Afterthoughts - Lucky Week 7

Welcome to another week in review here at Cheese Cheese Everywhere!

Week 7.  7 is a lucky number.  And it was a good week this week.  So our luck held out.  Not every cheese was a home run but we got to try an interesting mix.  Not only that, but we happened to “luck into” a cheese tasting :)

As I mentioned in several previous posts, Sobeys is my go-to spot for cheese and almost everything else.  I made my way there Thursday evening and saw the most glorious thing: cheese samples.  It turns out that Sobeys has started a cheese happy hour, every Thursday from 6 to 7 PM.  They pick a theme, give out samples of cheeses that fit the theme along with nuts, fruits and crackers and provide a little bit of information about those cheeses.  Last week, it was cheeses of the UK.  You can be sure, Constant Readers, that I will be using these happy hours as information gathering sessions for future posts.  And if you’re near downtown Ottawa on Thursday evenings, stop by and check it out for yourself.  You might even see Captain Cheese there!

Last week in cheese…

Monday:  Fontina (simply one of my favourites, try this as soon as you can)
Wednesday: Cambozola (an interesting hybrid of a few different cheese flavours and origins)
Friday (Sunday):  Halloumi grilled cheese (A+ for effort and anticipation, D for execution, incomplete for overall grade.  I think I’m going to have to try this cheese again)

Now, you might want to sit down for this next part.  It pains me to say that, as much as I would like to think otherwise, the Captain is not perfect.  I know, I know, it’s a shocker.  So with that being said, I would like to issue an addendum to my review of Halloumi grilled cheese and point out that it was the Phantom who provided the recommendation.  Her contributions are invaluable, as always.

Cheese in the news

http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/counties/fayette-county/article65720262.html

This week’s cheese news story is only somewhat cheese related but it does involve Chuck E. Cheese.  From reading the article, it appears that when the manager had an unexpected emergency and had to leave, the assistant manager decided to close the restaurant, much to the chagrin of customers.

There’s a pun in there somewhere about the cats being away and the mice playing.

And in honour of this week’s grilled cheese…

Also, there’s a theme to this week’s upcoming reviews.  I’ll give you a hint.  We’ll be Dublin the fun and Irish you all enjoy it :)

Stay cheesy!

Captain Cheese

Halloumi grilled cheese

Before I get into today’s post, a milestone has been reached.  In just 30 posts, we have reached 1000 page views.  That’s a little over 33 views per post.  I’m really, really happy about that.  And we’ve added a 13th country recently, so that’s good too :)  Here’s to 2000 page views!

Today, we have a review and a recipe all in one, Constant Readers.  As you know, I do most of my cheese shopping at Sobeys.  While I was there one day last week, I came across Halloumi grilling cheese.  I was very excited as I had found a cheese made for grilled cheese!  Oh happy day!

Halloumi is a semi-hard cheese made from a mixture of goat’s milk and sheep’s milk.  It sometimes also has cow’s milk.  It comes from Cyprus.

I brought it home and waited anxiously to be able to try it.  I looked up grilled cheese recipes that went above and beyond the usual, I thought about which bread I wanted to use.  Serious planning went into this.

I finally decided on a Halloumi, bacon and tomato grilled cheese on rye bread with a side of sour cream and onion chips.

So how was it?  Here are my thoughts, presented in chronological order as they happened…

-As I’m looking up recipes:  “Wait, this cheese isn’t for grilled cheese, it’s for actual grilling.  Hope it turns out ok”.

-As I construct the sandwich:  “Oh man, this looks amazing.  This was a great idea.”

-As I take it out of the pan:  “Just right.  This is going to be good”.

-As I cut it:  “Perfection on a plate!”

-As I take my first bite:  “Oh, this is really rubbery.  Almost like cheese curds.  I don’t think it melted enough”.

-As I take my second bite:  “And all I taste is bacon and tomato.  Probably should have tried it by itself first”.

-As I take my third bite: “It says there’s supposed to be jalapenos in here.  They must be hiding.  Hiding Halloumi jalapenos”.

So in conclusion, grill the Halloumi.  And if you don’t grill it and try to put it in a grilled cheese sandwich be prepared for it not to melt much.  And don’t put bacon and tomato on it the first time.  But definitely use rye bread.  In fact, I think I’m going to use that for all my grilled cheeses from now on.

The actual recipe?  Oh, here you go…

- Butter one slice of bread and stick in pan butter-side down
- Add desired ingredients
- Put another slice of bread on top
- Butter top side of top slice
- Grill in pan until ready

Stay cheesy!

Captain Cheese

Cambozola!

