Cheese Admiration and Celebration

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  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 13,191 Member
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    I opened the Iberico Curado today and cut off a two-ounce chunk. It was actually a little over, and I was OK with that, but after following the instructions to remove the rind it was exactly 56 grams. Pretty good eyeball there @mtaratoot.

    It was just OK. Kind of bland. I won't buy it again. I will finish the other three ounces at some point. If you see some in the store, don't bother.
  • CrazyMermaid1
    CrazyMermaid1 Posts: 339 Member
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    Here in the Washington and Oregon areas we have Beechers cheese. My favorite used to be called No Woman No Cry but it’s now called New Woman. Their Mac N Cheese is to-die-for. We also have a cheese monger associated with our favorite winery in Woodinville (near Chateau St Michelle)
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,608 Member
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    We had a fab soft cheddar, plum chutney and treacle digestive dessert at a restaurant.
    shlqzjcm8hz7.jpeg
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 13,191 Member
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    CrazyMermaid1 wrote: »
    Here in the Washington and Oregon areas we have Beechers cheese. My favorite used to be called No Woman No Cry but it’s now called New Woman. Their Mac N Cheese is to-die-for. We also have a cheese monger associated with our favorite winery in Woodinville (near Chateau St Michelle)

    Their Flagship cheddar is pretty good even if a little crystalized. Trader Joe's seems to have the best price around here. They also have the best price on Cambozola, but they don't carry the black label. Good stuff for sure. They have recently (or semi-recently) been carrying what I'm sure is a relabeled version of that creamery's brie with wild mushrooms. I might grab some next time I go. I have been able to skip my TJ's trip the last couple weeks.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,608 Member
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    A variation of the viral feta and tomato pasta sauce from tik tok. Replace cherry tomatoes with grapes and use as a spread for toast. I roasted grapes and feta for 12 minutes in the air fryer after a drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of rosemary. You can vary the grape treatment dependent on the amount of liquid you want. For a liquid mixture, leave the grapes whole so that they burst. For a slightly less liquid texture (pictured) price each grape with a fork so liquid evaporates. For a dry texture halve the grapes for the most evaporation.
    n0hxfsv2j51i.jpeg

  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,608 Member
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    https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/08/sargento-cheese-recall-listeria/
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,078 Member
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    First, let me get it out there - I never met a cheese I didn't like.

    Actually, that applies to all dairy, but to be sure that I save "room" in my daily macros for cheese, I moderate my consumption of milk and butter. I do consume cheese and yogurt and kefir. For all my age-related issues, cholesterol is not one of them, so I do this moderation to keep it so.

    Faves - well, "all" but most frequently all the usual blues, cheddar, jack, swiss, edam, brie, parm, feta, ...

    On a business trip to the Netherlands, I was in heaven that I was able to procure a nice-sized wheel of edam fairly inexpensively, when their currency was in guilders. Several years later, when they were on the euro, I was surprised that the same wheel was more than 3x in price (both prices in US dollar conversion comparisons).

    I make my own pizza (at least some of the time), with my own homemade crust and hand-shredded cheese, including "Detroit-style" with a cheese combo to emulate the authentic brick cheese. I do casseroles, sauces, soups, garnishes: cheese is a go-to ingredient.

    During the pandemic, when grocery runs were constricted, I tried some mail-order powdered cheeses, and found them to be generally acceptable in a variety of dishes and sauces (a couple of failures were less than palatable - powder isn't always the best cheese ingredient, LOL). Most were natural colored, but I did get one that turned out to be "radioactive deep orange," and in a mac and cheese, yielded a good texture and flavor, but a really odd color.

    We recently retired and downsized into a retirement community. Unfortunately, we left behind a nice cheese shop in the old area. Down here, it's pretty much all supermarket choices.

  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 13,191 Member
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    I am pretty sure I've had that blue.

    I'm out of cheese, and I will be at the grocery in the next two to four days, so maybe I will find something fun. I usually pass over that little basket of tiny cheese shards, but maybe I should start seeing it as a "calorie bargain bin" to eat something tasty without making a commitment to eating a huge chunk of cheese.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,085 Member
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    mtaratoot wrote: »
    I am pretty sure I've had that blue.

