Nomadic Foodie » CHEESE

Portland Meetup with Cave de Lugny Winemaker Gregoire Pissot

doniree — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:39:35 +0000

Hey Portland! Wanna get your eat and drink on tonight? For FREE?

Taste on 23rd is hosting a wine + food event in their adorable NW space this evening. Join Cave de Lugny winemaker Gregoire Pissot, for an evening of wine and food pairings. Food like cheese. Because cheese and wine pair nicely together.

Tweet with @PasternakWine and use #CaveDeLugny.

See you there?

doniree

Doniree Walker is the Nomadic Foodie. She loves the exploration and community of food, and currently lives in Portland, Oregon, and loves the region's focus on local and seasonal food, daily farmers' markets and food carts at seemingly every turn. She's on twitter as @doniree and @nomadicfoodie, and blogs her adventures and life in general at doniree.com.

The Wedge PDX | Portland Celebrates Cheese

Megan — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:57:10 +0000

When I was growing up, I didn’t eat a lot of cheese. It’s not so much that I didn’t like it; honestly, I was mostly indifferent to it. That was probably because the extent of my cheese consumption was a slice of Kraft American tossed onto a sandwich or a cheeseburger here and there. Maybe some shredded cheese on taco night if we got a little crazy. My dad loved cheese; my mom hated it. Even now, she won’t even look at it. And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to realize that woman is crazy.

Seriously, she’s totally missing out!

Over the past few years, I’ve started to branch out and explore new kinds of cheese—goat cheese, cow cheese, Bleu cheese, cream cheese, sharp cheddar, pepper jack, and OMGTHEFLAVORS!

The Wedge PDX

Last weekend, Portland celebrated cheese! The Oregon Cheese Guild hosted The Wedge, a bi-annual event where farmstead, artisan, and commercial cheese makers from all over the Northwest gather to show off their goods, and I got to go eat ALL OF THE CHEESE and it was so amazing I don’t even know where to start telling you about it.

So here are some of the highlights:

Goat Cheese

Goat cheese seemed to be the most popular form of cheesy goodness; there was an incredible variety of flavors, with different herbs, salts, and fruits mixed in and lots of different textures.

Rollingstone Chevre Log with Three Peppers

Cypress Grove Chevre | Arcata, CA

The fun folks from Cypress Grove had a couple of really cool selections. They brought along their classic, award-winning Humboldt Fog, which features a ribbon of edible vegetable ash in each wheel, along with a handful of cheeses that are part of their Flashback Family, named as a tribute to the 60s vibe of Humboldt County.

Humboldt Fog Purple Haze is flavored with lavender and wild fennel pollen; this award-winning cheese was my favorite from Cypress Grove.

Sgt. Pepper {secret combination of four peppers, exotic spices, and pepper threads}

Portland Creamery | Portland, OR

Of all the amazing cheeses I tasted (and cheese makers I met) the folks at Portland Creamery were my favorite. They just started their creamery the week before the event, had no website up and running yet, didn’t have their product in stores yet, but their excitement was all over their faces and their passion came through in the flavors of their cheese.

One of the most unique cheeses I tasted all day was their Sweetfire Chevre, which is a soft, creamy goat cheese with a habanero-marionberry jam spread on top. You taste the habanero first, a sharp bite, then the sweet marionberry comes in to apologize for the burn.

The Portland Creamery also had an awesome seasonal cheese, Pumpkin Stout. It was, of course, a light, fluffy orange color with flecks of cinnamon, and it tasted like it was begging to be spread on cupcakes, muffins, bagels, my face…

Perhaps my favorite thing about the Portland Creamery though (aside from their passion and their delicious cheese, obviously) was that they had photos of the goats on their farm, and you guys, they are the smilingest goats I’ve ever seen! LOOK AT THOSE HAPPY GOAT FACES!

HAPPY GOAT FACES!

Fairview Farm Goat Dairy | Dallas, OR

Fairview Farm had one of my absolute favorites from the day—a marionberry Skyr that was TO. DIE. FOR. I had never tasted Skyr before, and to be honest, I wasn’t quite sure what it was. After some research, I learned that Skyr is an Icelandic cultured dairy product, which is pretty much the same thing as yogurt. Except, this was way better than any yogurt I’ve ever tasted, and I wanted to spoon this entire container into my mouth and never look back.

