Nosh Pit

Trending: Cheese

Seattle loves the stinky stuff. Here are the cheeses we’re choosing right now.

Posted by: Tiffany Ran on Mar 23, 2011 at 11:00AM 1 Comments

What cheeses kept you warm this winter?

Photo: Stuart Mullenberg

In the Trending series, Nosh Pit talks to local food providers, shop owners, chefs, servers—whoever’s appropriate, really—about those consumables Seattle can’t get enough of right now. This week: cheese.

1. DeLaurenti ’monger Connie Rizzo told us customers have been buying hearty Alpine cheeses to get them through the winter months—gruyere, comte, Beaufort. Also popular at DeLaurenti: the soft and smelly Winnimere from Jasper Hill Farm.

As the weather warms, Rizzo predicts customers will gravitate towards softer, fresher cheeses like Camembert and brie. And since now is the time fresh goat cheeses are becoming available, she’ll be stocking those. Try the version from Tieton Farm and Creamery in Yakima.

2. Local cheeses like Camembert-style Dinah’s from Kurtwood Farms on Vashon Island, are popular at Melrose Market’s The Calf & Kid, said owner Sheri LaVigne. She said many people ask for Dinah’s after feasting on it at Sitka and Spruce next door. LaVigne anticipates that Camembert-like Nonna Capra goat cheese from Yarmuth Farm—which has a limited season “from late spring to early fall” —will be a hit during the summer.

3. Dinah’s Cheese is also a favorite at Picnic in Phinney Ridge. Owner Anson Klock noted too that customers request harder, sharper cheeses in the winter months, such as the sharp and tangy aged cheddar from Fiscalini Farm in Modesto, California.

4. Fondue is popular in the winter, so Paris Grocery has kept the shelves at its Western Avenue shop stocked with Swiss and Alpine cheeses like gruyere and comte, according to social media manager Rachel Eggers. Lately, she’s seen a heightened interest in washed-rind cheeses like Abbaye Sainte Mere from the Normandy region of France.

Good tip: Eggers said people often opt for grab-and-go cheese because they think they have to buy the precut slabs behind the glass counter. But vendors are almost always willing to cut you a smaller piece—that’s true at supermarkets as well as specialty shops.

5. Cheesemongers across the board have seen a persistent interest in raw milk cheeses. Spanish Table cheesemonger George Calvo says all three of the Iberico raw milk cheeses he sells (cow, goat, and sheep) are well-loved by his customers.

Come summer, Spanish Table will offer soft-ripened goat cheese along with specialties like Argentinean provoleta, which is delicious when grilled, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with oregano. Yum. Can we have that right now?

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Tags: Downtown, Capitol Hill, Cheese, Phinney Ridge, Food Trends in Seattle, Trending

Edible Gift Guide Idea #4: Beecher’s Winter Collection

A gift basket that’s not a total rip-off? Believe.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Nov 17, 2010 at 02:28PM 0 Comments

The gift of cheese

Category Friends and family ($30-$100)
Best For Cheese lovers, Seattle natives missing the homeland.

Let’s say your kid’s abroad and can’t get home for the holidays. Or you’re here but your sister is in New York and hanging out with her inlaws.

Or let’s just say there’s someone out there whom you love and who really loves cheese.

For these sort of “I’m thinking of you and I know you love the Northwest” gifts, I like the winter collection from Beecher’s. It’s an assortment of Northwest cheeses and accompaniments that costs $55 and ships for $12.

You get: Mt Towsend Creamery Seastack, Willapa Hills Two-faced Blue, Beecher’s Flagship, Rutherford and Meyer Plum Fruit Paste, and Beechers original crackers—basically the makings of a kickass cheese plate, all ready to go.

Most gift baskets are jerks. But this one is full of actually good stuff, and it’s within the realm of reason from a price perspective. Send away.

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Tags: Cheese, Edible Gift Guide

Finally, An Article About a 117-Year-Old Piece of Cheese

You want to know how stinky it is, don’t you?

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Sep 21, 2010 at 10:40AM 1 Comments

Cheese

“This is the story of a hundred-and-seventeen-year-old piece of cheese.” That’s the first line of Robert Sullivan’s recent Talk of the Town piece in the New Yorker. I read the article this morning with coffee, having selected that particular magazine because it was within reach.

