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New Year’s Eve cheese

The cheeses were all from Calvert-Woodley, a very nice local cheese & wine shop.  (clockwise from lower left)

Fromager d’Affinois is a double-cream cow’s milk cheese.  We’ve had it before, and it was still very good.  Somewhat like the Saint Angel that we had last week, but milder.

Emmentaler, an AOC alpine cheese that was on sale.  It looks like traditional “Swiss cheese” with the holes.  It was a bit rubbery.  Good for fondue (probably), but not the best for a cheese board.

Gruyere, also on sale.  Another AOC alpine cheese, but a better texture, and no holes.  Good for both a cheese board and fondue.

Maytag Blue – one that we’ve had before.  Very good (for a blue), and featured in this month’s Culture magazine.

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Veteran’s Day Cheeses

Veteran's Day Cheese
Veteran's Day Cheese

We both worked on Veteran’s Day, but we did take an evening break to celebrate with cheese. We went to the Chevy Chase Magruders — I sure miss having one right at Cleveland Park. And the deli there closes at 7:00, so our cheese options were limited to the case.

french rambol fume. Smoked, so BBQ Boy particularly liked. Had a recipe on the site for using it in Mac & Cheese. (Cow’s Milk, Semi-Soft). Forest Fume, formerly known as Smoked Rambol, is a processed Gruyere style cheese that is slowly cured over natural hickory. It’s rich, yet delicate flavor and creamy smooth texture are benchmarks for exquisite fondue cheese.

French raw milk Morbier (vegetarian ash). The ash is curious to me — gives the cheese an arty look, but since ash is well-known as an insect repellent, it’s a bit odd.

Stagnolia Blu (italian for blue foil) was from Trader Joes. It keep pretty well in a glass jar in the fridge.

Sidebar: Fun french cheese map at Ile de France Cheese.  You can see where the cheese is made, see recipes and more.

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Ripple Cheeses It Up in Cleveland Park

Ripple cheese plate
Pretty as a cheese pic

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.

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Perseid Meteor Shower Cheese Night

Perseids Cheese Night

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 by Yanceys 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.

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Valentine’s Day Cheese Tray

Valentine's Day Cheese Tray
Valentine's Day Cheese Tray

The rest of the dinner created by WWT had a carrot theme (Chicken and Carrot Fricassee, Carrot Cranberry Salad, Bacony Carrots and Green Beans, Pickled Carrots, Carrot Pudding), but the cheese course was cheesy with side carrots. All from Whole Foods:

Cupid’s Choice Camembert, Old Chatham Sheepherding Company, Old Chatham New York. Tasty, and we couldn’t resist the heart-shape of this one. Pasteurized cow’s and sheep’s milk. Our sparkling our New Mexico Gruet was a good match for this.

Cypress Grove Lamb Chopper, Cypress Grove Chevre, California. We agreed: “This sheep milk cheese is buttery in color and flavor with a long, complex finish.”

Blue Castello. Denmark. “This brie-like blue cheese from Denmark is made by Tholstrup, the same company that makes Saga Blue at its factory in the United States. Blue Castello is richer than Saga Blue and is made only in Denmark. Castello is a distant derivative of Italian Gorgonzola but has a higher fat content and a milder flavor. It is a perfect blue for those who like a little blue flavor without being blown away.”

The complete menu included Chicken & Carrot Fricasse, Carrot Cranberry salad, and of course, the annual carrot pudding.

Fun addition for the party: The Cheese Tasting Party Kit: Everything You Need to Host Your Own Cheese-Tasting Party.

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Castello Blue was the Blue Ribbon Winner

You won't be blue over castello
You won't be blue over castello

Several months ago, a friend had a blue cheese at our house from Calvert Woodley that she just loved. However, we didn’t have the label. We thought it was a French cheese. When she returned to CW, that let her taste about 12 kinds. However, not one was right. However, on Friday, during the DC snowstorm, we got in before they closed, and the cheesemonger remembered us — she had decided it was a Danish blue cheese, Blue Castello.

The Danish Castello Blue is a triple-cream, blue-veined gourmet cheese with a washed-rind. It is also called Blue Castello. It’s fairly mild with a Brie-like texture.

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DC 2009 Beer and Cheese Week

cowgirl-081809_22

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 beer is already out in select stores, so buy it while you can!