Honestly, there was so much cheesy goodness available that there’s no way I could keep track of each delicious morsel, but I did you one better—I took pictures. So, here is the remainder of my cheese adventure, in photos, for your viewing pleasure. Consider it my gift to you—cheese porn.

Megan

Megan is a twenty-something blogger, eater, cupcaker, yogi, and aspiring Obnoxiously Happy Person living in Portland, Oregon, where she spends those rare sunny moments hunting rainbows and the rest of the time feeding her soul with whiskey, good food, and great friends. She believes that wanderlust is a way of life, constantly wishes she could travel/do/eat/drink/see/experience MORE, and knows that the secret to life is balance--though she's still working on that. Can be found internetting on her blog (Well, That's Awkward) on Twitter, and on pinterest.

The Wedge Cheese Event, October 8 | Portland, OR

doniree — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:00:00 +0000

This past Thursday I had the most delicious privilege of sampling some of the finest Oregon cheeses, paired with fresh ingredients and served up in an amazing lunch menu.

The event was a sneak peek and fun little meet-and-greet with some of the cheese-makers who are going to be at this weekend’s premier cheese event, The Wedge.

Metrovino’s Executive Chef, Gregory Denton, is known for his crafty and innovative cheese pairings, and this lunch menu was no exception. We tasted three savory dishes and three sweet dishes, and yes, I have favorites from each list. If you’re wondering how to make a cheese plate or cheese pairing even more creative and flavorful, here are some delicious ideas.

Savory Cheese Pairings

Fern’s Edge – Mt. Zion (raw goat)
heirloom tomato, basil, walnut pesto, extra virgin olive oil | wine pairing: 2010 château de sancerre

Fairview Farm – Cascadia (raw goat)
corn & pickled chanterelle salad, bacon relish, popcorn | beer pairing: Rogue “Dead Guy” Ale

River’s Edge – Sunset Bay (goat)
maple-beef chorizo, marcona almonds, sherry-maple gastrique, ficoïde glaciale | drink pairing: valdespino amontillado sherry – “contrabandista”

Sweet Cheese Pairings

Briar Rose – Chévre (goat)
warm buttermilk biscuit, grilled fig, local honey, sea salt | wine pairing: 2010 vietti moscato d’Asti – “cascinetta”

Willamette Valley Cheese Company – French Prairie (cow)
candied and fresh cherries, truffle-salted pistachios, italian summer truffle | wine pairing: 2010 vietti moscato d’Asti – “cascinetta”

Rogue River Blue (raw cow)
cornmeal and armagnac prune biscotti, white hot chocolate, hazelnut | 1989 kopke – colheita port

You want a piece of this, don’t you? Of course you do. Get your cheese on at The Wedge, this Saturday, October 8 at the Green Dragon on SE 9th Street at Belmont Avenue in Portland. Cost of entry? $5 suggested donation to the Oregon Cheese Guild. You have no reason not to be there. Be there!

doniree

Giordano’s Famous Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

doniree — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Sometimes, I indulge. And my favorite kind of indulging includes rich flavors, savory seasonings, and most often — cheese. Giordanos Famous Chicago-Style Pizza was no exception, and I happily scarfed down two whole slices of this heavenly, deep-dish, cheese pie.

Chicago folks – I know you all have strong opinions about who has the best deep dish in town, so tell me – what do you think about Giordano’s and/or where else would YOU go?

doniree

Mac and Cheese Monday: Smitten Kitchen & Martha Stewart

doniree — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:00:35 +0000

Last week, I intercepted/eavesdropped on a tweet that Nicole sent to Ameena, linking to what Nicole said was the actual best mac and cheese ever. I know two things. I know that when Nicole talks about food, I listen. And I know that when she talks about mac and cheese, I stop what I’m doing, tune out everything else in my life, and take copious notes. Lucky for me, this tip was in less than 140 characters.

This is what she linked to.

