Mozzarella is a flavor sponge. It readily soaks up good stuff like extra virgin olive oil and garlic, so why not give it a little bath on Labor Day? Ciliegine, the cherry-size balls, are perfect for marinating. They’re bite sized, you can serve them whole so they don’t release whey, and it doesn’t take long to infuse them with seasonings. (Say chili-eh-GEE-neh.) I add dried oregano, parsley, Aleppo pepper and capers, but you do you. Taken to a potluck or at your own backyard barbecue, these juicy, garlicky one-bite wonders will vanish before the burgers are done.
Read moreTake the Cannoli Ice Cream
I only recently learned that the most famous lines in The Godfather (“Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.”) were not in the script. Actor Richard Castellano ad-libbed them. Movie critics have debated the meaning, but to me it’s obvious. What kind of Italian-American would leave cannoli behind, even fleeing a crime scene?
Read moreThe Magic Touch of Hervé Mons
After years of disappointing encounters, I stopped buying Camembert and Tomme de Savoie. The French Camembert sold in the U.S. always tasted lifeless to me. The Tomme was often stale or cardboardy. My wonderful taste memories from France did not jibe with the sorry specimens I was finding at American cheese counters. But then came Mons. Thanks to French affineur Hervé Mons and his team, we’re getting superb versions of these two classic cheeses, and others as well. In anticipation of Bastille Day, I assembled an all-Mons cheese board. So much deliciousness on one tray! Then I reached out to Fromagerie Mons to see if they could explain his magic touch.
Read moreFour-Star Farmer Cheese
I hadn’t thought of farmer cheese as craveable, the sort of cheese you keep devouring after you’ve clearly had enough, but that’s before I met this one. “Six of us inhaled essentially the whole pound with honey and toasted walnuts,” a friend texted me. “I am obsessed.” And now I’m in the cult, too. Farmer cheese this tasty would make an awesome bagel schmear, but it really deserves to be the center of attention.
Read moreTop-Value Cheeses for Tight Times
Left to right: Piave Vecchio, Taleggio, La Dama Sagrada, Point Reyes Toma, Bleu d’Auvergne
Seems like everything’s going up but the stock market. My neighborhood bakery just hiked the price of my favorite loaf by 33 percent. Ouch. That’s serious inflation. Cheese is hardly immune, and the stresses in the grain market guarantee more sticker shock to come. We cheese lovers just have to shop smarter. The values are out there. I’ve rounded up a few well-priced favorites for these inflationary times. There aren’t many cheeses that make me think “Is that all?” when I see what I’ve spent, but these dozen do.
Read moreRobiola Rave
Wow. Just wow. I am so impressed with this cheese. I tasted it when it first debuted about five years ago, but it is off-the-charts delicious now. Did I change or did the cheese? “It’s the same recipe,” says the cheesemaker, “but we have some really awesome milk now.” Hugely aromatic, supple and beautiful to boot. Put this on your summer cheese boards and wait for the raves.
Read moreHow Bad is Cheese?
As a cheese enthusiast and blogger and the author of a yogurt cookbook, I’m never happy to see dairy foods get slammed. Cows have sustained us for millennia, yet they are increasingly under scrutiny for their role in climate change. The New York Times recently published a Q&A-style feature on the environmental impact of our food choices, and I’m sure the takeaway for many readers was, “Eat less cheese.” Some people will go further and ditch dairy foods entirely. I wondered how the many progressive dairy farmer/cheesemakers I know are grappling with these issues so I reached out to one of the industry’s wise men, Andy Hatch.
Read moreParmigiano Reggiano Deep Dive
Parm by breed: (left to right) Bruna Alpina, Razza Reggiana, Bianca Modenese
One thing (among many) that I love about cheese is that you don’t have to spend a fortune to taste the gold standards. A cult Cabernet Sauvignon can cost more than a round-trip ticket to Europe, but anyone with ten dollars can get a sizeable taste of a cult cheese. And that’s what I would call the three Parmigiano Reggianos pictured above. They are costly, acclaimed, rare and sought after by in-the-know cheese fans. Are they more compelling than the everyday Parm you’ve been using? Well, it won’t cost you much to find out.
Read moreSpring Look for Insalata Caprese
My friend Joanne Weir, the television personality, came up with this genius idea for a spring riff on tomato and mozzarella salad. After all, it’s not tomato season. It’s asparagus, fava bean and pea season. So leave those mealy, flavorless red orbs for someone else and give your Caprese salad a fresh look for spring. What a light, simple salad for Easter and spring dinner parties to come. Thank you, Joanne!
Read moreCheese Cake for Wine Fans
Maybe it’s because my culinary roots are in France, but so many dishes sound better to me in French, or even Franglais. That’s certainly true of cake salé, my new favorite appetizer. I doubt I could interest you in a slice of salted cake, but you definitely want to try this warm, savory, crumbly, utterly addictive hors d’oeuvre. With the fresh rosés from last year’s harvest showing up in stores, this tender loaf makes an irresistible nibble.
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