Friday, August 27, 2010

The Cheeses of Summer: A Retrospective


On Monday, I become a desk dawg again. I’ll be posting office hours, going to class. Not like I don’t love it, but it does mean that the sweet, sprawling days of summer are over. So here’s my paean to the last few months, which were full of good meals, good friends, and treks through cheese rooms near and far.
Summer began with my brother and a giant latte...
followed by a Gruyere Croissant from Batch Bakery in Madison, WI...
and a stroll through the Willy Street Co-op cheese case, my old haunt...
and a few sniffs at the Dane County Farmers' Market.  Purrr.
Then I toured some cheese factories: Roth Kase, for one...
and cheesed around with writers at an artist colony in Minnesota. 
We went to the Pizza Farm in Stockholm, WI, a major highlight.
Come July, it was time to return to the figs of South Philly...
and meet my sweetie for dinner at Southwark.
The pork belly with blue cheese sauce was as good as everyone said it would be.

And so the fall semester begins. Soon, my students will learn about Chaucer and cheese, and while they delve into their studies, mine, too, shall continue. I've got book reports to write (from my summer cheese-reads) and a few recommendations to hunt for: Moses Sleeper, Grafton Cheddar, Cato Corner's Rapple Ree, Piper's Pyramid, Noble Run, Coomersdale...and the list runs on.


What's on your list of cheeses to try this fall?

4 comments:

  1. Beautiful entry :)

    This fall I'll be looking for Wimer Winter, it's a pholia farm cheese. Yum!

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  2. Intriguing...I don't know Wimer Winter, but I'll see if I can find it on this coast. Did you sink your teeth into some Red Hawk yet?

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  3. Oh! Chaucer! Takes me back to my Medieval Literature class a year ago.

    So, since finding your blog my husband, mom, and I have been trying a new cheese every week. We have a DiBruno Bros. selection at Acme and Wegman's has a nice spread. We just bought a Dulce Gorgonzola and a chunk of Mahon. The Prima Donna was awesome and I had a piece of St. Andre. Also tried my first goat.

    So next I've been oogling some of the Cahill's cheddars and the french comte. I'm looking for something good for fall and to go alongside pumpkin based food though.

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  4. Well, I'm just delighted to hear this! Find a fig for that Dulce Gorgonzola, and let all those cheese sit out until they come to room temp. Then they will really sing. Great selections, Dietplaid. Keep me posted on your cheese future.

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