items from the mind of an idiot savant

not fit for print

While we haven’t tried any of the cheeses yet, they all look and smell wonderful. We plan on taking our cheeses over to my Mother’s for Mother’s Day to share with my mother, my sister the mother, and my girlfriend/fiance the mother to be.

Artisanal Premium Cheese is excited to continue our Cheese of Month membership for 2008 with cheeses and cheese collections of quality unparalleled in the United States. The selection our affineurs put together for you each and every month includes a well-rounded variety of textures, flavors, and types; and the cheeses you will taste in the coming year are the absolute best examples of cheese types, cheese making regions, and seasonal specialties available.

Smokey Oregon Blue, cow’s milk, United States
Smokey Oregon Blue is Rogue Creamery’s Oregon Blue cheese, cold-smoked over hazelnut shells for 16 hours. Oregon Blue was the first blue cheese made on the west coast of America, and the Rogue Creamery felt it only fitting that this classic recipe become the first blue cheese ever smoked. Smokey Oregon Blue has a creamy sweetness, from the 100% natural full cream of the sustainable Bonanza View Dairy, in addition to the pronounced smokey flavor. Pair it with Sauternes or - for the brave at heart - a Rauch beer.

Laguiole Vieux, cow’s milk, France
Laguiole Vieux is the ancestor of all English farmhouse Cheddars. Made in the Massif Central region of southwestern France, this raw cow’s milk cheese was first produced in the eleventh century and is cooked and pressed to achieve its moist, granular texture. Much like farmhouse Cheddars, Laguiole is wrapped in cloth and turned and rubbed during its three-month affinage process. Laguiole is similar to Cantal, Cantalet, and Salers. Try this buttery, tangy cheese with a Moulin-a-Vent or Cotes d’Auvergne.

Monte Enebro, goats milk, Spain
Monte Enebro is handmade in Avila, Spain, by legendary cheese maker Rafael Baez and his daughter Paloma. The Baezs make their complex goat’s milk cheese from pasteurized milk and inoculate the logs with the same mold used to make Roquefort, adding to Monte Enebro’s complexity and distinctive appearance. Air-shipped to Artisanal at only 21 days, Monte Enebro arrives creamy, lemony and slightly acidic; as it ages, the texture becomes denser and the flavor acquires a more intense, pungent finish. Pair this cheese with Sauterenes or a Spanish dessert wine.

www.ArtisanalCheese.com

While our cheese adventure continues, we took our cheeses down to Long Beach to share and enjoy with the family.  It was fun to share our CotM ritual with everyone and have them enjoy along with us.  Unfortunately we forgot the sheet with the selection when we left.  It was discarded before I had a chance to update the blog.  April is lost forever…

Our cheese of the month adventure continues, and we’re having a ball….

We here at Artisanal Premium Cheese are excited to continue our Cheese of Month membership for 2008 with cheeses and cheese collections of quality unparalleled in the United States. The selection our affineurs put together for you each and every month includes a well-rounded variety of textures, flavors, and types; and the cheeses you will taste in the coming year are the absolute best examples of cheese types, cheese making regions, and seasonal specialties available.

Bra Tenero, com’s milk, Italy
Bra Tenero is a cow’s milk cheese from Piedmont region of Northern Italy. The city of Bra is the self proclaimed capital of cheese in Europe. Bra Tenero, a younger and softer cheese than its cousin Bra Duro, has a semi-hard texture and dense, slightly piquant flavor. Pair this cheese with Cabernet or a hearty Italian red.

Cantalet, cow’s milk, France
Cantalet, an ancestor to British Farmhouse Cheddars, is a cow’s milk cheese from Auvergne, France. It is weighty, moist, creamy, and just subtley sharp, with a very defined sweet and milky quality. Cantalet is a smaller version of a cheese known as Cantal; both pair wonderfully with reds from Merlot to Pinot Noir and whites from Sauvignon Blanc to Gewurztraminer.

Ossau au Piment d’Espelette, sheep milk, France
Ossau au Piment d’Espelette is a paprika-dusted sheep’s milk cheese made in the French Pyrenees. This variety is lightly coated in AOC-protected Piment d’Espelette, the famous Basque paprika. The nutty, sweet, and toasty characteristics of the cheese are augmented by the brightness and warmth that the pepper imparts. Pair Ossau au Piment d’Espelette with Zinfandel, Tempranillo, or Syrah.

www.ArtisanalCheese.com

– start laura –

For most girls, Valentine’s Day is about chocolate and flowers. For me, the best Valentine’s gift ever would have to be cheese. Leave it to my best guy ever to hook me up with the best gift ever - a cheese of the month club - from the best cheese-house ever, Artisanal. For those of you who don’t know - or just don’t know me - Artisanal is my number one favorite restaurant in the world. It’s all about cheese, cheese and more cheese. From the gougeres puffs to start, to multiple fondue choices to the absolutely insane amount of cheese their fromagieres let you choose from (not to mention the vino, vino, vino!), this place is tip-tops!So let’s get on with it, shall we?