The cheese came from Lithuania, its current owner inherited it from her Grandmother in 2009. “She flew down from New York to take possession. When she got to the house, the cheese was not in the box on the shelf in the closet where it usually resided—her aunt Linda had put it in the freezer. ‘I was a little freaked out about it,’ she said. The cheese flew back on a Delta flight to LaGuardia. It breezed through security, probably because it smells only when it is close to your face.”

Weirdly, in the time it took to write this very short post, the article became unavailable online. If you want to read the whole thing—and believe me, you do—it’s in the September 13 issue.

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Tags: Cheese, Food Finds, The New Yorker

Three Things I Learned at Madison Market Last Night

Cheese by the half-wheel, Ethan Stowell pasta, and losing perspective on customer service standards.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Sep 09, 2010 at 11:47AM 1 Comments

Madison Market, school of life.

I stopped into Madison Market last night to pick up some groceries. In the process I managed to learn three things. Those things are these:

1. You can get Dinah’s cheese by the half wheel: Madison Market now cuts the circle of Camembert-style cheese into two half-moons and sells each separately. I asked cheesemaker Kurt Timmermeister why, and he said it was the store that repacked the cheese that way, not Kurtwood Farms.

But it’s a convenient thing to know if you’re planning a cheese plate that will include—but not be limited to—Dinah’s.

2. Madison Market sells Ethan Stowell’s pasta line, Lagana, and it’s excellent. I bought the radiatore and had to eat it practically plain (I threw in a little pesto but not much) due to a sad stomach. It was plumped-up, freshity fresh perfection. Seriously, this is your new dinner-party secret.

3. People cause scenes at co-ops. Usually the worst thing that happens at Madison Market is that you have to wait in line forever because someone forgot to label the twisty on his organic farro. But last night the worst (slash best!) thing that happened was that a middle-aged woman went “all banshee”—as my Australian relatives like to say—and started yelling at this cashier about how rude he was, and about how she always tries to avoid his line because he’s so freaking rude.

And the funny thing about that is that said cashier is like the nicest person ever. Even by the high, happy-hippie niceness standards of Madison Market employees he is nice. Irate lady: If you think Madison Market employees mistreat you, you might try shopping anywhere else in the world besides an upscale organic market in Seattle. Not five minutes before, I saw a store worker, upon noticing a customer with too many items in her arms, run across the shop to get her a cart. And that employee who got the cart? He’s not even as nice as the guy at whom the banshee was shrieking.

Still, I have to admit, I appreciated the show. “Who needs TV?” asked the guy in front of me, clutching his pointy bike helmet and employing a bit of a British accent. Certainly no one at the co-op needs TV! I thought. And then I shoved my groceries into my purse, so as to avoid the shame of a plastic bag (or “devil sac” as we call them at the co-op), and went home to eat plain Ethan Stowell pasta in front of the boob tube.

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Tags: Capitol Hill, Cheese, Grocery Shopping, Ethan Stowell

Attention Cheeseheads: 1,300-Plus Artisanal Varieties Are Calling Your Name

Sample them at the Festival of Cheese, taking place Saturday at Benaroya.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Aug 24, 2010 at 02:01PM 0 Comments

Lots of the good stuff will be at this weekend’s Festival of Cheese.

Like many events of late, the awards ceremony for this year’s Cheese-a-Topia is branded as the Oscars equivalent of its ilk—a tired trespass, but forgiven when cheese is at the heart of things.

The shindig takes place Saturday at Benaroya Hall and is the capstone of the American Cheese Society’s four-day conference getting underway August 25. While the convention is members only, Saturday’s hoopla is open to the public—and you’re lucky it is, because this is where things get fun.

After the ceremony, the Festival of Cheese takes over Benaroya, whereupon an impressive roster of nearly 20 restaurants, (Luc, Dinette, Spring Hill, etc ) plus local wineries and breweries line the downtown performance hall. Each will serve delicious snacks, while cheesemongers will proffer samples of more than 1,300 North American varieties. Holy cow.

Michael Pollan will be there, but if you want to chat cheese with him, you’re going to have to flash mega cash; the VIP tasting is $400 a ticket. Otherwise, admission is $85 and can be secured the night of at Benaroya. Doors open at 5pm.

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Tags: Cheese, Food Events and Festivals

Want to Win This Year’s Grilled Cheese Contest?

Thierry Rautureau of Rover’s tells you how.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Apr 26, 2010 at 09:25AM 0 Comments

Your golden ticket.

