Comedian Jim Gaffigan is well known for food bits, from bacon to Hot Pockets. He revealed during an interview that the one food he could not go without is cheese.
If asked, that would not have been my first response, but upon reflection, especially when considering all the various styles and uses, I came to realize my “diet” would border on boring without cheese. Since hearing that interview, I pay more attention when visiting the cheese section at my local grocer or farmers market. And as we embark on the holiday season, several local cheesemakers are offering selections that are prefect for any holiday party appetizer tray, or simply to nibble while wrapping gifts.
Let’s begin with a new product from Marin French Cheese - baked brie en croute. For those who aren’t familiar, Marin French is the oldest continuously operated cheesemaker in the US. It was also the first non-French brie to beat France at their own game, taking home top honors for its brie back at the 2005 Crowned World Cheese Awards.
Wrapping Marin French’s legendary brie in croissant pastry dough from La Boulangerie de San Francisco, the baked brie en croute is simple yet decadent. A mere 25 minutes in the oven and this pre-made cheese dish is ready to serve. Your average host will usually surround their normal brie with crackers or small slices of hard bread, giving the impression that it’s somehow inappropriate to eat brie straight from the wheel. It also means fumbling with a small cheese knife while trying to top the ever-breaking crackers. In this alternative, by wrapping the brie in buttery, flakey dough, guests can simply cut themselves a wedge and be on their merry way. Because it also comes beautifully boxed, this cheesy dish makes a great house-warming gift.
Laura Chenel, Marin French’s sister company, creates an extensive line of goat cheeses, all of which will wow even the most ardent anti-goat-cheeser. From medallions to flavored logs to buchettes and goat brie, Laura Chenel’s collections are crowd pleasers. We recently discovered their cabecou, which are mini-pails filled with discs of dense goat cheese, marinated in oils and herbs. So far, we have only tried their black truffle cabecou. We devoured the tiny bucket in one sitting, and look forward to trying their herb cabecou and spicy cabecou.
Cottage Cheese
Cowgirl Creamery has also added to the holiday cheese options with a variety of soft cheeses, including the reintroduction of their famed clabbered cottage cheese.
Simply put, cheese is coagulated milk. Most cheese is drained and pressed, removing the whey, which is the liquid that puddles after the milk has curdled. Cottage cheese is a mild-flavored fresh cheese that is drained, but not pressed. It is not aged or colored, and because some of the whey remain, the curds come out loose and tender. Dieters tend to like it because it is low in fat and calories, and athletes like it because it is high in casein proteins. Interestingly, casein is responsible for releasing opiates during digestion called casomorphins, which recent scientific studies have shown to affect dopamine receptors, much like heroin or morphine. So, you may be bona fide in calling it a cheese “addiction.”
“Clabbered”
“Clabbered” is an old-fashion word for “cultured.” Cottage cheese that is mixed with cultured cream is referred to as “clabbered cottage cheese,” and is more velvety in texture and tangy in flavor than basic cottage cheese. Being more rich and creamy than average cottage cheese makes it hard to resist, whether mixed with sweet flavors, like fruit or honey, or savory flavors, like salt and pepper or granola.
Although it was a customer favorite dating back to 1998, due to limited production space Cowgirl Creamery discontinued its clabbered cottage cheese a while back, much to customers’ dismay. However, with the increased capacity of the new Petaluma facility, their clabbered cottage cheese is back on the shelves at most local grocers, and at Cowgirl’s San Frnacisco Ferry Building and Point Reyes Station shops.
Barbecue Chip Dip
I heard through the grapevine that Sue Conley, one of my food idols and Cowgirl’s co-founder, prefers consuming Cowgirl’s clabbered cottage cheese by scooping it up with barbecue chips. I am not normally a fan of cottage cheese, but Cowgirl’s is on a whole different level of deliciousness. Once barbecue chips were on the menu, I had to give the mix a try. Sue’s combo adds another layer of flavors and textures to an already excellent snack. We tried several brands of chips and found that the saltier options better complimented Cowgirl’s clabbered cottage cheese.
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