Hello Darling,
I've moved to a new site, www.madamefromageblog.com. If you haven't meandered over for a peek or changed your RSS feed, please do. I'd love for us to keep our cheesy heads together.
For the record, my site here on Blogger now functions as an archive of my posts from spring 2009 through spring 2012. I elected not to migrate my old posts over to the new Wordpress site, so you can always come here for old time's sake.
Shimmy shimmy,
Madame Fromage
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
The Unveiling of a New Blog
Note: All of the content on this site will remain here as an archive. Madame Fromage has now jumped blogospheres. See you on the other side. Cheers, dahhlink. And never fear, there is lots more cheese where we are going. xoxo
Friday, February 24, 2012
Parting Words
Dear reader, it’s really happening. My cheese valise is packed, and I’m off
like a gypsy to a new blog on Wordpress. On Monday, I hope you’ll join me for a tour. If I’ve seemed absent lately, that’s because I’ve been playing with font sizes, learning a smidge of html, and preparing the virtual finger food for our next rendez-vous.
It’s been almost three years
since I began writing on Blogger, and it does feel a little bittersweet to take
down the curtains. This site will remain in place as an archive while I start
fresh on the new blog. I like clean sheets, clean slates.
I’ve learned an awful lot since all this started in 2009. I never imagined I’d be this deep into dairy and so
far from fiction (my original love, my advanced degree), but I find that when
doors mysteriously open it’s best to pop through them, even if the hallway
beyond looks dark, strange.
Blogging has led to so many good
things. A place to commune online. Cheesemonger friends. Adventures in the
wild. Many of the people I meet in the artisan cheese world are escapees like
me, people who left ordinary lives for a risk, a whim. Some buy goats, I guess I buy
urls.
I don’t think of what I do here
as a job, but it’s created work for me. Good work. Freelance opportunities. A
chance to teach classes on cheese and on blogging. Even a book is afoot. Yes,
yes, it’s been a lovely surprise.
Lately, I meet a lot of new
bloggers and blog-upon-a-star wishers who ask advice. Here is a speck of
insight in parting: don’t worry about generating traffic or revenue. Figure out what your
purpose is first.
When I started as a blogger, I
pictured this site as a pillowbook where I would record tasting notes for
myself. Over time it grew into a small universe, like a second home – more than
a chronicle of eats.
A blog is an education. As you
write, you discover. As you discover, you teach. As you teach, you meet other
teachers. It’s like microbes gathering on a rind to break down a bloomy Brie.
Mmm, yes, I’m hungry already.
For all these things, I am
grateful to you. Yes, you out there in the ether. People say our culture is
dying from lack of connection, and yet I feel more connected than ever. Merci beaucoup.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Eggs Tarentaise in Butternut Squash
I'm crazy about soft-boiled eggs. I eat one just about every morning, which is how I got the idea to bake an egg inside the cavity of a butternut squash with a little bit of Tarentaise. Tarentaise is a sweet, nutty cheese from Spring Brook Hill Farm in Vermont, made by the same folks who produce Redding Raclette.
Today on the Di Bruno Bros. blog, I write about this cheese and offer a recipe for Eggs Tarentaise. It involves a few steps, but it's a fairly easy and very eye-catching dish. Here are a few photos of the process. To see the recipe, click here.
Labels:
cheese,
Di Bruno Bros.,
eggs,
recipe,
Spring Brook,
Tarentaise,
Vermont
Friday, February 17, 2012
How To Get A Cheese Education
Cheesemonger Ezekial Ferguson working with a customer at Di Bruno Bros. |
This week, I’m thinking about a
question from a reader named Mia. She wants to live the golden dream -- to work in the cheese world as
either a maker or a monger. She wrote to me asking how to gain experience.
When I put the question out on Twitter recently, several cheesemongers fired right back: "Tell her to get a job at a cheese counter!"
For Mia and others who are sniffing along the dairy periphery, below are some useful resources. I should note that Mia has already explored some of these books and opportunities.
She’s clearly a woman ahead of her time. I hope to meet her soon -- hopefully, over a stack of wheels.
Essential
Readings
Steven Jenkins, the man who launched Dean &
DeLuca's cheese program, surveys European cheese and offers the expertise of an importer. His primer feels a little out of date now, but I still see dog-eared copies behind every cheese counter. His regional maps are essential to understanding terroir.
Artisanal's Max McCalman approaches cheese
as a master taster. His book on the subject includes fascinating insights
into animal husbandry, chemistry, and pairing principles. Best of all, he assigns specific cheese boards as homework so you can learn about milk types and aging periods in a very hands-on way.
Liz Thorpe, of Murray’s, taught
the staff at The French Laundry how to serve cheese. Her book focuses on the cheese renaissance in America and highlights pioneering cheesemakers from California to Maine. She offers keen personal insights, and her "Cheddar Lexicon" is brilliant.
Fletcher writes about one cheese
per week in The San Francisco Chronicle. Each column offers a glimpse into a new import or recent release. Read her for a year and look for the cheeses she recommends; her discoveries and pairing suggestions are spot on.
