Cheese and bread, all toasty, crusty and melty. Who doesn’t love that? I’m surprised that zuppa Gallurese has eluded my radar until now, given that the dish includes my two favorite food groups, and not much else. I watched an elderly Pasta Granny make this Sardinian specialty recently (never miss an episode of that YouTube cooking series) and then immediately started hunting for recipes. In the end, I merged methods from several Italian food authorities--including Lidia Bastianich and Katie Parla —to concoct a zuppa Gallurese with the bread and cheeses I like. Despite the name, the dish is much closer to bread pudding than to soup.
Read moreSwiss With a Twist
I don’t quite get it, but not everyone loves the same cheeses I do. Those beefy, concentrated alpine cheeses I adore can strike some folks as over the top. “Too much flavor” is one critique I’ve heard but could never imagine saying myself. If you tend to like cheeses that show a bit more restraint, this Swiss beauty may be for you. It’s a little younger than many comparable mountain cheeses, and while I don’t find it remotely lacking in aroma or flavor, it’s not as in-your-face as some.
Read moreConfessions of a Bargain Hunter
My husband and I spend way too much money trying to find inexpensive wines we like. Sometimes, after three $15 disappointments, I’ll think, “We could have bought a $45 wine.” Rummaging around for a bargain is often a false economy, and a recent endeavor with Cheddar reinforced this. My objective was to identify a few Cheddars that over-deliver for the price
Read moreKeeping it Raw
No longer raw: Buttermilk Blue from Roth Cheese
International Raw Milk Cheese Appreciation Day is Saturday, October 19. But as our former President might say, “So what?” If nothing else, the occasion is a reminder that the freedom to make and sell raw-milk cheese is not guaranteed. This election year, especially, we’re hyper-aware that laws can change and restrict or retract rights we’ve had forever.
Read moreGouda Enough for You?
Hootenanny from Goat Rodeo (left) and cumin-scented Dutch Leyden
I’ve often told others that the best way to find a good cheese is to ask the people behind the counter what they’re loving. The good mongers are sampling all day long and they know what’s in great shape. So when a local cheese merchant all but grabbed my arm recently to steer me to a new arrival she loved, how could I leave without some? And I’m in perfect agreement. This aged American Gouda is a sure-fire pleaser and a no-brainer for autumn cheese plates with apples and pears. For a slam-dunk pairing, open a malty Oktoberfest brew.
Read moreFreeze This Cheese
People often ask me whether they can freeze cheese. “Sure,” I reply. “But it won’t be the same when it thaws.” Putting cheese in the freezer is almost never a good idea—it alters the texture—although I can think of a couple of exceptions. If you like to stockpile Parmigiano Reggiano rinds for making broth or enhancing a pot of beans, by all means keep your collection in the freezer (although the rinds will also be fine in the fridge). But with the onset of autumn, I’m reminded of a little trick with frozen cheese that I learned from celebrity chef Michael Chiarello.
Read moreHauntingly Good
When I lose cheeses in the back of my fridge, they rarely emerge the better for it. Once or twice, I’ve unintentionally improved an uncut wheel by forgetting I had it, but I generally prefer to leave the aging to the experts. Even they can be surprised by what happens. The Swiss cheese pictured above was a happy accident. Wheels misplaced in the creamery’s cellar and discovered months later had evolved in spectacular fashion. The cheese didn’t get dryer, as one would have expected. It got creamier.
Read moreBlue Ribbon Worthy
When it comes to Brian Civitello at Mystic Cheese, I’m a fan girl. Civitello is a student of history who finds inspiration in cheeses of the past. He’s a risk taker. But most important, he is exceptionally skilled. Everything I’ve tasted from his Connecticut creamery has been captivating, unusual and memorable, including the newcomer pictured above. It won a blue ribbon at the American Cheese Society competition this year.
Read moreCannelloni Time
My eggplant crop was a runaway success this year—not always the case—and frankly I’m getting a little tired of baba ghanoush. I’ve cooked eggplant with pasta every conceivable way and still I have eggplant. For Labor Day, when normal people were grilling burgers, we grilled eggplant. That’s when I was reminded how much I enjoy this pasta-free riff on cannelloni, which I developed for a Sur La Table cookbook several years ago. Eggplant and tomato are a proven love match; add ricotta and prosciutto to the mix and you hit it out of the park.
Read moreA Lotta Burrata
Do you recall your first encounter with burrata? I do, and I can’t believe it was only 20 years ago. It seems like this embellished mozzarella has always been with us, surprising and seducing us with its luscious interior. But it’s a relative newcomer, all but unknown in the U.S. until the early 2000s. Now it’s everywhere, a fan favorite on Italian menus from Pasadena to Poughkeepsie. A cheese counter without burrata—why would you do that? Being a minimalist, I’m happy with a plate of toast, a naked ball of burrata and a pepper grinder, but even I enjoy a burrata dressed up on occasion.
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