Tag: formaggio
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What are You Putting on Your Thanksgiving Cheese Plate?
One of the biggest questions swirling around the internet’s cheese circles this week is, “What are you putting on your Thanksgiving cheese plate?” There are so many possible answers to that question, especially depending on where in the US you live. Last year, I wrote a post teaching you how to build your own Thanksgiving…
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Finding the ‘Taste of Place’ in Cascadia Creamery’s Cheese
This is a story about some of Washington state’s finest cheeses and the fairytale-perfect land where they are made. If you drive south on Interstate 5 from Seattle until you cross the Columbia River into Oregon, take Highway 84 East at Portland. The highway meanders along the south bank of the river, treating you to…
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Behold, the Black Pearl!
When Culture Magazine asked for photos of the best cheeses we have eaten this year (#BestCheese17 photo contest), my mind immediately went to Tieton Farm & Creamery’s Black Pearl. I have eaten a lot of cheese this year. I have eaten a lot of truly wonderful, life-changingly good cheese. But to my mind, the best…
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The Truth About Pairing Cheese and Fruit
One of the most common questions cheesemongers get from customers is a varietal of “what fruit goes with this cheese” or “what cheese goes with the [insert fruit here] that I just picked up?” A lot of people are only imagining fruit when they ask you for a good pairing for a certain cheese. Why,…
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In the Buff—That Other Type of Cheese Milk
We’ve got cow, goat, and sheep on our radars when it comes to cheese. But what about that other ruminant animal? Buffalo milk is not among the most common milks used in western cheesemaking, but it is an important source of deliciousness. Perhaps the most famous of all buffalo milk cheeses to American audiences is…
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Trick-or-Treat! Don’t Forget the Cheese (Platter)
Whether you are heading out for an early evening of trick-or-treating with some tiny humans or staying in to hand out candy, Halloween is an excellent night for a cheese platter. And no, it’s not too late to throw something together, even if you are at work during all of the daylight hours. After all,…
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Up Your Dinner Game with These Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
It’s not just decorative gourd season, it’s melty cheese season. And boy, is it ever. Last week, I extolled the merits of Switzerland’s tiniest mountain cheese, the mighty-smelling Tête de Moine. He’s just one of many cheeses waiting to grace your table in liquefied form with drippy deliciousness. There’s also Raclette, Morbier, Emmental, Gruyere, Comte,…
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Three Reasons to Treat Yo-self to a Cheesemaking Class
About a year and a half ago, we hired a new baby cheesemonger named Janna at the shop I worked at in West Seattle. One of her previous cheese qualifications was that she had taken a cheesemaking workshop from another local grocery store, PCC Community Markets. Listening to Janna talk about the class, it seemed…
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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…
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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…
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Two More Reasons to be Charmed by #ThatCheeseLife
It’s not hard to be excited about cheese. From the most basic pleasures of “Swiss” and Cheddar to more adventurous forays into wrinkly aged goat cheeses and dusky blues, there is something for everyone in the wide world of cheese—yes, everyone: let’s not forget nut “cheeses,” which are just now starting to break into new…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.…