December 7, 2011 · 12:02 pm

Cheese Whiz: British Cheese Tasting with Juliet Harbutt

That’s a half-wheel of Stilton (producer is Cropwell-Bishop)  staring you straight in the face.  And holding it is Juliet Harbutt, British cheese guru and knower of all things cheese-related. (There, I think I’ve deftly summed up Juliet’s dense full page resume of achievements).  Juliet, among many other things, started the British Cheese Awards in 1994 to help recognise excellence in British cheese.  She was in town last week (at The Cookbook Store) promoting a selection of British cheeses in Canada.

The entire selection consists of sixteen traditional cheese that have been consistent medal award winners at the British Cheese Awards. Only about 30% of 900 entries each year garner a medal and 22 “rise to the top” says Juliet.   Sobey’s is carrying six of her sixteen choices exclusively at their stores. (There is a bonus 7th cheese on the plate below)

So shall we get on with our tasting?

Starting at NOON (with the vibrant orange Red Leicester and moving clockwise)

1. Red Leicester

This was interesting for me.  I love Red Leicester and usually only buy the farmhouse clothbound version.  Tasting it next to the larger scale industrial version, there is no comparison.  But Juliet introduced us to this younger non-clothbound version which is made at a big creamery, but using artisinal methods.  It is made by The Pembrokeshire Cheese Company, a farmer’s cooperative in West Wales.

This wedge was younger than what I was used to but still had the savory-sweetness that intensifies as it ages.  Beautiful on a cheeseboard and easier to slice for a snack (or sandwich) when it is softer and younger.

2. Creamy Lancashire

Have you ever had a cheese and thought it was so-so and thus never tried it again?  (bad–don’t ever do that. Give Cheese a Chance)  I did that with Lancashire.  I had a crumbly, drier wedge one time and gave up.  This has me converted.  It’s buttery, tangy and richly mouth-coating.  Made with a loose curd, you can see the delineations where they been pressed together to form the cheese.  I mention Lancashire in my Globeholiday cheese column ….(PLUG!)  Juliet described the Lancashire as having a “raw onion tang”

3. Double Gloucester

Hailing from Lancashire England, the producer of this Double Gloucester is Butler’s Farmhouse Cheese.  It is made using traditional methods in open vats, cloth bound and matured for up to 8 months.  There is a slight hint of orange-pink to the paste as it is coloured with annato (a natural colouring from a South American seed also used in orange cheddar and the Red Leiscester).  Dense, nutty and firm textured.

Pale Orange Double Gloucester

4. Oak Smoked Lyburn Farms

Loved this one.  The smoke is subtle and delicate.  It’s naturally flavoured over oak chips and the milk comes from the cheesemaker’s own farm.  The cheeses has a caramel coloured rind and will win you over if you’ve been turned off by over-smoked fellows that leave a campfire in your mouth.

5. Wyfe of Bath

This was the “bonus” cheese and is not available at Sobey’s.  Wyfe of Bath is a creamy, buttery cheese made from organic milk and molded in cloth-lined baskets..   Juliet’s  identified a “rubber boot aroma” (that sharp, pleasant new-ness).

6. Special Reserve Shropshire Blue

The bright orange blue cheese on the upper left of the plate is the Shropshire Blue.  Made at Cropwell Bishop (as is the Stilton) it’s based on the Stilton recipe but was actually created in Inverness, Scotland in 1970.  Annato gives it its colour.  Peaks  at 3 months.  Not as strong as Stilton you still get buttery, cocoa notes and a real punch of colour on the cheese board.

Half-Stilton

7. Special Reserve Stilton

Only five producers make Stilton. Cropwell Bishop is one of them and the family has been making Stilton for over three generations.  Milk suppliers are hand-picked to ensure the quality of this famous cheese.  Also peaking at 3 months, this 13 week old piece was buttery, spicy with a dark cocoa flavour on the finish. You can see the beautiful, and typical “shattered porcelain” veining in the piece Julia is holding at the top.  Stilton is a dense cheese so the blue veining spreads in a finer, spidery pattern than seen in a looser blue like Roquefort.

Finally, if you’re looking for a great reference book of the cheese sort, The World Cheese Book edited by Juliet is great.  You can just have it sit by the bedside and nightly flip through pictures and well-written, succinct information about the world’s major cheeses.

Then you will hop out of bed for a midnight snack.

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December 3, 2011 · 9:28 am

Skip the carton, Make a Pitcher of Homemade Nog

One serving appears more ladylike when divided into three small glasses.

