Cheesaholics Anonymous

Feta on my mind

I came back from a two-week vacation to Greece with one lingering thought on my mind – how soon I could get my hands on a decent supply of feta. If you have ever visited Greece you will know that this pristine white national treasure appears on every taverna menu, drizzled with olive oil, or generously heaped on horiatiki salata (Greek salad). I ate it twice a day or more and never tired of the tanginess and flavors of olive and ocean in every gorgeous bite.

Feta cheese is most closely associated with Greece, but other countries in the region, Bulgaria and France in particular, have delicious versions of their own. French feta is milder, and Bulgarian feta packs a bigger punch. Feta has become so popular around the world that the majority of what we consume is industrially made. Small-batch artisan versions can still be found in the country (and likely not much beyond the village) of origin.

Feta tastes best to me when made with sheep’s milk, though there are plenty of tasty cow and goat’s milk versions are out there. The fresh milk is left to curdle with rennet and a starter culture, and the curds are then ladled into molds lined with cheesecloth. After a few weeks of draining and salting, they are firm enough to cut into blocks, and are submerged into a brine or salted whey solution to cure and age for a month or more. Think of feta like a pickled cheese!

Feta has a long shelf life for a fresh cheese, so I usually buy a block from the supermarket without worrying too much about when I might get around to eating it. I’m also a fan of the feta cubes suspended in olive oil and dried herbs – they make a great snack or easy hors d’oeuvre, and the leftover oil tastes good drizzled over salad. However you like your feta, be sure to revisit it often this summer. Then throw on your bouzouki CD and break open the retsina, and welcome to my big fat Greek vacation.

It's summer - can I still serve cheese?

I like to include cheese in my home entertaining all year round. But when the entertaining moves outdoors and the heat starts rising, some cheeses are best left behind. Even I would pass on a runny Epoisses on a hot and humid afternoon… and I’m cheese-obsessed. So do your guests a favor and stick to the mild side of the cheese spectrum and save the stinky ones for winter (or your well air-conditioned apartment). Here are some tips to get your cheese plate summer-ready:

• Goat’s milk cheeses are refreshingly mild and widely available during the summer time. Fresh chèvre logs covered with peppercorns or herbs make for a pretty presentation and are always a crowd pleaser.

• Pressed sheep’s milk cheeses (like Manchego from Spain) are great for summertime – just be sure to let them reach room temperature before cutting them. This will help reduce the “weeping” of the fat from the cheese.

• If you are barbecuing, dress up your burgers with a great farmstead cheddar, like Fiscalini Cheddar from Modesto, California. And keep a hunk on the cheese plate for people to graze on between burgers.

Enjoy your summer, enjoy your cheese.

What's good right now?

T.S. Eliot wrote: April is the cruelest month. Maybe so when we’re talking about perpetually frizzy hair, pasty white legs yearning for summer bronze, and stirring dull roots with spring rain (more T.S.). But not so when we’re talking about cheese! April is the most generous of months, with the young goat and sheep’s milk cheeses making their seasonal debut, and last summer’s Alpine cheeses settling into a new layer of complexity. I find my mind wandering to the lush, goat-filled Loire Valley in France, and rows of soft-ripened cheeses steadily growing wisps of white mould on their their ashy surfaces. Bring on the picnic basket, crusty baguette and chilled vino and look for theses cheeses to celebrate the spring season:

- Loire valley goat’s milk cheeses: Selles sur Cher, Valencay, Sainte Maure.

- Mixed milk cheeses from Provence: Banon, Saint Marcellin.

- Iberian soft sheep’s milk cheeses: Azeitao, Torta del Casar.

Cheese and Wine at Vin Noir

NEW EVENT!

7:00 - 8:30PM, Tuesday March 20th

On Tuesday March 20^th, Waldemar and Nadia are taking over Vin Noir, a stylish little wine bar in Soho, for a celebration of cheese and wine. Owner Todd Flatham, formerly of Craft and Mercer Kitchen, has selected distinctive wines from his collection for us to enjoy, including a tasty Austrian red with grape varietals we can’t pronounce (but already love). He will also be serving La Meule (pictured left), a sage-infused blonde ale from Switzerland, a deliciously different tasting beer. On the cheese front, we’ve selected some of our favorites from around the world, including the award-winning Montenebro from Spain, and the rustic Fiore Sardo from Sardinia. Join us as we indulge and learn all about these culinary treasures in the chill and intimate setting of Vin Noir. Tickets are $35 per person. Space is limited, so please call (212) 925-6647 to reserve your space. Vin Noir is located at 228 Mott Street, between Prince and Spring Streets.

Seattle knows cheese

Seattle is hosting its fourth annual Cheese Festival from May 18^th – 20^th, bringing cheese makers and cheese lovers together at the Pike Place market downtown. Some of my favorite cheese people in the world will be there, including the Brits from Neal’s Yard, the masters of American blue from Rogue River, and one of my dearest mentors Daphne Zepos, fromager and affineur extraordinaire who will be speaking as a panelist. While the festival turns 4, I turn the big 3-0 that weekend, and my only plans at the moment involve copious amounts of wine and close proximity to my husband and loved ones in NYC. But I urge you, my fellow cheesaholics, to go west and explore what the Seattle Cheese Festival has to offer. For more info click here.