So here’s an interesting thing, Constant Readers.  The blogging program I use allows me to see which countries have visited my blog.  For instance, I know that the blog had its first ever visit from Ireland yesterday.  Dia duit , léitheoir Éireannach, céad míle fáilte.  And my apologies if Google Translate butchered that.

All this to say that while trying to choose a cheese to review today, I thought it would be interesting to pick one from a country that has visited the blog.  And that is how I came across today’s cheese…

Cambozola is a German cheese that seems like it’s a little unsure of its identity.  It’s a combination of a French cream cheese and an Italian Gorgonzola.  So we’ve got a German cheese that’ a mixture of French and Italian cheeses.  I guess it’s kind of like the EU of cheeses.  It’s also sometimes known as blue brie.  The cheese has its own website but you may be asking yourself “was its das?” as it’s all in German: Cambozola

So let’s review all the things that Cambozola is like:  French cream cheese, Italian Gorgonzola, blue cheese, brie.  Even its name is a mixture, as it merges Camembert and Gorgonzola.  As I said, identity crisis.  Although to be fair, research indicates the name may also refer to Cambodunum, the Roman name for the city of Kempten, which is where Champignon, the largest producer of Cambozola, is is located.  Champignon also has their own website, which is in English: Champignon Cheese

As for the cheese itself, it’s a soft cow’s milk cheese.  As you may recall from my review of brie, I was not blown away by it.  To me, it was just too strong a taste to enjoy it.  I actually liked the texture of it but was always waiting (rather anxiously) for the aftertaste to hit.  It’s almost the same with this one.  Again, if paired with something that balances it out, I could see how this would be quite a good cheese. It apparently goes well when paired with fruits, honey or a Chardonnay.  I also think it would fit in nicely on a cheese tray to have some variety and it’s supposed to be a good introduction to blue cheese.

To summarize:  Nicht mein Favorit, aber eine solide Käse.

Stay cheesy!

Captain Cheese

Fontina!

Three posts in 24 hours.  Wow, am I glad I’m all caught up after this!

Today, we’re reviewing a cheese that I actually tried before starting Cheese Cheese Everywhere.  I enjoyed it and thought it would be fun to review it again.

Fontina cheese is a semi-soft Italian cow’s milk cheese.  It’s been made in the Alps since the 12th century.  It is noted for its earthy, mushroomy, and woody taste, and pairs exceptionally well with roast meats and truffles.

Interesting fact: Although made throughout the year, the best cheese is obtained during the summer when the cows are moved to an altitude of 550 to 700 metres (1,800 to 2,300 feet) and fed only with rich grass to give it a distinctive aroma.

As mentioned above, I enjoyed this cheese a lot.  It’s labeled semi-soft but I found it to be rather firm.  I guess some see the cheese semi-soft and others see the cheese semi-firm.  This would be a nice cheese to on a cheese board or served on crackers and might even work well melted on a burger.

Try it and I promise you’ll like it :)

Stay cheesy!

Captain Cheese

Afterthoughts - Getting my cheese fix in week 6

Welcome to another week in review here at Cheese Cheese Everywhere!

This is week 6.  I was going to put together a list of other things that lasted 6 weeks, but when I Googled that, all that came up were articles about pregnancy.  So, moving on..

This week’s schedule was all thrown off.  Captain Cheese had family visiting from out of town last weekend.  They were supposed to stay until Tuesday but ended up leaving Monday because of bad weather.  The Captain was then able to post Monday’s review on Monday but it was late so most people didn’t see it until Tuesday.  Then Wednesday’s post went up on Thursday and Friday’s recipe review only went up last night.  Now, I’m doing the review post today, when it’s supposed to go up on Saturday but has somehow morphed into a post-at-some-point-on-the weekend-thing.  

Not to worry, I do have a cheese to review for later today, and I was able to purchase ingredients for recipes for the next 3 weeks.  So we should be back on track!

On to last week in cheese…

Monday: Manchego (solid choice, and not just because it’s firm)
Wednesday (Thursday):  Ski Queen (Gjetost) (I’m still just as confused by this one, I honestly don’t understand it)
Friday (Sunday):  Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup (Wow)

To come back to Wednesday’s Norwegian cheese for a moment, I would like to add the following comments from the Phantom, which are pretty much in line with my feelings about Ski Queen…

“Haha, no. I do not. It doesn't taste like cheese should taste! It's like if cheese and fudge had an unholy union and the result is this weird brown-ish "cheese".”

