milky cheesy paste.
Pecorino Oro Antico - Aged sheep's milk cheese with a deep nutty, caramelly, butterscotchy bent and an all around fabulous winter feel. Great with a glass of red wine! This was paired with homemade Pinoli Butter to accentuate the nuttiness of the cheese.
Overall the perfect place of an afternoon staycation glass of wine and cheese!
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Day 949 : Merry Christmas!
Fromagical would like to take this moment to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. No matter what religion you practice, the holidays are about being with close friends and family, taking the time out of your normal routine to enjoy a good laugh, a nice glass of wine, a homecooked meal, and just quality time. In honor of the holidays, please take a moment to tell your close friend, relative, mother, father, grandmother, you name it, how much they mean to you and how special it is that you have had the pleasure of spending the holidays with them.
So thank you to all my dear readers for all of your support from near and far.
So thank you to all my dear readers for all of your support from near and far.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Day 948 : Christmas Eve Cheeses
In honor of Christmas Eve and the fabulous gathering of friends and family this afternoon, Fromagical supplied a selection of special and seasonal cheeses. What were they you might be wondering?
Cheese number one was Torus, the superstar cheese that I wrote about in my last blog. This combination / collaboration with Vermont Butter & Cheese and Murray's is the most uniquely creamy, unctuous, chalky, citrusy, bright, mushroomy, rustic round cheese. A holiday celebration in a morsel!
Cheese number two was Little Big Apple infused with black truffles. Murray's cheese takes a Champlain Valley triple cream roundelle and infuses the center with black truffles here. What you get is fabulously sensual creamy milky cheesy paste paired with the rustic earthiness of the truffles. This is a black tie cheese that goes perfectly with that celebratory glass of bubbles you are enjoying on this holiday.
Cheese number three was Cocoa Cardona, which was featured on day 944 and is found at Beecher's Cheese. A firm aged goat's milk cheese that is rubbed with cocoa powder in the course of its aging process. The result? A rustic and earthy yet sweet and flavorful cheese that is the perfect balance of chocolaty cheesy goodness. Crisp, tangy, citrusy and classically goaty paste is paired with the most unique cocoa exterior.
The final cheese, cheese number four was Barden Blue, Consider Bardwell's newest release. Think cheddary paste combined with a classic blue cheese spicy piquance. Firm and biting, yet crumbly and flavorful. This is the sort of cheese that is absolutely perfect with your after dinner drinks, port perhaps?
Overall a selection of truly special cheeses for this truly special day.
Fromagical wishes you all a very Merry Christmas!
Cheese number one was Torus, the superstar cheese that I wrote about in my last blog. This combination / collaboration with Vermont Butter & Cheese and Murray's is the most uniquely creamy, unctuous, chalky, citrusy, bright, mushroomy, rustic round cheese. A holiday celebration in a morsel!
Cheese number two was Little Big Apple infused with black truffles. Murray's cheese takes a Champlain Valley triple cream roundelle and infuses the center with black truffles here. What you get is fabulously sensual creamy milky cheesy paste paired with the rustic earthiness of the truffles. This is a black tie cheese that goes perfectly with that celebratory glass of bubbles you are enjoying on this holiday.
Cheese number three was Cocoa Cardona, which was featured on day 944 and is found at Beecher's Cheese. A firm aged goat's milk cheese that is rubbed with cocoa powder in the course of its aging process. The result? A rustic and earthy yet sweet and flavorful cheese that is the perfect balance of chocolaty cheesy goodness. Crisp, tangy, citrusy and classically goaty paste is paired with the most unique cocoa exterior.
The final cheese, cheese number four was Barden Blue, Consider Bardwell's newest release. Think cheddary paste combined with a classic blue cheese spicy piquance. Firm and biting, yet crumbly and flavorful. This is the sort of cheese that is absolutely perfect with your after dinner drinks, port perhaps?
Overall a selection of truly special cheeses for this truly special day.
Fromagical wishes you all a very Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Day 947 : Torus
Introducing Torus, created by Adeline Druart of Vermont Butter and Cheese specifically for Murray's Cheese.