Anyone aspiring to top honors at Seattle Cheese Festival’s grilled cheese contest has until May 1 to perfect their recipe. What’s that you say? Your ’wich is more mess than masterpiece?

Cue Thierry Rautureau of Rover’s. Those who caught him on Top Chef Masters two weeks ago will vouch the man knows his grilled cheese—that gooey specimen he whipped up for the Quickfire Challenge looked ever so tasty.

Here, Rautureau’s roadmap for crafting an award-winning sandwich. Your first and foremost consideration: “There’s nothing worse than having a dry piece of cheese between two dry pieces of bread."

Bread: Rautureau recommends a sourdough or baguette, preferably from Columbia City Bakery.

Cheese: Goat, specifically the curd-like caillé, and taleggio. Spread the caillé on the inside of both slices of bread, and melt the taleggio on the outside. This outer film yields a crunchiness and flakiness and gives it texture, a key component of a good sandwich. The caillé adds a freshness of flavor and the ever-important moistness Rautureau alludes to above.

Other ingredients: Rautureau says practically any ingredient can work, and for this contest you are allowed up to six. You’ll remember Rautureau used harissa on Top Chef Masters. This, he says, packs heat, and the chili sauce certainly adds interest. Other ones to consider: caramelized onions, roasted bell peppers, and arugula. Before serving, splash a touch of olive oil in the middle of the sandwich.

Preparation: Contrary to common thinking, there’s no need to load the bread with butter—or any, for that matter. Rateaureau doesn’t. (“Strangely enough, for a Frenchman,” he quips.) Cook either in the oven or on the stovetop, but note this is “not a science of time” and more about preference. Check after one minute—that should do it if you’re after a blonder sandwich—then flip.

And voilà! Now get practicing. Time’s tickin’.

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Tags: Cheese, Contests

First Look: Inside the Melrose Project

Plus: an update from Sitka and Spruce’s Matthew Dillon.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Apr 20, 2010 at 03:10PM 0 Comments

The L-shaped Sitka and Spruce lines a considerable chunk of the south-facing wall.

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The L-shaped Sitka and Spruce lines a considerable chunk of the south-facing wall.

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The Calf and Kid owner Sheri LaVigne plans to stock cheeses from small local creameries and a variety of imports. She will also carry bread from Macrina Bakery.

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Say cheese! Come Friday plenty of it will fill this fridge. To the left will sit the counter and a display selling other goodies, such as olives.

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On one side of The Calf and Kid is Matthew Dillon’s Bar Ferd’nand, a joint project with Corson Building sommelier Marc Papineau and friend Jared Baily.

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As you can see, Bar Ferd’nand is far from finished. Dillon expects it will open early in the summer.

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On the other side of The Calf and Kid is Homegrown, which is just now getting underway and is looking at an early summer opening. This will mark the second storefront for the gourmet sandwich shop and will open out to the sidewalk.

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Rain Shadow Meats, Homegrown, Calf and Kid, and Sitka and Spruce all hope to make the most of their new neighbors—for example, keep an eye out for sandwiches made with Calf and Kid cheese, Rain Shadow delicacies at Sitka and Spruce, and even cheese-centric dinners at Sitka and Spruce.

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Marigold and Mint was the first to open for business.

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Owner Katherine Anderson stocks Maison Bouche chocolates from San Francisco. She says she’s the only one to carry them in Seattle.

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Looking toward Melrose Avenue. The windows at the end of the hallway will slide open. On the left is Bar Ferd’nand; to the right, Sitka and Spruce.

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The Melrose Project on Capitol Hill is shaping up to be quite the food lover’s Eden.

The triangular building sprawled between Pike and Pine is home to cheese shop The Calf and Kid and butcher Rain Shadow Meats, both of which debut Friday. Already open is Marigold and Mint, a flower shop whose owner, Katherine Anderson, hopes to operate a produce delivery service and stock seasonal foodstuffs. And perhaps the most anticipated tenant is the reincarnated Sitka and Spruce, relocating from the former Eastlake digs now housing Nettletown.

I just spoke with Sitka owner Matthew Dillon. He anticipates construction on his much-loved restaurant will be complete around May 10; if all goes as planned, the opening will take place a week thereafter. Dillon is also teaming up with Corson Building sommelier Marc Papineau and wine guy Jared Baily to launch Bar Ferd’nand, which will sit across from Sitka and Spruce.