I heart cheese

Everything about Valentine’s Day screams “hearts” – they are all over the place, splashed on every card and gift intended to convey the subtle expression of love. But why, oh why, did the heart-lovers have to mess with cheese? I never understood this idea, and am even more perplexed in realizing this is probably a fairly old thing. According to my sources, the heart-shaped cheese hails from France. The French are pretty traditional about their food, especially cheese, which leads me to believe this notion has been around for a while. I can only imagine, a century ago, a lonely French cheesemaker pining for the lovely maiden that frequents his cheese shop. Unable to summon the courage to tell her how he feels, he whips up a heart-shaped Camembert and presents it to her, hoping his intention is loud and clear. Ah, l’amour. I personally have never tried a heart-shaped cheese. But for those of you willing to take the plunge, there is plenty to chose from: Coeur de Berry, Coeur d’Arras, Coeur d’Avesnes and a few American versions as well. Remember, you can always get out your heart-shaped cookie cutter and take it to any cheese you like (maybe you’ll get points for being creative too).

Bringing sexy back

It can be hard to think of original things to give your loved one for Valentines Day. Chocolates, scented oils, promise of intimate dinners, all so predictable. So if your sweetheart happens to be a cheese lover who likes women, give the gift of Les Calendrier des From’Girls (Cheese Girl’s Calendar). This kinky 2007 wall calendar is the creation of Véronique Richez-Lerouge, who is trying to overhaul cheese’s image as a stodgy and fattening food. Mademoiselles Adeline Camembert and Clara Chaource (pictured left) are among the dozen French beauties that pose saucily with their featured cheese of the month. For only 15 euros you can send your lover soaring to new heights of gastronomic (or was that sexual?) arousal. Bring the sexy back, one fromage at a time. To order: http://www.fromages-de-terroirs.com/

¡Viva Navarra!

FREE EVENT! Saturday February 3rd

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Located in the north of Spain, Navarra boasts a long and rich history of agriculture and gastronomic culture. This ancient kingdom has captivated all who visit, from the pilgrims who traversed the mountainous El Camino de Santiago, to Hemingway running the bulls in Pamplona. Join us for a tasting of artisan cheeses and wines from the region, and find out why people are falling in love with Navarra. This event is free and open to the public! Cheeses provided by Despaña Brand Foods and wines provided by Astor Wines & Spirits. Waldemar and Nadia will serve the cheese and will answer all your cheese questions! Guests will be offered 15% off the featured wines for purchase.

Astor Wines & Spirits is located at 399 Lafayette Street (at 4th St), New York, NY 10003. (212) 674-7500.

The big chill

When I first got into the habit of purchasing serious quantities of cheese, I often ran into the “problem” of having to consume it all, and quickly, before it turned on me. My preferred cheese suppliers are my in-laws, and when they would visit from Spain I often received a whole wheel of Manchego cheese. We would eat the cheese, tapas style, for days, and grate a little here and there over pasta, but no matter how much we chipped away at the block, I was invariably facing an inventory overload.

My solution at the time was to roll up my sleeves and grate away, seal the grated cheese in a zip-loc bag, and toss it into the freezer. When I came to use it in cooking a week or so later I would tell myself that everything was fine, but really both the cheese and I were crying inside. The cheese was dead, and there was no saving it.

So where did I go wrong? Well the first sin was in grating the cheese well in advance of using it. Cheese should be grated to order, and once grated loses much of its luster within a few hours. Second, I resorted to freezing, with no real plan of action to use it within the next few days. Freezing and thawing cheese stresses the cell structure of the fat and protein cells, and at best results in weird textures (very grainy or flinty cheese) and at worst can result in rancid cheese.

If you must freeze cheese for later use, freeze small amounts, and keep the chunk intact. Make sure the cheese is wrapped tightly (if the cheese has freezer burn throw it out!), and do not freeze soft or semi-soft cheeses. These cheeses were not meant to last forever and with higher water content are more susceptible to rancidity or extreme textural changes.

Bottom line? Buy what you can consume, my Cheesaholics. Yes, it’s nice to have a “stash” for emergencies, but with enough planning and trips to a reputable cheese-monger you can have your cheese fresh and freezer-free at all times.

Cheese on the menu

I adore hosting parties. Last weekend I threw a birthday party for my friend Luis, and spent the better part of a day cooking for it. But the pièce de résistance no doubt was the cheese plate. OK, so my friends expect a lot from me when it comes to incorporating cheese in my entertaining. But seriously, why don’t more people think of it as standard? It was the easiest, most stunning and arguably tastiest treat I had to offer.

The first step was making a trip to the Essex Market to visit my friend Anne Saxelby. I planned on buying an impressive amount and knew I wanted three cheeses (an odd number looks better on the board). I picked out one stinky, one smoked, and one blue, all happened to be from Vermont (Twig Farm Wheel, Maple Smoked Gouda, and Bartlett Blue, respectively). I went by cheese-making style and appearance, so that each cheese brought with it a whole new experience.

Once home all I had to do was remember to take them out of the fridge 1.5 hours before serving, arrange them on a board, and stick a label in them (I love the ceramic labels that you can use over and over). And just like that I had a stunning addition to the dessert offering (check out the spread in the photo). The cheese got a lot of attention, and it was great to have something salty and fatty to snack on as we ploughed through the wine. Anyone can entertain with cheese, and maybe you’ll give it some thought too. And if you need help, I’m here for you fellow my cheesaholic, so drop me a line.