Today is the day we decorate our tree.  The Christmas Tree is my favourite part of the holidays.  As unexcited as I am to dig through the pile of boxes in the basement on the annual ornament hunt (why do I have two bins of Easter decorations?  Really?) I am pretty psyched to get the tree going.

Thinking that many of us might be putting up lights, Christmas shopping or lamenting the start of carols on the radio, I figured egg nog and alcohol could settle us right down.  Cursing also helps immensely.

If you’re going out for the weekend grocery shop, you only need  few ingredients to make your own egg nog: eggs, milk, cream, sugar. (I know! Why have you not done this before?)

My friend swears by the Mac’s Milk version (and I too admit to glugging the store-bought) but this is lighter, frothier and fresher and really a cinch to make.

HERE IS THE LINK TO MY CHEF BASICS  EGG NOG MAKING VIDEO.

Once this becomes your signature holiday drink–you can move onto your own egg nog serving set.

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EGG NOG RECIPE

Make sure you use the freshest eggs possible and have an alternate beverage available for guests like pregnant woman, children or the elderly who shouldn’t consume raw eggs.

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ready In: 45 minutes (includes 30 minutes cooling)

Ingredients

4 eggs, separated

1/3 cup sugar (reserve 1 tablespoon)

2 cups whole milk

1 cup whipping cream

fresh grated nutmeg

pinch salt

Method

With an electric beater whisk together egg yolks and sugar until sugar dissolves and yolks are pale and fluffy. Add milk, cream and nutmeg and whisk until well combined. Refrigerate until cold.

Just before serving whisk egg whites (at room temperature) and a pinch of salt to soft peaks. Add teaspoon of sugar and whisk until firm peaks.

Fold into eggnog to make it extra light and fluffy.

If you want to add alcohol you can whisk in 2 to 3 ounces of bourbon or rum before adding the egg whites.

Another opportunity to use my beloved nutmeg grater. (purse size convenience!)

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December 1, 2011 · 11:38 am

Centre Ice is now the Tuna Aisle (but the cheese wall makes you forgot your woes)

The line-ups were back outside Maple Leaf Gardens yesterday.  I arrived at 7:15am for the Loblaws grand opening, shocked to be greeted by a cue of people winding from Church Street back towards Yonge.  Loblaws employees were handing out muffins and tea and media were huddled outside the entrance waiting to witness the reveal of what one photographer referred to as an “airport-size” grocery store.

For nostalgia’s sake, here is centre ice (check out the funky orange grocery carts, might help the sadness melt away).  At least canned tuna is puck sized.

I don’t know if it’s cool or uncool to like this store.  But, I liked it.  I would like shopping here–it’s a grocery store, has all the same products you expect (from detergent to Cambpell’s soup) but caters to foodies without the price tag of Whole Foods.  So, certain products are more luxurious…..look at the dried mushrooms on offer (the fresh mushrooms were also amazing).

Realistically many of the shoppers here will be Ryerson students who can still find KD, diet coke and Mr. Noodle.  And maybe pick up a caramel cupcake at the cupcake wall (they’re big on the food walls here).  I should mention they make their own donuts in the bakery.  Apparently the recipe began at Zehrs and word is they are pretty good for dunkin’.

Loblaws is also trying to cater to ethnic tastes and have incorporated T&T to set up a sushi bar and have some of its products for sale.  Plus, there is a section just for asian greens. I love that this could be part of my everyday shopping.  (cuz I need more variety of vegetables going bad in my crisper–how I hate myself sometimes…)

Another nice touch is the ability to pay for items in each section of the store.  You can buy a juice at the juice bar, pay for your cheese at the cheese counter.  Makes shopping more efficient and if you forget an item (and I always forget an item) you don’t have to go back through checkout at the front of the store.

The aisles are wide–here’s a shot of the produce department from the upstairs kitchen (where all the “to go” food is prepared daily.  The chef told us that their goal -though they do work with Second Harvest–is to only make as much food as they will sell in a day.)  There is a butcher and fishmonger off to the left.

In a first impression I tweeted that the space was like a loft– it’s open, industrial, when you walk in they’ve kept part of the original wall from the Gardens.  There’s a sculpture made from the chairs in the original stadium in the shape of a Maple Leaf.   But— let’s get to that cheese wall.

Pretty impressive, right?  I kind of imagined it more open–like maybe I could actually climb it, finding toeholds amongst wedges of Gruyere and Comte.  But, this will do.

What is actually most impressive (and I hope this is kept up) is the quality of the cheese.  In the display case across from “the wall” were many soft and semi-soft cheese, all looking very ripe but the rinds still intact and in great shape. This is tricky at a large retailer when often you have to prepackage this type of cheese in unbreathable saran wrap.