Yes. That is a link to Smitten Kitchen‘s take on Martha Stewart’s Macaroni and Cheese. I MEAN. I did a quick mental inventory of the things in my apartment before realizing that wasn’t even necessary because yes, of course I had everything I needed for mac and cheese. Basically, “What You Need to Make Mac and Cheese” typically consists of a pretty short list:

Cheese
Milk
Butter/Flour (roux)
Noodles
Spices/Seasoning
More cheese.
SOMETHING you can call a breadcrumb. Be it actual breadcrumbs or bread that meets its fate as a happy little breadcrumb. Or panko. I don’t care. Something crunchy goes on top of that mac and cheese. Truth.

I typically *do* have most of those things in some form, and while the I didn’t have all of the cheeses her recipe called for, I had enough. I also think experimenting with different, available cheeses when it comes to your own mac and cheese is a brilliant, worthy way of spending your time.

For the details and how-to’s of her recipe, click here. For gratuitous pictures of cheesy goodness, just scroll right down. You’ll quickly see that this was, in fact, some mother-effing amazing mac and cheese. Yes, this was amazing. Yes, I will make this again. No, I would not change a thing. Except maybe more cheese. That’s always allowed.

Oh, and it pairs nicely with some steamed veggies or sauteed Brussels sprouts and lends well to various toppings of choice. Chris choose some chopped bacon.

GET IN MY MOUTH.

The End.

doniree

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

doniree — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:00:30 +0000

Sadly I don’t have pictures to accompany this post, but next time I will, I promise! The reason I don’t have photos is because I didn’t mean for this to be awesome. I was experimenting and – lo and behold! – my homemade Alfredo sauce turned out really, really awesome.

Here’s the jist of what I did – if you have ANY tips whatsoever, I’d love to hear them!

Know the basics

I knew that traditional Alfredo sauce consisted of butter, cream, and Parmesan cheese. So, I grabbed those things first. Real butter, heavy cream, and good, shredded Parmesan cheese. I also knew that sauces get thicker when you start with a roux. And I knew how to make a roux (loosely, kind of) because Erin and her mother taught me how to make Shrimp Etoufee over the 2009 holidays, and Boyfriend, Roommate, and I replicated that at a dinner party earlier this summer.

The Roux

To be honest, I should’ve probably Googled “how to make a roux,” to find things out like ratios and timing, but I at least knew two things:

A roux is a mix of butter and flour (more specifically, a roux is a mix of a fat and flour).
You have to mix them together, stirring constantly, and for longer than you think you have to in order for it to work out.

I ended up with pretty close to a 1:1 ratio of butter and flour. I melted the butter first (it was about a half a stick) and then once that was melted, I added in a TBSP of flour at a time and whisked it until the flour dissolved, then stirred with a plastic spatula in between adding in three other tablespoons of flour – four total, which is 1:1 considering a half a stick of butter is 4 TBSP, right? Right.

You like-ah ‘da sauce?

Once I decided that the roux looked like a good roux should, I started adding in the heavy cream. I had one of those small cartons (8 oz, I believe?), and it wasn’t enough, so I had to add in milk until I got to a consistency that looked more like a thin sauce than boxed mashed potatoes. Right when the sauce was at a consistency I deemed officially “a tiny bit too thin to be Alfredo sauce,” I started dumping in the Parmesan cheese.

By “dumping,” I mean that I added the shredded cheese in about a handful at a time, let it melt, and then added more. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Once this started cooking, it started tasting like Real Alfredo Sauce. I needed to kick that up a little bit, so I sprinkled in garlic powder, salt and pepper during this process.

Play with your food

This is where I really started to play. By this point, I had a traditional Alfredo sauce. But I’m not traditional, so I started adding in Chardonnay (buttery notes anyone?), letting the alcohol cook out, and sampling it until that added just the right amount of Something Extra. But I wanted more. So, I squeezed a lemon wedge or two in there.

From that point it was a little dance between a little more salt, a little more cheese, easy on the milk… and when I’d finished, I had a really, really awesome Alfredo sauce with a twist.

Accoutrement

I didn’t want JUST noods and sauce, so while the water was boiling and the sauce was simmering, I sauteed up some shrimp and chopped up Brussels sprouts in butter, Chardonnay, and a few other herbs. I topped the pasta dish with this protein and greens mixture at the end, and I had a tasty, savory pasta dish that was done virtually from scratch.