Cheese in the news

Sexist cheese

While I’m not familiar with the brand in question, I thought this was a really weird story.  Ridiculous is one word used to describe the situation and I would agree with that.  I’m sure there are many different ways that this discussion could be taken (sexism, the effect of marketing on children, etc, etc) but I’ll just say that cheese should be equal and available to all!  

And finally, words to live by…

Stay cheesy!

Captain Cheese

Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I know, I know.  Recipes are supposed to be on Friday.  And we’re Sunday.  I promise you the wait was worth it.  How many readers are familiar with Panera Bread?  Ok, ok, I see a few hands went up.  You are the lucky ones.  Until recently, Panera Bread was an exclusively American chain serving amazing, incredible soups and sandwiches.  Think Subway but a million times better.  I say “until recently” because they now have several Canadian locations including one right here in Ottawa.

One of their best-known and most loved options is their broccoli cheddar soup.  Simply delicious.  Sometimes, we don’t feel like going out or spending money to get some. So I have attempted to replicate it, using this recipe from Allrecipes.com.  I invite you all to try this version, then go to Panera and try theirs.  I think you’ll be surprised at how alike they are.  I’m quite impressed.

The original

Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups chicken stock

• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped broccoli florets
• 1 cup matchstick-cut carrots
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion in hot butter until translucent, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
2. Whisk 1/4 cup melted butter and flour together in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; cook until flour loses its granular texture, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk if necessary to keep the flour from burning, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Gradually pour milk into flour mixture while whisking constantly. Stir chicken stock into milk mixture. Bring to a simmer; cook until flour taste is gone and mixture is thickened, about 20 minutes. Add broccoli, carrots, sauteed onion, and celery; simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
4. Stir Cheddar cheese into vegetable mixture until cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

My version

As usual, a few notes and remarks after making it....

I didn’t include carrots, mostly because I didn’t feel like cutting them up.  You can throw some in, or throw in other veggies.  You can also put in garlic or other cheeses.  Anything you want, really, to make it your own.

Hope you enjoyed this week’s recipe :)

Stay cheesy!

Captain Cheese

Ski Queen (Gjetost)!

I know, Constant Readers, I know.  This blog post is a day late.  But lucky for us, Cheese Cheese Everywhere is never a dollar short.  We always give full value for money here.

Today’s cheese is something very different from the usual cheeses we try.  It was based on a recommendation from SHhhhhh!!!!! and CDT so blame them if you don’t like it.  Of course, if you do like it, you can thank me for making you aware of its existence.

Ski Queen (http://www.norseland.ca/en/cheeses/ski-queen) is a Norwegian whey cheese.  It’s also known as Gjetost (which is Norwegian for goat cheese).  Truth is I’m not sure which is the name of the cheese and which is the brand, it’s all a little confusing.  Apparently, it’s also known as ski cheese because it’s supposed to be a good snack for when you’re out on the slopes  Whatever you want to call it, I have another word for it:  interesting.

 It truly is like no other cheese I’ve seen before.  First, it comes in this square red packaging, which seems odd.  Then you unwrap and you think it’s in a brown box.  But no, that’s the actual cheese.  Brown cheese!  So you try to slice off a piece and it’s firm, very firm.  You get a piece off and put it in your mouth and?  And what?  How do I describe the taste?  Caramel?  Fudge?  Like cheese dipped in chocolate?  But you definitely know it’s cheese.  Maybe not when you first take a bite but then the aftertaste hits you and you’re like “yep, there’s the cheese”.  I found it disorienting, actually.  It makes me question things I thought I knew.  I’m not sure if I like it or not.  I’m not sure if I’ll ever be sure if I like it or not.  If you have a lot of uncertainty in your life, don’t buy this cheese.  It will just add more uncertainty.

I can’t see myself eating this cheese by itself.  Or even on crackers, as I think the taste is too strong and would overwhelm the cracker.  I also found it very salty, which is another reason to eat it with something else.  But, if I paired it with other foods, it might be good. SHhhhhh!!!!! says it’s good on Norwegian pancakes (or crepes) with raspberry jam.  And I’ve read it’s quite good in a fondue.  CDT says she hates the cheese.

One last thing… I don’t think this cheese is sold everywhere.  I bought mine at Boushey’s Fruit Market on Elgin, which you may remember from last Friday’s post.  Also, it’s kind of expensive. 14.99$ for 500g.  I suppose you are getting a fair quantity of cheese for that price, and it does have a fairly long shelf life,  The one I bought is good until October 1st.  Still, 15$ all at once seems like a lot.

This cheese was definitely outside the box (off the rind?).  I’m glad I tried it but I don’t know if I’ll buy it again.

Stay cheesy!

Captain Cheese