Madame Fromage's Mission?

I've been working on a mission statement. I thought I'd run it by you. Any suggestions, my darlings?

Hi, I'm Tenaya Darlington. I started this blog in 2009 to document my love affair with strong cheese. My goal is to help the dairy curious become more adventurous. Ever tried Stichelton? It's one of my faves.

I'm obsessed with photographing cheese, meeting dairy farmers, interviewing cheesemongers, pairing cheese, and introducing my friends to new bold beauties. I'm on the faculty at Saint Joseph's University, where Food Writing is my most popular class. Before I moved to Philadelphia, I was the Features Editor at Isthmus Newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin. There, I learned about the beauty of artisanal foods.

This blog has helped me find community in a city that once appeared vast to me. In my neighborhood, I host monthly tastings at Quince, a local cheese shop. I also write a "Local Cheese" column for Grid Magazine. Best of all, I blog biweekly for the city's largest cheese counter, Di Bruno Bros. They pay me to write about cheese!

The name "Madame Fromage" was inspired by a poetry collection I wrote in 2000, calledMadame Deluxe. I loved wearing velvet gloves to my readings. I couldn't retire them. So, Madame rose again. I also have a novel, Maybe Baby. Alas, neither book mentions cheese.

My blog is designed to be a gateway into dairy lovin' and dairy literacy. I hope you feel welcome here. If you have a question, feel free to drop me a line. If you like what you see, you can find Madame Fromage on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter (mmefromage is my handle).

Thanks for your curiosity.

Bake it, Broil it, Toast it: A Tasting

I don’t know about you, but I am ready to start toasting things. It’s too early to key up the furnace, and so I am dreaming of the melted, the broiled.

Next Saturday, I am going to shake up the universe with some gooey love. Over at Quince, the teeny cheese shop in my neighborhood, Nicole and I have plans to go postal on the toaster oven.

Put on your wool socks and join us for a 3-course tasting of warm, bubbly, crispened…fromage. Who knows, there may even be spiced wine. You will get your cozy quotient, in case you have been in deficit.

When: Saturday, October 23, 2010, 4 p.m.

Where: Quince Fine Foods

What: This shenanigans costs $12. Please call the store to make a rezzie (215-232-3425).

Cheese, Apples, & Ale Tasting

The weather lately has been sweatery, and that means apple season is upon us. Join me for a tasting of cheese, apples, and ale next Saturday, September 18, at 5 p.m. at Quince, 209 W. Girard Ave., Philadelphia. We’ll taste three cheeses with fall fruit, and we’ll have a little brew alongside, to match.

If you’ve never come to one of these monthly tastings, you’re in for a treat. The tastings are a great chance to meet other cheese lovers (and usually a local food blogger or two). I’ll be there, along with Joan Sauvion and Nicole Marcote, who own the shop, and together we offer Slow Food-style tastings – 3 courses, lots of conversation, without any fuss or rush.

Please call or email to reserve your spot: (215) 232-3425 or quince@quincefinefoods.com. Tastings are limited to 12 participants and cost $12. All proceeds go to the store. Please note that this tasting starts at 5 p.m., an hour later than usual.

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.

Cheese'n Pickles Tasting, August 28

It’s canning season! Please join me for an afternoon with canning sensation Marisa McClellan (of foodinjars.com) for a workshop on pairing cheese with homemade pickles. Marisa will dip into her favorite jars for samples (pickled garlic scapes, anyone?) and talk canning basics. I’ll show you which cheeses go well with sour dills and which ones pair nicely with sweet pickled cherries. We'll have a three-course tasting, a little wine, and some conviviality.

This all goes down at Quince Fine Foods, 209 W. Girard Ave., Philadelphia, on Saturday, August 28 at 4 p.m. Please call or email to reserve your spot: (215) 232-3425 or quince@quincefinefoods.com. Workshops are limited to 12 participants and cost $12.