Bartagnoli Pecorino Taula
milk: Italian sheep
Bartagnoli Pecorino Taula
milk: Italian sheep
Fontina Val D’Aosta Appennina
milk: Italian cow
Guffanti Asiago Vecchio
milk: Italian cow
Guffanti Gorgonzola Staglionato
milk: Italian cow
Guffanti Eborianato di Pecora con Milele
milk: Italian sheep
This is tonight’s selection of cheese from Dino, a local Italian restaurant. They extended Restaurant Week until Sept. 13th. Additionally, they had a “No Corkage Fee” tonight, plus they gave us limoncello at the end of dinner. The service was great, being attentive though not annoying.
It’s Beer week in DC, and we thought about attending a cheese/beer tasting at Cafe StEx. They were featuring Brooklyn Beer (a favorite of TT and I) and Cowgirl Creamery cheese. We’ve mentioned free tastings before and we were up to checking out the bar. Last night we discovered it would cost $20 each, and so between the time and money, we could create our own DC beer week…and so we did.
I walked over to Cowgirl after work with ideas of what to buy in hand. I tried many and ended up with 4 (at least 2 more than planned). The “cow” cheese ended up being the Bellwether Farms’ Carmoday from Sonoma but made from Jersey milk. It’s “a firm cow milk cheese with buttery intensity.” I moved to the “sheep” cheese next, and picked another from Bellwether Farms. Pepato is a cheese with peppercorns in it, and is salty like a Manchego with the spice of the pepper. Finally, I was convinced to round out my cheese plate with a “goat” cheese. Midnight Moon is essentially a Gouda from Holland. The Goat is not overwhelming so W and I agree it’s good.
Not so finally, I was there, and the infamous Pt. Reyes blue was there, so I was “forced” to buy the standard quarter pound. This year has a slightly different flavor, as it’s a bit more harsh. We’ve learned though, different seasons produce different cheese. Maybe we should just buy 3 pounds of it every winter. The Buttermilk Blue from Wisconsin is in the running for “Top Blue” cheese these days but I’m told the Pt. Reyes has a Reserve (we are yet to find or taste).
Tonight’s cheeses were great all around and are suggested if looking for a variety of cheeses that have good flavor and are not overwhelming. Oh…and Pumpkin beeris already out in select stores, so buy it while you can!
With Angela’s kitchen deep in construction, cheese night was held at my place on February 6th. Josh made a special trip to Cowgirl Creamery. Here are the selections:
Red Hawk
(Point Reyes [where the infamous blue cheese is from]): Cowgirl Creamery captures the essence of West Marin with its Red Hawk, a triple-cream, washed-rind, fully-flavored cheese made from organic cow milk from the Straus Family Dairy. Aged four weeks and washed with a brine solution that tints the rind a sunset red-orange, Red Hawk won Best-In-Show at the American Cheese Society’s Annual Conference in 2003 and 2nd Place Ribbon in 2007.
Rating: JR–Way too smelly! AT & MS–Tastes great, just don’t inhale.
St. George
Matos Cheese (Santa Rose, CA): Putting their personal American spin on the original recipe, St. George, named for the island, is a full-flavored cow milk cheese with a cheddary depth and a rich texture.
Ratings: JR, AT & MS–Good hard cheese.
California Crottin
Redwood Hill Dairy (Sebastapol, CA): Redwood Hill’s own version of the French Crottin Chavignol has a sharp and meaty flavor with a thick, pale yellow, corrugated rind. When cut, this cheese manages to be both dense and fluffy with and intense earthy aroma. This is the third time for this one. Ratings: JR–Still a little earthy but good.
AT & MS–As good as the last few times.
Triple Cream: I don’t even have to write about this one as we all loved it, again.
