Brie, Week 12

This was another fun week for the cheese blog.  On Friday, Madeline of the Rachael Ray (fan) Blog, listed my post about her Cheddar Beer Soup recipe in a weekly round-up of all things Rachael Ray in the blogosphere.  If that wasn't exciting enough (I know, I know), I had a fun mystery cheese event that evening, too.  Fun because I went to my good friend Kate's place with friends; mystery because I had zero knowledge about the primary purpose of the event-- watching the series finale of Battlestar Galactica.  Not only had I never seen an episode of 'BSG', I never watch the SciFi channel.  In fact, I can only be counted on to watch two shows a week- The Office and Chuck.

Nevertheless, I was thrilled to be invited to the BSG showdown and offered to bring the cheese.  It was then I learned that not a whole lot of the BSG world was that cheesy. Casey remembered something about a toaster, and the closest thing I found was BSG toast with jokes I didn't get:

Clearly, this inspiring toast gave way to Brie toasties. 

Brie

Smell: Pleasant and mild

Cost: $5.49/lb and $7.99/lb

Step One: Heat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and prep Brie wedge. For the baked Brie, we put some golden raisins and chopped pecans.  Just when the cheese looked especially soft around the edges, we took it out and added some green onions as flare. This picture was taken just before the great Brie bake.

Step Two: While one Brie bit is baking, make lots of toast!  I thought using the whole French loaf would be too much, but we ended up running out of toast before cheese.

Step Three: Let other Brie wedge come to room temperature and top with store-bought mango chutney and green onions.  I was a little hesitant to put the two together on the cheese, but the flavors complimented each other so wonderfully, I will certainly use this combination in the future.  Serve SciFi-style with doilie and dried apricots.  Enjoy!

Verdict: The Brie was nice on its own- both the Trader Joe brand and the (tad bit nicer) French Belletoile.  The price of Brie is just great compared to the other cheeses mentioned on the blog and normal deli cheeses.  The toppings on the baked and softened Brie were really what made it so tasty, though. It reminded me of Bucheron, except less adventurous.

End tally: Midnight Moon > Lamb Chopper > Manchego > Paneer > Comte > Irish Cheddar > Vermont Cheddar > Emmentaler > Bucheron > Delice d'Argental > Brie > Red Square > Stilton > Pecorino Romano > Monterey Jack

P.S.- I'm a little behind updating the Google Map and Spreadsheet of Cheese.  Hopefully, I'll get to them next week.  Thanks for reading and commenting, Happy Spring!

Bucheron, Lamb Chopper, and Red Square, Week 9

This was an exciting weekend for the blog!  The blog now has visitors from 18 countries! From Chile to New Zealand to India to Sweden.  It's so fun to see where you're all from, especially since the average time spent on the site is 2 minutes and 38 seconds. (A whole 2 minutes and 22 seconds more than 15 seconds of fame!)

I'm going to keep the intro quick because I tried three new cheeses this week!  For a birthday party on Saturday, the blog took another trip to the wonderful Cheesetique for a tri-animal, tri-country cheese plate.  That's right, cheese from a cow, goat, and sheep!

Platter Prep

Ready, Set, Cheese!

Clockwise: Bucheron (French Goat), Lamb Chopper (California Sheep), and Red Square (Tasmanian Cow)

I kind of feel badly for having no recipe, again, but who knows?  With the snow tonight, maybe tomorrow will bring a nice snow day cheese soup.  

1) Bucheron: This cheese was a big hit- spreadable, mild, and deliciously creamy.  I would absolutely recommend this cheese with any kind of crusty cracker.

Price:  $15.99/lb

Smell: Soft.

2) Lamb Chopper: What a cool cheese name!  I just learned today that the Lamb Chopper is a cousin (Cyprus Grove Chevre) of ranking premier cheese- Midnight Moon.  It was buttery and so rich.  It was wonderful on its own, and I bet it would melt nicely, too. Fantastic. 

