A Cheese Bar is Born

Barbra Streisand's not appearing, but it's a hoot nonetheless. The brand new Cheese & Wine Bar is now open and the sensation is akin to my becoming a mom. The process takes a LONG time, is pretty uncomfortable at times, and is WELL worth it!

It has been a long and winding road which started back in August when the plan was hatched. One month ago, after six months of build-out and permit navigation, our new Cheese Shop opened. Four weeks later, the newest addition is ready for folks to enjoy.

Throughout the sometimes-harrowing process of getting everything ready, I remember wondering if I made a mistake launching such an ambitious project at this time. My question was finally answered last night as I sat at the bar, a dear friend by my side, and ate a luscious dinner paired with an equally luscious Malbec. It felt like home.

New Cheesetique Stretches Her Legs

Greetings!

The new Cheesetique has finally opened its doors. Last Saturday was a huge success and I was so thrilled to see how many folks showed up to support the new shop. We are now working feverishly to get the Cheese & Wine Bar up and running. Never in my life have I had a to-do list so lengthly and varied. Ranging from "print and mount menus" to "install light fixtures in restrooms" to "tweak fondue recipe", it's always an entertaining read.

There are so many goodies to offer at the new shop - a much larger wine selection, artisan beers, fresh meats, and lots of cheeses (of course). I must admit that the funnest (yes, I know that's not a word, but I love saying it anyway) aspect has been selecting the new wines and beers. I've always been a wine fan, and many pairings of wine and cheese are outstanding. But recently I have starting pairing more beers with cheeses and have been amazed at how well they complement each other. This has certainly made the beer selection process an exciting one.

Tomorrow, we will finish some last-minute decor items and then concentrate fully on getting the menu in tip-top shape. Lots of tasting is required - poor me :)

Once the Cheese & Wine Bar is open, the Cheesetique vision will be complete. Until then, please stop by and check out the new digs. Don't forget - the new address is 2411 Mt. Vernon Avenue.

Chicago.... that toddlin' town

Cheese Lady here. Reporting live from my sister-in-law's kitchen table in lovely Chicago, Illinois! I love Chicago - it has it all - nature, architecture, food, shopping, and of course great food markets! Unfortunately, in my more-geeky college student days, I never made it out of the computer labs long enough to explore this facet of the town. So this morning we will "toddle" around the Lincoln Park farmers' market in search of some seasonal produce and then head down to Conte di Savoia in Little Italy (any town with a Little Italy is ok by me!) to pick up our massive pile of fresh mozzarella.

Last night, we picked up some snackin' cheese at a local wine shop and I tasted something out of this world! A tiny farm in California called Harley Farms makes the loveliest hand-ladled goat cheeses with edible flowers and stewed fruits on top. Little works of art! Look for them soon at Cheesetique.

I'll report back after our field trip to the markets. Can't wait to share with you all of the goodies we discovered...

Note: you can click on the images to see larger, more detailed versions.




What a trip! In March, I spent four days traveling the countryside of Wisconsin exploring small cheese factories - and here are some pictures of people and cheeses I met along the way. I was fortunate enough to see cheese making at its best. The people who make these cheeses have been doing it with love for years. The pride literally seeps from their pores. We should all be excited about the small farms and factories in the middle of America. Thanks to everyone, including the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, who was so nice to host us.



Step One: Adding Rennet to Cultured Milk

This is where the magic happens! The milk is mixed with custom bacteria cultures to give it unique flavor properties. Then, rennet is added to coagulate the milk solids. If you touched the substance in this vat right now, it would feel like jello.







Step Two: Cut and Stir Curd

The curd is cut with wires into small pieces, which then float around in the whey. Theses chunks of curd are then cooked and stirred for some period of time to reduce their moisture content.





Step Three: Cheddaring!

When making Cheddar, a special process called "Cheddaring" is used. The curd is drained and pressed together. It's then cut into large slabs and they are layered on top of each other to press out whey and to allow the cheese to cure.





Step Three: Milling!

Once the slabs of curd at the right pH and texture, the slabs are milled into finger-size pieces that are then pressed into a cheese mold for aging. A cheddar is born!