Which, has been an over-arching goal of mine more and more.

The Community Kitchen

I totally winged this. Like, totally. So, if you have tips on really great Alfredo sauces (or white sauces in general), I’d love to hear them. What do you do differently? What’s your twist on this traditional sauce?

{Photo credit}

doniree

S'MAC – Saritas Mac and Cheese, New York City

doniree — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:00:42 +0000

Yes, I realize I’m following up last week’s post about eating healthy while traveling with a post about a restaurant that serves ONLY mac and cheese.

It’s all about balance, right?

You heard me right – S’MAC (Sarita’s Mac And Cheese) in New York City’s East Village serves up cast iron skillets filled with ten different suggested mac and cheese concoctions OR the choice to build your own. Caroline was nice enough to show Jamie and I this fabulous little place while we were in NYC last weekend, and I completely fell in love. If a place like this exists anywhere else in the world, I want to know.

As for the place? I could tell you up and down and sideways how gooey the cheese was, how perfect the elbow noodles were, and about the bread crumbs which I firmly believe separates EPIC mac and cheese from all other mac and cheeses. I could, but we’re talking about mac and cheese here – I’ll let the pictures do the talking:

doniree

The Art of a Cheese Plate

gracekboyle — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:35:53 +0000

Grace is a friend and fellow blogger, and a kindred spirit in the manner of all things food and travel. She’s scouted many of the cheese plates here in Boulder and offers up what she considers cheese plate musts, great information about cheeses and some delicious photos of the local fromage. You can find our Gracie Boyle on Twitter @gracekboyle, and peep her own personal blog, Small Hands Big Ideas.

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I adore cheese – stinky, soft, sharp, aged, goat, crumbly, yes please.

Last week, in my regular outings of some favorite Boulder restaurants, I had three cheese plates total (in a week!) This is how serious I am about cheese. I know how much I adore the taste, but know less about the process, how it’s made and regions with spectacular cheese. I’m going to meld my love for cheese, with some basic information and of course, sample some of the delicious local restaurants with my favorite cheese plates here on Doni’s beautiful, Nomadic Foodie.

What Makes a Delicious Cheese Plate?

Cheese expert, Laura Werlin of Food & Wine states that the perfect cheese plate should include: “a mix of fresh, aged, soft and hard cheeses, arranged in the order in which they should be tasted: from the lightest and freshest to the ripest and most intense.”

My scrupulous research and foodie taste buds declare (American Cheese Society backs me up too) that for cheese boards/plates, limit your selection to no more than 5 cheeses.

A variety of sizes, shapes, flavor and texture are desirable especially to create diversity to the palate. For example, if there’s a strong and pungent cheese it shouldn’t be next to a lighter, more delicate cheese. Furthermore, I can tell when the cheese board arrives and there are a few different knives for each cheese, the restaurant knows their cheese plates.

We shouldn’t forget that delicious cheese must not only be coupled by cheese itself, but with pairings such as fruit, jams or nuts. I prefer and have delighted in: apples, grapes, strawberries and pears in terms of fruit. Additional items I suggest are: nuts, honey, jelly or jam or even a type of mustard. Finally, bread, crostini, or crackers for eating your cheese with. I prefer grilled or toasted that is still soft enough to lap up the cheese, versus crostini, but both will do. It is important that whatever cracker, bread or crostini you use, they are not flavored as to not take away the taste of the cheese.

Before serving the cheese, experts suggest that setting the cheese out about a half hour before eating brings them to room temperature (but this isn’t necessary).

I will finalize this by saying, the display is very important for mouth watering quality. Pay attention to how the cheese is served – is it on a board, a large enough platter or plate so the cheese do not touch and how is it plated (by which cheese is next to each other)? It is also suggested (if applicable) to leave the rind on.

Some Favorite Cheese Plates:

Mateo a favorite local Boulder restaurant has a delicious cheese plate (that Doni has covered before in a restaurant review). Most recently, you can find: cypress grove humboldt fog (from California), petit basque (from France), petit frére [wi, usa], bleu d’auvergne [france], confiture, spiced nuts, fruit (local and in season) and country toast.

