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.
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.
This artisanal goat cheese is made by Pete Demchur, a longstanding cheesemaker from Chester County who is famous for the quality of his goat’s milk. He sells at local farmers’ markets (Piazza, Chestnut Hill), where his herbed spreads and Extra Sharp Chevre are especially popular. This year, he and his wife Donna debuted three kinds of marinated chevre in jars. These marinated “biscuits” taste wonderful on top of salads, and you can use the herbed oil they're packed in as a dressing – just add a squeeze of lemon and toss. This chevre is especially good in a salad of oranges, red pepper, purple onion, and greens.
2. Saint-Marcellin, France
This bloomy cow’s milk cheese oozes satiny cream. With its clay crock, it’s especially pleasing to take on picnics – a perfect cheese for two. If you let Saint-Marcellin sit in the sun while you nap, it liquefies and releases truffly notes. Bring along plenty of crusty bread a spicy Syrah.
3. Petit Basque, Spain
The fruity, nutty notes in this sheep’s milk cheese make it a beautiful accompaniment to stone fruits – think apricots, fresh cherries – or savory picnic fare: cured meats, green olives, almonds. Try it with a dark lager, a Burgundy, or Bourdeaux. Petit Basque comes from the Pyrenees, along the border between Spain and France, the same region that produces Ossau-Oraty and Idiazabal – two other fine Spanish cheeses.
The above cheeses were featured at our Picnic Cheese Tasting on May 20, 2010 at Quince Fine Foods, a small mother-daughter gourmet shop in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. To find out about upcoming tastings, please join the Facebook page for Madame Fromage.
Last night's tasting was a great success. Quince, the little cheese shop in my neighborhood, looked beautiful -- full of flowers, baskets of bread. The cheese case was stocked, the shelves lined with chutneys and nuts. When people began arriving, I felt my first twinge of holiday spirit.
Our hosts, Joan Sauvion and Nicole Marcote, who own Quince, plated our three cheese selections so beautifully. We started with warm Cana de Cabra, drizzled in orange flower honey with pine nuts, and ended with a glass of sherry and a wedge of leaf-wrapped Valdeรณn accompanied by a bit of fig cake.
The triple-creme Brillat-Savarin proved to be the big hit -- a sensuous cheese that needs little in the way of dressing, but Nicole's idea to serve it with an apricot and some marcona almonds was a stroke of genius.
Brillat-Savarin really is a perfect holiday cheese. The texture is satiny, rich, and the flavor is mild and slightly sweet -- easy on the palate during months when most foods we eat are heavily spiced. It makes a great dessert course, so easy to prepare. Just let it come to room temperature and serve it with berries, like cheesecake. It's also perfect alongside a champagne toast -- who doesn't like bubbles and brie?
We had such a great time last night that we've already set the date for a second tasting, Saturday, Dec. 19. We haven't chosen a theme yet, but if you have ideas...hmm?
And if you'd like to sign up, down hesitate to email Nicole at Quince: quince@quincefinefoods.com
It's official. I've teamed up with my neighborhood cheese shop to host a tasting, and you, my beloveds, are invited. See that card above? That's my lifeline -- when Quince opened three years ago on Girard Avenue in Philadelphia, I just about lost my mind. I peered through the window and saw wheels of blue-veined Valdeon, slabs of Spanish ham, and...wheee...cornichons! Amid the check-cashing stores and nail salons, here was a reprieve.
Quince is the dreamchild of mother-daughter team Joan Sauvion and Nicole Marcote, who moved to Philly from northern Spain. Their store carries all sorts of Spanish delicacies, plus extra-strong coffee, soups, and sandwiches. (I yearn for their pate-and-pickle combination on a crisp baguette.)
On Satuday, November 21, Nicole and I will be talking about Cheesegiving ideas for the holiday ahead. We'll be sampling three divine cheeses, and you'll walk away with recipes and ideas for wine-and-cheese pairings. Hungry? Here are the deets:
HOW: The cost of the tasting is $12, and reservations are appreciated. To reserve, call Nicole at 215.232.3425 or email quince@quincefinefoods.com
I look forward to noshing with you. If you've never been to Northern Liberties, this is a great excuse to visit the famed Piazza and pick up a Brown Betty cupcake on your way home.
Ooo...one more thing. If you're looking for other pre-holiday things to do, check out the cranberry-preserve canning classes that Marisa is offering over at Foodinjars.com. The dates are below, and there's a registration link on her site.
Cranberry Jelly Sunday, November 15th 3 - 4: 30 p.m. Philly Kitchen Share $45 (price includes all supplies and one pint of cranberry jelly to take home)
Cranberry Chutney Saturday, November 21st 11 - 12:30 Foster's Homewares (their new location at 33 N. 3rd Street) $39 (price includes all supplies and one half pint of cranberry chutney to take home)