Price: $26.95/lb

Smell: Nutty, lamby, happy.

3) Red Square:  Now this is the smelly cheese the blog has been waiting for!  It had four of four smelly noses on the ID card at Cheesetique, and rightfully so.  I don't know quite how to describe the smell- a cross between dirty socks and dirt. Surprisingly, the smell was way stronger than the taste, which was creamy (think gooey Brie) and hearty. Added bonus: saying you ate Tasmanian Cow Cheese!

Price: $20.95/lb

Smell: Dirty Socks or Dirt, give or take a sock.

For Christmas, I received an Alpaca Pop Mold.  The host with the most, Errol, received the first 'paca pops:

CheeseKate <3 Alpacas

Verdict: Lamb Choppa' was amazing, but it didn't take me to the stars like Midnight Moon did.  The Bucheron was a delight, and I had a difficult time placing it in the tally.  I preferred it over the Delice, but wasn't positive it was betta' than the chedda'.  Lastly, the Tasmanian cow cheese was fun and adventurous, but I liked Delice a bit more.

End tally: Midnight Moon > Lamb Chopper > Manchego > Paneer > Comte > Vermont Cheddar > Bucheron > Delice d'Argental > Red Square > Stilton > Pecorino Romano > Monterey Jack

Delice d'Argental and Midnight Moon, Week 7

Hello cheese fiends! This week, the blog went on location to the fabulous Cheesetique in Alexandria, VA. I had come across this shop in Laura Werlin's Cheese Essentials and in other cheese blogs, like Cheese & Champagne. Laura Werlin is apparently known as the "human encylopedia of cheese," and her book, a gift from my Mom, inspired me to explore new cheeses. That, and I was kind of getting bored at Harris Teeter (or at least, people there really thought I needed a lot of help each week).

Cheesetique was very busy, but the helpful woman behind the counter wearing a "Cheese Monger" shirt made us feel like the only ones there. The sign said, "Feel the Love," and trust me, oh how the cheese love was felt. Like just about every week, I had no idea what kind of cheese I was looking for. The Cheese Monger started giving samples of her favorites, and this is why I ended up with a full bag-- and TWO! cheeses of the week.

The Loot

Mmmm cheese...and chocolate...and more chocolate. This could be a very bad place to be for the cheese blog budget.

Delice d'Argental

Price:$19.95/lb

Smell: Smoky and creamy. If I cheat and describe a cheese smell with another cheese smell-- then, smoked brie.

I didn't put this cheese in a recipe because it stood up all on its own. I tried it with Cracklebread (17 calories per piece!) and with Water Wheel Provencale Minis-- heaven in cracker form. I would show you the place setting for the cheese, but you know what? It went straight from the wrapper to the cracker. And into my mouth. Yum! This cheese is triple cream and "enriched with crème fraiche"...oh la la! I also tried it with some smoked salmon, and I bet it would have been lovely with chives, too.

Next up,

Midnight Moon

Price: $25.95/lb

Smell: Valentine's Bouquet of Moon Cheese. Sweet and Fragrant.

I have no other pictures of this cheese except for it just out of the wrapper. Like Delice d'Argental, it didn't make it very far, either. This cheese was out of this world! Stellar! I mentioned it was moon cheese, right? Another recommendation from the Cheese Monger, Midnight Moon was fantastic on its own. It had a buttery caramel taste, and I bet it would have paired well with a bacon grilled cheese or on a salad with butter lettuce, dried cherries, spiced pecans, and a simple vinagrette. Mmm my stomach is doing a happy dance just imagining the possibilities! Also, this cheese is American! Finally, a patriotic cheese in the upper tier of the blog!

We have a winner! Midnight Moon jumps ahead in the tally! The Delice was delicious, but the cheeses ranked in front of it just happen to be outstanding.

End tally: Midnight Moon > Manchego > Paneer > Comte > Delice d'Argental > Stilton > Pecorino Romano > Monterey Jack