We’re not much for flavored or “infused” cheeses, and here is another NO to add to the list. TJ says: “Creamy Toscano Cheese Dusted with Cinnamon. This cow’s milk cheese has the nutty flavor of Parmesan and the creamy texture of English Farmstead cheddar. Each wheel is coated in cinnamon, which gently infuses the cheese with a subtle sweet-warm spice as it ages. Only at Trader Joe’s. $7.99 a pound. ”
We say no. Wimpy flavor. What would you eat with it? Not appropriate for a cheese tray. Apple with cinnamon cheese fondue? No, buy a better cheese and add your own cinnamon — though cinnamon and cheese probably isn’t for me.
Aged 9 months; Wisconsin, USA. Maybe if we had tried pairing it with a brawny port…
What a pleasant summer surprise — when the rest of CP goes on vacation for the month of August, Ripple, 3417 Connecticut Ave NW (formerly Aroma) goes all out. We met W there after the Shakespeare Theatre Free for All “Twelfth Night at 11:30 p.m. on a Friday night, and everything else was still closed. Ripple’s bar, with good wines (many by the glass, some at $6) is bright but cozy. Manager Danny Fisher, who comes from Cork and Cork Market, is there to guide you from drinks to cheese and dessert. The cheesemonger, Julia, served up a beautiful plate of cheese and charcuterie. All the cheese is from Cowgirl Creamery(no cheese cave since they are so close to the source) Danny helped us choose the right cheese and the right wines:
Everona Piedmont – one of our local Virginia favs
Fiore Sardo – a pecorino from Italy that always works
Burrata – a soft, creamy mozzarella-like cheese from Puglia Italy that was as good as advertised
Jean D’Also Bleu D’Auvergne – a soft, french buttery blue that was a perfect ending to them all.
One the side La Quercia Americano, a proscuitto-like ham from Iowa. (the only American version I’ve ever liked).
Ripple’s homemade crackers are good, but ask for some of the good bread – doesn’t distract from the cheese.
3/24/13vUpdate 2012 on cheeses we would have liked to try there or somewhere else: Neva, Sheep Cheese from Spain; Cherry Grove Toma, Cow from Lawrenceville, NJ; La Peral, Cow and Sheep Cheese from Asturisa, Spain.
It was cloudy in DC, so we had to have cheese instead of meteors.
W stopped at Calvert Woodley for a loaf a bread and three cheeses.
Brie Belletoile from France. Soft. Tangy. Very spreadable. Regular cheese plate addition for us.
I bought Giant grocery store cheese because of the bright green rind. New York’s artisans cheese. Bergenost, described as an artisan cheese made in Corfu, New York byYanceys Fancy Cheese. The cheese is a buttery triple cream Norwegian style cheese, made with imported cultures, and won the 1999 Gold Medal in the New York State Fair Cheese Competition. Good. Aged, so semi-soft.
From Wisconsin: an asiago. Tastes like cheddar. Cow.
Maytag Blue. Pretty blue; well-veined. Not spectacular, but decent. On sale this week. We’ve had out, but I don’t think at home.
Cabrales and Beyond (Touring the hidden valleys and farmstead
cheesemakers of northern Spain) is a good article about cheese in the Asturias area of Spain. The author, Gerry Dawes, highlights it on his blog.
We got as far as buying some cabrales (kah-BRAH-lays) from Calvert Woodley, and it was wrapped in leaves (not all are). A creamy and earthy blue, but since a number of cheese from this area in Spain can be called cabrales, we weren’t sure if this was one of the recommended ones or not — but we would recommend it anyway. Traditionally, it is made with a mixture of cows’, sheeps’ and goats’ milk, but now it is most often made with raw cows’ milk. They let you taste the cheese before you buy it at Calvert Woodley, so you can’t go too wrong.
This issue of Culture also includes: a 36-page beer guide.
Somehow, W got through National Cheese Day without any cheese. I had this great salad at lunch at Jaleo’s “Ensalada de remolacha con citricos“, a salad of red beets, citrus, Picón cheese and pistachios with Sherry dressing. Picón: A three-milk blue cheese from the mountains of Picos de Europa in the Northern region of Cantabria. Instead of cheese, we went to the Kennedy Center for John Pizzarelli (Bucky’s son) & Jessica Molaskey — After meeting on the set of the Broadway musical Dream and falling in love, singer and guitarist Pizzarelli and songstress Molaskey have performed together and individually on stages around the world for years. We’ve seen Pizzarelli a number of times, and he shone along with the rest of his Quartet, Larry Fuller (piano), Martin Pizzarelli (Bass) and Tony Tedesco drums). Didn’t know before: There is a show called Radio Deluxe with John Pizzareli.
We stopped at Bardeos on the way to the National Zoo on Friday night. They have specials on their wine and beer, though it’s still not a inexpensive happy hour spot (7 Days a Week, from 5pm-7pm All wine is discounted) . But it’s a pretty bar, and the bartender couldn’t be nicer. Even though it is the most expensive way to get cheese, we couldn’t resist the cheese plate. We ordered PECORINO FORMAGGIO DI FOSSA / Italy & CONSTANT BLISS/ Vermont. It came with a big basket of bread and homemade crackers with fennel. (The crackers were great on their own, but took away from the flavor of the cheese).
And the National Zoo is open until 8:00 p.m. — the buildings aren’t open, but it’s a pretty place to walk — and there aren’t many people in the evening.
I’d seen expensive cheese boxes in stores, but not only were they too pricey — but too big. So W made we one to exactly fit the fridge in my shelf. It works great; keeps it fresh while letting it breathe. It looks like a square hat box for my cheese. I wrap them in wax paper inside the box. I use a glass container with a tight fitting lid for the blue.
There were a bazillion people trying to get in to the 2010 Sheep and Wool Festival in Howard County, Maryland. Some of our party spent 1.5 hours just trying to get into the event.
Everona Dairy was there, with (of course) Dr. Pat Elliott, the founder. We don’t usually get ‘cheese with stuff in it’, but in this case we made an exception. We purchased 3 cheeses to take down to NC this week:
Everona Dairy had a booth at the Silver Spring farmer’s market – which goes to 1:00 each Saturday. We bought some dairy and some herbs to plant, and next visit we will think about the bison.
Muffaletta
milk: Virginia sheep
We usually don’t get ‘cheese with stuff in it’, this had bits of olive and ‘muffaletta’, whatever that is.
Stony Man
milk: Virginia sheep
Very nice, like Piedmont but aged more.
We also got some cow “yogurt cheese” — yogurt that has been drained from the Blue Ridge Dairy Company. They call it ” Greek-style Yo Lite made with skim milk. Didn’t have extra whey that many Greek yogurts have on top, but has a much more tarty taste than FAGE.
Lunch: Thai Derm in Silver Spring. Missed coupon on their site since we didn’t plan on going. Disappointing: out of mango with sticky rice, but noodle dishes good.
We got this new-to-us cheese at Brookville. There were Cherry Blossom fireworks on the waterfront, so we took the cheese up to the rooftop & we had a cheese tasting there. The cheese was good Cantalet ((kahn-TAHL-ay), French Cheddar). Supposedly it pairs wonderfully with reds from Merlot to Pinot Noir and whites from Sauvignon Blanc to Gewurztraminer — but we had Troegs Hop Back amber ale from Harrisburg PA.
We bought at Brookville again 7/17/10. Still like the earthy taste of this cow cheese — and great to have it in the neighborhood. We had some at breakfast; some at dinner for dessert. You don’t need much – very rich. No bread required – just right in our hand. Also called Cantal.
