American Cheese Month 2011

October is American Cheese Month…no…we’re not celebrating those plastic slices but rather cheese that is made in the States, and Angela Ortmann, STLwinegirl, along with the Wine and Cheese Place, helped us celebrate properly.

We got to taste six completely different cheeses from all over the country. Starting out west with my all-time favorite cheese, Midnight Moon comes from Cypress Grove in California, although it’s actually made in Europe. Midnight Moon is an aged goat cheese and is a lot more firm than the typical goat cheese. With a sharp finish, this cheese pairs well with a large spectrum of wines.

My second place favorites are a tie between the smooth and creamy, Von Trapp Oma out of Vermont, and Milton Creamery’s Prairie Breeze, an aged cheddar-like cheese from southeast Iowa. Of course I’d recommend the Oma with a white and the Praire Breeze with a mild red to balance out the flavors accordingly.

The last two cheeses, Dry Jack from New York State and Rogue River Blue out of Oregon, were my least favorites, which is just as well since both really went better with the heavier red wines.

We were encouraged to pair each of the cheeses with all of the wines, but unfortunately we really would have needed a lot more cheese to appropriately taste each of them. Like I said before, Midnight Moon was the best to pair with all of the wines even though I am very biased in saying that.

Last but not least, we got to try two different Baetje goat cheeses, both paired with a sparkling wine. Baetje Farms is located in the Ste. Genevieve and you can find their products at farmer’s markets around the St. Louis area. The Cranberry Orange was a little too tart but the Chocolate Raspberry had just the right amount of sweetness so as not to overpower the bubbles.

Resources:

The Wine and Cheese Place = http://www.wineandcheeseplace.com/

STLwinegirl = http://www.stlwinegirl.com/

Midnight Moon = http://www.cypressgrovechevre.com/cheeses/creamline/midnight-moon.html

Baetje Farms = http://baetjefarms.com/

Goat Cheese Class 2011

I was really happy with the “Goat’s Milk” cheese class because that meant one of my cheese-particular friends could join me for a change. The biggest surprise for me, over the past few years, is that goat cheese comes in so many forms…from the typical chevre that we may think of to my personal favorite, a hard, dry cheese, Midnight Moon.

The other interesting fact about goat cheese that I learned this month is that it is the only type of cheese you can freeze, although it should be wrapped tightly, and allow almost two days for a slow defrost.

Instead of a chevre, the two softer goat cheeses came in the form of a runny, gooey Bonne Bouche and a goat brie from Canada. While the Bonne Bouche had quite a pungent flavor, the brie was much milder and could easily replace its milk version and you’d never know.

All three of the firmer cheese stood out and while I think the Midnight Moon had the most flavor, I was definitely biased. I learned that Midnight Moon is actually imported from Holland by Cypress Grove while Chabrin is imported from the Pyrenees. The Chabrin was definitely a close second and quite similar to the Midnight Moon. I also think Midnight Moon could have been held off towards the end to be paired with a red wine.

The cheese that was served with a dry, red zinfandel was the LeChevrot, from the Loire Valley. A strong, “goaty” and nutty flavor altogether.

I’m not sure when the next cheese class will be but hopefully seafood class and cheese class will alternate with each other so we don’t have to go too long without either one.

Beer and Cheese Sept 2nd

At first I was going to post that this was the last of three cheese classes held at The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton (http://www.wineandcheeseplace.com/), but Angie Ortmann, aka STLwinegirl (http://www.stlwinegirl.com), gave me the heads up that there will be THREE more classes planned for the fall - one for France, Italy, and Spain!

I was a little nervous about this class because I don't have much of a beer palette. My preferences lean heavily towards the lighter beers, even more so than white wines, so it's hard going in knowing that I probably won't enjoy the tasting as much as I normally would. I find that beer does not have as much give when it comes to being influenced by food.

But the moment I walked in, I saw a familiar friend, Midnight Moon, waiting for me in the first slot. I even called it out from a few feet away! Now I was surprised that my favorite went first because I think MM has a little bite at the end and would have been paired with something stronger than the first beers...the lighter, Belgium wheat beers. It was actually a good pairing because it calmed down the citrus/spice flavors.

