It has 3 cheeses? Must be good.

I think Publix Apron's Simple Meals are just fantastic.  They are typically quick and easy to prepare, are reasonably healthy, and always seem to taste great (and if you're hungry when you go shopping, as I usually am, a sample in-store can make all the difference).  A recent sample was their sausage and rice stuffed portabella mushrooms. I tried it, thought it was tasty, picked up the recipe card and was happy to see it called for not just one or two, but three different cheeses.  I used a shredded Italian cheese blend (in place of only mozzarella), low-fat cream cheese and blue cheese crumbles (instead of Gorgonzola), and they turned out rather well.  I think a vegetarian option of substituting spinach for the sausage would be equally good and make it even healthier.  We'll definitely be having them again!

release the crackin'

Saturday I had the opportunity to watch the cracking of a wheel of Parmesan at the Nashville Whole Foods. It was quite entertaining, from the actual cracking, to the samples, to the characters that come out to such an event (such as the older woman that feigned interest in buying a small wedge so that she could scoop up double handfuls of the smaller pieces on the cutting table).  The event held at many Whole Foods stores was intended to set a record for the number of wheels simultaneously cracked open. I was able to sample a couple tasty treats.  First, I had a small piece dipped in Belgian chocolate. It was amazing! Such a wonderful contrast with the smooth, sweet chocolate and the dry, crumbly, salty cheese (I love to mix my salty and sweet)!  Next, I had a couple small pieces from the fresh-cracked wheel. The first was from the center and seemed slightly softer, but the second morsel was full of grainy crystals. It was fun to experience two different textures from the same wheel.  The final treat was...get ready...Parmesan gelato! I can't believe this is not a regular flavor.  It was delizioso! It was cool, creamy and surprisingly smooth (not sure how they would do that with a cheese with so much texture). At the beginning, you didn't really taste the Parm flavor, but it came on very subtly at the finish. They first cups they passed around were just the gelato, but a second batch came around again with a dollop of sour cherries. You wouldn't think they could have improved Parmesan gelato, but the cherries made it even better (mixing sour, sweet and salty).

But back to the actual cracking. There is definitely an art to it.  I wondered how much training one receives and how stressful it would be cutting this wheel weighing around 90 pounds and worth hundreds of dollars.  They used a set of 5 knives, specifically designed for cutting wheels of Parmesan.  After splitting it in half, and then half again, one quarter was dealt with at a time.  After scoring the rind with one knife, several v-shaped knives would be inserted in a row to split the wedge (into layers that were still quarter-wheel size, but thinner). This was done repeatedly until those small, thin quarters were cut into small wedges and blocks for sale in the store.

jambon et fromage

One of my favorite food memories from Paris is grabbing a quick lunch each day in between sites.  If we didn't have crepes, we'd stop at a little cart for a sandwich.  It was typically a single slice of ham and cheese on the most delicious crusty, chewy baguette.  The sandwich plus a Coca-Cola (yes, I know - incredibly American, but sometimes you just needed the sugar and caffeine to get through a full day of museums) made for a delightful lunch.  It was good, inexpensive, and typically included entertainment (people watching in the park).

Yesterday, my husband and I were walking through Trader Joe's to pick up some pasta and salad for lunch, but when I saw a basket of fresh baguettes, we changed plans and decided to recreate those Paris sandwiches.  We allowed a couple modifications to the Paris version and used Black Forest ham and sliced goat cheese.  The sliced goat cheese was hanging in the cheese section just like any other deli-sliced packaged sandwich cheese (cheddar, provolone, etc) but was a nice change.  It became more flavorful as it warmed to room temperature.  The sandwiches turned out really well, and with a side salad, a few chips and a glass of French rosé, we had a memorable lunch in our own kitchen.

have cheese, will travel

I had purchased a second Living Social deal to Corrieri's and had been planning to use it in March to sample some more new cheeses.  But a few days before it expired, I found out that I had to go to Louisville for work, and since Louisville is almost halfway, Brett and I decided to tack on an extended visit to the in-laws in Indiana, which meant I wasn't going to make it back before the voucher expired.  So, the night before we left town, the husband and I went to the shop to make some selections.  After sampling several types, we walked away with five wedges:  St. Andre, Ossau Iraty, Garroxta, Monte Enebro and Prima Donna.   The next day, the cheese came along with us in a cooler. We also packed several items to pair the cheese with - bread, apples, walnuts, dried cranberries, olives and honey.

St. Andre is a French soft-ripened cheese from the Normandy region and is produced from cow's milk.  If you think that the picture looks like butter, you'd be about right.  This triple cream cheese contains up to 70% butterfat!  It was creamy and incredibly rich, so much so that it almost required pairing with bread, walnuts or dried cranberries.  The texture in the center was similar to whipped butter, while the texture closer to the rind was silky smooth and heavier more like cream cheese.  Very decadent!


Ossau-Iraty is a hard sheep's milk cheese from the Aquitane region of France.  It is aged at least 3 months and is protected by the AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controllee).  This sharp cheese had a firm texture, and I thought it tasted like the warm grass or hay eaten by the sheep.  It had a pleasant animal smell.

Garroxta is a goat's milk cheese from Cataluña, Spain.  It's classified as a semi-soft cheese and is aged between 2 and 4 months.  Compared to many other cheeses, this artisan cheese is a relatively new, having first been produced in 1981.  Like most goat cheeses, it was tangy and bright white in color.  I enjoyed it not only alone but also with Spanish olives.  The rind was especially beautiful with it speckles in various shades of gray.

