Cheesaholics Anonymous

When you're feeling blue

Head to Bluehour in Portland, Oregon and ask for Amanda. She’s the new maître fromager (aka cheese wiz) with a serious cheese menu and captivating personality.

Amanda DeMann is pretty intense about her cheese – she is self taught and landed her current position by cramming as much cheese knowledge as she could. Her method of study? Flash cards. “You know, like we did in college,” she tells me. Ah, a nerd after my own heart. How could I not write about this girl?

Now Amanda rules the floor of Bluehour with her meticulous and thoughtful cheese cart. She carries artisan cheeses from all around the world, with a strong representation of American artisan cheeses, featuring specimens such as Wabash Cannonball from Indiana, and Hooligan from Connecticut.

The best part of the job for Amanda is educating people. When guests are uninspired, Amanda introduces them to Epoisses, one of the most notoriously stinky (and delicious) cheeses from France. And her customers keep coming back for more. “I like to start people where they are comfortable, and then explore from there”.

Just as I was getting ready to leave, I spot a tattoo on her wrist “memento mori” (remember death). “It’s not as morbid as it seems”, she assures me, “it reminds me to live life to the fullest every day”. Some words, and cheese, we should all live by.

Bluehour is located at 250 Northwest 13^th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209. Tel: (503) 226-3394, http://www.bluehouronline.com

Waldemar and Nadia do Burgundy

 Tuesday August 8, 6:30PM - 8:00PM

Celebrate the summer and the fabulous wines of Burgundy in an evening of cheese and wine pairing. Cheese evangelists Waldemar and Nadia have selected six delectable artisan cheeses and have paired them with five marvelous wines selected by the Burgundy Wine Company. The event will feature an instructional talk by Waldemar and Nadia, followed by an interactive and informal tasting experience we know you are going to love. We have selected wines that represent the excellence and range of Burgundy, and handcrafted artisan cheeses that are perfect examples of superior summer milk, spanning a range of cheese making styles and countries.

Guests will have the opportunity to purchase wines from the Burgundy Wine Company’s diverse selection during the event, and will receive 10% off the bottle for the featured wines. Tickets are $35 per person, and reservations are required. To purchase tickets, please call (212) 691-9092. The Burgundy Wine Company is located at 143 West 26^th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues, New York. http://www.burgundywinecompany.com/.

Perfect pairings

Eating a great cheese can be a palate-altering experience that can become even more blissful when paired with a great wine.  But finding the perfect pairing’s not as easy as you may think. Sure, there are plenty of cheeses and wines that get along, but I can help you find those marriages made in heaven.

A great pairing happens when both the cheese and wine taste better together than they did on their own.  Maybe you started with a so-so wine, but when combined with the cheese, you can suddenly taste complexities and nuances you never thought you could coax out of that $10 bottle of vino.  Here’s how you do it:

Take a piece of cheese in your mouth, throw a splash of wine on top, and mash it all together. Wait a few seconds, swallow and note the finish. Things to look for -

• Power struggle.  A delicate cheese will get lost if paired with a hearty red wine. Think of where each falls in the spectrum of mild to strong and pair accordingly.
• Balance.  Sweet wines should be balanced with salty cheeses, and acidic wines work best with acidic (young) cheeses.
• Contrasting texture.  A bubbly wine might be exactly what you need to lift an ultra-buttery cheese.  For instance, a triple-crème cheese goes great with Champagne.

Try these summer time cheese and wine pairings:

• Humboldt Fog (California) – Fresh and tangy goat's milk tomme with a velvety brie-like rind. Pairs with dry and minerally Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
• Monte Enebro (Spain) - Nutty (hazelnut), spicy (white pepper) and distinctively goaty. Pairs with aged Ribera del Duero (with soft tannins).
• La Tur (Italy) - Barnyardy and buttery, mixed milk cheese. Pairs with Malvassia and Champagne.
• Ossau Iraty (France) - Nutty and round buttery flavors, sheep's milk cheese. Pairs with dry Sauvignon Blanc and fruity Beaujolais.

If you can’t remember all that, print this crib sheet out, head to your local cheese store, and shop like a seasoned fromager!