This Puts the "Taller" in "Emmenthaler"

Ok - silly Emmenthaler pun, but check out this enormous tower of Emmenthaler at Edelweiss Creamery in Monticello, Wisconsin. These guys do it the old fashioned way. Their 200 lb. wheels of Emmenthaler are made in small batches and aged to perfection in customized rooms.




Be Good to Your Gruyere

Gruyere is considered by cheese makers to be one of the hardest cheeses to make. It takes months and months of intensive involvement, not least of which is the daily washing with salt water to give the Gruyere its deep flavor. Check out Bill from Roth Kase gently bathing this Gruyere. Between you and me, I actually heard him speak to the cheeses as he was doing this. Now that's love!






Young Whippersnapper vs. Old Gentleman Gruyere

Gruyere changes dramatically as it ages. On the racks above, you can see some brand new Gruyere wheels next to some that have been aged for a while. At the right, you can see one Gruyere wheel that is four months old next to one that is twelve months old. Viva la difference!




The Newest Cheese Superhero: LimburgerMan!

This might be the bravest man in the whole world. He is LimburgerMan and his job is to babysit each and every Limburger as it ages. This is no small feat - this room at Chalet Cheese Co-Op in Monroe, Wisconsin, is warm and moist and REALLY stinky.








Not to Be Overlooked: LimburgerLadies!

Here they are, the queen bees of Chalet Cheese Co-Op, the LimburgerLadies. They rush-wrap each little piece of Limburger by hand. Fastest hands in the state!





The Nicest Man in Cheese

One of our last stops was at Widmer's Cheese Cellars, founded in 1922. Joe Widmer, pictured here, was actually born above the cheese factory. Let me repeat that. He was BORN ABOVE THE CHEESE FACTORY. Joe makes some of the most delicious Brick, Cheddar, and Colby around. Keep your eyes peeled for his Pepper Colby, appearing at Cheesetique this week. It is so amazing, I think I ate a pound that day.

Lost in France!

Cheese Sister in the Field, Julie Hardridge

For those of you who have been following my stories from France, I must apologize for the lack of input lately. My husband and I have been traveling a lot recently with the holidays and our most recent break from school. When not traveling, school keeps us busy, busy, busy. Things seem to be calming a bit now and hopefully there will be more time for eating cheese.
I should have some interesting opportunities to report on coming up soon. One is to visit a small artisinal cheese maker near our small town here in the South of France with a lovely American lady who now lives here with her husband. Her name is Jean and she is also a decorative painter. In talking to her the last time we visited, she began to mention this quaint little cheese shop that she loves to visit when back in the states and wouldn’t you know it but she was talking about Cheesetique. So Jill, kudos to you, you're even famous here in France. Small world isn’t it? I am also going to have the opportunity to make homemade foie gras pate with a fellow student of mine. She is going to obtain the secret family recipe from her grandmother and allow me to share it with all of you. As you might recall, some time back we did a story on the foie gras museum here in our region. We paid a visit and had the opportunity to taste some of the foie gras made there. While tasty, if you like that sort of thing, apparently there is no comparison to the homemade pate that is famous to this region of France. I’m looking forward to this.
To make up for the lack of reporting lately, I am including one of my favorite recipes I have learned here in France and one that I make quite often, tomato tart with goat cheese. While the cheese used in this recipe is fairly ordinary as far as things go here in France, it is still savory and delicious. If desired, I am sure that Jill can recommend some other options to give it a special Cheesetique flavor. I actually learned this recipe from a fellow student from Corsica where they are known for their wonderful goat cheeses. The Corsican varieties are delicious eaten alone but especially when eaten with fig confiture and fresh brown bread. A delicious treat.

Tomato Tart with Goat Cheese

Crust
8 oz. All purpose flour
4 oz. Salted butter chopped into cubes
4 TBS. Water

In large mixing bowl, place flour and cubed butter. Mix butter in with fingers. When crumbly, add water and cut in with knife. Gather into a ball, bowl should be left clean. Add more water if necessary. For a more buttery crust you can opt to add additional butter to mix. Press into buttered and floured tart pan and set aside. You can also buy pre-made pastry crusts but I highly recommend the homemade version. It’s easy and there is no comparison.

