Ugly Rinds Last-Minute Gift Guide

Maybe it’s Occupy Wall Street. Maybe it’s the number of people I know out of jobs. Or maybe I’m just developing a thick rind, but I can’t seem to force the holiday cheer this year. Do I need more egg nog? Have I become a morose middle-ager?

Luckily, I can still get excited about cheese, cheese books, and cheese paraphernalia. Here are a few items I picked up in the last year that I just can’t live without.

Marble Cheese Dome

It’s the tea cosy for cheese lovers. The marble base keeps a weepy Brie nice’n cool, and the glass dome keeps flies and fingers away.

Culture Magazine Subscription

This seasonal dairy rag keeps getting better – but I’m biased. Great recipes, cheesemaker profiles, and news for the budding lactophile.

Cheese Knives

So much better than scrambling around for butter knives. 

The Cheese Deck

Max McCalman offers a casino-style approach to the wheeling cheese dealer. Each card features a lovely cheese photo with pairing info on the back. Flash cards?

The Flavor Thesaurus

What a curious gem – I keep this on my nightstand and peruse the wild pairing suggestions whenever I can’t get out of bed. Inevitably, I’m cheered and refreshed.

Mozza

Nancy Silverton (of La Brea Bread) now kneads mozzarella for a living. Well, sort of. This is a brilliant book full of enticing cheese photos– I dream of making her squash blossom pizza.  

Plenty

Hands down most-ogled book in our house. Think Morrocan fusion vegetarian with lots of Greek yogurt drizzled on things.

Tastebuds & Molecules

From the Canadian wine writer François Chartier, a fascinating new approach to wine pairings based on his experiences with Ferran Adrià of El Bulli.

Artisan Bitters

The perfect tonic après cheesing. Put a few drops in sparkling water, and you’ll never need a soda again. Seriously good for digestion.

Culture Magazine Debut + Birchrun Dinner

Alas, it’s here: the winter issue of Culture Magazine. It features my first story for the magazine, and I’m so pleased that it brings attention to a stellar blue-cheese maker from Pennsylvania, Sue Miller of Birchrun Hills Farm.

I interviewed Sue this fall and spent a day watching her make Birchrun Blue. Her attention to detail and her deep love of all things Holstein showed me something important that goes into cheesemaking besides milk and rennet: devotion. Deep, deep devotion to animals, land, and the people Sue calls her "eaters".

This issue of Culture feels like an album of greatest hits for me. The centerfold cheese is Rush Creek, from Uplands Cheese in my home state of Wisconsin. And the spread right after my story on Sue showcases Mike Geno’s cheese portraits (yup, that's one on the wall in the photo below). Mike’s been featured on this site many times. In fact, he often accompanies me on fromage junkets around the city.

Birchrun Hills Farm Dinner: Coincidentally, Philadelphia’s own Southwark restaurant has planned to honor Sue Miller with a Birchrun Hills Farm tasting dinner on Wednesday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m. ($45). Chef Nick Macri has four incredible courses planned to feature Birchrun's cheese, whey-fed pork, and veal. Please join Mike Geno, Sue Miller, and me. Raw milk and cookies for dessert!

To reserve a spot at Southwark’s Birchrun Hills Dinner, call the restaurant at 215-238-1888.  

Cloven Gouda

Marieke Clove Gouda, painting by Mike Geno

I've had a recent obsession with clove-studded Gouda. I know, I know, it doesn't sound appealing. But around the holidays, this curious cheese is delicious alongside mulled cider. A few weeks ago, I invited our painter friend Mike Geno over to help me dismantle a Wisconsin-themed Thanksgiving cheese board I put together -- and by "dismantle," I mean devour.

Mike was struck by the appearance of this cheese, which looks like a hunk of marble full of rusty nails. He took it home to paint, one more in his series of luxurious cheese portraits that will appear in the winter issue of Culture Magazine. 

If you have a hankering to try this cheese, visit Holland's Family Cheese. This family-run dairy farm produces a variety of aged and flavored Goudas, and while I'm not usually a fan of gussied up cheeses, this one is both intriguing and balanced. It's made by Marieke and Rolf Penterman who moved from Holland to Wisconsin and are now producing award-winning cheese.