Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam

I had a tiny taste of this deliciousness on a cheese plate at Bacchus, what must be the fanciest restauant in downtown Buffalo. So damn good. It was served with grapes, sourdough bread and candied walnuts.

At $4.00/oz, I only ordered a small bit but it was worth every bite.

Little Miss Muffet Sat on Her Tuffet, Eating Her Poutine

I had poutine from Harvey's at lunch today. It wasn't good at all. I don't remember why I decided I liked poutine, but it is such a waste of perfectly delicious cheese curds*.

Cheese curds plain - now that's lovin'!

Writing this post inspired me to look up "whey" in the dictionary to find out what all Miss Muffet was eating. Turns out that whey is a cheese product too. I know, that's probably common knowledge, but now I will think of that nursery rhyme in a whole new way (or whey, as the case may be).

Our First Ever Reader Submission

Joanne wrote to tell us this story. I, being a moron, didn't check the email until a month later. Sorry for the delay Joanne!
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Cheesebloggers,

Two weekends ago I had the opportunity to go to the Tillamook Cheese Factory inTillamook Oregon. As we watched the cheese go through its various stages on the machinery, we noticed that they were slicing a thin layer on most sides to make the big blocks even. My friend, IC, was practically drooling at the sight of all that cheesey goodness and she was a little distressed that the extra cheese would become waste. She was trying to figure out away to scale down the catwalk into the factory to rescue the cheese when she realized that they would throw her out and she wouldn't get to the best part of the whole tour. (And no, I'm not talking about the cheese related computer games offered in one of the areas.) As anyone who has ever toured a factory that serves food will tell you, the best part of the wholetour is the SAMPLES! Yes cheesebloggers, there were free samples. Yum, white extra sharp! Yum, pepper jack! Yum colby jack! WTF?! Squeaky? Squeaky cheese is, to my palate, disgusting. I did not like the texture. I did not like the 'squeaks.' It was god-awful. The rest of my party, though, loved it. Squeaky cheese is just cheese curds. They each bought a pack at the cheese gift store. Yes a cheese gift store! I ended up buying various forms of cheddar, then kicking myself later for buying it there when it was the same cheese I could've bought at any grocery store, but it was the thrill of being there that made it better!

Joanne (of the peevery)
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Thanks, Joanne!

Red Leicester and Stilton

Early this morning, I decided I wanted bagels and cheese for lunch. But not just fluffy so-called bagels and ordinary cream cheese, I wanted good bagels and good cheese. In fact, I decided, I might even experiment with an exotic or unusual cheese instead of just my usual cheddar, brie or boursin.

When lunchtime rolled around, it was bleak, cold, and drizzling. No matter. I can take it. I trecked down the street, pushing past the umbrella-wielding psychopaths, to St Lawrence Market.

I selected a tempting concoction: Red Leicester blended with Stilton. Then I made my way to Saint Urbain's Bakery for some bagels. When the woman handed me the bag, it was warm. Fresh bagels!

I walked back to work and took my purchases to the kitchen. I cut the bagels in half and sliced some of the cheese. I returned to my desk and bit into my noontime treat.

Ick. Turns out I don't like Red Leicester and Stilton mixed together. Maybe I don't like either of them at all.

Blue Cheese

Long long ago, cheese was left to age in some moldy old cave and became streaked with bluish-green mold. But rather than spoiling the cheese, the mold gave it a distinctive flavor, and blue cheese was born. Since then, cheese-makers have learned to inject or stir mold spores into different cheeses, and many still use caves to age them.

If you're not a huge fan of blue cheese (pungent!), I recommend you try my all-time favourite blue cheese - Blue Castello. This is a rich, moist and creamy blue cheese. It's fairly mild and won't overwhelm you.

I used to buy it at Trader Joe's - it was dirt cheap. Now we have moved and there is no Joe's but last week I found a brink of this stuff at BJ's. And that made me happy.

This just in...

Today, Monday, August 29th is Grilled Cheese Day at Slashfood.

Near Wild Heaven

I just found this on Citysearch:
5 to Try: Macaroni and Cheese in Los Angeles

Relish Tray

My family always has a relish tray at get-togethers. The relish tray includes cubes of cheddar cheese (I prefer sharp cheddar), cut-up sweet pickles and black olives as staples. Crudités are included as well and vary depending upon who is making the relish tray. I know it sounds odd, but the sweet pickles and cheese are meant to be eaten together. I don't like sweet pickles on their own, but with a nice chunk of sharp cheddar, the combined taste is delicious. One or another of my family members can usually be found standing right next to the relish tray, toothpick in hand, stabbing piece after piece of pickles and cheese.