Filling
1 Medium onion, chopped
4-5 thick slices of maple or regular bacon sliced
4-5 vine tomatoes
Goat cheese
Shredded gruyere
Shredded emmental
2 eggs
3/4 Cup cream, half and half or crème fraiche
Salt and pepper

In frying pan cook bacon pieces until browned, set aside. In bacon grease or olive oil, sauté onions. Line bottom of tart with cooked onions. Slice tomatoes and layer on top of onions. Add cooked bacon pieces. Crumble goat cheese into tart, quantity optional. Sprinkle with a handful of gruyere. In separate bowl mix together eggs and cream with a bit of salt and pepper. For additional flavor add some fresh rosemary. Pour mixture over tart and sprinkle with a handful of emmental cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees. Enjoy with a glass of Red wine.

Is It Possible to Be in Love with a Pot? (from the Cheese Lady)

Not an easy question. Certainly one to which I would have answered "nah" but a week ago. Then it came to me. The Le Creuset cast iron/enamel oval dutch oven. Oh my. I wanted this wonderful device because I am always cooking dishes that require stovetop cooking followed by oven cooking. Previously, I would have to use two different pots, lest I melt my saute pan in my oven. Ever smelled that before? Not pretty.

Why the oval duch oven? Because it can fit a whole chicken without even stretching! Because it makes you feel like a real man just lifting it. Finally, because if we ever have an intruder, it makes a great weapon.

So, I took a chance and begged for it for Christmas. No member of my family went unbegged. Then... there I was on Christmas morning reading the note from Santa (he LOVES cheese by the way). I spotted a large shiny box under the tree with my name on it. I could tell right away from its enormous heft that it could only be one thing. YES! I had been a VERY good girl! Santa (also known as my mother in law) had come through!

Naturally, I just had to cook with it immediately upon my return home. The first dish was Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. Stinky? Maybe a little. Worth it? Oh yes. One downside - I oversalted. I blame it on my new sea salt - I did not have the salt confidence of an experienced user. I went overboard. Nevertheless, the dish was delicious (though our lips were a bit cracked from the saltiness). Hint to you lovers out there: you BOTH must eat this dish. If only one of you eats it, the other will refuse to kiss you for about a week.

Next dish: Braised short ribs with ancho chile and coffee.
I have five words for you: "YUM. YUM. YUM. YUM. YUM." The meat was so tender, it literally melted in our mouths. This might be due in no small part to the fact that we almost overcooked it. I blame it on Best Buy (also known as "Come to buy a simple tv from us and stay ALL day!"). However, we saved them from certain over-cookedness just in time. The coffee was rich and the ancho chiles gave them great heat. Served with polenta and roasted brussels sprouts, this dish was a winner.

So, in summary, I answer the question: "Is It Possible to Be in Love with a Pot?". Let me put it this way. My husband now sleeps on the couch.

- Jill, The Cheese Lady

Mont d'Or!

Tonight we decided to sample a very French meal. For the main course we had a Frisee salad with duck sautéed in honey and sea salt topped with apples and caramelized walnuts. We sampled some delicious saussisson made with Pheasant and Cognac, from the French market.

And for the cheese course we tried something called Mont D’Or. Apparently this is a famous cheese to eat hear in France and is said to provide the perfect setting for a romantic meal with your lover. So with candles on the table and a delicious French Bordeaux in our glasses we set off to enjoy our meal. The cheese comes in a wooden lidded container and is prepared by cutting a hole in the center and pouring in the liquor of your choice (in this instance we chose Cognac) and baking it in the oven for about 20 minutes to the consistency of something like a fondue. The cheeses meltability was superb, staying fluid and melted throughout our entire meal. As far as romantic, well let’s just say it left something to be desired. Maybe it was the pungent odor of foot emanating from the cheese or perhaps that it tasted like foot. Though Kyoko and Michel highly recommended this cheese, it was not one of my favorite indulgences so far. Starr (my hubby) seemed to like it and sopped up the liquidy cheese with fresh bread. Overall the meal was a success but next time I will pass on this cheese. For those of you out there who enjoy the aroma of stinky cheese, and I know there are plenty of you, give it a try. You might like it. And for you die hard stinky cheese lovers look out for our sampling of France’s stinkiest, coming soon.

Thank you for sharing, Julie! We can't get this one in the states!