Pizza in Baltimore's Little Italy

I recently met up with a couple long-time friends for a girl's weekend in Baltimore and Philadelphia.  While exploring the harbor in Baltimore, we had a wonderful pizza in the Little Italy area.  We went to Isabella's and had the Pizza Bianca, which is made with ricotta, feta and mozzarella.  It was incredible - definitely a memorable pizza for me!  I love a brick oven pizza (seriously, I'm convinced it does something magical to the crust), but this was a great mix of cheeses - tangy, sweet and incredibly flavorful.

Grilled Cheeserie

Nashville seems to have embraced the food truck craze, and I've had the pleasure of eating twice now at the Grilled Cheeserie.  Who doesn't love melted cheese on buttery grilled bread?  The Grilled Cheeserie takes the simple pleasure of a grilled cheese sandwich and improves it by offering several grown-up fillings.  The first visit, my husband had the Croque Madame, and I had a custom sandwich of Gruyere/Swiss blend and Benton's bacon on sourdough.  His sandwich trumped mine that night.  Mine was good, but I decided it needed one more flavor element (perhaps the caramelized onions). 

please excuse the missing bites - melty cheese is irresistible

My second visit, I had the Pizza Melt, and it was amazing.  This sandwich had so many wonderful flavors from the pepperoni (which was in itself unique - do not expect your typical supermarket or pizza pepperoni!) to the fresh basil, spicy marinara and of course, melted Italian blend cheese.  I can't wait to return - I've already picked out the next sandwich I want to try. 

Sweet corn mascarpone ravioli

To commemorate the 8th anniversary of the day we met, my husband and I went to The Mad Platter for dinner.  I had been wanting to try their "Chilli Mac," but it was not on the menu that night.  Fortunately, the sweet corn mascarpone caught my eye and was available that evening.  It did not disappoint.  While I'm sure the sweet corn would have been delicious in its own right, the mascarpone made it very rich and creamy.  It also didn't hurt that it was presented beautifully with shredded parmesan and flowers on top.  When I am bold enough to attempt making my own ravioli, I will definitely need to remember mascarpone as a filling option. 

fondue

For some crazy reason, I wanted to try the French-themed fondue featured at the Melting Pot before they took it off their menu. So the last Sunday in March, my husband and I set off to experience Fondue a la France. Several years ago, we had done their full four-course menu, and decided it was just way too much food.  This time, we were limiting it to cheese, salad, and dessert (a near-perfect meal in my opinion).

We ordered the featured fondue, which included Baby Brie (France), Fontina (Italy), Gruyere (Switzerland) and Raclette (France), all melted together with Nueske's bacon, onions, white truffle cream and chives.  It was very cheesy and flavorful, and every so often, I'd get a delicious little piece of the slightly more pungeant Brie that hadn't melted completely. They served it with several types of bread (white, wheat and rosemary I believe), raw veggies (broccoli, cauliflower and carrots) and green apple chunks for dipping.  We really enjoyed it, but I concluded that when it comes to cheese, if I'm trying to experience new cheeses and flavors, that fondue is not my preferred method. Don't get me wrong - melty cheese is not a bad thing, but several melted together makes it difficult to discern the unique characteristics of each.  

The Nicoise salad (haricots verts, tomatoes, hard boiled egg, Nicoise olives with shallot vinaigrette) was very pretty and provided an opportunity for me to try beets (verdict: not bad - at least these since they were very finely shredded). And finally the White Chocolate Creme Brulee (with caramelized sugar shards!) was delicious and happiness-inducing.

Mafiaoza's Part 4: the finale

The next cheese was Taleggio, which is classified as a hard Italian cheese.  It is protected by the PDO, which designates that the surface must be imprinted with the four-leafed brand of the Corsorzio Tutela Taleggio, and that, when sold, it must be wrapped in a certain type of paper carrying the brand name.  Both are proofs of the quality and origin.  Taleggio is made from both pasteurized and raw cow's milk in the Italian regions of Lombardia, Piedmont and Veneto.  It is aged 25-40 days in caves (or rooms in which factors such as temperature and humidity are controlled to mimic those in a natural cave) and comes in large squares.  This was one of my favorites from Mafiaoza's platter.  It was soft, almost like a firm Brie, and was better the more it warmed to room temperature.  It tasted very rich and creamy and was incredibly smooth.

