The Cheese Blog
Red Wine or Bust? 5 Rules for Pairing Cabernet & American Cheese
I love wine. I work in wine. I drink wine. I sip wine. I smell wine. I look at it. I dream about it. I love reds. I love pinks. I love whites. Those orange-hued ones are awesome too. But my go-to wine for pairing with cheese? White. No matter how delicious red wine is, white wine is almost always easier to pair with cheese.
Less oak (if you stay away from the oak-chip doozy Chardonnays), less tannins, often more acidity, and, less red fruit to offend touchy cheese bacteria.
Of course not everyone agrees with me. SOME PEOPLE NEED A RED WINE FOR THEIR CHEESE. That’s cool, that’s cool. I understand. Sometimes I need a red wine too. And when I do, I do the following. If you are a devoted red wine lover, say, ….. a Cab lover, and you need yourself a good cheese to pair with your heavily fruited, perhaps a little tannic, oaked bottle, this post is for you.
But why American cheese with Cabs? Because October is American Cheese Month! It's the perfect time to honor this country's excellent creations with a red party in a bottle.
5 Rules for Cabernet and Cheese Pairing
1. Loose the bloomy rind. Brie, camembert styles or cheeses with thick white wines don’t like Cab. I know, I know, they look good together in pictures, but in general, the bacteria in a bloomy rinded cheese doesn’t like the tannins or red fruit in your Cali Cab, and the two will end up fighting- on your tongue.
2. Think aged cheese. Aged cheeses can handle the big flavors of a Cab. Aim for five months and older. Aged cheeses have enough flavors of their own to fight back if a Cab gets feisty or overly oaky, and some of those flavors (buckle up!) actually match with a Cab’s. Tasting spice, pepper, herbs or meat in your Cab? Could be in your Vella Dry Jack or Mezzo Secco too.
3. Think Cheddar! Okay, this is more a suggestion than a rule, but let's roll with it. Cheddar is a magic cab-pairer. Pick a cloth-bound, aged one like Fiscalini, Bleu Mont, Jasper Hill’s Cabot, and the cheeses's sharp, meaty, and sweet flavors will practically start making out with a cab right in front of you. Awkward, sure, but a little sweet too.
4. Sheep’s milk! An aged or lightly aged sheep’s milk cheese like Garden Variety Black-eyed Susan (top photo), Bleating Heart’s Fat Bottom Girl, or Everona’s Piedmont loves a good Cab as much as you do. Their brown-buttery, citrusy, lively, and spicy notes are as snuggly with a cab as a cheddar’s.
5. If you really want a soft cheese, go with a mixed milk ideally, or, with a wrinkly-rinded goat’s milk cheese, without a bloomy rind. Seal Cove Tomme, Vermont Butter and Cheese Bonne Bouche or Crémont- all good with Cabs. And just herbal and citrusy enough to handle the Big Red. Cow’s milk softies sometimes work, but sometimes they’re a little too subtle for a Cab’s good.
What do you like with your Cabs? Have any favorite cheese Cabs you keep going back to?
Also- if you're in the Bay Area, I have my first book event at the Pasta Shop at 4th Street in Berkeley this Saturday, Oct 20th, and am getting my book-signing hand warmed up as we speak. Or as I write. If you have time, stop by! I'd love to meet you.
Cheese Super Heroes! The Swiss Cheese Book
I used to say (okay, I still say) that the next time I go to CheeseCon -a.k.a an American Cheese Society Conference-, I'd bring a cape, maybe some tights, something bright and spandex-y, and a lasso. That CheeseCon has nothing to do with capes or super heroes in the traditional sense doesn't really have anything to do with it. Anytime you can attach Con to the end of a gathering of hundreds of people, as is done with ComicCon, you have, in my opinion, ample reason to attach a large piece of fabric to your neck wear green tights. And the lasso? Obvious. Cows. Cattle. By the way, have you seen how much work cheesemakers do in one day? A Super amount. ComicCon ain't got nothing on us cheese folk. Except... maybe the easy comic association.
Anyhow, I got a package the other day. My roommate is a grad student, so he gets about three to fifty-three packages a week filled with books, but, me? I rarely ever get a package. So I was already excited before I opened it. And then I opened it. And I was even more excited (one might say super excited).
The package? Well,"Swiss Cheese: Origins, Traditional Cheese Varieties and New Creations," by Dominik Flammer and Fabian Scheffold is the newest cheese book in my collection. One of the coolest things about the book, oh, you know, beyond its detailed description of the history and culture of the artisan Swiss cheese industry, and lively profiles of modern and traditional cheesemakers of the Alps and beyond, is its photos.
