BostonZest

Cutting the Cheese! Our Favorite Cheese Accessories

We love our cheese plane so much that we just bought a second one, in case it breaks or they stop making them. 

Here it is "posing," after shaving off curls of Pecorino Pepato. While many people grate this cheese, we love eating these paper thin slices as part of a cheese course.

Recently our friend Annie asked what we use to cut cheese and that sent us on a new search for a duplicate of our favorite cheese slicer.  We found a few versions available:

The Norpro BS3A Stainless Steel Cheese Plane Slicer is just like the one we've had for years. We sent Annie the link but happily, when she saw it, she remembered having one of these stored away. We have had many guests ask about the one we use, so we ordered another. It will make a great gift or just serve as a second one for when we have a number of cheeses to serve. 

If we need a pile of grated cheese, we have a many, many years old ZYLISS Classic Rotary Cheese Grater that does a great job. 

If we only need a sprinkle of cheese, we use the microplane we reach for many times a week for zesting and grating tasks.

For us, these three cheese tools increase our enjoyment of the special cheeses we love. With our afternoon apples, we'll often use the cheese plane to add some shavings of cheddar to the plate. Cheddar and apples are a great match!

And, Penny has used it to pile cheese on bread to make grilled cheese. So, while this may be a uni-tasker, it is a busy one!

 

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

Pecorino Caggiano From Formaggio Kitchen South End

On Fridays we link our readers to a resource that deserves applause. Today we are using the Pecorino Caggiano we bought this week at Formaggio Kitchen South End as an example of how and why you should use the Formaggio cheese shops as a resource.

Often our approach to buying cheese at Formaggio is to ask the cheesemonger, "What is great today?" In the right hands, cheese is a living organism that evolves from day-to-day. At any given moment, the Formaggio staff knows of something in that case that is extraordinary. 

This time Penny had a few moments to read some of the descriptions before she chatted with the staff. The sign for Pecorino Caggiano intrigued her and she asked for a taste. 

At first it seemed like a good but rather ordinary pecorino. But, as we have learned over the years, you have to let it warm in your mouth or hold a slice on a wrapper in your hand until it warms to get the full flavor. In this case, if you give it a moment, you experience an explosion of sheepy tang.

We had it for supper with a bit of fennel salami and a Clear Flour baguette. 

Formaggio Kitchen, as a resource, is more than a store, they are also food educators. Above you see their page on this cheese. It tells you the story behind the product and suggests pairings. If you are in the shop, your cheesemonger will do the same. 

Formaggio also has classes you can attend and an education section on their major product lines on their website. 

We are very fortunate to have this resource in the Boston area.  

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

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Very Casual Entertaining Is a Very Good Thing!

Who made having friends over to your place for a meal, an afternoon, or an evening a major event? Was it Martha Stewart who decided that everything in your home must be upgraded to a state of designer perfection before you can entertain? Was it HGTV with House Hunters who turn up their snobby, little noses at any kitchen lacking granite and stainless steel? Was it the Facebook culture of one-upmanship?

We have this kind of setting when we rent a very nice vacation apartment. The rest of the time our home looks lived-in.

Get Over It!

Yes there are people who have perfect homes where they hold carefully planned, sit-down dinners and well-managed fundraisers for their favorite charities. However I’ll bet your friends would have more fun sitting on your living room floor playing with your dog and sharing a pulled-together meal of what everyone happened to have in their pantry or refrigerator.

Times they are a changin’. Kindness, warmth, and friendship are a currency in high demand. Most of us will gladly take those gifts over a house tour of perfection and a competitive meal designed to show off chef-level skills.

Leading the Way

One of the newest magazine success stories is Spoonful magazine which subheads itself as “A Guide to Food & Laughter.” Writing for Mother Nature Network, Robin Shreeves describes the publication as, “... inspiration for when people gather in my home and I practice my scruffy hospitality.”

This quick roof deck evening with friends came together with some appetizers and cheese from Trader Joe's and a bottle of wine that was in our wine rack!

What Is Scruffy Hospitality?

In a related article, Shreeves quotes the Rev. Jack King who explains, “Scruffy hospitality means you’re not waiting for everything in your house to be in order before you host and serve friends in your home. Scruffy hospitality means you hunger more for good conversation and serving a simple meal of what you have, not what you don’t have. Scruffy hospitality means you’re more interested in quality conversation than the impression your home or lawn makes. If we only share meals with friends when we’re excellent, we aren’t truly sharing life together.”

You can also take a walk together and pick up a lunch. The friends visiting from out of the area wanted lobster rolls, so we all went to Luke's Lobster and brought home a feast.

What’s more ...

Who cares who hosted the last time? We all remember when growing up there was one house that was a gathering place for most of the kids in the neighborhood. In most families there is one person who does most of the hosting. As long as everyone pitched in with food and helped out, no one seemed to mind.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

(Adapted for BostonZest from one of her Fresh & Local newspaper columns.)

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Opinel Knives Are Perfect for Picnic & Vacation Season

We love our Opinel Knives! If you have one (or more like us), it's time to take it out and take it with you. 

Here is our oldest Opinel, a traditional #8 with a carbon steel blade. Yes, we have to make sure it's clean and dry when we put it away but it has provided a sharp edge for years and years with just routine home maintenance.

If carbon steel is not right for you, they now make these knives in stainless steel. You'll also find some specialty blades made for gardeners, fishermen, mushroom foragers, and wine lovers! 

Because Opinel knives are inexpensive (considering how well they work), we keep a few of them packed and ready to go (in the travel kit shown above) for cooking in other people's kitchens. There's one in our roof deck dining bag so we always have a knife to share a bit of cheese with friends. Back in the days when we had cars, we had one of these in each vehicle. 

