Cheese without bread? Mon dieu. I still remember when I forgot to bring the baguettes to a cheese tasting and got reprimanded by an irritated Frenchman. I’ll never do that again. Sturdy, chewy bread is maybe the only thing I love as much as cheese (well, wine is up there), and Della Fattoria loaves are a gold standard for me. Last week, we lost Della Fattoria founder Kathleen Weber—too quickly, too soon.
Read moreIt’s a Cheese Marathon
One of these years, I’m going to take a clicker to the Winter Fancy Food Show so I can count exactly how many cheeses I sampled. Sixty? Seventy? My self-discipline melts like hot mozzarella at this three-day extravaganza. I’m looking for trends and the next big stars, so I soldier on. Eighty cheeses?
Read moreAlways Something New
Recently, a young man in one of my classes asked me how many cheeses there were. Like…how many in ALL? Who could know? Thousands, surely. All I know is that I keep stumbling on new ones, or at least new to me, like this totally loveable goat cheese from northern Italy. I’m crazy for it on its own, but I intend to drape slices on hot polenta at the next opportunity.
Read moreBlack Magic
I was hanging out in the Cakebread Cellars kitchen in Napa Valley not long ago, watching chef Tom Sixsmith assemble cheese plates for visitors. What caught my eye was the accompaniment he was putting on each plate, slices of a dried fruit and pistachio paste that looked delicious. And it was. I hadn’t seen the paste in stores because Tom makes it himself. He calls it dried fruit “salami,” for obvious reasons, and it takes all of five minutes to make. It’s a good keeper, so you can make a lot and use it to dress up your cheese boards all winter long.
Read moreNew Year, New Drink
A pretty Champagne cocktail to ring in the New Year? I’m a big fan of this one, which I think I invented but, like so many recipes, it probably already existed. Let me know if you know it by another name. I call it the Ruby Yacht. It is elegant, it shimmers in a flute, and it is way too easy to drink. If it becomes your house cocktail, well, you’re welcome.
Read moreSuperstar Cheeses of 2019
French showstopper: Tomme Brulée
What cheeses topped the charts at American cheese counters this year? For answers, I polled a few independent retailers around the country about their biggest hits of the past 12 months. I wanted to hear about newcomers that took off, sleeper hits that surpassed expectations and any under-performers that, for whatever reason, finally got traction.
Read moreDeath by a Thousand Cuts
When a super-smart cheese merchant with a beautiful store in a big city has to close, I get nervous. What’s going on out there, people? Where are you buying your cheese? Apparently not enough people were buying from Pastoral, a Chicago retailer that shuttered last week after 15 years in business. Almost any list of top cheese shops in the U.S. would have included Pastoral. The owners won multiple retailing awards. If they couldn’t make it, you have to wonder how any independent cheese shop can compete against behemoths like Amazon, Costco, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.
Read moreNew Look for Baked Goat Cheese
Forty years ago next spring, Chez Panisse Café opened in Berkeley and introduced Americans to the baked goat cheese salad. The café’s menu changes daily, but that dish is still on it, a testament to its enduring popularity. As a cook there in the early days, I made a few million of those salads. I still love the combination of quivery cheese and crunchy breadcrumbs.
Read moreUltimate Holiday Cheeses
Want to guess which of these beauties was the hands-down favorite in my recent class on holiday cheeses? The top vote-getter didn’t surprise me, although (lovely as it was) I didn’t vote for it. I selected most of these cheeses because they’re only or primarily available now, during the run-up to the holidays; others made the cut because they are party-worthy for other reasons. People expect Cheddar and Stilton on a holiday buffet. Shake things up with one or more of these showstoppers.
Read moreEver So Grateful
As we head into the holiday season, I want to express my gratitude for my readers, my students, my cheese community and all those who make, sell and appreciate great cheese. Despite threats from regulation and industrialization, I think we cheese lovers live in a Golden Age. We have so many choices—a burgeoning American cheese scene and a bonanza of imports—but we have to choose quality or traditional methods won’t survive. Tomorrow, before my guests and I sit down to the turkey, I’ll offer thanks for my family, my friends, my health. But just between us, here are a few other things I’m grateful for:
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