This post was developed with Restaurant Girl, Danyelle Freeman.

 

List of Cheese Shops

For a list of cheese shops I recommend, check out Cheese Shops under the Resources heading. If you have any to add, please send me an email!

Cheese and Wine at Telepan

 Saturday July 29th, 12:30PM - 2:00PM

Telepan Restaurant in conjunction with Waldemar & Nadia presents the third in a series of Saturday afternoon cheese and wine tastings. Fromagers Waldemar & Nadia have selected delicious summertime artisan cheeses, and paired them with wines from Telepan's diverse wine list. Enjoy the pairings while you learn about these seasonal gems in a sociable and lighthearted atmosphere. Tickets are $65 per person, all inclusive. Space is limited and reservations are required. Please call (212) 580-4300 to reserve your space. Telepan is located at 72 West 69 Street, between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West. http://www.telepan-ny.com/

Crystal energy

Have you ever come across tiny white crunchy bits in your cheese and wondered what on earth they were? Well, they are molecules of the crystalline amino acid, tyrosine (C₉H₁₁NO₃). Tyrosine in cheese comes about via the breakdown of the main protein in milk, casein.

Here is a rundown of why protein, and specifically tyrosine, is so good for you. Among other things, tyrosine can:

• Reduce effects of stress on body
• Promote better sleep
• Ease depression and PMS
• Give you a big boost of energy

Not all cheeses have these crunchy white crystals. More aged cheeses, and cheeses made in the Alpine style tend to have the most. Cheeses that almost always have the “crunchies” are: Aged Gruyere, Piave Vecchio, Parmigiano Reggiano, Aged Gouda. Considering an ounce of these cheeses typically contain seven grams or more of protein, you can eat up these concentrated bits of goodness and know you’re doing your body good. 

Cheez-a-polooza II - Summer "Soulstice"

 Tuesday July 18th, 7PM - 9PM

Celebrate the summer with the second in a series of seasonal cheese festivals held at Nolita House. These festivals are designed to bring great cheese, libations and music together for an intriguing intermingling of the senses.  The Festival will feature nine of this summer’s best artisan cheeses paired to perfection by Cheese Evangelists Waldemar & Nadia and Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster, Garrett Oliver while DJ FK spins soul and R&B. Guests will progress from station to station sampling pairings at their own pace while engaging in conversation with distinguished experts, pairing enthusiasts and soul aficionados. Tickets are $50 per person.  All entrants are registered to win prizes… Please call (212) 625-1712 to purchase tickets.

Nolita House is located on the Mezzanine Level of 47 East Houston Street between Mott & Mulberry Streets. The closest subway stops are the B, D, V, F at Broadway/Lafayette and the 6 at Bleecker.

Check out photos from this event!

Keeping it real

Nina Planck, author of Real Food, grew up on a farm. Her parents raised her and her siblings on an unwavering diet of raw dairy, fruits and vegetables, and unprocessed meats and grains. But as an adult she was influenced by nutritional fads that went against everything she was taught. She tried vegan, soy and low-fat diets until she found her way back to the real food she was raised on. Even as a pregnant mother she is bucking the system by eating all the real foods she can, including raw milk, raw egg yolks, and raw beef.

Pick up her book and learn why you can indulge in what you’ve loved all along – real butter, cheese and animal fats. You can also check out where to buy real foods on Nina’s website, including the Real Food markets she has created in London and New York.

An excerpt from Nina's book:
I gave up dairy foods to avoid saturated fat and cholesterol and because they were said to be indigestible and allergenic. It was soy milk for me. Later, when I was working with small dairies at the farmers’ markets in London, I began to wonder about the bad reputation of milk, cream, butter, and cheese. Our customers were snapping up whole milk and raw milk cheeses. As I began to eat real dairy again, it was easy to see why. Soy milk tastes nothing like the real thing. In cooking, butter is irreplaceable. As for cheese, I had barely begun to discover the most complex and diverse form of the remarkably pliable milk. -Real Food, Nina Planck, 2006.

Related posts on Cheesaholics Anonymous:

Is cheese safe for pregnant women?

Raw versus pasteurized