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 moreIs That Shipping Charge Too High?
One of these days, we’ll feel totally comfortable with going into cheese shops again. In the meantime, a lot of us are ordering online. As you can imagine, shipping cheese is not remotely like shipping books. Novels don’t need gel packs and insulated boxes. If your book gets stalled in a warm warehouse over a weekend, no harm done. A Planet Cheese reader recently complained to me about a merchant’s shipping charge, so I thought I would dig a little more deeply. Are sellers raking it in on the shipping, or does it really cost that much to get the Brie to you?
Read moreTrio of Lovelies
For all those who say they don’t like goat cheese, here are three to change their mind. I would bet on it. How can you not love these beauties? I get why people dislike those chalky, overly tart fresh chèvres that smell like a goat barn. I don’t like them either. But goat cheese can be silky, sweet, nutty and mellow, with an aroma like pale caramel. These three gems (one is mixed milk) are absolutely worth the hunt—each an original creation made by a single producer.
Read moreAsk Her Anything
Why is this woman smiling? She’s about to take the Certified Cheese Professional exam, concluding eight months of intensive study. At 65 (believe it or not), Erin Selby is not a typical CCP candidate, and her motivation isn’t typical either. Most people want the credential for career advancement. For Selby, passing the exam would cap a cheese journey that began more than four decades ago, with a college year in Switzerland. But her determination to master the subject really kicked into gear after an intimidating encounter with a cheese clerk.
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 moreTime for a Dip
Summer veggies just wanna be dipped. Faced with a deluge of tomatoes, cucumbers and sweet peppers from my garden, I remembered a goat cheese-onion dip recipe that a chef shared with me recently—an update of the sour-cream classic. I dug out the recipe, made it and thought: Hmmm. Good but too cheffy. I can simplify this.
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 moreBumpy Ride for Cheese Imports
Six months into this horrid pandemic and we still can’t plan for the future. Will we be able to gather for Thanksgiving? Will we have holiday parties? For me, these aren’t top-of-mind questions, but if you’re a cheesemaker, you need to guess, now, what people are going to want two or three months from now. The usual customer buying patterns have been completely upended. Montenebro (above), the fabulous Spanish goat cheese, is in short supply because the cheesemaker slashed production two months ago. Iffy flight schedules still plague air-freighted cheeses from Europe.
Read moreBaby Burrata Takes the Stage
I’m loving the new Gioia mini burrata. At four ounces—half the usual size—it’s just right for two, and that’s all the people I get to cook for these days. A whole burrata is a commitment. Once you cut into that oozy interior, you have to finish it.
A Napa Valley winery chef turned me on to the combination of burrata, tomatoes and peaches. I’d been seeing versions of this salad online, but his rendition has some appealing refinements.
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.
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