Worthwhile Pursuits
Make friends with a local cheesemonger.
Find a mentor in your community.
Visit a local cheese shop regularly and ask to taste the cheeses that
you read about. People who work in cheese generally love to share knowledge.
Go to bootcamp.
Check out the courses offered by Murray's and Artisanal next time you're in New York. These come highly recommended, and they’re the
equivalent of an SAT prep class on the subject of cheese. In Philadelphia, Tria's Fermentation School leads the way in cheese education for enthusiasts. If you want a hardcore class for mongers, check out The Cheese School of San Francisco. If you want a class for makers, visit The Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese (VIAC).
Get to know your local cheesemakers.
Visit farmers’ markets and ask cheesemakers about volunteer opportunities if you’re interested. Many makers
hire interns, assistants, and market helpers.
Vacation in cheese states.
Wisconsin, California, and
Vermont are the biggest cheese producers in the U.S. Make a pilgrimage along
Vermont’s Cheese Trail or follow Wisconsin’s Cheese Map. All three states host
annual cheese festivals. You can also go on a Vocation Vacation with a cheesemonger named Steve in Portland. Curious.
Attend the American Cheese Society (ACS) Conference
This is the equivalent of the
Cheese Oscars, a show that everyone in the scene attends -- from cheesemakers
to cheese retailers. Go! You’ll eat mountains of cheese and meet makers from
all over the world. You can volunteer to offset the expense of the ACS Conference. The ACS recently developed a Cheesemonger Certification Exam, but you need documentable cheese experience to take it.
Apply for a job at a cheese counter
As long as you’re curious and
willing to learn, you have the basic credentials to work at a cheese counter.
Apply for a position and see where it takes you. Good Food Jobs is a useful resource for anyone searching for openings.
For more on this subject, listen to Anne Saxelby's radio program on Cheese Education and visit the ACS homepage for a list of cheese educators.
Labels:
American,
bootcamp,
certification,
cheese,
cheesemonger,
education,
jobs,
Mastering Cheese,
primer,
Society
Friday, February 10, 2012
Parsley Creswell Returns (with a Giveaway)
Parsley Creswell's "Virtuous Salad," Photo by Linda Olle |
On the Upper East Side, in a breezy apartment,
Parsley Creswell lives a cheese-inspired life. She has a parrot named Gougère, and she dates men with names like Mario
Provolone (a renowned tenor). Of course, I’m making this up, or, well, Linda Olle is.
Linda Olle, a regular reader of this blog, pens faux
gastro-memoirs – a genre she may have invented. The Upper East Side Cookbook: Main Course is the second book in a
trilogy that she’s writing, a series that combines rich prose and even richer
recipes: Haggis Meat Loaf, chocolate nib smoothies, Chartreuse à la Thomas Jefferson, and something called Virtuous
Salad.
In the spirit of Ruth Reichl, Parsley Creswell eats
her way around New York, but not as a writerly gastronome – no, Parsley is an
eccentric ex-fashionista who wears corsets and collects exotic recipes. She’s
Gretta Garbo with a splash of Ru Paul.
Here’s an excerpt:
With an expensive pair of birding binoculars around her neck, a gift from a swain, Parsely foraged in Central Park for mushrooms sprouting high up on a tree trunk….She placed her treasure in tissue paper and a recycled orange-and-white Zabars bag, then dined alone...
If there were a Grey Gardens cookbook, this would be
it. Linda Olle has once again revived her enchanting heroine, Parsley Creswell,
and this time we follow her through dumpsters, across Riker’s Island, and to
Japan. With each episode, she becomes more complex, more tragic, and more
quintessentially New York.
I relate to her upbringing: “…Parsley
grew up in the Midwest and believed that she experienced a form of hypoglycemia
if she didn’t get a constant infusion of calcium in the form of milk, cheese,
or ice cream, especially in the winter.”
Giveaway: So that you can enjoy this curious odyssey -- and perhaps try your hand at Onion Pie or Angels on Horseback -- I’m giving
away one copy of The Upper East Side Cookbook: Main Course. To enter, simply name the richest dish you’ve
ever eaten. Get your comment in by Feb. 14, 2012. I’ll draw a winner the next
morning.
Labels:
Cookbook,
giveaway,
Linda Olle,
Parsley Creswell,
Upper East Side
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Soup Cheese
I never grew up eating Pecorino, but this winter it’s become
my go-to cheese to serve with winter soups. The nutty flavor of this
quintessential Italian specialty comes from sheep’s milk, and because it’s a
rich, fatty cheese, a few curls shaved onto a broth adds beautiful dimension.
This week on the Di Bruno Bros. blog, I touch on several different Pecs and offer a recipe for Swiss Chard Soup. Full disclosure: Twice a month, I freelance for Di Bruno Bros., one of my fave cheese shops in Philadelphia. I pick out a cheese to feature on their blog, and I run a wee teaser here. The money I earn from this venture supports my dairy habit.
Labels:
Di Bruno Bros,
Pecorino,
recipe,
soup,
Swiss Chard
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