Another local favorite of mine is The Kitchen. Their cheese board is delightful, served on a long, wooden board and includes my favorite pairing, honey! Their cheese board consists of: Fourme D’Ambert & local honey, Chevrot & olive tapenade, Roncal & candied almonds with udi’s bread.

For final tips on cheese plates, entertaining and how to create your own, check out the following links:

Fork and Bottle outlines how to make an interesting cheese platter for a dinner or holiday party.

American Cheese Society has a great link on tips for cheese consumers.

Madame Fromage (http://madamefromage.blogspot.com/) talks all thing cheese. It’s a beautiful blog.

A Cup Of Joe features United States Cheese Boards, they’re so fun and beautifully plated.

Cheese plates can be enjoyed many different ways, whether you’re sampling a cheese plate at your favorite restaurant (great to order as an appetizer with a group, preferably paired with a wine) or preparing a cheese plate for a potluck, party or entertaining (great idea, finger food and who doesn’t like cheese?) e-mail me, if you’re disatsified. Seriously. I believe in the cheese!

So what cheese plates have you loved the most? Pictures, stories, restaurants? Share with us!

gracekboyle

Grace is the Director of Marketing and Sales for the online startup, Kapost. She runs her food blog that celebrates traveling, dining out, cooking and how food fuels us at (http://gracefullplate.com/) and her own personal blog uncovering the 20-something journey and inspirations (http://smallhandsbigideas.com). She loves traveling, red wine, new media, reading, artisan cheese, laughter and her current home in Boulder, Colorado. Her favorite quote? "Buy the ticket, take the ride," from Hunter S. Thompson. You can find her tweeting as @gracekboyle and talking about food @gracefullplate

Cheese and Tiramisu

doniree — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:01:46 +0000

My first trip to NYC was a short, but dizzyingly wonderful one. I spent about thirty-six hours there and managed to sightsee more than I’d expected. And naturally, I ATE. In fact, the only thing I think I had on my to-eat list that I didn’t get to was the pizza.

Don’t get me wrong. We tried. We walked all the way across the bridge to Brooklyn for Grimaldi’s pizza. Except that it was 90somethingfucking degrees outside and the line THAT WENT OUTSIDE was a good 45 minutes.

Hell no.

So, we ventured to the South Street Seaport instead.

NYC has SO MANY food options, and with the exception of Times Square (ick. boo.), most seem to be authentic, local, amazing little eateries. Here’s what I DID manage to nom:

a bagel in Brooklyn. To be honest? It was TASTY, but the bagels at East Coast Bagels in California were better on the sheer principle that they had CHOCOLATE CHIP bagels and this little shop in Brooklyn did not
popcorn shrimp at the Heartland Brewery at the South Street Seaport. Popcorn shrimp is ALWAYS a win. I also enjoyed their Summertime Apricot Ale with my Fish and Chips. Seafood? Always good. FRIED seafood? EVEN BETTER.
Then there was a CHEESE PLATE and TIRAMISU at Bar Baresco. I think that the best way to enjoy a cheese plate – at least for me, while I’m learning what I like and don’t – is to ask the server for a good variety of different levels of soft and hardness and intensity. We got a beautifully diverse array of soft cheeses, red wine infused cheeses, and delicious nuts and honeys to accompany the cheese.
And the tiramisu? OH MY GOD.

Now, I just need to get back to that fine city and have a piece of greasy pizza!

doniree

Enoteca San Marco

doniree — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:13:16 +0000

The best food memories I have of Las Vegas happened at Mario Batali’s Enoteca San Marco. Why?

Because there was a cheese plate.

And we like cheese plates.

My initial reactions, as I wrote back on June 8, 2009:

One of the highlights of this past weekend’s trip to Las Vegas was the formaggi at Mario Batali’s Enoteca San Marco in the Venetian. We had the server choose the best 7 cheeses offered and were given this platter with the accompaniments that included Honey with Truffle Oil, Brandied Cherries, and Apricots.

Absolutely amazing. Oh, and then I followed this with an amazing Margherita pizza and paired it all with a pretty Friulian white wine

Delish!

(via my personal blog)

Their Margherita pizza was incredible also, but this marked my Real Good Cheese Plate De-Virginization, so that’s what I’m focused on here.