We also sampled Gouda, a Dutch cheese which is made all over the Netherlands and accounts for 60% of the country's total cheese production.  It's a hard cow's milk cheese that is aged anywhere between 4 weeks and 3 years, but to qualify as "aged Gouda" must be aged at least 18 months.  Young Gouda has a yellow rind, while aged has a black waxed rind, and the cheese itself becomes more yellow with age.  What separates Gouda from other cheeses is that once the curd is cut, a process of washing the curd is used to dilute the whey and remove lactose from the curds.  The Gouda we had was really good with a firm texture and sharp taste.

The last cheese was Gorgonzola, an Italian blue cheese from cow's milk, highly regulated and protected by the PDO and produced in the regions of Lombardia and Piedmont.  It may have been the first blue cheese, the result of a happy accident.  The legend is that a young boy, distracted by love, accidentally left a bundle of curds hanging overnight in the cellar.  The next morning, he attempted to hide his mistake by adding those curds to the morning's fresh batch.  However, several weeks later, the cheese had a mold though the center.  Today is it made at around 40 dairies and factories in either the traditional "two day curd" method, or the "one day curd" method in which the blue mold is added to the milk.  The single day method creates more blue coloring but less flavor.  Four weeks into the aging process, which totals 3-6 months, the cheese is pierced to encourage the mold to spread throughout the drum.  Prior to Mafiaoza's, I only recall having Gorgonzola in other things, such as salads.  Sampling it by itself revealed a very strong, pungent, salty and spicy cheese.  I decided that I definitely prefer blue cheeses in dishes and not alone.

Mafiaoza's was quite dark, but since it quickly became evident that there was no way we could finish everything that night, I decided to take a picture the next day at home.  These were the "leftovers."

clockwise from 9:00-Stilton with Blueberries, Taleggio, Parmesan, Gouda, Drunken Goat, Asiago, (center) Gorgonzola

Mafiaoza's Part 3: the feast continues

Initially, I was a bit disappointed that one of the cheeses at Mafiaoza's was a Stilton with blueberries, but I decided to give it a fair chance. I liked this one much better than the one we had at New Year's. It was softer, more crumbly and not as sweet, which helped balance out the sweetness of the berries.

We also tried Asiago. There are two types - Asiago Pressato and Asiago d'Allevo.  I think we had the latter although the menu did not specify.  Asiago d'Allevo is a hard cheese made from the milk of cows grazing on mountain pastures while Asiago Pressato is semi-soft, contains irregular holes and is made from the milk of cows grazing in low pastures. Both types can only be made in specific production areas within the Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige and are aged 20-40 days in wheels ranging from 24-33 lbs.  It was dry and crumbly, but less so than Parmesan, and I thought it had a slightly sweet and very smooth flavor.

One of the highlights for me was the Drunken Goat cheese, or Murcia al Vino. I wasn't sure what to expect after the waiter described it as goat cheese soaked in wine, but I was intrigued at once.  It's a Spanish cheese from the Murcia region in the Southeast.  It is made from the milk of the native Murciano-Granadina goats.  A semi-soft washed-curd cheese, it is aged at least 3 weeks and washed with local Jumilla and Yecla red wines.  The wine gives the rind a beautiful dark purple stain.  It tasted mild to me in comparison to tangy, soft goat cheese I was familiar with, and though it seemed a bit rubbery in texture, I really enjoyed it.  Although I usually find myself cutting the rind off cheese, I did eat this one as it was quite thin and contained the subtle flavors of the wine.

Mafiaoza's Part 2

The cheese plate was served with a small cup of honey.  We were so overwhelmed by the cheese cornucopia spread before us that we forgot which cheese the waiter recommended actually pairing with the honey, so we ended up trying it with several, and I don't think any were disappointing.  Our favorite, however, was dipping the Parmigiano Reggiano in the honey.  It was a perfect contrast of smooth, sweet honey with the salty, dry, crumbly Parmesan.

