Bonne Bouche

August is National Goat Cheese month in the U.S., a fact I didn't learn until one of the last few days of the month this year.  The day I found out, I felt obligated immediately wanted to purchase some goat cheese.  At Corrieri's, I asked for a recommended goat cheese and was in turn asked if I had ever tried Bonne Bouche.  I hadn't, and after trying a sample, I knew it was the goat cheese that would be coming home with me.  First, it's absolutely adorable. Just look at its little individual crate!

Second, it's delicious.  It's still tangy as one would expect with a goat cheese, but the ash covering adds a new element of  flavor.  I was definitely reminded of Humboldt Fog and enjoyed it simply with some crackers.  Did I mention its creamy, soft, slightly-gooey-under-the-rind center?

 
Bonne Bouche, French for good mouthful, is made by Vermont Creamery and won the Best Aged Goat Cheese award from the American Cheese Society competition in 2010, just 9 years after its 2001 debut. 

Mahón

Mahón, a cheese with DO (Denomination of Origin) status, comes from the Spanish island of Menorca.  It's a hard cow's milk cheese, typically aged anywhere between 20 days and 5 months (although some are aged up to 10 months, which causes it to become similar to a Parmesan in texture), depending on what the afinador, or ripener is wanting to achieve or bring out through aging in underground caves. The bright yellow-orange color of the rind is from being rubbed with butter, olive oil and paprika.

While not completely sure, I believe the Mahón I tried was semi-cured, or aged between 2 and 5 months.  The texture was firm, but not hard.  There were some small, irregular holes scattered in the wedge, a result of fermentation during aging. The taste was buttery and had hints of warm grass, making it a perfect cheese to simply eat and enjoy.

Mascarpone

I wanted to try my hand at making scones and decided that if I was exerting the time and effort to make homemade scones, then I should have clotted cream to go with them.  Having never had clotted cream, I had no idea what to expect.  A little research revealed that it doesn't travel well, so it's not really exported that much from Britain.  I found a recipe that called for mascarpone and whipping cream with a little sugar and vanilla to create an approximation of clotted cream.  I thought it turned out pretty well, but then again, I've never had the real thing.  The mascarpone was delicious alone - incredibly smooth and creamy like butter. It would be a treat in itself, simply spread on a slices of bread or apples.

Life of Parm, part 3 - Alfredo sauce

I've been reading John Mariani's How Italian Food Conquered the World in which he mentions the origins of alfredo sauce. It didn't begin as the heavy cream sauce which many are familiar with today. Oh no, the cream was not surprisingly, an American addition.  I decided some of the Parm wedge should be dedicated to authentic Italian alfredo sauce.  And if I was going to sacrifice a full half cup of Parm, I was going to do it right - no box of dried supermarket pasta would do.  I made of my first visit to Lazzaroli Pasta Shop in Nashville to purchase fresh linguine.  I followed the recipe Mariani shares in the book, and the results were fantastic!  It was still rich (likely due to the somewhat large quantity of butter), but wonderfully light.  Delicioso! 

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. 

Life of Parm, part 2 - grated

This may be the most obvious, uncreative use, but grating Parmesan onto pasta with nearly any type of sauce (or even no sauce, and just a little olive oil) is truly wonderful.

Life of Parm, part 1 - Welcome

A couple with whom my husband and I are friends had the good fortune to spend some time in Italy this summer, and they brought back several kilos of Parmesan.  Unfortunately, they moved cross country a couple weeks ago, but left us their remaining wedge as a temporary consolation.  Hence, we welcomed "the Parm" into our lives and home.  Isn't it lovely?

I decided to document its slow decline and eventual demise in words and photos over the coming weeks to challenge myself to optimize its use.  I will do my best to create things worth of this gift, although it is difficult to top the delicious simplicity of a chunk of Parm (honey optional for dipping), or perhaps with some prosciutto and bread as accompaniments.