The Big Cheese

You know your friends support your cheese addiction when they post cheese pictures on your Facebook wall...

2nd Annual American Cheese Month Charity Event

Thanks to Feast magazine, I was thrilled to hear about the 2^nd Annual American Cheese Month Charity Event that took place last Friday, hosted by Parker’s Table in Richmond Heights. First, I was happy that I had only missed one year and second, this gave me a chance to try out a new wine and cheese store, in addition to eating a lot of cheese at one time!

To help celebrate, American Cheese Month, eight artisinal cheeses were creatively paired with charcuterie from Salume Beddu as well as red and white wine. The event was presented and produced by CheezSorce, a cheese-making consulting company.

It was very hard not to take a lot of cheese at once, I did make my way around the floor a couple of times to make sure I got a good taste of each of the eight cheeses. I was very biased since my favorite local cheese makers were on the list for the evening.

The first stop was Baetje Farms and Veronica Baetje was handing out samples of their Bloomsdale cheese herself. She told me that she hopes to place some of her fruit blend cheeses in Dierbergs very soon.

Another favorite, Green Dirt Farm, was the second stop and they are located near the Kansas City area. Sarah Hoffman was also handing out samples but I spoke to one of her assistants for a while about the dinners they host at the farm. They will bring in a different chef each month to cook the meal, usually consisting of cheese and goat courses. The dinners were so successful that they sold out every single one! (I think that would make a fun road trip weekend.) Anyway, Green Dirt Farm served their Woolly Rind but my favorite is their Bossa…a gooey and VERY stinky cheese.

Another cheese with a strong flavor was the Prairie Breeze Cheddar, made by Milton Creamery from Milton, Iowa. This was the best cheddar of the night and the sharpest cheese.

There were also a couple of mozzarella cheeses and a blue, but my favorite cheese goes to Jasper Hill Creamery from Greensboro, Vermont. They had a creamy and gooey cow’s milk cheese that almost required a fork to eat, with a hint of barnyard flavor to it. Just like Epoisses, the best cheeses are messy!

Here is the full list:

1. Baetje Farms, Bloomsdale, Goat’s Milk, Bloomsdale, MO
2. Green Dirt Farm, Wooly Rind, Sheep’s Milk, Westin, MO
3. Chapel Hill Creamery, Fresh Mozzarella, Cow’s Milk, Chapel Hill, NC
4. Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, Flagship Reserve, Cow’s Milk, Seattle, WA
5. Avalanche Cheese, Bandaged Goat Cheddar, Goat’s Milk, Basalt, CO
6. Milton Creamery, Prairie Breeze Cheddar, Cow’s Milk, Milton, IA
7. Jasper Hill Creamery, Harbison, Cow’s Milk, Greensboro, VT
8. Valley Shepard Creamery, Crema de Blue, Jersey Cow and Sheep's Milk, Long Valley, NJ

Resources:

Parker’s Table = http://parkerstable.com/

Feast Magazine = http://www.feaststl.com/feast-events/article_b0dfb304-d829-11e1-a7e0-001a4bcf6878.html

Salume Beddu = http://salumebeddu.com/

CheezSorce = http://cheezsorce.com/

Baetje Farms = http://baetjefarms.com/

Green Dirt Farm = http://www.greendirtfarm.com/

Milton Creamery = http://www.miltoncreamery.com/

Jasper Hill Creamery = http://jasperhillfarm.com/

Astoria Kabob House

Even though my blog may not be world-famous, at least my friends know by now that I enjoy dining out and that I can guide them to what they’re looking for. My buddy’s homework assignment required him to try a new ethnic restaurant and since he is not a fan of anything spicy, I thought we’d go someplace different. We went to Astoria, which is labeled as an Eastern European restaurant, but I call it “Russian”.

Since I grew up in the neighborhood, I had been past the restaurant many times and have gone there only once for lunch, and the restaurant was empty. I had heard of that being the case from several other people, although I knew the food was excellent. So I was really surprised when I walked in and the place was packed, with one half of the restaurant being used for a large party!

We got there just in time on a Saturday night as we only had to wait a few minutes for a table. The staff was very apologetic about the wait and were overly gracious the whole night. Once again the food was fantastic, although I admit, I stuck with my favorites.