The first cheese of the month shipment came with the three cheese Rick describes below. One goat, one cow and one sheep. Now I love all cheeses but I mainly tend to love the really creamy stinky stuff. Goats are full of flavor (and better for you than other kinds) but this one was a little dry and spicy for my taste. I think it was all in the rind. Rick liked it - I could take it or leave it. It’s interesting, but definitely was not my favorite.

Now, the cheddar I had a lot of hope for. I love a good cheddar - especially from England. Anyone who’s ever been in London with me knows that the one saving culinary grace in all of the UK and Ireland is their double-cheddar sandwiches from Pret a Manger. (They have outlets of this sandwich chain in New York too but those discontinued the double cheddar for some ill-advised reason years ago.) Cheddar with that brown relish stuff, mayo, lettuce, tomatoes and that super grainy farm bread is just the best sandwich in the history of sandwiches. Well, the Quicke’s Cheddar falls short from the magic of cheddars that tempt my palate. It was okay - but that was all. It wasn’t sharp, didn’t have a strong bite or anything really aggressive and memorable about it like most of my favorite cheddars. Rick loved it - and I let him. I’ve had better.

Finally, the “piece des resistance,” as they say. The Bleu des Basques was probably the absolutely best blue cheese I’ve ever had. It had the strong, tangy tartness that you expect from blues, but it also had a strong creamy texture, like all those rich cheeses we’ve come to expect from France. Think brie meets blue and you sort of get the idea. Rick didn’t care for this one - which I’m not sure was because of the cheese itself or just because he’s less versed in cheese than I am and blues are always hard to take when you’re first starting out in the world of cheese-connoisseurship - but I was more than happy not to have to share my super-yummy-creamy-perfect blue with him. Smushing it again and again on some fresh white bread - oh, so good! Bleu des Basques was definitely the winner from this shipment.

– end laura –

We here at Artisanal Premium Cheese are excited to launch the second collection of our Cheese of Month membership for 2008 with cheeses and cheese collections of quality unparalleled in the United Stares. The selection our affineurs put together for you each and every month includes a well-rounded variety of textures, flavors, and types; and the cheeses you will taste in the coming year arc the absolute best examples of cheese types, cheese making regions. and seasonal specialties available.

Majorero Pimenton, goat milk, Spain
Majorero, Pimenton, is a hard, unpasteurized goat’s milk cheese made from the Majorcra breed of goats on Fuenevenrura, the Canary Island closest to Nonhern Africa. It is coated in Pimenton, a traditionalpaprib spice produced in the same region. The pimenton was origniaIly used to protect the rind of the cheese from unwanted mold and bacteria. In this case, it gives a unique appearance to the rind and smokey, spicy flavor to the paste. The name Majorero comes from the ancient word for a goat’s skin shoe, “mahos,” which evolved into Mahorero, the word used to describe contemporary inhabitants of the island as well as the ancient people who caIled Fuerteventura home before the European invasion. All Majorero cheese production is artisanal, and over half the goat milk produced on the island is converted into Majorero cheese. The dry, pleasant climate produces a rich, fatty milk tdeal for cheesemaking, and the milk is coagulated with animal rennet. Majorero, Pimenton, pairs well with Sauvignon Blanc as well as many Spanish and Portuguese varietals.

Quicke’s Cheddar, cow milk, England
Quicke’s Cheddar is crafted by Mrs. Mary Quicke from the milk of 340 head of cattle on her farm in Devon, England. Her cows produce milk year-round and are grazed on grass for as many as 10 months each year, yielding a more flavorful end product. Quicke’s Cheddar is made in the tradttional style of English fannhouse cheddars - that is, it is bound in cloth, larded, and left to age for 18 months or more. The result is a spicy, caramely cheese with a hugely complex flavor profile and tight, crystalline texture. This cheese pairs ideally with a creamy English stout or pale ale. With wine, try a lighter red such as Pinot Noir, Gamay Burgundy, or Beaujolais.

Bleu des Basques, sheep milk. France
Bleu des Basques Brebis is an artisan sheep’s milk blue cheese made in the Pyrenees mountains, a region of the French Basque country. These verdant hills are full of the wildflowers and fresh grass that give the milk its complexity, subtlety, and lightness. Bleu des Basques has a wonderful combination of earthy spiciness and hints of apricot. Pair this cheese with Sauternes or Port.

AS usually I have been busy, but I finally got around to some nonsense. I’m not sure if there is a theme here.

Well it sounds like things are good or getting better all the time.