Voila–they have introduced–breathable cheese paper for your fresh cut product. (Sobeys is hoping following suit–retail revolution people!!)

The cheese department here  will cut cheese on demand.  You can still reach into the fridges (those are sliding doors in the picture) and quickly grab a pre-cut piece of Mimolette (yes, they have Mimolette.  SCORE!) or cheddar.  But you can also turn around and have wedges cut smaller or request a taste.

On opening day Gurth Purdy (the cheese buyer and passionate supporter of artisinal cheese) and his team were cracking full parmesan wheels in the traditional way.  Check out this short demo from Whole Foods.  Quite an art.

They also are the exclusive Ontario carrier of a soft washed-rind, raw milk, Quebec cheese called Pied-de-Vent.  it used to be snuck into the province years ago but was not federally licensed.  It looked droolingly delicious.

Living in the east end, I’ll probably be sticking to my hood for the groceries but with a large parking lot beneath the store I might just head over from time to time to stroll the aisles. There’s a Joe Fresh and LCBO upstairs too. Eat, dress, drink.

No word yet if you can bring in a hockey stick for a quick face-off with some canned salmon.

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November 22, 2011 · 12:47 pm

Caramels: The Cure for What Ails Ya

Some might recommend antibiotics for pneumonia (those would be the doctors) but us food bloggers like something that is more indulgent.  Like caramels.  If you’re craving caramels, no matter how sick, you know you’re generally OK.  And is it not a bucolic  ideal to be eating bons bons while lounging in bed?  Realistically, no one has time for that –except when taken ill with only enough strength to strip the crinkly, bright wrappers off the naked chocolates .

The caramels look much less 1970s than in this photo.

I recently had the opportunity to curl up with a box of the above. Fortune smiled upon me and said, “hey, get yourself some pneumonia and some bons bons”. The pneumonia arrived courtesy of the devil (I can’t be sure of that,  just a guess) and the chocolates came courtesy of President’s Choice.

It’s actually a chocolate and toffee “collection” (I’m giving up stamps immediatly -what was I thinking?) and the first thing I noticed is that all the 11  flavours on the chocolate map (see below for some blurry details) were tempting.  Not a chocolate brandy cherry in site.  I think I would eat the orange fondant last but my dad would head straight for it.

The chocolates are imported from England and you do feel like you just nipped into Marks and Spencers for a fix.

You can go ahead and buy them for as a hostess gift, but they’ll never make it, particularly if you’re too weak to get out of bed.

See, there’s an upside to congested lungs.  No, actually there’s not.  But eating these caramels will make you forget your woes for a bit.  (Take note Daytime TV).

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November 12, 2011 · 11:33 am

Tis the Season for Pomegranate Ice Cream

Pomegranates are here.  And so is my reluctance to buy them and take the time to extract the delicious seeds (arils).  Lazy, yes.

But then I was inspired to take the healthy pomegranate and fatten it up into a simple and delicious, no-churn ice cream.  (Using a recipe from Nigella Lawson‘s cookbook Nigella Express.)  Who other than Nigella could completely kill the heart-healthy attributes of a pomegranate with 2 cups of whole cream?   Screw sprinkling the arils on a salad, I latched onto her bandwagon fast.

And really, de-seeding the pomegranate is not that tough.  Lots of people/websites suggest cutting the fruit in half and then simply tapping it until the arils easily plop out into the awaiting bowl.  I have tapped pomegranates, I have spanked them with a wooden spoon and for me, about maybe 1/4 of the arils ever fall out, no matter how ripe.  So I prefer the underwater method (not you, just the pom.)

I demonstrate this in a Chef Basics Video-so just click on the link for a demo.  Basically, it’s like this:

Take the pomegranate and halve, then quarter. (cut off the crown and score the outer skin with your knife and pull apart).

Now take the pieces and in a bowl of cold water, submerge one at a time and gently pop out the seeds with your hands.  No squirting juice to deal with and the heavier seeds will sink to the bottom while the pith floats on top.

(Bit of a blood bath, isn’t it.)  Now you can scoop of the pith and drain the seeds. Next, to juice, into the food processor they go.

For the recipe, you need to de-seed 2 pomegranates and just buzz them for a few seconds –then drain through a fine sieve. You need 3/4 cups juice for the ice cream but I got about 1 cup. (You will never buy a POM drink again after you taste this).

Next,  juice a lime.  (or have your kid do it)

Total unneccessary picture but how cute are Felix’s little hands!  Add the lime juice to the pom juice and put it into a medium size bowl.  Add 1 1/2 cups icing sugar.  (I was a little leery of the amount of sugar but the balance of flavour was good in the end.) Then add in the 2 cups whipping cream.  And well, whip it, whip it good!  It will be light and fluffy and a very very pretty.