At once a wine bar, noshing spot, and retail outlet, Bar Ferd’nand will offer simple foods such as fish, oysters, nuts, and olives, Dillon says. Expect that to open several weeks after Sitka.

To get a sneak peek of Sitka and Spruce and Bar Ferd’nand, and to see how the rest of Melrose Project is shaping up, click the photo above.

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Seattle Restaurant Openings, Capitol Hill, Cheese, Sandwiches, Melrose Market,

The Calf and Kid Sets Opening Date

The long-awaited cheese shop is finally ready for business.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Apr 14, 2010 at 12:07PM 0 Comments

“If I had to be left on an island with one cheese, it would have to be Montgomery’s Cheddar aged 25 years.”

Just got word from Sheri LaVigne that her cheese shop, The Calf and Kid, will open its doors for business Friday, April 23. The artisanal boutique is located in the Melrose Project, an urban marketplace positioned between Pike and Pine Streets on Capitol Hill.

Being quite the cheese proprietor, LaVigne plans to stock smaller, local offerings (Black Sheep Creamery, Blue Rose Dairy, Mt. Townsend Creamery) along with varieties from Italy and France, and there has been mention of Wisconsin and Vermont cheesemakers. Accompaniments such as olives, pâté, and crackers will be on hand, too.

LaVigne originally intended to set up shop last year; that didn’t pan out due to financial conflicts. Read about that here.

The Calf and Kid’s hours are Tues-Sat 11-7, Sun 12-6.

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Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Capitol Hill, Cheese, Melrose Market

Two New Specialty Shops Set to Open in the Melrose Project

First-time business owners bring artisanal touches to the urban marketplace.

Posted by: Tiffany Wan on Mar 11, 2010 at 12:30PM 0 Comments

An architectural rendering of the Melrose Project, located between Pike and Pine Streets on Capitol Hill.

In the coming weeks look for two new storefronts at the Melrose Project on Capitol Hill.

Sheri LaVigne will finally open cheese shop Calf and Kid after flaky financial backers bowed out last summer. Expect to find local offerings from Black Sheep Creamery, Blue Rose Dairy, Mt. Townsend Creamery, and more, as well as a variety of cheese accompaniments (olives, pâté, crackers) and fresh bread. LaVigne plans to work with Homegrown (a soon-to-be fellow Melrose Project merchant) to offer a daily sandwich featuring cheese from Calf and Kid.

“There’s great cheese counters in other grocery stores,” she said, “but in my store it’s going to be an incredible amount of expertise from myself and the other employees behind the counter.”

Bonus: Sampling is highly encouraged. LaVigne is shooting for an early-to-mid April opening.

Though Marigold and Mint will primarily function as a flower shop, owner Katherine Anderson, a Harvard-educated landscape architect, will also carry a selection of seasonal produce—lettuce, carrots, pears, plums, broccoli, and kale— from Oxbow Farm, which is located south of Duvall.

She also plans to operate a produce delivery service between May and October. (Note half-portion orders will be offered.) During the off-season, Anderson will stock starter vegetable plants, like heirloom tomatoes, and she hopes to grow edible flowers and sell them to bartenders and chefs. Marigold and Mint will have a soft opening April 1.

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Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Capitol Hill, Cheese, Locavore News, Grocery Shopping, Melrose Market

Rainy Day Comfort Food: Welsh Rarebit

Made at home or ordered up at the pub, rarebit sauce is some cheesy, beer-laced goodness.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Mar 11, 2010 at 11:52AM 0 Comments

My Dad’s mom was a single mom. A hardworking single mom. She didn’t have a lot of time or money, but she did have a lot of funny ideas about food. Like, she stopped buying Welch’s grape juice when the company sponsored an Elvis Presley concert tour. I don’t think she was religious, really, but something about those gyrating hips. They grossed her out, or frightened her. I’m not sure which. Maybe both.

She did trust Stouffer’s frozen foods for whatever reason, and so growing up my dad ate a lot of Stouffer’s spinach souffle and Stouffer’s lasagna and Stouffer’s welsh rarebit.

He particularly loved the rarebit, and can you blame him? Pour some of this thick, cheesy, beer-laced goodness sauce over an English muffin topped with a tomato slice and man, have you got something. When my mom had working weekends, not an uncommon occurrence, my dad would make Stouffer’s welsh rarebit for my sister and me. I remember the thick brown skin that would form as it baked in the oven. I remember running my finger along the side of the plastic container and scooping up all the cheesiness left along the edges before I let my dad throw it away.

