Cheese Admiration and Celebration

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  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,455 Member
    Well, I ate alllllll the Christmas cookies and can sincerely say, I’m over them.


    Til mid-afternoon, anyway, unless I can convince husband to hide them til the kids come back.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,222 Member
    springlering62 wrote: »
    Well, I ate alllllll the Christmas cookies and can sincerely say, I’m over them.


    Til mid-afternoon, anyway, unless I can convince husband to hide them til the kids come back.

    That's because cookies aren't cheese. Me, I can moderate cheese, but I'm never going to be over it.

    Cookies? Mostly meh. And 100% not cheese (usually, except those cheesecake-layer ones).
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,222 Member
    Biiig sale on cheese at WF, 35% off a bunch of good stuff (though one of the items shown was more like 17% off).

    I couldn't resist. The top two are both Cypress Grove, Humboldt Fog at left, Truffle Tremor at right.

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    That's a lot of cheese for one person. I will have to stay strong and soldier on with it. ;)

    I started by eating some of the Bijou alongside a slice of amazing "Danish Seed Bread" from the baker who sells at the farmers market. I can't remember what-all is in there, Einkorn and rye and a bunch of seeds . . . so good!

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  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,455 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    springlering62 wrote: »
    Well, I ate alllllll the Christmas cookies and can sincerely say, I’m over them.


    Til mid-afternoon, anyway, unless I can convince husband to hide them til the kids come back.

    That's because cookies aren't cheese. Me, I can moderate cheese, but I'm never going to be over it.

    Cookies? Mostly meh. And 100% not cheese (usually, except those cheesecake-layer ones).

    Whoops! I thought this was the other thread.

    Lesson learned : never hijack cheese with cookies. Or serve together, either.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,222 Member
    springlering62 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    springlering62 wrote: »
    Well, I ate alllllll the Christmas cookies and can sincerely say, I’m over them.


    Til mid-afternoon, anyway, unless I can convince husband to hide them til the kids come back.

    That's because cookies aren't cheese. Me, I can moderate cheese, but I'm never going to be over it.

    Cookies? Mostly meh. And 100% not cheese (usually, except those cheesecake-layer ones).

    Whoops! I thought this was the other thread.

    Lesson learned : never hijack cheese with cookies. Or serve together, either.

    :D I kinda figured you meant to post on another thread.

    And personally, I would take a chunk of delicious . . . oh, let's say cranberry Stilton . . . with some nice shortbread cookies, right about now.

    Cheese and cookies can go together. 😋
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,222 Member
    I'm not usually a fan of the USA tendency to turn every food into a candy, and that skepticism applies to cheese. But Vermont Creamery makes some very delicious cheeses, so I was willing to take a chance . . . especially since it was on sale, more than 25% off.

    I can't overstate how delicious this is. It's not super sweet, but very rich, and tastes noticeably of cherries. The word "decadent" on the label is IMO not an oversell.

    (Apologies for the fuzzy photos; you get the idea.)

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    The ingredients are non-fake-y: Goat cheese (goat's milk, salt, enzymes), semi sweet chocolate chips (cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter), honey, dried cherries (cherries, cane sugar, rice flower, sunflower oil), cocoa (processed with alkali), natural flavor (which I'd bet includes cherry, because there's a noticeable but not overwhelming flavor of cherry). It's 5g added sugar per ounce of cheese, as if I cared, and 90 very worthwhile calories. ;)
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,455 Member
    edited January 6
    Lidl had a gingerbread goat cheese for the holidays that was good, too. It was half off yesterday when we did the shopping but I didn’t get any.

    Overseas daughter sent us some Wisconsin cheeses that arrived yesterday, from a creamery sharing the family name. My husband flipped out at that. She probably got the idea from the genealogy email that issues from the “family castle” in Scotland.

    Will be breaking that open very, very soon. 👍🏻

    I’m waiting for a text, too, asking if we’ve cut the (family) cheese yet. 😂
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,259 Member
    While I was waiting for a key to be cut, I wandered next door to a store that sells overstocked foods. Some of it can be a decent value, some not so much. Sometimes the "best by" date is coming close. Sometimes it's just a distributor or manufacturer overstock. I picked up a few things, some being more treat-like. I figured this was a good time to try the Patagonia smoked Sockeye salmon - shelf stable. It's in the pantry for a river trip or a hike or who knows. It was discounted about 60% off, so I figured I'd try it.

    I also picked up a tub of sheep feta in brine from Bulgaria (that's practically Greece, right?) and a wedge of "Iberico Curado" from Spain. It's cow, sheep, and goat milk cheese packed in olive oil. Oddly, even with the oil added, it's still 120 calories per ounce. Obviously the feta is lower.

    Then I saw something familiar, so I had to get it. It wasn't even a great value. It was just a trip down memory lane. It's a small chunk of Muenster. The reason it's a trip down memory lane is that it's made in the city where I went to graduate school in Utah. We used to go out to their factory and buy their "ends and pieces" for cheap. They actually don't make the cheese - they buy it in huge wheels or blocks and cut it and repackage it. Indeed, this is an end-cut from a block of Muenster. And the "best by" date is my own personal birthday. I had to get some. It was only two and a half bucks.

    I picked up a wedge of a German brie with wild mushrooms the other day. It's become a regular, and I think it's great if you let it sit out on the counter for an hour or three before you dig in so the flavors can really come up.

    I am sure I will smile when I eat these. Yep - a cheesy grin.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,455 Member
    I just realized yesterday that a small tour we are taking later this year will include not only a trip to a small cheesery in rural Romania, but the opportunity to make our own.

    I am wild with excitement.

    Learning to make a farmers cheese is HIGH on my bucket list.

    Still playing with sugar free Labneh cheesecake. Effort #2 was OK’er, but needs tweaking. I have read up and made a shortlist of technique improvements- less mixing and shorter bake time. The blueberry one I just made was 596 calories and sugar free except natural sugars in the labneh and berries. We were each able to enjoy a quarter pie at a time, since it was low cal.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,259 Member
    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.
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  • CrazyMermaid1
    CrazyMermaid1 Posts: 356 Member
    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: 7,958 Member
    We had a fab soft cheddar, plum chutney and treacle digestive dessert at a restaurant.
    shlqzjcm8hz7.jpeg
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,259 Member
    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: 7,958 Member
    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: 7,958 Member
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/08/sargento-cheese-recall-listeria/
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,267 Member
    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: 14,259 Member
    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: 34,222 Member
    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: 2,994 Member
    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: 8,455 Member
    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: 6,834 Member
    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: 8,455 Member
    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: 7,958 Member
    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: 7,958 Member
    @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: 7,958 Member
    @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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