Yesterday we met at the farmer’s market that is every Thursday near the Navy Memorial. I didn’t get there in time to get blue cheese from Everona, but I was able to get some Shenandoah. It was good, as usual. Sheep’s milk.
I also got some feta and mozzarella from Blue Ridge Dairy Company, in Leesburg, Va. We tried the feta already, and it is quite good, if a bit salty. We’ll try the applewood smoked mozzarella next. All from Jersey cows.
The other day I got some montasio cheese from the Italian market in Arlington. It is a very nice cow’s milk cheese from northern Italy.
On Sunday AT and I went to the Montpelier Mansion in Laurel. There was a woodturning demonstration there, and Jeff Bridges made AT a wooden goblet. It was interesting.
It started with a stick.
it started with a stick
Then he started cutting it.
then he started cutting
More cutting.
more cutting
And more cutting.
yet more cutting
They were from Chesapeake Woodturners.
chesapeake woodturners
And finally sanding.
sanding
And in minutes there was a goblet!
the goblet
Sheep
carr valley cave aged marisa aged six months; rich, sweet, round la valle, wi
abbaye du bellocq a level of silky caramel smoothness only benedictine monks can achieve, pyrenees, fr
Cow
*old man highlander naturally ripened for 6-9 months, semi-soft, creamy & buttery honesdale, pa
l’amuse gouda aged 24 months; nutty with crystaline texture; deep & complex beemster, holland
Blue
valn d’alos bleu d’auvergne soft & buttery; mildly spicy with notes of grass & wild flowers languedoc, fr
Meat:
bentons tennessee ham 14 mos tn
la quercia prosciutto americano ia
Salumi framani toscano
House Made — didn’t try any of these.
chicken liver parfait
pork butter
smoked lamb liverwurst
suckling pig testa
Brookville Cheese
5-Spoke Creamery Redmond Cheddar is made from raw cow’s milk and aged for 60 days. A very nice cheddar that we think is from Pennsylvania. Also melted well for breakfast on toast.
Manchego – a regular.
Societe Roquefort, (which I think is one of the most common brands), is very nice, one of our favorite blues. As it is an AOC, it is made from raw sheep milk according to the rules.
Belletoille Brie, a nice triple-cream brie from France.
Petite Basque, a sheep milk cheese from the Pyrenees mountains of France, near where Manchego comes from.
Parrano, a Dutch Gouda-style cheese.
Caseificio dell’Alta Langa Robiolo a washed rind (smelly) cheese from Bosnia
Maytag Blue – one that we’ve had before, but we prefer other blues.
When we went to Cheesetique the other day, AKT found a new Camembert that we’ve not tried: Camembert du Bocage. At least, the box lid was not in our collection so we had to get it. It was very good, of course. ‘Fabrique en Normandie’!
We also got Fontinella, a Wisconsin cheese similar to fontina, Grand Pardo Parmesean, and to fill the blue category, Gorgonzola a very nice blue cheese from Italian cows.
We were in Arlington, so stopped by Cheesetique, of course. We got a very nice sheep’s milk blue from Wisconsin named Little Boy Blue, because the girls liked the name. It is from Tony and Julie’s Hook’s Cheese Company.
I stopped by Cornucopia in Bethesda and picked up some Italian cheeses
Buffalo Mozzarella – a very nice, full-flavored mozzarella, is very nice when drizzled with maple syrup
Cantala (sp?) – an aged Italian sheep cheese, rubbed with herbs. very nice
Asiago – very nice, but not as good as the one ‘imported’ from Italy by someone we know
I picked up a load of bread, which led to a bread “crisis” (we have too much bread here).
The cheeses were all from Calvert-Woodley, a very nice local cheese & wine shop. (clockwise from lower left)
Fromager d’Affinois is a double-cream cow’s milk cheese. We’ve had it before, and it was still very good. Somewhat like the Saint Angel that we had last week, but milder.
Emmentaler, an AOC alpine cheese that was on sale. It looks like traditional “Swiss cheese” with the holes. It was a bit rubbery. Good for fondue (probably), but not the best for a cheese board.
Gruyere, also on sale. Another AOC alpine cheese, but a better texture, and no holes. Good for both a cheese board and fondue.
Maytag Blue – one that we’ve had before. Very good (for a blue), and featured in this month’s Culture magazine.
Cheese | Wendell | 
July 15, 2011 12:44 pm | 
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