Rogue River Smokey Blue

Lately, people have been asking me about smoked cheeses, so this week on the Di Bruno blog, I devoted my column to Rogue River Smokey Blue from Oregon state. It's one of the best smoked cheeses on the market -- not that competition is stiff. Most "smoked" cheeses are loaded with Liquid Smoke, a chemical additive. For the 411 on why Rogue River Smokey Blue stands out, please check out my column. 

Full disclosure: I am a freelancer for Di Bruno Bros. Twice a month, I select a cheese and develop a post for their blog. This is how I cover the cost of my dairy habit.

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.