Monte Enebro is classified as a natural rind goat's milk cheese.  Made in Avila, Castilla-Leon, Spain, the curds are pressed into the shape of a mule's hoof..  The girl at Corrieri's explained that the mold covering the rind is the same kind that is injected into Roquefort cheese, but only covers the surface on Monte Enebro.  According to the World Cheese Book, it was the first modern Spanish artisan cheese to gain recognition internationally.  I found the appearance to be very unique.  I preferred the center, which was softer, creamier and milder than the part close to the rind, which definitely had a stronger, more blue flavor.  The flavor of the goat's milk, which I love, was easier for me to detect in the center, as the blue flavor near the rind was more dominant.  However, this was a nice blue cheese for me, since I tend to shy away from them.

Prima Donna is a hard Gouda-style cheese from the Netherlands.  Made from cow's milk, it's aged about a year (Corrieri's noted the one we had was aged 16 months).  This is significantly less than some Goudas, some of which are aged for several years.  There were small round holes scattered throughout.  It had a firm texture with a rich, strong flavor from start to finish that paired very well with apples.  While delicious alone, I imagine it would also be great on a sandwich.  It's a cheese that should seem familiar to Americans with a texture and sharpness similar to a medium cheddar, however it had a nuttiness similar to a Parmesan.

Éire go Brách

A belated St. Patrick's Day dinner with friends provided the perfect occasion to search out an Irish cheese.  I found a couple options at Trader Joe's, and opted for Dubliner, which is a cow's milk cheese aged around 12 months.  It was billed as a combination of elements from cheddar, Swiss and Parmesan, and it did not disappoint.  With a firm texture and sharpness like many cheddars, it was dry and a bit grainy like Parmesan and sweet and nutty like Swiss.  It was a unique and wonderful combination of textures and flavors.  While it was great alone, I also grated it on top of baked zucchini and found both options to be equally delicious.

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cheese in other languages

I've had an interest in words and language for as long as I can remember.  As a small child, my mom taught me and my brother words in Spanish.  We would practice in the car on the way to school, and she even placed stickers on things around the house to label them with their Spanish name.  My fascination continued in college where I took eighteen hours of Spanish classes, and it continues today as I study Italian.  Since so many cultures make and consume cheese, I wanted to look at the words for cheese in other languages.

According to Wikipedia, the word cheese derives from the Latin word caseus, which eventually became kasjus in early West Germanic.  The Italian, French and Catalan words below, derived from another Latin word, formaticum (from caseus formatus), which translates as "formed or molded cheese." With many of the others below, it is easy to see their similarity to the original word caseus.

Italian - formaggio
French - fromage
Spanish - queso 
Catalan - formatge
Portuguese - queijo
Romanian - branza
German - käse
Dutch - kaas
Danish/Norwegian/Swedish - ost
Finnish - juusto (pronounced oo-stoe)

Irish Gaelic - cáis

Russian - сыр (pronounced "syr")
Arabic -  جبنة, jubnah
Greek - τυρί (pronounced teeree)

Only in moderation

You know dinner is going to be wonderful when your plate looks like this:

This was our first sampling of the cheeses we picked up from Corrieri's: Humboldt Fog, Lamb Chopper, Midnight Moon and Manchego.  We decided not only to taste them alone, but also to sample them with some of their recommended pairings, since we happened to have several of the items on hand.  While perhaps not the most well-balanced meal, since it consisted primarily of dairy and carbs, it was nice for one of the many meals we eat in a week.  It was a plate to be slowly savored.

Humboldt Fog is a beautiful cheese from California.  It's a soft goat's milk cheese that has been surface ripened and has a layer of vegetable ash in the center.  Hands down, it's one of the most interesting cheeses I've ever seen or tasted.  The center has the texture and flavors of what I am used to with a goat's cheese, but the edge, just under the rind, has a texture similar to brie and a stronger flavor.  The wedge is aesthetically pleasing with the gray stripe of ash in the center and the contrast in texture from the center part to the ripened edge.  It's like getting two types of cheese in one!  Delicious alone, we also paired with the recommended mandarin orange, cranberries and walnuts.


Lamb Chopper is a sheep's milk cheese from Holland (which I learned makes up two provinces within the Netherlands, so I should stop using them interchangeably for the country).  Smooth and almost buttery, with a chedder-like firmness, it was very enjoyable alone.  Since it was recommended for kids on a grilled cheese sandwich, we melted some on toasted French bread, which tasted quite good.


Midnight Moon is a goat's milk cheese from Holland.  The nutty flavor reminded me of a Parmesan, although not quite as dry or salty, and the texture occasionally seemed a bit gritty.  We paired it with apple slices and the same fruits and nuts as the Humboldt Fog.


Manchego is a Spanish sheep's milk cheese from the dry plateau south of Madrid.  A hard cheese with DOC status, it is aged anywhere between 6-18 months.  Although most Manchego is now made in factories, much of the milking is still done by hand.  The surface of the wedge was pocked with small irregular holes.  It was dry, nutty and a bit salty, and as it warmed to room temperature, the surface became slightly oily.  Delicious alone, we also grated some over pasta drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper, which was equally good.

I enjoyed all four, but if I had to pick a favorite, the Humboldt Fog might have a slight advantage.  It was delicious and incredibly unique.