Tag: foodie

  • Why You Need to Try Tête de Moine, the Tiniest Mountain Cheese

    Why You Need to Try Tête de Moine, the Tiniest Mountain Cheese

    You know it is autumn when your cheese shop bulks up on Alpine-style cheeses. The summer’s proliferation of fresh cheeses and backpacker-ready goudas has been shrunk to a minimum. Meanwhile, Gruyère mountain grows in the “Swiss cheese” side of the case. It is as sure a thing as the leaves changing colors or pumpkin spice-flavored…

  • German Cheesecake: Revisited

    German Cheesecake: Revisited

    It seems to be cheesecake week here in Seattle. Not only did I have a hankering to bake one on my days off this week, but now I hear one of my friends is baking one for her anniversary this weekend, too. I posted a very solid recipe for German-style cheesecake last December. Since I…

  • Sunday Pun-Day: Conversational Skills Starter Pack

    Sunday Pun-Day: Conversational Skills Starter Pack

    It’s been a while since we’ve had a good Sunday Pun-Day on this blog. Since the last time, I’ve gotten really good at working cheesy puns into everyday conversations. Sometimes, the puns fall flat. Like when someone doesn’t know what Scamorza is. (Read this, and you, too, will know what a Scamorza is.) So, for…

  • Hey Honey, Comb try these Cheese Pairings!

    Hey Honey, Comb try these Cheese Pairings!

    Honeycomb is delicious, luscious, and expensive. So you know when you are about to eat it that you want the experience to be worth the money, honey. Since cheese is also delicious, luscious, and sometimes expensive, it makes a great partner for honey and honeycombs in kind. I asked in a social media post a…

  • A Tale of Cheese as Old as Time

    A Tale of Cheese as Old as Time

    Not too long ago, one of my dear readers submitted a question to the blog (something anyone can do, by the way; it’s nice to get a message from someone who isn’t a spambot). That question was as follows: Can a cheese be too old to eat? The question was prompted by the video I…

  • Five Feta Ways to Savor Summer’s Last Days

    Five Feta Ways to Savor Summer’s Last Days

    Earlier this week, I wrote about the wonders of Feta, its history, and the many cultures that enjoy the beautiful brine-cured (read: pickled) cheese. While I talked up its many applications in just about every food under the sun, I didn’t provide many examples of seasonal Feta dishes you could take to your table NOW.…

  • Feta Makes Everything Better

    Feta Makes Everything Better

    There’s a common saying in our household: “Feta makes it betta!” And let’s face it, it’s absolutely true. A salad is not a “good” salad unless it is covered in crumbled Feta. Fish tacos are not quite as fresh-tasting without Feta. And mindless snacking is just not the same unless you are able to pick…

  • Pasta Filata Cheeses: Not Just for Pizza or Pasta

    Pasta Filata Cheeses: Not Just for Pizza or Pasta

    Pasta Filata: it’s kind of fun to say. And wouldn’t you know, this family of cheeses is also fun to eat! Pasta filata is Italian for “spun paste,” meaning that the cheeses’ curds are spun, or stretched, before the cheeses are aged (if they are aged). Filata means “string” or “thread,” and can be translated…

  • The Best Cheeses for Communing with Nature

    The Best Cheeses for Communing with Nature

    It comes as maybe no surprise that a question frequently asked of Northwest cheesemongers is, “I’m going backpacking; what would be a good cheese to take with me?” (or the other common variant, “what are some good cheeses to take camping?”). The root of the question is really, “what cheese will not kill me if…

  • What Happens at Cheese Camp Doesn’t Stay at Cheese Camp

    What Happens at Cheese Camp Doesn’t Stay at Cheese Camp

    Yeah, I went there—with the bad “what happens at _______ stays at ________” reference in the title AND to cheese camp. You’re welcome.   [metaslider id=890]   So I went to Cheese Camp last week. And if you are wondering what that means, sit tight; I’m about to tell you all about it. For the…

  • Grand Ewe’s One Tough Gouda

    Grand Ewe’s One Tough Gouda

    Okay, okay. I’ve definitely gotten the memos from my readership that this blog needs MOAR VIDEOZ. And so I took some time out of my busy workday of managing a cheese shop to stop and cut the cheese–and film it for y’all. (And no, mom, I did not “glam it up” for this one. This…

  • Ricotta Ice Cream Will Rock Your World

    Ricotta Ice Cream Will Rock Your World

    Hi, it’s me again! Ricotta’s biggest fangirl! (Don’t believe me? See exhibits A, B, C, and D, for starters.) But seriously, I just made the best batch of ice cream I have ever created, and it is thanks in no small part to the greatness of ricotta. I got the idea from a customer, actually.…

  • What’s the Deal with Raw Cheese, Anyway?

    What’s the Deal with Raw Cheese, Anyway?

    A woman came into my shop recently searching for “raw cheeses.” She didn’t care what kinds they were, so long as they were raw. This was exciting to me as a cheesemonger, given the hullabaloo this year over raw-milk cheeses. In case you weren’t aware, one person died and seven people became sick with Listeriosis…

  • Willoughby: An ode to the ‘Stinky’ Cheese I Brought to an Idaho Wedding

    Willoughby: An ode to the ‘Stinky’ Cheese I Brought to an Idaho Wedding

    Never travel without a cheesemonger. Or, always invite a cheesemonger to your party. I’ve said one of those things before, and I will likely do so again. I’ve been pretty quiet online throughout most of the month of May. In part, I needed a sabbatical from the interwebs (which means I needed to be left…

  • Spring Cheeses: What They Are and Why You Should be Eating Them Now

    Spring Cheeses: What They Are and Why You Should be Eating Them Now

    I’ve written briefly in the past about summer- and winter-milk cheeses—wherein two wheels of the same type of cheese will look and taste differently because of what the animal was eating during the time of year when its milk was collected to make the cheese. But there are more than two seasons in a year,…