I’ve been getting odd fortunes in my fortune cookies, so I decide to start posting them. Yes I know I can scan anything straight, and this is probably some form of copyright infringement, but deal with it.

I know 2 entries in a row. Back off, I’m catching up.

Jenny actually tried this time. I think she’s starting to care a bit more. She made a pasta casserole with meat and veggies. She also made a nice basic salad. I’m not a huge casserole fan, but It was good. I’m just so proud of her that she wanted to do it, she set out to do it, and she did a good job. She must have been wrapped up with the casserole, that I guess she forgot to make some garlic bread or antyhing. At the last minute we just toasted up some wheat bread as a side.

For my turn, I set my goals a bit higher. I wanted to try making something my mother always cooked. I skimped on making the couscous . I just bought that instant just add water stuff. I also made humus from scratch. I made this last second adjustment before pouring it out of the food processor, and I must have done something good. The humus was almost exactly like my mothers. It was a bit salty, but other than that it was great. I also made this middle eastern meat and potato stew thing that turned out to be just like my mothers. I was so ecstatic at how things turned out, that I took my leftovers to my folks the next day and they ate them and loved it. Actually I’m rather amazed that little old me made that. To be honest, I don’t think I be able to repeat the success.

Melanie cooked the other night. She was running late and we ended up eating at about 9:30. I hope the fact that by the time we ate, I was starved didn’t affect my taste perception. She made rice with edamame and vinegar. It was nice with a little subtle taste of vinegar. She made mushrooms sautéed in white whine and lemon juice. She also made asparagus wrapped with turkey filets. Everything was good, but those mushrooms were out of this world. It think the three of us were just sitting there eating the rice and turkey, disappointed that we had finished the mushrooms. I was so ready to tackle the two of them and steal what mushrooms they had left on their plates.

Round 2 winner: ME! for my humus. Fine, Melanie’s mushrooms. I’m still dreaming about them now.

I was going to post a picture of the humus, but I couldn’t stop eating it.

I’ve been meaning to catch up on some blog entries. Mostly about my cooking New Years Resolution. I actually got a couple of friends together and started a cooking club where we take turns cooking. It’s been going fairly strong since the first of the year. Here’s the brief overview of what I forgot to tell you about.

Jenny cooked first. She made a “Pot” Roast in the oven. I guess that makes an oven roast. It was a large piece of meat. It was a bit overcooked on the outside, and a bit raw on the inside. We cut the cooked meet off and threw it back in the oven before finishing the rest off. Good thing is nobody got sick. Bad thing is Jenny cheated and used prepackaged spices.

I cooked next. I made turkey enchiladas, spanish rice, and salad. I cheated a bit on my spanish rice. I just threw some rice in the rice cooker and poured in a cup of Pace Picante sauce on top. I made a few mistakes with the enchiladas. I ran out of meet, so I made some with just cheese. I also didn’t make enough sauce to cover them, so some turned out a bit dry. I thought they were a bit spicy, but Jenny and Melanie seemed to be impressed. YAY ME!

Finally it was Melanie’s turn to cook. We were a bit overwhelmed with the fact that she can really cook. She made a really cool salad that was basically half an avocado, with bacon and watercress on top and a simple lemon dressing. It was good. She also made thai beef in the broiler that was good. As a side we had hot water cornbread, which if I understand it correctly, is deep fried cornmeal lumps.

Round 1 winner: Melanie with the avocado salad thing.

I somehow managed to find the motivation to go to the grocery store. My lack of experience posed a bit of an obstacle. I didn’t really know where to find everything, and I must have walked past the garlic about 12 times before I noticed it.

I got home and got to work on Meat and Cheese Lasagna.

DO NOT FOLLOW THIS RECIPE.

Did I say not to follow this recipe, I meant DON’T YOU EVEN DARE FUCKING FOLLOW THIS RECIPE.

Let’s overlook the fact that I have no idea what I’m doing for just 1 second. I don’t like spinach, so I just left that part out. Maybe that’s what fucked things up, but I doubt it. Is this guy fucking nuts with:
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh thyme leaves

You might as well just stick that in your mouth and chew on those alone. That’s way too much! I should have known better. Besides being over spiced, I had a few fiascos of my own.

I didn’t have the proper pan so, I used a brownie pan. It worked out fine.
I should have payed more attention to what I was doing and covered the top layer of pasta with sauce so it wouldn’t have gotten too dry and crispy.
Other than that, It actually turned out OK.

The big success was the mincing of the garlic. I just turned a knife on it’s side and bashed it just like in the cooking shows.

I guess the other big success is that since my enthusiasm is infectious, I may have accidentally started a cooking club. A neighbor of mine has a friend who loves to cook, and really wanted to help us learn our way around the kitchen. My neighbor is first in the rotation. We’ll have to see how Thursday Night’s dinner turns out.