Can you find the cheese in this picture? OK, yeah, it’s a martini, and I didn’t mean to get your hopes up; there’s NO cheese in the Martini. It is, actually, a savory Martini from the pages of Gourmet Magazine (recipe link here). This is a lead-in, however, about how even when you don’t know what to make for dinner, you can almost always incorporate cheese. It was the Martini which inspired me to bake some Cheddar Biscuits.

Yesterday I mentioned to a friend that I was low on cheese in the fridge at home. Low meaning that I was down to just some Gorgonzola, some extra sharp cheddar, Parmesan, and Sapsago (and I later discovered we also had some pre-sliced Asiago too). But what to make for dinner? I also had some boneless, skinless chicken breasts I had thawed that would need to be used. What we ended up having was this:

Black Tie Martinis with Cheddar Biscuits (more like a savory cookie)
Lettuce Wedges with Roquefort Dressing (yeah, it was actually Gorgonzola Dressing)
Braised Chicken and Mushrooms on Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

We could have had some of the Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Cake that Kathy had made the day before for dessert, but we were stuffed.

I’d already found the chicken recipe on the Internet before going home yesterday, and I knew we had all the needed ingredients. When I got home I grabbed a paperback that used to belong to Kathy’s Great Aunt Frieda, Betty Crocker’s Dinner for Two Cookbook (1977). The first page I turned to had the “salad” recipe, which hearkens back to the mid-1970’s when just about the ONLY lettuce used for salads in the United States seems to have been iceberg lettuce. Funny thing though, I still had half a head of iceberg in the fridge from when I used it in a Burmese Fermented Tea Leaf Salad. The Roquefort dressing, which takes all of five minutes to make, is not only creamy and decadent, but incredibly easy and fresh tasting. Kathy commented that we should continue to make only fresh salad dressings at home since they’re always pretty easy. 

The cheese biscuit recipe I dug out of tall thin paperback; Cheese Cookery (1980, published by HPBooks). It is very similar to another recipe I sometimes make, except that it calls for regular butter instead of unsalted, doesn’t require pepper (which our Martinis already had), and doesn’t call for walnuts (which I was out of). The extra-sharp cheddar cheese (produced by Cabot of Vermont) I had I picked up at Country Cheese, which has a location in both San Francisco and Berkeley. County Cheese always has a large, international, selection of cheddar cheeses at reasonable prices, and it’s also where I buy my Sapsago (a dollar cheaper per cone than at the Cheese Board). They naturally carry a lot of other cheeses too, and as the blogger “SF Ordinary Girl” pointed out to me at the Blogger Mixer, they also carry an excellent Italian Buffalo mozzarella.

Below I’ll copy the two cheese recipes I made last night since I don’t think I’ve had the chance to post any in awhile. One last added note about the Cheddar Biscuits; you don’t have to bake all of them; you can cut off what you need from the log, tightly wrap the remainder, put into a freezer bag, and keep it in your freezer. When you want to make the rest, thaw the log in your fridge, and then bake up the remainder.

Lettuce Wedges with Roquefort Dressing (for two)

·         ½ cup sour cream

·         ¼ cup crumbled Roquefort or other Blue Cheese (about 1 ounce)

·         ½ teaspoon lemon juice

·         ¼ teaspoon salt

·         2 lettuce wedges

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients  except lettuce wedges. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour to blend flavors. Add small amount of milk or light cream if necessary for proper consistency. Spoon onto lettuce wedges.

Little Cheddar Biscuits

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         1 teaspoon dry mustard

·         1 teaspoon paprika

·         ¼ teaspoon baking powder

·         1 cup butter, room temperature

·         2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (8 oz.)

·         1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

Combine flour, dry mustard, paprika and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside. Beat butter in a large bowl by hand or with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Slowly beat in cheese and Worcestershire sauce. Gradually add flour mixture, stirring with a fork until combined. On a lightly floured surface, shape dough into a long roll about 1 & 3/4-inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap or foil. Place on a platter. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 325º F (165º C). Slice dough about 1/3-inch thick. With hands, roll each slice into a ball. Flatten slightly. Place on an ungreased baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 8 minutes in preheated oven. Biscuits will only brown slightly on bottom, Makes about 36 biscuits.

Now that my cheese larder is near empty, do you have a suggestion of a favorite cheese I should try?

No, the title of this post is not misspelled; just a bad excuse for a pun. Two subjects for today; the third cheese I had picked up at the Cheese board that I’ve been hinting at (Teleme), and a little bit about the “Blogger Mixer” I had attended last Thursday.

First; Teleme.

Gordon Edgar, Cheese Monger extraordinaire of Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco, wrote some excellent advice the last time that I had written about Teleme (view posting here). Naturally he was right (I mean, hey, the guy’s got 12+ years as a cheese expert), but I guess what I wasn’t expecting was just how INCREDIBLE the difference was. California was lost, and then saved again, by Franklin Peluso.  Peluso had sold the name of his family’s Teleme (which is the type I had tried in my other Teleme post), and moved to Maine where he worked on marketing Teleme to the East Coast as well as worked on developing some new cheeses. Thankfully for us in California, he returned with his family to our warmer climate, and we can once again buy his Teleme, Teleme as it is meant to taste.