Then my family lived in France for a year during one of my father’s sabbatical, and there he developed a love of cooking from which we all benefited greatly. Stouffer’s spinach souffles, once a weekly staple in our house, because real spinach souffles: steaming fluffballs laced with thick green strands of pungent spinach.

Soon enough we started making welsh rarebit from scratch too. It’s super easy, perhaps even easier than throwing a Stouffer’s plastic tray in the oven, and definitely a lot tastier.

Mark Bittman has a good welsh rarebit recipe here. He’s right about the Guinness. Sturdy-flavored stouts are the best choice for a rarebit, but I’d skip the mustard seed and throw in a quarter cup of Dijon instead. Cheddar works well, but use something sharp—I like Tillamook Special Reserve Extra Sharp Cheddar. The only bad rarebit is one where the flavors fall flat, so don’t skimp on the Worcestershire either.

If cooking isn’t your thing, I suggest heading to Kneehigh Stocking Co for a soft pretzel served with a ramekin of dense, cheesy rarebit. Comfort food, indeed. And just the thing for a rainy Seattle day.

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Tags: Cooking, Cheese, Comfort Food

Grilled Cheese All-Stars, Get Ready:

Seattle Cheese Festival’s annual contest is upon us. It’s time to show your city what you really learned in college.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Feb 25, 2010 at 10:14AM 3 Comments

You garnered your skills while babysitting your little brother, who would only stop crying when he smelled the Land O’Lakes hit the pan. In college, you aroused the suspicion of your RAs…must have been all those tie dye-wearing long hairs lined up outside your door. But when campus security arrived, they found that the only fix you were supplying was the kind that came between two buttered slices of bread. Oh yeah, you are—always have been—a grilled cheese god(dess), in possession of melting powers unknown to mere mortals.

And here’s your chance to show the world all that you can do with a spatula and a skillet.

Of course, you’ll be competing against some of the city’s best chefs, so you may want to test your recipe before you send it off to the judges at the Seattle Cheese Festival. You have two months—submissions are due May 1, check the festival web site for details. (Don’t check today, it’s in need of an update.)

Every year judges pick one winner from a gooey mess of submissions—last year’s champion was a cheesewich that featured Walla Walla onions, three kinds of cheese, and one pint (per four sandwiches) of “good German beer.”

The 2010 Seattle Cheese Festival will be held May 15 and 16 at Pike Place Market. Events include cheese education seminars, chef demos, and cheesemaking presentations—the monsieurs from Maximilien will show you how to make raclette, De Laurenti staff will demo mozzarella and burrata, a cheese so creamy-delicious it’s downright unholy.

Get grilling.

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Tags: Cooking, Recipes, Cheese, Pike Place Market, Food Events and Festivals, Contests

Party Favors

An affordable treat from Paris Grocery: Cazelle de Saint Affrique cheese

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Jan 29, 2010 at 08:30AM 1 Comments

Gimme gimme.

(Photo credit here)

Like its sister shop The Spanish Table, Paris Grocery is a wee storefront in which hours are easily wasted and dollars easily spent. How I wish had more of both so I could indulge in a Euro shopping spree. Alas, I do not, so it’s the store’s little treasures I have come to appreciate, such as Cazelle de Saint Affrique cheese.

A cupcake-like puck made from sheep’s milk, cazelle is shrouded in a delicate, powdered mold casing. The cheese within is slightly salty and velvety—perfect for spreading on breads and crackers—but still retains a stubborn consistency that gives it shape and depth. Now, being from Wisconsin, I’m naturally somewhat of a cheese xenophobe, but this French craftsmanship just might kick to the curb my beloved extra-sharp, five-year cheddar. Traitorous, I know, Dad.

I recently brought cazelle and another French cheese, a harder goat variety, to a dinner party. Both were hits, but it was the cazelle that got the crowd chattering. “I love the creaminess”, “That’s my favorite,” and “Perfect texture” were a few of the comments overheard. Paired with honey crisp apples or dried fruits it’s even more delicious.

Each puck costs $7.99. Buy a couple—they go quickly. And if you’re a cheese-geek like me, you might find the origins of cazelle interesting.

What are some other cheeses I should be trying?

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Tags: Bargain Bites, Party Favors, Cheese