The cheesemakers in the photos look like super heroes (sans capes). Photographed standing on top of some of the highest mountains in Switzerland, lifting wheels of cheese while balancing on logs teetering over rushing streams, or rolling their wheels up grassy hills, cheesemakers are pictured in their element- holding something they created with love, in the region that matters most to them.
If you'd like to oogle cheeses in distant lands, in landscapes just as pretty as the animals that give their milk to make these wheels, check out this book. In can be found in English here. Available in French and German elsewhere.
Just wanted to share one of favorite cheese finds with you, first shared with me by Mz Tia Keenan of Murray's Cheese Bar.
Pasta Shop, Berkeley Book Event- Getting that Pen Warmed Up & a Very Important Question
Okay, cheese lovers. You've read my descriptions about cheese, heard about its circles of friends, and might have even tried a recipe or two I posted on "It's Not You, It's Brie," but until now, we haven't actually consumed cheese together. Unless you've attended any of my classes, tasted through the ACS fury with me, or visited the wine shop where I work. And if this is the case, well, kudos to us. If I remember correctly, we enjoyed our selections immensely.
But if we haven't, it's time.
I'm heading across the San Francisco Bay Area, and later to New York, and Chicago to promote my book. And to eat cheese. And to meet you!
My first event- The Pasta Shop in Berkeley- and I'm getting my pen warmed up, because this one is a biggie. It's American Cheese Month, and the shop is shaping an event around my book. My book! Am I honored, you ask? OH MY GOODNESS, yes. Not only was working for The Pasta Shop my first monger position, but the shop (i.e. Mz Juliana Uruburu) is calling in the cheese forces and having representives from cheesemakers I featured in my book to come sample their wheels and the kitchen is picking 3 or 4 recipes from my book and serving them in their gourmet deli. I'm honored, and excited and.... very much hoping to see you there! Please feel free to share this link with anyone you know who lives in the Bay Area who you think might enjoy the event.
I am also kinda wondering what to write in the books I will sign. First time.
So this leads me to a very important question. If you wrote a cheese book and had to put that sharpie in your hands to good use, how would you sign a book?
Cheese puns?
"How Goud-a you to buy my book?"
"Praise Cheesus, and Best of Luck to You!"
Book signing ideas and further cheese puns welcome in the comment section.
Can't make this event or want to eat cheese with me more than once? Other events here if you'd like to say hi.
Fall Apple Chutney- Cheese's Circle of Friends
As I’ve been known to say before, cheese has a wide circle of friends. An extremely social animal, it loves hanging out with seasonal produce and adores being paired with dried fruit, honey, and preserves.
Seeing Instagram photos of my former roommate visiting her family friend's apple farm, or watching apples roll off the tables at farmer's markets (I'm a bit clumsy, what can I say), always makes me think apples in the kitchen (I've gotta find a way to cook all those bruised apples I bought at the farmer's markets, don't I?). And you know what else is always on my mind? Bet you do.
Though it’s true that cheese has a sweet tooth, it also likes acid, and more savory flavors like onions or mustard seed, like those often found in condiments like chutney.
Meet chutney, one of cheese's closest aqauntainces.
This recipe is one that I developed for the GoBoldwithButter blog. It's a classic chutney- sweet, tart, savory- except that it has butter in it. Creating recipes for the butter blog has given me an excuse to put butter in everything (hi-five!). But according to my new roomate's father, who's British, it's a darn good chutney. And, yes, I went there. I made an English man taste the chutney. So call it UK approved, and a little lusher than normal, which means it won't last as long (from two to three weeks), but it's fun to give away little jars away to visiting friends.
Note- this batch size is large. I often make just 1/2 the recipe.
Fall Apple Chutney
Ingredients 1 ½ pounds granny smith or other tart variety apple 1 pound yellow onions 1 cup raisins 1 cup apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons mustard seed, black and yellow 2 allspice seeds 5 cloves 5 cardamom 2 pieces star anise 2 tablespoons butter
Directions Trim, and finely chop the apples and onions, slicing around the apple core. Put the apples, onions, raisins, vinegar, and mustard in a heavy bottomed pot. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer. Tie the dried spices in a cheesecloth. Add this and the butter to the pot. Let everything simmer for around two hours. Let come to room temperature and remove the cheesecloth before serving.
And yes, that is last week's Calvander featured next to the chutney!