Beware of how much you “taste” at this point. It’s crazy delicious. Sweet, rich and yet a little tart from the fruit.  Spread it into a Tupperware and put on lid, then straight into the freezer.

Ultimately, I left it overnight before serving, Nigella says four hours in minimum.  Was still a bit soft at four hours in my freezer.

Really depends on your freezer and where you put it in the freezer I imagine.  (While making room in my freezer I discovered I had a whole duck in there that I completely forgot about. Plus some half-used puff pastry and a frozen wedge of birthday cake.)

The results:

So good I ate it for breakfast. (Never skip breakfast, bad for your health) .

This whipped ice cream softens fairly quickly so does not have the denser texture of a typical custard based, churned ice cream, but I think it would make a gorgeous finish to a meal if you were entertaining.  It’s really light and creamy, and so easy to do in advance.  For myself, I know how I’ll be getting my daily servings of dairy this week.

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November 7, 2011 · 11:14 am

Toast Post: Black Label 8-Year Old Cheddar

Yes, I’m on a bit of a President’s Choice kick this week, I’m trying out some of the new Black Label line.  Today for breakfast I cracked open the 8-year old cheddar.

The PC cheddars are made for Loblaw by Mapledale and I’ve been a fan for a while.  Their 1 and 2-year-old cheddars are a staple in my cheese drawer.  Mellow but flavourful and I love the creamy finish.

This 8 yr old packs a wallop of flavour from first bite. It has the expected “sharpness” of an aged cheddar though I hesitate to use the word as I sometimes associate that with a higher acidity or hints of  bitterness in some older cheeses. This guy is very smooth and rounded.  Not so crumbly that it won’t hold its shape when sliced and it melts in the mouth to a creamy, delicate finish. I think this is perfect for pairing whether on a cheese board with a chutney or made into a sandwich with some Branston pickle.

The label says this cheddar is made from unpasteurized milk which I take to mean thermalized (still heat-treated but a gentler process).

Price?  Probably around $12-$13.  And in the case of this elderly gent, a little goes a long way.

(The cheese is reading over my shoulder and is offended by being called elderly.  I’m more freaked out that it can read.  Well, what else are you going to do sitting around in an ageing room for eight years, responds the cheese.  He recommends “The Sisters Brothers” for the 2011 Giller Prize by the way.)

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November 3, 2011 · 10:51 am

It’s a chocolate chip miracle!

It’s not everyday I gasp aloud in delight (aside from everytime I use my nutmeg grater) but I did squeal a little when I saw these Mini Butterscotch Melts from Presidents Choice.

I mean, I think the delight is self-explanatory, if you haven’t almost peed your pants in excitement as this point, I don’t know how to explain the new heights this will take your cookie baking.

Instead let me show you more pictures—

See, they are smaller than a peanut (though I acknowledge that this peanut appears monstrous).  So the beauty here is, you don’t have to add less chips or call your cookie “chocolate chunk”, it’s still chocolate chip but SUPERCHARGED.  (I also saw a suggestion to add them to banana bread which peaked my interest-or how about throwing them into a trail mix).

I caution you to not open a package before eating breakfast.  You may have a light bulb moment prompting you to put these into a bowl and cover them with milk.   This is a delusion.  Please toast some whole grain bread and melt the chips on top!  It’s just like Nutella but more nutritious.

Here’s what the pack looks like.  I got these in as part of a gift bag when I was invited into the President’s Choice Test Kitchen to try some new holiday products.  It was a bit of Willy Wonka experience (though not the trippy Gene Wilder version of the 70s) and I was fascinated to hear about the product development process.   I’ve always been curious.  More on that coming up.

For now– crave the chips.

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November 2, 2011 · 8:26 am

Alsace Riesling is my new Wingman

Lee Restaurant, King St (I stole this picture form their site, yes I did)

Inside Lee: not rainy

Last Tuesday, on a rainy, miserable night in Toronto I pulled my damp trench tight around me and made a dash for Lee on King Street.

Off with the trench and out with my hand to grab a glass of Alsatian Riesling as it passed by.  I was attending a dinner to celebrate the two winning chefs of the Vanguard Culinary Fusion and Wine Pairing Competition (let’s just call it Van-Fu Wi-Pa).  The Van-Fu Wi-Pa was a competition between 9 Toronto chefs to pair dishes with specific wines hailing from the Alsace and Rhone regions of France.  Head judge and host of the evening was Susur Lee in whose kitchen the two winners (Chef Shane Straiko from the Pantages Hotel and Misha Nesterenko from Marben) were preparing their food) while I sipped Riesling wondering why I drove to a wine event.

