Tag: Courtney C Johnson
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How Blue Cheese is Made at Twin Sisters Creamery
Looking at a wedge of blue cheese with lines of blue mold rippling through it, you might assume that the mold got there by being injected into the cheese. I have heard this from time to time as an explanation to children or from one adult to another, of how this family of cheeses is…
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How to Pair Cheese & Chocolate for Valentine’s Day (or Any Day)
Cheese and chocolate pairings don’t always work. But when they do, the combination can be magical. I will admit that I haven’t always been a fan of putting cheese and chocolate together (in fact, I have admitted it before). But here I am, a person who co-teaches cheese and chocolate pairing classes at Theo Chocolate…
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What It’s Like Competing in the Cheesemonger Olympics
Last month, on January 13 and 14, I competed in the olympics of cheesemongering. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may have seen posts about the Cheesemonger Invitational (#cmisf). The invitational usually happens twice a year, during the Fancy Food Show. The winter edition is in San Francisco in January, and the…
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8 Weeks of Celebration Cheeses: Week 8
We have made it to the end of my “8 Weeks of Celebration Cheeses” series—and subsequently to the end of 2018. If, like me, you are scratching your head and wondering where the time went, just know that it tends to fly when you are having fun—as you should be when cheese is a part…
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The 12 Days of Cheesemas
[Originally published on December 18, 2016; revised December 12, 2017.] In honor of the holiday season that surrounds us, I give you the gift of poetry and music. Tomorrow is the twelfth day of Cheesemas. If you have not yet gotten all of your Christmas cheese together, I hope you will take inspiration from this…
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8 Weeks of Celebration Cheeses: Week 7
One of the qualifying factors for a cheese to be considered a “celebration cheese” is its availability. I’ve talked about some cheeses that are more difficult to get because of how they are imported, and I have mentioned that other cheeses are only seasonally available. When you eat what is in season, when it is…
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Have A Blue, Blue Blue Blue Christmas (Pairing)
When we talk about pairings for blue cheeses like Stilton, the conversation tends to head toward dessert wines like Port, Madeira, or Sauternes. After all, the fortified wine plus assertive, salty blue cheese is a classic combination—and it works. But that got me thinking: If you are going to eat your cheese for dessert, what…
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8 Weeks of Celebration Cheeses: Week 6
It’s hard to believe that we’re now over halfway through the holiday season. Time flies when you’re having fun! This week’s celebration cheese is a no-brainer for a list like this. It is easily one of the best cheeses in the world, and it is always one of the best cheeses in my case. There…
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How to Build a Killer Cheese Plate at Home
I would say that 40 percent of my cheese sales go to people who are looking to build a cheese plate for an event—whether it be a romantic evening for two, movie night for five, or a baby shower with dozens of guests. At this time of year, the cheese plate-building intensifies, as the holiday…
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8 Weeks of Celebration Cheeses: Weeks 4 and 5
The gig is up, right? You already know that I’m posting two weeks’ worth of celebration cheeses at once because I got behind due to Thanksgiving week and weekend craziness, and the inevitable sinus infection of doom that came after. Well, yes and no. I mean, yes, I got behind on posting; such is life…
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8 Weeks of Celebration Cheeses: Week 3
People who get excited about scraping sheets of melted Raclette cheese over boiled potatoes, cornichons, pickled onions, and prosciutto are not wrong. It’s very right to love the ritual of making Raclette. That ritual, and the cold-weather warmth that it conjures, are only part of my reasoning for naming the third 2018 holiday cheese none…
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8 Weeks of Celebration Cheeses: Week 2
As a cheese retailer, you’re not always able to get all of the cheeses you want at all times. Sometimes it’s because the cheese is only available certain times of the year because it’s made seasonally, or because a small-batch cheese sells out. Other times, cheeses are more difficult to get—and harder to sell to…
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Pairing Chocolate and Cheese at the 2018 Northwest Chocolate Festival
This past weekend, one of the largest chocolate conventions in the world took place in a cruise-ship terminal on the southern crest of Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood. The Northwest Chocolate Festival, which celebrated its 10th year, hosted hundreds of exhibitors from around the globe and a steady stream of hour-long chocolate education sessions that took place…
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There’s White Stuff Growing on Your Cheese That Isn’t Mold
Two weeks ago, one of my best friends and ex-cheese comrades, Chelsea, brought our old mentor/boss-lady, the illustrious Kim Martin, into the shop. Neither of them had visited us before, and it was pretty exciting to show them around our little corner of the co-op. As they were getting ready to leave, Chelsea pulled me…
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What do you ask a cheesemonger?
“Where’s your bathroom?” – That’s the No. 1 question I answer all day, every day at work. Despite the mundaneness of turning people back to the front of the store from whence they came, it is but one of many questions a cheesemonger anticipates every day. Often times, people walk right up to you with…