Cremifacto Verde di Capra

I know a man who buys two blue cheeses a week and eats them for dinner. No, he's not my boyfriend -- he's my muse. When I have a humdrum day, I often think of the cheese boards I have eaten at his house, and then I perk up like daisy.

Two summers ago, the Muse introduced me to Cremifacto Verdi di Capra, a goat cheese from Lombardy that had become his infatuation. "This blue will haunt you in the dark," he told me, "It's so mild and creamy." To continue reading, please visit the Di Bruno Blog.

Full disclosure: I freelance for Di Bruno Bros. twice a month. They pay me handsomely to write about cheese for their blog, and I run a nugget of the post here.

A Blue Haiku for Rogue River

Psst…I write to you from my bunker. This weekend, I have joined the freelance trenches to assist Di Bruno Bros. in their latest efforts, a new cheese stall at the Ardmore Farmers’ Market.

My assignment? To describe 300 cheeses for a new set of labels. I have three days to charm these haikus out of my spring bulb of a brain. Luckily, the fridge is full of fuel, meaning leftover blues from last weekend’s blue cheese and barley wine bonanza.

Of the five we tasted, I keep returning to Rogue River Blue, a boozy leaf-wrapped wedge with a grapey smell. Hyacinths. This cheese just might become my patio staple, now that the air is warming and the forsythia is waxing yellow.

I know I am not alone in being a Rogue River lover – someone very tricksy left a dedication on my manifesto.

So, you, wherever you are, blue cheese newbie or aficionado, I toast you from my table, with a nub of this raw-milk blue. So sweet, and so cool – like plums in the ice box.

Okay, back to my haiku. Back to cheese #141. If you are out in the delicious air and you pass a cheese shop, stop in and ask for a Rogue River bite. Think of me, and dried/ peaches, as you contemplate/ the brandy-soaked leaves.

March Blues. Not.

Bloo Suede Moo

When I get nervous, I buy cheese. Take this morning: I am on the train, dressed in cashmier and cowboy boots on my way to see the dean about my tenure. In other words, I am riding toward fate. Will I continue teaching at my job forever, or will I be dismissed like a pool of whey?

Panic sets in as I am about to switch trains, so I catch an escalator up to my favorite market, Reading Terminal, and resolve to tour the cheese counters for half an hour. There are snow caps of downy La Tur, logs of ashy goat, wheels of Gouda the size of tree stumps. Beautiful.

I stop in to see my friends Albert and Paul at the Farmstand, and soon I am laughing. There they are, in their aprons, talking up the newest batch of Washington’s Crossing. Paul sets down his cleaver, and Albert fans out some toothpicks, and the day stops as we share a moment of microbial reverie.

Afterwards, I bought 2 cheeses and went on my way. Off to my meeting, the guillotine or good news. The interlude was just what I needed, a reminder of something essential: that cheese breeds more than bacteria. It also builds good will.

I carried two cheeses in with me to see the dean. A local Banon and a hunk of Washington’s Crossing, a feisty cheese with butterscotch notes. The news was good. I left him with the bag of party favors to enjoy later.

Washington's Crossing (PA)

Then I went out for a martini with my friend and colleague, Brother Epoisses. It has been a good day, but it has also been a day without blues, and I promised you a full month of blue cheese for March.

So tomorrow it begins, the Blue Cheese Invitational. I have things to tell you and people for you to meet. Let the rumpus begin. 

In the meantime...

Observe Microbes

Take a look at the stunning photos of cheese microbes by rind researcher Rachel Dutton; they're posted on the Culture website, and they capture today's mood. 

Send Pizza

If you, like me, are also obsessed with following the protests in Madison, WI, consider sending a cheese pizza from Ian's. My old friend Ian makes the best pizza, and he's been all over the news (NYT, Huff Post) for delivering thousands of pizzas to frazzled protestors, like my brother Andre and good friend Wendy. Stay strong, Dairyland!

Gorgonzola Dolce, The Kissing Cheese

Okay, I made that up. Nobody really calls Gorgonzola Dolce “the kissing cheese,” but they should because it’s mild and it goes with bubbly. Perfect for New Years. Lord knows you don’t want Stilton breath or Roquefort breath, unless your partner is a salty dog…in which case, rock and roll.

Gorgonzola Dolce is sumptuous. The texture is as smooth as frosting, and the taste is as mellow as wedding cake. While many blues have flavor profiles that look like a cardiogram, GD is one-note. That’s right: one note, and that note is Mmmmm.

To read on, please visit the dibruno blog.

Full disclosure: This post is part of a series I write for Di Bruno Bros., my fave cheese haunt in Philly. I pick the cheese, and they pay me to guest blog on their site.

Black Castello: Matchmaking with Blues

Yesterday, I teamed up with Marisa McClellan of foodinjars.com to pair cheese'n pickles. It wasn't easy to find cheeses that could stand up to a vinegary mate, but we put together a beautiful tasting for about eight people at my neighborhood cheese shop, Quince. The real hit of the party was this luxurious blue, a Danish triple-creme with a shock of black mold for a rind. It cries out for fresh figs, but it also cuddled right up to pickled cherries. Marisa's batch was woodsy, thanks to the bay leaves in her recipe.

Pairing cheeses can be like setting your friends up on blind dates -- you have to take a few risks. I knew that Marisa was keen to crack into some pickled garlic scapes she made in spring, but I wasn't sure exactly what kind of cheese could handle that much snap and pucker. Turns out, a clayey goat cheese called Leonora was game. Leonora, an aged goat cheese from a single maker in Spain, had just the grassy, citrusy notes to tangle with a scape. (A scape is the green shoot that roars out of planted garlic in spring.)

With the fruits that are in season this time of year, these two cheeses should be your single friends. Pair them up with Asian pears or peaches -- Leonora would love that. You could add a drizzle of dark honey, and she'd lose her mind. Fresh figs or ripe plums would work, too. Black Castello takes to figs and honey, but you could also nestle it against ripe pears, toasted walnuts, fig-onion jam, apple chutney.

Black Castello is a triple-creme made from a mixture of cow's milk and sheep's milk. It's a perfect blue for beginners and tweens. No sharp hook. No bitter zing. It's all cream and conversation, and the taste doesn't linger in your mouth. If you want to impress your friends, spread it on toasted bread with pickled cherries or ripe fig halves, and top it with a sprig of rosemary. Now, that's love.

If you live in Philly and you'd like to join me for a tasting at Quince, come out of hiding! Here's a list of upcoming dates, along with with a few photos from yesterday.

Upcoming Tastings
September 18, Cheese, Apples & Ale
October 23, Warm Cheese Appetizers
November 20, Thanksgiving Cheese Plate
December 18, Holiday Cheese Pairings
January 22, Fondu
To reserve, please email Nicole at quince@quincefinefoods.com.