Look at the picture I posted of the slice we enjoyed. Click on it so that you’ll get the full resolution in a pop-up screen. Now resizethat screen so that it is displayed as full screen. The picture was taken before it even had the chance to get to room temperature, so please be amazed by the creaminess… Even the rind of this cheese, which is dusted in a fine layer of rice flour (flavorless on its own), adds to the entire enjoyment of this cheese, offering a fun “coating” with which your tongue can break through, intermingling the rind’s texture with the cheese’s creamy goodness. You’ve been to parties, I imagine, at which there’s some Brie, but everyone is cutting off/around the rind? Well, if you’re the type who does that, who has not yet developed a taste for the edible rind of soft-ripened cheeses, then enjoying Franklin’s Teleme will be a good starting place for you. The rice flour acts as an edible protection to the cheese, not unlike the rice paper on a piece of Boton’s Rice Candy. At the store, the complete large square loaf of Teleme was on display on a plate, the cheese’s sides were bulging outwards, yet thanks to the dusted rind, it was maintaining its basic shape. This cheese acts like a siren (the mythical Greek type), calling out, begging to be consumed. I’ve noticed on Franklin’s Cheese website that he also produces a type with pepper added. Mmmm.

Bloggers? Do they like cheese?

Well, obviously I do, since I blog about cheese… Others? Yes. This past Thursday I was very fortunate to be invited by Brittney Gilbert, editor of KPIX’s (CBS5) “Eye on Blogs“, to a Blogger Mixer. What a great event. There were between 50 and 100 people in attendance, primarily bloggers from the San Francisco Bay Area, who blog about anything and everything from politics, to raising children, to proper etiquette on MUNI (San Francisco’s public transit system), to, well, cheese.

The station put out a nice spread of food including beer, wine, water and sodas and made us all feel very welcome. It was interesting to learn that thanks to bloggers in the area, the station has gained story leads that the news would otherwise not have discovered or reported.

The best part of the evening, for me, was the chance to meet such a diverse group of bloggers and learn what they blog about. I’ve got a stack of blog business cards which I am trying to systematically go through, but again, thanks to Gilbert’s “Eye on Blogs” there’s always a daily pick of excerpts, with links, to get an overview of what people are writing about.

I’d taken a picture of our host, Brittney Gilbert, as she addressed the gathering, but I caught her mid-sentence, and with eyes half closed.  Were I to post it, I doubt I’d ever be invited again! Fortunately, an associate of hers, Arturo Riera, filmed the welcome speech, as well as a great many of the visiting bloggers talking directly to the camera about their blogs. I’m in there somewhere too. It’s about 15 minutes long, and if you watch it, you’ll see (and hear) why I was hoarse after the event [Here's the link].

Both of my friends Dana (who also blogs) and Sang tagged along to the event, and were warmly welcomed. Kathy regretfully had to work that night.

Bryce, was there cheese at the event?

Yes, yes there was. There was a LOT of tasty food at the event, including some Safeway catering platters with cheese; domestic provolone, swiss, brie, cheddar, pepper-jack and smoked gouda. May have forgotten a couple. Brittney asked me how the cheese was, and asked me to be honest. “Serviceable,” I responded with a smile. Always remember; cheese, whether “fancy”, domestic, or even mass-produced is always better than no cheese.

Thanks again to KPIX and Brittney Gilbert for the wonderful event, and greetings to all the wonderful bloggers I got to meet.

While at the Cheeseboard last Friday, one of the three cheeses I picked up was Sottocenere al tartufo. I hadn’t specifically planned on getting that cheese, but had asked the cheesemonger to suggest a; “raw cow-milk cheese which tastes Earthy.” She was obviously up for the challenge, because she suggested this excellent Italian cheese, laden with truffles and its rind covered by a layer of ash.  Talk about food of the Gods; I’m certain this would have been Hephaestus’ favorite cheese. There’s no “kick” to this cheese; it is smooth and creamy, and yet “earthy” is the absolute best way to describe it. Its taste is a deep, soul satisfying contentment. If there was an adult version of eating dirt, this is it, and I mean that in the most gourmet of ways… in case I haven’t made myself clear; you should try this cheese!

Besides enjoying a large piece just on its own, I surprised Kathy with this wonderful cheese by packing our work-day lunches with thick-cut smoked bacon and cheese sandwiches. The semi-soft/semi-hard (I’d say it’s somewhere in the middle) creamy texture of the cheese was a perfect pairing for the crispy, salty nature of the bacon. THIS is how you make an ordinary sandwich extraordinary; use quality cheese.

You’ve covered TWO of the three cheeses you said you bought, Bryce, What about the third?

That’s right, inner-cheese voice, there was the P’tit Basque, today’s posting about the Sottocenere al tartufo, but you’ll have to wait to read about the third. I will mention, however, that today I am going to a “Blogger Mixer” at the Bay Area’s CBS Channel 5 station (KPIX). Although I’d like to think that I do, and will, blog about cheese from the entire world, my perspective is rooted here in the Bay Area of California where I live and work. Brittney Gilbert, is a writer and blogger who has been blogging for nearly a decade, and now additionally works for KPIX in San Francisco on their website, artfully pulling together and commenting on blogs of the Bay Area. “Eye on Blogs” is her near-daily on-line feature,  which acts as a wonderful portal for blogs in the Bay Area. I find this to be an excellent service of KPIX since yes; local, national and international news is great (and necessary), but sometimes, to get to the heart of the news, you need to see what locals are thinking and writing about (even if it happens to be about cheese). I’m looking forward to meeting other local bloggers tonight, and I hope there’s cheese amongst the “light snacks”.