    I'm out of cheese, and I will be at the grocery in the next two to four days, so maybe I will find something fun. I usually pass over that little basket of tiny cheese shards, but maybe I should start seeing it as a "calorie bargain bin" to eat something tasty without making a commitment to eating a huge chunk of cheese.

    I also like it as a way to try things I haven't had before, since I'm somewhat selective about the cheeses I use as a treat. (That's in contrast to some reasonably tasty but less transportingly yummy calorie-efficient cheeses that I use in routine cooking as a protein contributor.)

    With blues in particular, I do sometimes like a tiny chunk that suits a salad or two just for variety. I'm less likely to use up a big chunk of blue, personally . . . although eating up that earlier chunk of Cambozola Black Label wasn't even remotely difficult. :D
  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,303 Member
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    CrazyMermaid1 wrote: »
    Here in the Washington and Oregon areas we have Beechers cheese. My favorite used to be called No Woman No Cry but it’s now called New Woman. Their Mac N Cheese is to-die-for. We also have a cheese monger associated with our favorite winery in Woodinville (near Chateau St Michelle)

    Oh-Em-Gee!
    Beechers gluten free Mac and Cheese is my birthday treat every year.
    And an occasional treat on my unbirthdays too.

    It is AMAZING stuff.
    A bit expensive for a frozen Mac and cheese. But worth it.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,428 Member
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    Well, I’ll be in the Netherlands next week, with, among others, a Dutchman, who has a thing for cheese markets.

    I can’t wait.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,111 Member
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    My BF is currently on a work trip in Italy and decided to buy 1kg of fresh mozzarella (to be consumed by Monday). We'll be giving a bit to our parents, but that's still a heck of a lot of cheese.

    Any good recipes you guys recommend that use copious amounts of mozzarella?
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,428 Member
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    Lietchi wrote: »
    My BF is currently on a work trip in Italy and decided to buy 1kg of fresh mozzarella (to be consumed by Monday). We'll be giving a bit to our parents, but that's still a heck of a lot of cheese.

    Any good recipes you guys recommend that use copious amounts of mozzarella?

    One of my favorite foods in the world is a simple caprese salad. I could eat the whole lot that way.
    😇

    We just got back from a trip that included the Netherlands, as well as visiting with a new Dutch family member. He brought us three different kinds of cheese from the market near his work. OMG!!!!😱😱😱

    Then we went to a small market in Maastricht. The guy had an overwhelming selection so we asked him to pick something for us. He chose “Old Maastricht”. It was so good, we gobbled the whole chunk at once.

    Against our Dutch advice we also got grocery store cheese. “Nooooo! It has no taste!” he cried when he saw our purchase. Yes it did!!!!! We got Belegen Gouda. Our best guess was that meant it was aged (?).

    American grocery store cheese is just sad pieces of flavorless plastic. 😭😭😭
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,608 Member
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    Lietchi wrote: »
    My BF is currently on a work trip in Italy and decided to buy 1kg of fresh mozzarella (to be consumed by Monday). We'll be giving a bit to our parents, but that's still a heck of a lot of cheese.

    Any good recipes you guys recommend that use copious amounts of mozzarella?

    Lasagna freezes well. I use a recipe that layers uncooked pasta sheets, bolognese sauce and mozzarella, ricotta or cottage cheese and topped with grated hard cheese. Put bolognese sauce down as the bottom layer. Freeze the raw lasagnas, thaw overnight and bake for an hour as normal for a quick and easy weeknight dinner with salad. If you don’t own enough casserole dishes get some appropriately sized aluminium take out trays. They are available on amazon.

  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,608 Member
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    @Lietchi
    If you get tired of caprese, layering the mozzarella with cooked slices of beetroot, sliced orange and smoked fish is a good combination I ate once on vacation in Bologna.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,608 Member
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    @Lietchi

    I forgot to add that if you eat a freshly made lasagna right away you need to let it sit for several hours so that the raw pasta softens before baking. I would normally assemble after lunchtime to bake in the evening, but you can leave one in the fridge overnight or use a recipe incorporating cooked lasagna sheets which is more work.

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