It’s not the holidays around here without homemade panforte. Although I’ve never met a panforte I didn’t like, I like mine best. It’s moderate on the spicing and heavy on the toasted nuts. Plus dried figs, honey, cocoa, aniseed. Oh, yum. Back in the day when we had dinner guests, I would put thin slices on the cheese board with a mellow, creamy blue (here: Fourme d’Ambert) and open a sweet wine. This year at my house, it’s panforte for two, but that won’t be a problem.
Read moreYour British Cheese Checklist
Of course you want some buttery Stilton on your holiday cheese board. So do I. But Britain has so many more sublime cheeses to try. Alas, with a no-deal Brexit looming, Britain’s cheesemakers are at risk, potentially facing a huge drop in sales to Europe. Time to show them some love. I asked Tracey Colley, who runs the UK’s Academy of Cheese, to name the 10 British cheeses that every American cheese lover should know. Availability is spotty, unfortunately. Importers have been reluctant to bring in the best from Britain because punitive tariffs implemented last year have made these costly cheeses even more so. Stephanie Ciano of World’s Best Cheese, an importer, says she is hopeful that the tariffs will disappear under the new Administration.
Read moreThe Soup We Need
Nothing is predictable as I write this except that we’re in for an emotional week. Soup to the rescue. It nourishes, soothes and sustains us, and a bean soup like this one even waits for us. Make it now, enjoy it later. The fat Greek white beans called gigandes produce an especially creamy result, but chickpeas, cannellini beans or cranberry beans would be just as successful in this recipe. I crumble feta on top (of course I do), and garnish with pickled Greek peperoncini for some zip.
Read moreEverybody Loves a Winner
Has so much deliciousness ever been assembled on Zoom? Sixteen blue-ribbon cheeses. Four tastings. The best of the best. Oh, and a bonus cheese on the final evening. That’s the new “Cheese O’Clock” series in a nutshell, folks. My co-conspirator in cheese, Laura Werlin , and I hope you will join us for this virtual cheese party/cheese class/deep dive. We’re tasting exclusively American Cheese Society Blue Ribbon Winners, grouped into four themed tastings
Read moreWhiz-Kid Cheese
Sixteen-year-old cheesemaker Avery Jones has another hit on her hands. Last year, the California teenager took a top award at the American Cheese Society competition for Aries , her first entry. Her latest debut, a bloomy-rind sheep cheese called Leo, looks destined for a bright future, too. As if these whiz-kid achievements weren’t enough to impress, Avery recently presented a check for $2,200—five percent of her sales—to AmpSurf, a nonprofit with personal meaning for her.
Read moreCheese Judging in Covid Times
No Summer Olympics. No James Beard Awards, at least not for chefs. No American Cheese Society conference. Not even a Miss America pageant. We’re becoming so accustomed to events being canceled that’s its noteworthy when they aren’t. When the Good Food Awards Foundation announced that it was moving forward with its annual competition and awards, I was pretty skeptical, because…well…tasting. In groups. But they figured it out. I was a Good Foods Awards cheese judge last weekend and the crazy scheme worked.
Read moreMove Over, Avocado Toast
This is fig week in Napa Valley, where I live. Seems like everyone’s backyard crop matures at once. Ripe figs wait for no one. Use ’em or lose ’em. Poking around online for inspiration, I stumbled on an appealing Greek recipe that I would be making for dinner guests if only we could have dinner guests. Oh, well. More for me. Roasted figs, feta, honey, thyme, lemon, sesame seeds—plus my secret ingredient. Soooo good.
Read moreTomato Pesto for the Dog Days
n Napa Valley, where I live, it is too hot to cook much this week. Triple-digit days almost (almost) take my appetite away. Riffling through my mental inventory of pasta sauces that don’t require cooking, I remembered a wonderful one that my husband and I enjoyed years ago in Lipari, one of the Aeolian islands. I have made this pesto—a blend of tomato, almonds, capers, basil and mint—many times since.
Pecorino romano is the cheese you want here. I don’t think Parmigiano-Reggiano would taste right at all. Save any leftover pesto to spread on bruschetta.
Read moreBathing Beauties
Oil-packed herbed cheeses are lovely for summer salads. You’ve seen those jars and tubs in stores. But here’s a secret: you can make your own in five minutes for a lot less money. I bought a log of fresh goat cheese, sliced it into rounds, then packed the rounds in a jar with extra virgin olive oil and seasonings. Two weeks later, I warmed a couple of slices in the oven on a bed of garden vegetables. What a delicious summer lunch.
Read moreDip of My Dreams
Greek salad dip…brilliant. Two of everyone’s favorite foods—hummus and Greek salad—come together on one plate. Wish I’d thought of it. With cucumbers, tomatoes and basil in their glory right now, and good weather luring us outdoors, this layered dip is the perfect start to a summer evening. Use store-bought hummus and pita chips to keep it simple or make your own.
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