In Love with Cheese

By Lori Powell

When hitting the road for a long car trip you can always find me packing cheese and crackers or a baguette, along with some assorted fruit to eat on the road or to enjoy in celebration when I reach my destination.

I recently hit the road a couple of weekends ago specifically to visit a cheese shop in Great Barrington on Main Street. The packing of a car snack was not needed since the end of the road this time came equipped with a bevy of good eats….and lots and lots of cheese.

I buy cheese like someone else buys candy. It is just too hard not take home just a little bit of each of these delicious finds and Rubiner’s is ridiculously packed with the good stuff. Also they are extremely patient.

One of my first questions is, “What do you have that is new or super-special.” Seek out a cheese monger in your area and spend an hour or a two as in my case, to indulge and savor the treasures that might lay right in your own backyard. Tastes are free.

To just touch the surface a couple of my favorites that are more nationally available are…

• Cabot Clothbound Cheddar…possibly the best Cheddar I have ever eaten, amazing texture that when you cut it, it breaks off in shards but is still creamy. A perfect balance of sharp, toasted nuttiness, caramel and sweet in flavor. Do not even bother with a cracker as you do not want anything to hinder the flavor.
• Kerrygold Dubliner with Irish Stout (Ireland)…you must find this one or order it online. Aged cow’s milk with a texture similar to Cheddar and a sweet, nutty, caramel flavor due to the addition of the stout. Texture is similar to clothbound but richer, denser and a bit creamier. I could eat this cheese for breakfast and dessert every week.
• Nettle Meadow Kunick (from Thurman, New York)…mold-ripened triple cream cheese that is made from goat’s milk and Jersey cow cream…super sexy cheese. Great for indulging yourself after a hard week – it just reeks luxury!
• Humboldt Fog from Cypress Grove…a goat’s milk cheese that is creamy, tangy with a ribbon of edible ash running through it….it is the crowd-pleaser every time. The cheese gets super soft and spreadable when at room temperature...like buttah!
• Cashel Blue –I just had the pleasure of trying this amazing blue which was just re-launched in the U.S. under the co-brand of Kerrygold. It’s a natural rinded blue made from pasteurized cow’s milk and vegetarian rennet. It is soft yellow with a distinctive blue/green mold. The cheese won gold at the 2010 world awards. It is surprisingly creamy with a slight blue tang. It will convert any non-blue-cheese lover into one….

To store cheese:
If you purchase your cheese in plastic…unwrap it and rewrap in parchment or wax paper. Cheese is a live thing and needs to breathe. Store the cheese in a plastic container with a lid (keeping similar cheeses together such as stinky ones or blues) in the salad or veggie drawer of the fridge. Very fresh cheeses such as goat and ricotta should be kept in their original containers as close to 40° F.

To serve cheese:
Super important is to let cheese sit out at room temperature for an hour or so to bring up the aroma and flavor of the cheese. Always use a separate cheese knife for each cheese. Have an array of textures and types, hard to soft. For example a Cheddar, a goat, a brie, a blue. Ask your local wine shop steward to suggest some pairings with the cheese and turn the event into a wine and cheese tasting. As in a wine tasting, start with the milder cheeses and then build to the stronger ones.

Below is a simple snack or appetizer for one of two. This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled to serve more at a party.

To get the recipe and shopping list on your smartphone (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android device) or PC, click here.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates

Serves 1 or 2

2 slices of bacon, halved crosswise and cut lengthwise into 2 strips
4 pitted dates
4 small chunks of good quality blue cheese, Roquefort, goat cheese or brie
4 pecan halves, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cook bacon in a medium skillet over moderate heat until partially cooked and still pliable.
3. Stuff each date with blue cheese and a pecan and wrap each with a strip of bacon. Transfer to a sheet pan lined with a small square of parchment or foil.
4. Bake dates on parchment or foil until bacon is cooked through and cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.

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