They make great gifts for anyone who loves to enjoy an impromptu bit of food and fun.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

    

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

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Pecorino di Pienza Gran Riserva from Formaggio Kitchen South End

We always try to put out the alert when one of the area's great cheesemongers is cutting a great wheel of a favorite cheese. This time, it's Pecorino di Pienza Gran Riserva from Formaggio Kitchen South End.

Penny stopped in to ask Julie Cappellano, the General Manager and Wine Buyer, for some information about a champagne we are seeking for an upcoming sparkler of the month.

After Julie gave her the happy news that it would be arriving soon, she helped Penny select a sheepy cheese and then recommended a wine to match with it. 

The Formaggio sign says it all. We are fans of ewe's milk cheeses. We even love the stronger ones that offer a punch of flavor. This cheese is one we can happily share with friends who would shy away from some of the more pungent pecorinos. It is a happy balance of sheep's milk flavor without being overpowering. 

Get over to the shop while they have this lovely cheese in stock. It's worth the price.

And, here are other posts from our Cheese Collection!

What's on your Cheese shopping list? Here are some great books about cheese. These make wonderful gifts for a cheese lover. And, when you shop Amazon from here, they put some coins in our tip jar.

 

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino 
Photography: ©2015 Penny Cherubino 

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West West Blue Cheese & Brooklyn Brewery's K is for Kriek

On a recent visit to Formaggio Kitchen South End, I asked the cheesemonger to suggest a beer or ale that would go with the piece of West West Blue Cheese from Parish Hill Creamery in Vermont we were buying. 

I had just sampled the cheese as he described the flavor profiles of a range of craft beers he recommended pairing with this richly flavored blue. Then he said he had recently tasted Brooklyn Brewery's K is for Kriek with another big blue and was very happy with the match.

Since the Formaggio staff has done a great job of matching beverages with cheese for us in the past and intrigued by the description, I added a bottle to my basket. Later that evening, Ed (the beer drinker in the house) applauded the choice. 

West West Blue From Parish Hill Creamery 

This cheese comes from a very interesting Vermont Creamery. We love their tagline, “Seasonal, hand made, raw milk cheeses inspired by traditional DOP Italian cheeses.”

About the West West Blue, they say:

"Traditional aged, two-curd Gorgonzola, West West Blue is made with whole, raw milk from Elm Lea Farm and aged 90 - 180 days. The edible rind surrounds an interior with openings filled with streaks of blue mold, a creamy texture and a spicy, earthy flavor."

We both loved the rich, deep, almost caramel flavor notes and the spicy, sharp, taste bud, wake-up snap of the blue veining. It was also very good with both the Nino Franco Rustico Prosecco I was drinking and the Sardinian Parchment crackers we served with it that evening. 

As for the double "west" in the name, the creamery is located in the town of Westminster West, Vermont. 

Brooklyn Brewery K is for Kriek

There is a lot going on in this bottle of ale!

Brooklyn Brewery says:

"To this beer’s subtle marriage of malts, dark candi sugar, local wildflower honey and zing of orange peel, we added tart dried whole Montmorency cherries from Michigan. Around this, we wrapped a barrel of charred American bourbon oak. The sugar of the cherries began to ferment away. The barrels hissed. And we waited.

Six months later, the beer emerged with a glowing red color, vibrant acidity, complex fruit aromatics, and a foundation of oak flavors, its strength moving past 10%. Its transformation almost complete, the beer joined priming sugar, Champagne yeast and wild Brettanomyces yeasts in the bottle and underwent a third fermentation. And we waited yet again."

Now, after a year of waiting, beer lovers have the opportunity to share a bottle with friends. And, we do suggest sharing, since this big 25.4 ounce bottle contains a 10.1% alcohol by volume brew.

So the next time you buy a great cheese from a great cheese shop like Formaggio, remember that the wines and beers on their shelves were picked to match the food they sell. They are in the business of paying attention to nuances of flavor and will be happy to help you match a beverage with a particular cheese or other foods you've purchased. 

Here are other posts from our Cheese Collection!

What's on your Cheese shopping list? Here are some great books about cheese. These make wonderful gifts for a cheese lover. And, when you shop Amazon from here, they put some coins in our tip jar.

 

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2015 Penny & Ed Cherubino

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Loving that Landaff Cheese: Welsh Style Flavor from New Hampshire

You know how we love to discover a local cheese that is in wonderful condition at a local store.

We've recently enjoyed a piece of Landaff Cheese produced at Landaff Creamery in Landaff, New Hampshire and aged at The Cellars at Jasper Hill in Greensboro, Vermont.

The Cheesemaker says:

"Made from our own high quality raw cow's milk, Landaff Cheese is a mild, semi-firm cheese with a delicious combination of flavors, tangy with a clean finish. The open and buttery texture comes with a natural, cave-aged rind. It melts beautifully for cooking, and makes a wonderful addition to any cheese plate."

The experts at Murray's Cheese say:

"Taking a cue from the Welsh history of New Hampshire, cheesemaker Doug Erb has based his Landaff on Caerphilly. The Erbs' herd of registered Holsteins is renowned for milk quality, another reason to leave the milk unpasteurized; that, and Doug spent two years training before bringing this cheese to market."

We say:

"We'll add Landaff to our cheese order often when we find it at our local shops. Many times, we prefer sheep and goat cheeses to cows milk, but this is one that has won our hearts."  

 

And, here are other posts from our Cheese Collection!

What's on your Cheese shopping list? Here are some great books about cheese. These make wonderful gifts for a cheese lover. And, when you shop Amazon from here, they put some coins in our tip jar.

 

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino, top photo courtesy of the Cellars at Jasper Hill Farm.

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