Penne all’arrabbiata (“angry” pasta) relies on a simple tomato sauce made fiery with dried red chilies. Garlic is permitted; cheese is frowned on. Being a cheese person, I ignore that and reach for the pecorino. When a sample of Laura Chenel’s Spicy Cabecou landed on my doorstep the other day, I thought of another way to make pasta angry. Garden tomatoes and basil, good olive oil, capers, nuggets of cabecou…such an easy no-cook sauce for hot pasta.
Read moreA New Blue to Love
A new blue cheese made with goat’s milk is cause for rejoicing. There are so few. This beauty, from Andalusia, was the region’s first goat blue when it debuted in 2012. Andalusia produces a lot of goat cheese but nothing remotely like this. The innovator? A spunky young woman who married into a cheesemaking family and wasn’t afraid to challenge tradition.
Read moreHappy Birthday, America!
Raspberries, blueberries, ricotta…what could be more American? Italian immigrants are a huge part of America’s cheesemaking story, past and present. They brought their know-how and taste memories with them and created their own made-in-America interpretations of mozzarella, burrata, Fontina, Gorgonzola and Parmigiano-Reggiano. What would American cheese counters be today without the Swiss, German, Dutch, Portuguese and Mexican immigrants who arrived with little besides their work ethic and built our cheese factories and dairy farms? Let’s toast all these hyphenated Americans on the Fourth of July.
Read moreDon’t Call It Yogurt
As the author of a yogurt cookbook, I should know something about skyr (pronounced skeer). Sales are growing in the U.S. for this Icelandic dairy product, but when a friend asked me how it differed from yogurt, I couldn’t say. It’s thick, creamy, tangy cultured milk—like yogurt. It’s fermented with bacteria—like yogurt. So why do Icelanders insist that it isn’t yogurt?
Read moreCheese Whisperer
When I see the name Rodolph Le Meunier on a new cheese, it’s my signal to seek no further. That’s the cheese I want. Le Meunier is a cheese whisperer, uncovering little-known gems in. hidden corners of France and maturing young cheeses made by others. Some of the cheeses in his product line are exclusive to him, like this crusty wheel from the Pyrenees. To know it is to love it.
Read moreSummer Crush
Where has this luscious cheese been all my life? How many bagels have I slathered with gummy cream cheese when I could have used this fluffy spread instead? It’s French, it’s not high in fat (well, as cheese goes) and it’s going to be a summer staple in my fridge. Hors d’oeuvres just got a whole lot easier. Pour yourself some rosé, make some toast and meet your new favorite fresh cheese.
Read moreThis Meze’s Moment
June = peas. Peas = feta. Maybe that’s not the way you think, but my mind turns to feta every time I see the season’s first sweet English peas. That’s because one of my favorite Greek meze is the pea, feta and dill salad from Kokkari, the acclaimed San Francisco restaurant. I collaborated on the restaurant’s cookbook with chef Erik Cosselmon several years ago, and many of the Kokkari recipes entered my repertoire, but this one is probably the one I make the most. With warm pita and chilled rosé, you have the perfect first course.
Read moreWill Customs Agents Take Your Cheese?
(l to r) Feta in brine, raw-milk Le Maréchal, Camembert
It’s travel season. Maybe you’re going to Europe. Maybe you’d like to bring home some of that stinky raw-milk Brie. But can you? Do you have to bury it in your suitcase and “forget” to declare it? I get asked this a lot. People think they can’t enter the U.S. with raw-milk cheese, or that a wedge has to be vacuum-sealed to pass muster.
Which of the European cheeses pictured above would you have to surrender at the U.S. border? Let’s stop speculating about what’s permissible and ask Customs and Border Patrol.
Read moreBirthday Cake Time
What better way to celebrate Planet Cheese’s fifth birthday than with a cake? Cheesecake, of course. My favorite recipe (see blog) comes from a food-stylist friend; the surface never cracks or sinks, and the texture is dreamy. Serve with a strawberry-rhubarb sauce and just try to stop at one slice.
Cheese has been good to me. To pay it forward, I’ll be marking Planet Cheese’s birthday by donating to five non-profits doing important work in the cheese or dairy realm. Please join me in supporting them if you can.
Read moreBest Buys at the Cheese Counter
My recent class on “Best Buys at the Cheese Counter” reminded me—and my students—that a superb dinner-party cheese platter doesn’t have to set you back more than the lamb chops. You can spend $35 to $40 a pound on cheese today, or you can spend half that if you know where the values are. I assembled the seven selections for this class without shopping at a big-box store or chain. I was a little surprised by the class favorite but almost all the cheeses got some votes.
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