Before dinner they came out front to accept their accolades.  Both were extremely gratious but looked a little uncomfortable to have to leave the kitchen and speak to a room full of flashing iPhones and chants of “where’s the grub?”. (ok, there was not chanting…. just a disquieting murmur).

Susur's reaction when I told him I write a column just about cheese.

I was fortunate to have some great company at my table- Renée Suen from Toronto Life and David Ort and Suresh Doss from Spotlight Toronto.  We were also joined for part of the meal by Chef Lee and had a fun discussion about good pho (“that place on Ossington that’s not Golden Turtle”), food in general, travel and even a bit of cheese talk.

Misha Nesterenko plating during competition

My fave dish was Misha Nesterenko’s braised short ribs with  horseradish pomme puree, curly kale and butter glazed veggies.  It was paired with a Cotes du Rhone Village Rasteau (M. Chapoutier, 2009).   I took a bite, I took a sip of wine, I ate, I sipped…it was fluid.  A fairly classic dish as Misha had acknowledged at the beginning of the night but it worked.

No need for me to to post my dimly lit iPhone photos, you can taste similar pairings until November 11 at all the participating restaurants (the other 7 were Ultra Supper Club, The Bowery, Le Canard Mort, Veritas, Langdon Hall, TOCA and Ancaster Mill).

As for the my new wingman? Well, his name is actually Pierre Sparr.  We received a gift bag on the way out and in it were two bottles of wine (the above Riesling and a Gigondas). So far the Riesling had me looking like the best hostess ever at a small drop-in dinner I organized.   I reached for it to serve with the cheese board.   Suddenly people were looking me in the eye, telling me I was beautiful, laughing at my jokes…essentially distracting me any way they knew how while reaching into the fridge to get at this wine which I practically had to ration. The wine lover friend came back for more as did my friend who usually only drinks half a glass,  and even people who usually just buy “white” asked for label info. If it’s like the other Pierre Sparr wines at the LCBO it’s probably under $20.

God only knows what will happen when I open the Gigondas.  I’m hoping Genie.

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October 28, 2011 · 12:17 pm

The Grossest Thing I’ve Seen in a Long Time

I discovered “Blood Syrup” at the Dollarama today while looking for loot bag treats for a Halloween party.

I don’t know what part of BLOOD SYRUP  most repulsed me the most:

*the fact that corn syrup is the first ingredient followed by sugar

*the fact 100G (1/2 the bag) of blood syrup is considered a “serving”

*or just the fact that this is meant for consumption at all.

I picked it up thinking it was fake blood.  My plan was to smear it on my face and head and lie limply at the bottom of the stairs on Halloween morning.

But then I saw that the bottom tube ends in a straw/ tube which kids can suck on. You know, I bet the Frankenstein gummis I just consumed  are also made of the same ingredients, but in liquid form, I can’t handle it.

Yet I was raised on corn syrup.  My mother would mix it with milk and put it in my bottle as an infant (this is true–it was cheaper than formula).

But she never dyed it red.  That’s just GROSS.

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October 20, 2011 · 1:41 pm

Toast Post: Let’s call it “camping Brie”

Strangely enticing.

Have jug o’ wine, need cheese pairing?  This was my first thought when I received a little package of new products from Agropur the other day.  Three of their fine cheeses have been packed into spreadable format.

OKA, Brie L’Extra and Champfleury can now be scooped out of little 100g, recyclable plastic containers and straight onto you baguette.  It is suggested they can also be used as dips or easily melted into sauces.  To be perfectly honest it was hard to get beyond “spreadable” without jumping to Cheez Whiz conclusions.

You may be licking your lips if you’re one of “those” that doesn’t eat the rind of a Brie.  Yet, even as I disapprove of such antics, I must assume that you actually like the taste of a “Brie” that is not also referred to as a “processed fine cheese spread” and does not list “cheddar” as an ingredient.  Which is what you’re getting here.  It tastes kind of fake.   Not horribly bad–I enjoy a Kraft singles in a grilled cheese afterall-but, it’s not fine cheese.

I spread “the spread” on my toast, topped it with pear and have an surprisingly enjoyable lunch.   Fast and tidy it was.  If someone melted this into a silken sauce over my broccoli I’d probably think it was awesome.  It would also fair brilliantly packed in a camping cooler.

But while it might be OK to call Katy Perry “fine cheese”,  it just ain’t gonna fly with these guys.  But if you’re looking for an upscale take on Laughing Cow, dig in and see what you think.

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