I actually started with the Astoria Salad, which came with feta cheese, almonds, and raspberries, as well as a cup of Borsch (yes, that’s how they spelled it). Both starters had a sweet flavor and the borsch didn’t really need the dollop of sour cream, but I mixed it in anyway.

Luckily, my buddy wanted the same entrees that I did so we split the Chicken Kiev and Lamb Shiskabob. The chicken had a strong basil flavor while the lamb had a hint of gaminess to it, but was still quite tender.

Since the entrée portions were a proper size, we had room for dessert, but there was nothing chocolate listed. I do regret not tasting the cheese blinsis (again, their spelling), which is a real treat in my family.

Resources:

Astoria Kabob House = http://www.urbanspoon.com/cities/28-st-louis/restaurants/320083-astoria/menu

The Block Traveling Table

Since I really enjoyed my first visit to The Block, I couldn’t wait to go back for a Traveling Table with STLwinegirl, Angela Ortmann. There were only three courses for this traveling table, no dessert, but I think this worked out for the best due to heavy courses and leftovers shared.

This Traveling Table was also special because each course paired a local beer in addition to a glass of wine, so I knew I had to pace myself and just sipped on both pairings.

We started with a “lighter” meat, Pastrami Cured Salmon compressed cucumbers, mixed greens, horseradish emulsion. The horseradish was a non-factor as the sweetness of the cucumber stood out the most. This paired best with the Gruet Brut Sparkling from New Mexico because the dry brut tamed down the sweetness. The Urban Chestnut Zwickel is also a lighter beer, but it has an odd nutty flavor to me.

Next up was the “medium” meat, Braised Pork Belly, crispy poached farm egg, grilled brioche with house-made jam, and better known as “Bacon & Eggs”. I stuck with the poached egg and grape jam while finding a good home for the pork belly. For this course, I preferred the Belgium-style Pale Ale Perennial Hommel since it had a milder finish than the A to Z Pinot Gris from Oregon, which was a little too dry.

My favorite course by far was the Grilled Sirloin, which also came with a large and tender beef rib. Since my friends were so full from their pork belly, I was able to score quite a few leftover sirloin pieces. I would have been happy with this course alone. The sirloin was perfectly pink and juicy.

This course was paired with the wine Elyse C’est Si Bon, meaning “It’s so good”, from Sierra Foothills, CA and the beer was a Charleville Tornado Alley from Ste. Genevieve, MO, a heavier ale. The wine had a much smoother finish to pair well with the sirloin, while the beer was a little too strong.

Resources:

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

The Block = http://theblockrestaurant.com/

Urban Chestnut = http://urbanchestnut.com/

Perennial = http://www.perennialbeer.com/

Charleville Vineyard = http://www.charlevillevineyard.com/

Photos by Angela Ortmann

Girls' Night Out: Billions of Bubbles

I finally got to check out the new Dierbergs Des Peres location thanks to a “cooking” class held there that was actually part wine pairing. The theme was “Girls’ Night Out: Billions of Bubbles” and Chef Marianne Moore selected five different appetizer dishes for us to put together, while STLwinegirl, Angela Ortmann, paired a different sparkling wine with each appetizer.

I was a little nervous since cooking is really not my thing so I volunteered for an activity that sounded easy: stuffing mushrooms. First, we had to “polish” the mushrooms with a towel (I normally wash the dirt off so not sure why we did it without water) and then pull out the stems of the mushrooms. After greasing the pans and placing the mushrooms “holes up”, we then created the stuffing.

Unfortunately, the stuffing was made with pork and was the least tasty of all the dishes. I promise to go back to “not cooking” status for the safety of everyone!

We started out with Shrimp & Avocado Puffs, which are two of my favorite ingredients and it was paired with a Prosecco…the Italian version of sparkling wine.

There were TWO cheese courses, which were among my favorites of course: a Baked Goat Cheese Spread, paired with a Cava, or Spain’s version of sparkling wine and a Baked Brie.

The mushrooms were paired with a real Champagne and of course the wine stood out on that course.

As much as I love cheese, I really enjoyed the Aussie Burgers (lamb sliders), which was paired with a Blanc de Noirs. Meaty and filling!

I was quite full by the time we reached the dessert course: Fillo Nest with Mixed Berry Sauce paired with a Brachetto, which I have never had before.

Resources:

Dierbergs Des Peres = http://www.dierbergs.com/About/News/Dierbergs+Des+Peres.aspx

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

Photo by Angela Ortmann