Parmigiano Reggiano is a hard cheese made with skim cow's milk. The production is highly regulated.  The cows must be fed only fresh grass, hay or alfalfa, depending on the season, which creates variability in the flavor of the cheese throughout the year.  It can only be made in four provinces in the region of Emilia-Romagna (Modena, Parma, Reggio Emilia and Mantova) and one province in the region of Lombardy (Mantova).  The recipe has remained largely unchanged since the 12th century.  It takes 160 gallons of milk to make each 85 lb drum and each is aged between 18 and 36 months.

La Reggia

After just one bite of this crumbly cheese at Mafiaoza's, my husband paused and said, "This reminds me of the Pecorino with honey we had at that place in Fiesole. Do you remember it?"  I looked at him silently for a moment before responding, "Do I remember it? Really?  I remember everything about that meal.  It was amazing!  We had the asparagus tart appetizer, I had the tagliatelle with guinea-hen sauce, you had the ravioli with tomato-orange sauce, and we had the Pecorino with honey for dessert.  It's one of my most memorable meals!"  It was the first time I had really considered cheese as a dessert, other than cream cheese.  We savored each bite of the firm, slightly grainy, cheese drizzled with sweet honey.  The pecorino was "di Grotta."  It was a sheep's milk cheese aged around four months in caves and washed with oil.  The restaurant was La Reggia, and we stumbled on it quite by accident.  We had taken the bus to Fiesole, and then climbed a steep incline to the overlook.  We ended up staying quite a while, so transfixed by the view of Florence during daylight, that I decided I wanted to stay long enough to see how the city lights and mountains looked in a night sky.  Therefore, we needed to kill some time, and there's no better way to do that in Italy than with food!  We walked a short ways back down the path and discovered La Reggia.  It was the only restaurant that we saw up where we were, and from inside, we could still look out over Florence to enjoy the changing light.  We both want to return to Fiesole and stay there for a couple days.

climbing to the overlook

Florence from Fiesole

Firenze da Fiesole alla notte

Mafiaoza's Part 1: if it's possible to be drunk on cheese...

...then I have been.  Last Thursday, in the midst of yet another Nashville snow this winter, my husband and I went to Mafiaoza's to try their Restaurant Week special, which was ALL of their Piccoli Morsi, consisting of 6 dips with crostini, 7 different cheeses and at least 5 cured meats.  It was the perfect night to go, since most of the city wouldn't dare venture out.  We were able to leisurely try and savor each item.  Needless to say, it made for quite the meal and was more than the two of us could finish, so over half the cheese and meat came home with us.  Next time, we'll bring friends to help.  Two of the dips also had cheeses, so I'll definitely be writing multiple posts about this experience.

The first dip with cheese was a mascarpone artichoke dip.  It was smooth, creamy and delicious.  Mascarpone is a fresh Italian cow's milk cheese made from heated cream that is curdled and then the whey is drained off.  It dates to the 12th century.  I typically think of this cheese as the cream in tiramisu, but I enjoyed this dip very much.  It was a mild flavor, yet seemed rich.

The second dip was a round of goat cheese with honey and red and yellow peppers.  This was a wonderful combination of flavors with the tangy-ness of the goat cheese contrasting with the subtle kick from the peppers and the sweetness of the honey.  The visual contrast was equally appealing.  The red and yellow colors really stood out around the bright white circle of cheese.

presentation counts

Back in September, my husband and I went to Rumba during Nashville's Restaurant Week. We picked different appetizers to share (pork confit tacos and spring-rolled quesadillas), but there was no debating on the entree. One stood out to us both, and I'll be honest - we each wanted our own. There would be no "let's order two different plates and share" that night. We both selected the roasted Piedmontese beef, and it was amazing. The entire plate was delicious, from the presentation, to the sides that accompanied it. It was an Italian-style steak complimented by a sun-dried tomato paste served with a grilled corn salad (with red peppers and edamame) and Manchego-potato puree. This was the first time I recall tasting Manchego cheese.  I had also never had mashed potatoes like this - they were not the typical fluffy potatoes I was used to. I suppose they may have been more of a French style. They were much thinner and super smooth and creamy.  And they were incredibly cheesy! The ratio of cheese to potato seemed to be 50:50, so I was in heaven. It was a smooth, slightly salty cheese that worked so well with the potato puree. I am looking forward to trying Manchego alone when my cheese tour visits in Spain! We did opt for different desserts. I had the tres leches cake, while Brett had the cupcakes and ice cream. Both were a great way to end a unique meal.