We just learned that Penguin Ice waters was served at The Green Ball, held in Washington D.C.’s historic Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on Inauguration weekend. Designed by noted San Francisco architect Arthur Brown, Jr. between 1926 and 1931, the Mellon Auditorium was completed in 1934 and is the central focus of a tripartite building group occupying the area between 12th and 14th Streets on Constitution Avenue.
Penguin Ice was reviewed by THE NIBBLE in December. The subhead by writer Marissa Goldberg, “Coming To A Well Dressed Table Near You,” was prescient.
Bacon brownies? Sure—chocolate and bacon are a great combo. Buy them at EmbraceSweets.com. For traditional chocolate, we love Mo’s Bacon Bar from VosgesChocolate.com. Applewood smoked bacon and alder wood smoked salt in 41% cacao deep milk chocolate. It rocks. If you want bacon chocolate in a more gifty form, the same chocolate is made into a Flying Chocolate Pig.
This week’s cheese recommendation comes from guest blogger Dana Romero, proprietor of La Fromagerie D’Acadiana in Lafayette, Louisiana.
I love the flavor of this week’s cheese because “the butterscotch permeates the palate, followed by alternating waves of whiskey and pecan.” I am sorry if I am waxing euphoric over Beemster X-O, but it is extremely old cheese that is extremely good. Beemster X-O is an extra double aged Gouda matured for 26 months—a very long time in a world when even a dry Parmigiano-Romano is matured for two years. As a cheese matures, the flavors become more complex; moisture also evaporates, leaving the cheese crumbly and granular. Beemster’s unique milk source enables X-O (signifying Extra Old) to achieve one of the widest flavor ranges possible in only 26 months, yet still retaining its smooth and creamy taste.
Beemster cows graze only on pesticide-free pastures located 20 feet below sea level in North Holland. The rare blue sea clay of these pastures contains special minerals that give the milk a sweeter and softer milkfat, giving Beemster cheeses a softer and creamier texture than other Dutch cheeses.Beemster X-O is wonderful with Port wines as well as sweet whites such as a Riesling. X-O can also be grated and used as an alternative to Parmesan. You can purchase the cheese online through shop.lafayettecheese.com, igourmet.com or murrayscheese.com. Learn more about Beemster cheeses at Beemster.us.
Learn more about Gouda, Holland’s most famous cheese.
We’ll be offering up a different gift idea every day through Valentine’s Day, February 14. Today, check out a whole bunch of heart-shaped foods that aren’t chocolate—including a heart-shaped steak!
How times change! Animal rights organization PETA has turned the other cheek. Previously, members of the organization attracted publicity by throwing red paint (signifying blood) onto fur coats. Now they’ve recalled the bet between the sun and the wind over who could get the man to take his coat off. (The wind blew and blew stronger and stronger, but it only made the man grasp his coat around himself tighter and tighter. The sun simply shone hotter and hotter, and the man quickly removed his coat.)
In the interest of making it hotter and hotter for people to stop eating meat, PETA has produced a TV spot so hot that the Super Bowl turned it down. Yes, it is definitely not a “family friendly” commercial. But adults who appreciate scantily-clad women and beautiful produce should watch it a few times.
– Get serious about vegetables with THE NIBBLE’s #1 read article, our Squash Glossary.