.JPG)
This donut or otherwise known as couronne (crown) shaped disk of aged goat's milk cheese has arrived just in time for the holidays! Named after the geometric term for the ring shape of the cheese, Torus surely wows -- a unique partnership between one of my favorite Vermont creameries and one of the major cheese shops in New York. Vermont Butter and Cheese crafts this geotrichum rinded pasteurized goat's milk donut that is then aged in the cellars at Murray's for anywhere between two and four weeks.
Dense, creamy, unctuous with a mushroomy, rustic, earthiness and the perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness, Torus does not disappoint. The rind has the most fabulous texture that just melts in your mouth and coats every crevice, enjoy with a nice glass of Cava this holiday season.
Nothing says holiday hostess gift better than a cheese in the shape of a donut crafted by the brilliant minds behind Murray's Cheese and Vermont Butter and Cheese.
.JPG)
This donut or otherwise known as couronne (crown) shaped disk of aged goat's milk cheese has arrived just in time for the holidays! Named after the geometric term for the ring shape of the cheese, Torus surely wows -- a unique partnership between one of my favorite Vermont creameries and one of the major cheese shops in New York. Vermont Butter and Cheese crafts this geotrichum rinded pasteurized goat's milk donut that is then aged in the cellars at Murray's for anywhere between two and four weeks.
Dense, creamy, unctuous with a mushroomy, rustic, earthiness and the perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness, Torus does not disappoint. The rind has the most fabulous texture that just melts in your mouth and coats every crevice, enjoy with a nice glass of Cava this holiday season.
Nothing says holiday hostess gift better than a cheese in the shape of a donut crafted by the brilliant minds behind Murray's Cheese and Vermont Butter and Cheese.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Day 946 : Announcing a new exciting partnership!
Just recently announced - Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company has purchased Castleton Crackers forming an awesome Vermont-y food partnership. This is the first time that a cheese company has partnered with a crackers company to collaborate on cheese and crackers and on the advancement of small production Vermont food businesses.
How exciting to see this interdisciplinary foodie partnership -- who knows where it will lead, but all I know is that it surely will be someplace absolutely totally and completely fabulous!
How exciting to see this interdisciplinary foodie partnership -- who knows where it will lead, but all I know is that it surely will be someplace absolutely totally and completely fabulous!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Day 945 : Brunch at Jacob's Pickles
The Upper West Side is not want of brunch spots that's for sure -- there's your classic diners, your upscale dining experiences, the neighborhoody joints, the new places that are trying to stand out from the crowd, you name it, you can find it on the Upper West.
One of my favorite new-ish places in the neighborhood is Jacob's Pickles. Named after the owner, Jacob, and inspired by Southern cuisine but with locally sourced ingredients and an extensive beer selection, house cured pickles and homemade biscuits, it is a warm and inviting spot with a rustic feel.
The brunch menu is a mixture of Southern classics, biscuit sandwiches, egg based dishes and much more.
We of course had to start with a selection of pickles : sweet & spicy carrots, sour green tomatoes, thyme jalapenos, and their sweet and sour pickles. Looking for a wake-me-up on a Sunday morning, definitely have a jalapeno -- it is guaranteed to make your eyes water and stimulate your senses. In the mood for something less in your face, their homemade sweet and sour pickles were to die for -- fresh, crunchy and flavorful -- these will bring a smile to any pickle lover out there.
But what of their non-brine orientated options?
I had their Veggie-Cheese Omelette with egg whites of course. The omelette was composed of mushrooms, asparagus, spinach, tomatoes and aged Vermont Cheddar. Traditionally served with home fries, I instead had their mixed green salad. The omelette was delish -- not heavy handed as you can sometimes find in traditional brunch cuisine, each vegetable was allowed to sing and the cheese added the perfect creamy touch. You could truly taste the rustic meaty qualities of the mushrooms and the vegetal herbaceousness of the asparagus and the spinach along with the bright juiciness of the tomatoes. A great start to a rainy Sunday morning.
A welcome addition to the dining options of the Upper West Side -- welcoming and friendly with reliably satisfying food and drink. But know if you are going for brunch, go before Noon if you want to avoid the wait.
Jacob's Pickles
509 Amsterdam Ave
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)