What fall flavors do you enjoy with your cheeses?
Chapel Hill's Calvander & the Southern Artisan Cheese Fest
Cheese wise, my mind has been deep in the south. North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia..... Besides all those amazing wheels they're pumping out, it's possible that my current fascination has also been influenced by me getting hooked on fried pork skins and hush puppies during the ACS festival in Raleigh, or all the Carolina Chocolate Drops videos that I've been watching. Either way, I'm sold on the region and it's dairy.
Today I highlight one of my favorite southern beauties, Calvander. But the southern artisan dairy buck doesn't stop there! One of my favorite southern gals has put together a mean conference honoring the region's offerings. Check it out below. If you live close enough to visit, I'm jealous.
First, meet Chapel Hill's Calvander, above.
Made with raw Jersey milk, Calvander is an Asiago-style cheese made in Chapel Hill, Carolina. Portia McKnight and Flo Hurley, Chapel Hill's owners and cheesmakers, only make this wheel from March-December, when their pasture is best for grazing. The two started making cheese with plans of buying milk from local dairies to support the industry, but fell so in love with dairying and cows that they went full throttle. Now they own a farm and use all their own milk
The cheese is an easy-to-love one. Buttery, slightly herbal, with slight walnut flavors, Calvander is a subtle wheel that develops sharper, spicier notes from aging. It's semi-hard and grates well- good for melting when young, and for Parmesan-type activities when older (i.e. sprinkled over pasta). I like it with a Chardonnay (oak-friendly), Pinot Noir, or Viognier or white Rhone blend.
Where can you get it? Well, definitely in the south and in many areas of the east coast. I've also found it in smaller gourmet cheese shops in the bay area. Ask your monger! Or... sometimes my pal Kathleen Cotter at The Bloomy Rind ships from Tennessee.
Which brings us to....
The Southern Artisan Cheese Fest!
Kathleen Cotter, an awesome gal I'm honored to call my friend, is a force in the southern cheese world. She single-handedly put together the first Southern Artisan Cheese Fest last year. And it sold out. The first year! Girl knows how to gather the artisan forces.
If you're in the area or want a little southern cheese love this October, I would highly encourage you to head to the festival. The list of cheesmakers and events is even lengthier than last year, promising even more deliciousness.
Here's a short list here:
AtlantaFresh Artisan Creamery GA | Belle Chevre AL | Bonnyclabber Country Cheese VA | Boone Creek Creamery KY | CalyRoad Creamery GA | Caromont Farm VA | Chapel Hill Creamery NC | Goat Lady Dairy NC | Heritage Homestead NC | Kenny's Farmhouse KY | Looking Glass Creamery NC | Manyfold Farm GA | Nature's Harmony GA | Noble Springs Dairy TN | Prodigal Farm NC | Round Mountain Creamery NC | Sequatchie Cove Creamery TN | Split Creek Farm SC | Stone Hollow Farmstead AL | Sweet Grass Dairy GA
Interested in pairing any sotuhern favorites to their alcohol counterparts? Check out this link to a southern cheese & spirits class I just taught.
"It's Not You, It's Brie" Book Events!
- The Book.
Well friends, I must say that when I got my first email a couple months ago from a book store manager asking me if I would like to have a book event with her, I was more excited than a cheese geek in a Roquefort cave. They were asking me? My week was made.
Well the pleasure produced from book stores being interested in my work has not subsided. I'm an avid reader and imagining something I wrote sitting even across the shop from books written by my favorite authors, well, it's humbling. My parents used to drop me off at libraries when I was young (maybe with a little trail mx or something to nourish me) and I was happy to stay there for four, five, six hours. I um.... will still do this on occasion today. So being invited to places that house so many of books that I adore, well, it's more than flattering. My book geek heart is ecstatic.
More events are in the works, but here is a list of places that I'll be visiting to promote the book. They're not until October and beyond, but hey, doesn't hurt to know ahead of time. I hope you see you at one or more! And yes, there will be cheese!
And,.... I'm happy to announce that "It's Not You, It's Brie: Unwrapping America's Unique Culture of Cheese" is now on Amazon and at Powell's for pre-order. It publishes Nov 6th, and if you're willing to wait, you'll also likely find it at your lovely local book shop! Support the locals too!
