A beer with roasted malts that have coffee
notes is the perfect pairing with Beehive’s coffee-rubbed cheese, Barely Buzzed.
Beehive Cheese is another wonderful artisan food story. Brothers-in-law working in software and real estate traded fast-paced corporate jobs for green acres, and grinding commutes with briefcases and laptops for quiet mornings turning 500 gallons of farm-fresh milk into cheese. Instead of “make it happen—now!,” they now spend months patiently waiting for their cheeses to ripen.
Learning elementary Cheddar-making at the local agricultural college, they opened a shop that also stocked other artisans’ cheeses, plus coffee beans from one of the owners’ brothers, a roaster in Colorado. One cold January morning, inspiration struck to pat some ground Turkish coffee onto some wheels of their Cheddar. The local hit—dubbed Barely Buzzed by the winner of a naming contest—became the first prize winner at the American Cheese Society Competition in 2007 and 2008 (the 2009 competition takes place this week).
We knew none of this when we stumbled upon Barely Buzzed a few months back at the Winter Fancy Food Show. We only know an eye-opening Cheddar when we taste one. Beehive Cheese Co. makes more than one charming cheese, and the Cheddar champs have proved that Amano Chocolate (founded by another Utah software industry emigré) isn’t the only artisan food from the Beehive State that can compete in the bee-g time.
Read all the buzz about Beehive Cheese in the full review.
Beehive’s coffee-rubbed Cheddar isn‘t the only beer-friendly cheese (it’s great with a beer made with roasted malts that bring out coffee flavors in the beer). Take a look at our beer & wine pairing chart.
Add 4 ounces of slivered almonds to tuna, egg and chicken salads for a crunchy gourmet twist. Use fresh herbs: Snip basil, chives, cilantro, dill or parsley into your salad for more great flavor with no added calories. Another tip—use a great mayonnaise like those from The Ojai Cook, a Top Pick Of The Week. Its delicious Lemonaise is redolent of lemon and gentle spice, which layers more flavor into the salad. Lemonaise Light has half the calories, but you can use half mayonnaise, half fat-free yogurt to cut down on the calories, too.
Check out our review of Lemonaise and its sister products—great to know about.
August is National Peach Month. If you normally enjoy a Mimosa (Champagne and orange juice), try a Bellini instead. It’s white peach purée and Prosecco, a sparkling Italian wine. Many specialty stores sell white peach purée, or you can order it online from Perfect Purée of Napa Valley, a a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week. If you can’t get your hands on the peach purée quickly enough, you can make it. Boil 3/4 pound ripe peaches (preferably white) with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup lemon juice and 2 teaspoons sugar. Peaches are delicious now!
Go for the gold: Try this year’s gold medal
winner in the Tuscan olive oil category.
Lovers of Tuscan olive oil: Cafaggio Extra Virgin Olive Oil was just awarded the Gold Medal at the 2009 Los Angeles County Fair. We haven’t tasted it, but Cafaggio has been described by its importer, Gustiamo (which sources the most delicious specialty items from Italy) as full-on-the-tongue, pleasantly pungent, clean and smooth. It’s pleasantly spicy with a touch of artichoke flavor and grassiness. They suggest that it is excellent on salads and grilled meats.
Tenuta Cafaggio is located in Impruneta, the Tuscan hill town between the valleys of the Greve and Ema Rivers that is famous for its terracotta. The local clay is imbued with valuable minerals necessary to create the highest-quality terracotta products. During the Renaissance, the rich and powerful Medici family used Impruneta terracotta to decorate their palace gardens.
The earth evidently creates some magic in olives as well. Hand-picked Frantoio, Moraiolo and Leccino olives are blended by Tenuta Cafaggio to create an extra virgin olive oil of low acidity. A .500 liter/16.9 ounce bottle of the Cafaggio Extra Virgin Olive Oil New Harvest 2008/2009 is $42.00, and would make a nice gift for an olive oil connoisseur.
You can get a 20% discount until August 15th, or until supplies last, at Gustiamo.com. Type the words “Los Angeles” in the Special Instructions box of the shopping cart to get the discount. Gustiamo advises, “We have a stupid shopping cart and the discount is not reflected in your automatic order confirmation. Do not worry: it will be reflected on your bill and credit card charge!”
Learn the difference between Frantoio, Moraiolo, Leccino and other olive cultivars in our Olive & Olive Oil Glossary.
Today is National Oyster Day, so feast on a few. Oysters are chock full of protein and are low in calories. Oysters on the half shell make a great first course with Champagne or Chablis. Buy the largest, freshest oysters you can find and shuck them right before serving. Serve them with fresh lemon wedges. Very fresh oysters need nothing more (in fact, we don’t even use the lemon wedges!), but you can make mignonette sauce (there’s a recipe in our Oyster Glossary) or cocktail sauce by mixing ketchup with prepared (bottled) grated horseradish like Gold’s (find it in the grocer’s refrigerator case).
Read about the different types of oysters, in our Oyster Glossary.
Check out our review of Willapa Oysters, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week and our favorite oyster indulgence.