The second pairing featured a young, pecorino toscana and that was a real treat because I've never had a soft version like this before. I think of parmesean when I hear pecorino! I also didn't realize it's a sheep's milk either. Unfortnately, because this cheese was so soft and young, it didn't have the bite to keep up with brown ales that it was paired with. Angie was trying to pair the nutty, tangy flavor but I think an aged version would have held up its flavor a little better to the beer.

We moved on to the IPAs next so an English Cheddar was paired with it but once again, the cheese was just not sharp enough to stand up to the beer. I would have liked something with more bite again. But the cheddar was still good enough that I bought some later (to go with my Midnight Moon)! hehe

I didn't recognize the name, Fourme d'Ambert, so I was surprised when I got hit by a blue cheese. I usually expect a blue for the last pairing with a dessert wine, but this one was mixed with two barley wine beers. Now here, the blue cheese overpowered the beer but I'm overly sensitive to blues.

Most interesting was the double creme paired with a beer that tasted more like a Rose wine! The rich, creamy flavor really broke up the tartness of the "beer" and was probably my favorite pairing of the night, although the Midnight Moon definitely stood out as the best cheese by far.

Here are the pairings:

Midnight Moon
DePreof La Grande Blanche and Boulevard Two Jokers Double Wit

Pecorino Toscana
Sierra Nevada Tumbler Brown and Corsendonk Brown Ale

Barbers English Cheddar
Southern Tier 2XIPA and Lagunitas Hop Stoopid

Fourme d'Ambert
Amager Batch One Danish Barley Wine and Hofstetten Barley Wine

Fromage d' Affinois Double creme
Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek

Fun food and wine trip to KC inspires serious blogging...

Up until now, this blog had just been a diary for me to record some fantastic cheeses, meals, and wines that I have enjoyed through all the classes that I have been taking as a hobby. Not to mention the monthly restaurant outings that I have been scheduling with my friends.

Another favorite hobby as of lately is social media and social marketing. While I enjoy Facebook and Twitter for myself, I am trying to learn how to use social media to its fullest potential. So I think now is the time to promote my blog if I can actually keep up with it and have interesting content to post.

While I have been trying to cut back on the number of classes I am taking lately to save some money, there are always opportunities for me to eat and drink, and I really want to share all the fantastic foods and wines that I partake in on a regular basis. A good friend of mine recently asked ME for advice and that was definitely inspiring.

This past weekend I went to Kansas City to visit a friend and some family. This was an excellent chance for me to use what I have learned and share it with others. It’s always good to be around people who know more than you so I took a wine expert into Trader Joe’s (http://www.traderjoes.com) with me so I could find the right “gift”. She helped to pick out a bold, red wine…the Rosemount Shiraz (http://www.rosemountestates.com)…since my friends are particular about their wines.

Since I was bringing a stronger red, I knew it was important to bring some cheeses that could stand up to the flavor. I brought one of top favorites, Midnight Moon (http://www.cypressgrovechevre.com/cheeses/PDFs/midnightMoon.pdf), which is a goat cheese, as well as a fairly young Gouda with red wax. I also brought some Drunken Goat (http://cheese.about.com/od/internationalcheese/p/drunken_goat.htm), from Spain, although it had a real mild flavor.

Another gift that I brought along with me is some Funkadelic Salsa, mild flavor. Spicier foods go well with red wines I think. They’d be too strong for a white wine for sure. The salsa was also a big hit and you can contact Nicki Funk at funkn69@hotmail.com to place your order. Her salsa comes in three levels of heat and I was able to purchase it at the St. Charles Farmer’s Market, which unfortunately, is done for the season.

While I thought the Rosemount Shiraz was smooth enough for me to drink, I still prefer white wines and I happened to have a Cycles Gladiator Pinot Grigio (http://www.wineglobe.com/21747.html) that I had been saving to enjoy with company. I felt this was the perfect wine for my trip because it’s not sweet like a Riesling nor too light like a Chardonnay, but a mellow flavor.

Although the best treat from the weekend was all the home cooking I got! Hehe My sister-in-law made a beef stew with a tomato base and my stepbrother cooked an omelet for me in the morning. I really meant to watch his secrets because the omelet came out perfectly folded in thirds with no burning…I still have a lot to learn in the cooking field myself!