EARLY EVENT ANNOUNCMENTS:
Pasta Shop Foods, Berkeley, California, Saturday Oct 20th 1-4pm
October is American Cheese Month, and we're putting together an event around the month that highlights the cheesemakers in my book. And by the way, I used to work behind the cheese counter here.... There will be festivities, cheesemakers sampling their goods, and me, signing book copies for the first time ever. The book's officially released Nov 6th, but there just might be a copy or two available.... Plus, Pasta Shop will be cooking recipes from my book an entire week before the event to promote it. How cool is that? Yes, I'm super excited!
Books Passage, Ferry Building, San Francisco, California, Wednesday Nov 7th, 6pm
I'll be signing books, possibly reading a lil' something something, and, serving a Cowgirl Creamery cheese and beyond for you to sample. Ain't it cool to have an event in the same building as Cowgirl Creamery?
Books Inc, Marina, San Francisco, California, Thursday Nov 8th, 7 pm
Tasting, Signing, Drinking. Good times! I'm super happy to announce that Seana Doughty of Bleating Heart Cheese will be here tasting a delicious wheels too (this awesome lady is featured in my book). I'm a lucky girl!
Solano Cellars, Albany, California, Saturday Nov 10th 3:30-7 pm
This is my official book release party. Tasting, Singing, Drinking, all. You are invited! Darren from Cream and the Crop distributors (one of my faves) will be sampling his cheeses, many of which are featured in my book too.
18Reasons, It's Not You It's Brie! American Cheese & Beer Class, San Francisco, CA, Nov 27th, 7pm
Cheese author and educator Kirstin Jackson joins 18 Reasons for a night of fermented glory. After visiting creameries and interviewing more than 48 cheesemakers for her recently published book "It's Not You, It's Brie: Unwrapping America's Unique Culture of Cheese," she's ready to tell the stories of some of her favorite domestic cheeses, while holding a pint glass. The selected artisan cheeses will be explored in unison with American beers, most local. We will taste through 6 cheeses and 6 beers!
Books will be for sale and Kirstin will have a pen handy for signing after cheese consumption.
Omnivore Books, Signing and Tasting, Wednesday, Nov 28th, San Francisco, 6-7pm
Tasting, Signing, Drinking. Good times! At an entirely food focused book store -be still my heart! I'll guide you through making the perfect holiday cheese plate. Then we can eat it together.
More events in the works!
Murray's Cheese- Dec 3rd! More info soon.
The Cheese School - TBA
Chicago/Wisconsin- TBA
Party Cheese: The book ball is officially rolling
As the date for my book release grows nearer (Nov 6th is soooooo close), I'm keeping myself busy. The book ball, my friends, is round and rolling. It's a fierce ball too. Picture a vintage bowling ball, light blue, heavy as a lead pipe, with a little glitter. Once this baby gets going, it just ain't stopping.
Final copy edits are in. The book cover is set. Promotional copies are printing. Pitches have been sent out. Events are arranged, more are arranging, classes are planned, and .... I'm ready for a power nap. You know, one of those naps where you get a good 5-10 minutes of sleep because you can't help but spend the rest of the time trying to figure out what your life will be like once you wake up. Anyhow,... disco naps- I'm your biggest fan. Give me 25 minutes and I'm a new girl.
But I'm also taking time to revel in the deliciousness of life. Taking a day off here and there to host friends, visit museums, go to Willie Nelson concerts (thanks, Mom & Dad!). Or, when I don't have time to do that, I'm at least making sure I walk around the block once or twice before I sit down to type. Breathing and moving your body- I hear it's good for you.
The Sunday before Labor Day I had some of my favorite folks over for a little detox. Work detox, that is. There was plenty of mezcal, mojitos and wine. When the point of a party is to relax with friends, I like to keep the appetizers I serve easy. One of my go-to apps is roasted fruit and cheese.
This is how the simple fruit and cheese ball app rolls:
Take a luscious seasonal fruit. Figs, persimmons, peaches. Whateva. Slice it into portions that are easy to pick up and put in your mouth so your guests don't get that oh-my-god-is-everyone-watching-this-hard-to-eat-salad-fall-out-of-my-mouth feeling. Lightly sprinkle with salt, freshly ground pepper, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Roast the fruit for 10 minutes in a 375-degree oven. Or, if it's a crispy, apple-kinda seasonal fruit, just slice. Top with cheese. I used queso fresco. Any cheese may apply. Serve to good friends.
By the way- new classes are up at The Cheese School of San Francisco. There are some mighty fine ones this semester!
Hope to see you at one of mine (looks like there's a little space in my Pink & Beyond class on Sept 18th, hint, hint), and I'll announce book events soon!