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Category Archives: Cheese

A Salute to Cheese

Posted on August 15, 2008 by foodgal One comment

Surround yourself with cheese, cheese, and more cheese at Slow Food Nation’s Cheese Pavilion of Taste, Aug. 30-31, in San Francisco.

Cheese lovers will be beside themselves when 54 producers from around the country show off everything from raw-milk cheese to artisan yogurt. Some cheeses are made on such a small scale that they’re not normally easily found in stores, either.

It’s just one of 15 taste pavilions that will be set up at the 50,000-square-foot pier at Fort Mason. Each will focus on a particular ingredient or food. Attendees can sample and learn more by viewing demonstrations and talking to producers. Bread will be baked in wood-burning and tandoori ovens in the Bread Pavilion, and ice cream will be hand-cranked at the Ice Cream Pavilion.

Read more about the cheese pavilion in my posting on the Slow Food Nation blog.

The Green Kitchen, part of the Taste Pavilions, has a stellar line-up of chefs from around the country who will demonstrate how basic tools and simple ingredients combine to make culinary delights.

Delectable Dates To Mark on Your Calendar

Posted on June 16, 2008 by foodgal Leave a comment

If you love cheese, then head to Cheese Plus in San Francisco, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 21, as the specialty store celebrates its third anniversary with a Summer Solstice Food Festival.

More than two dozen food artisans will be on hand to show off samples of their products. From noon to 2 p.m., cookbook author and San Francisco Chronicle food writer, Janet Fletcher, will sign copies of her latest book, “Cheese & Wine” (Chronicle Books).

A knife sharpening expert also will be on site to sharpen your knives and give advice on how to care for them.

Up in Wine Country, there are a bevy of events to come. First up, the Martini House in St. Helena hosts its fourth annual Riesling Week. June 16-21, the restaurant will showcase Rieslings from Germany, Alsace, and Austria.

A special four-course prix fixe menu will be offered, with each dish paired with a different Riesling such as pan-roasted monkfish wrapped in Hobbs smoked bacon accompanied by a pour of Domaine Weinbach ”Schlossberg” Grand Cru, Riesling, Alsace, France, 2005. The dinner is $115 with the wine pairing; $70 without.

Next up, also in St. Helena, enjoy the third annual Napa Valley Jewish Vintners Celebration. Nearly 40 Jewish vintners from California, as well as Israel, will celebrate “Connecting Our Roots,” June 20-22. Proceeds will benefit Jewish non-profit organizations in the valley.

The three-day event begins on a Friday with a reception at a private St. Helena estate, followed by exclusive winery open houses on Saturday, then a glam gala at the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone Campus, and ends with Sunday brunch at the Napa Valley Museum featuring guest speaker, the best-selling author, Scott Turow.

Tickets are $650 per person. For more information, call (707) 968-9944 or click here.

And lastly, designer heels and big-name wines? Who can resist that combo? If you can’t, then the fourth annual “Wine, Women and Shoes,” 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 29 should be on your must-do list.

The event, at the St. Supery Vineyards and Winery in Rutherford, raises money for women’s causes. Since its inception, more than $2 million has been raised for women’s charities.

Enjoy a fashion show of chic foot candy, wonderful wines, and a live and a silent auction. And don’t forget the “Shoe Guys,” who will be carrying shoes on silver trays so you get a peep of those must-have peep-toe pumps.

Tickets are $150 for regular admission; and $250 for premiere admission, which includes front-row seating at the fashion show. For more information, callÂ Belle Orpilla or Katie Wolford at Planned Parenthood atÂ (925) 676-0505 ext. 5220 at 925-676-0505, ext. 5222; or email info@ppshastadiablo. Also, visit: www.ppshastadiablo.org.

The Ultimate Cheesy Time

Posted on April 11, 2008 by foodgal 2 comments

If you’re near any Whole Foods store in Northern California at noon April 12, you’ll want to head inside to enjoy a truly cheesy experience.

That is when the “cracking open” ceremonies will begin, as cheesemongers in each store worldwide will simultaneously demonstrate the traditional method of breaking into hefty 24-month-aged wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano using five different knives from Italy.

Yes, you read that correctly. The cheese-breaking ceremony will take place at every Whole Foods store in the world (that would be 270 of them). The process of cutting up the 85-pound wheels of cheese will take about half an hour. If you think that might be some sort of record in the making, well, Whole Foods does, too. The company will be attempting to set a Guiness World Record with the feat.

Parmigiano Reggiano has been made for centuries in one area of Northern Italy that includes Reggio Emilia, Parma, Modena and portions of Bologna and Mantua. These regions are the only ones with the ideal conditions to produce this cheese.

After one year of aging, each artisan-crafted wheel that passes the test is branded with a unique proof of authenticity — an oval certification mark — and left to finish aging. That seal guarantees that the cheese was made under the regulations of the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano and conforms to its stringent standards of quality.

Each year, Whole Foods cheese buyers visit the region to hand select wheels for the stores. Tastings will be available at the store on April 12. Customers also can take home information on wine pairings and recipes for dishes that really highlight the cheese.

For a sneak preview of the cheese carving show, click here.