BOOMSHAKALAKA-SHAKALAKA-SHAKABOOM.

Two blog posts in one week!?  What?  That’s like.  Crazy people talk!

Well guess what.  You can finally rest at ease because I feel like blogging TWICE this week.  And it’s more cheesepinions.  Awwwwww yeahhhhhh sonnnnnnn.

New York is ungodly hot right now.  Yesterday, it got up to 108. (Well…by the Target at Atlantic Center.  But things are always a tad sPicIer over there…)  So there isn’t a whole lot of cheesin’ going on.  But, hopefully when things cool down we can go to farms and play with farm animals and take lots of pretty photos.

But until then you’ll just have to take our favorite farm animal: Dylan.  And he’s got a couple things to say about sheep.

This week, Dylan is so into Pecorino di Parco.

Pecorino di Parco CLONES.

“This is the perfect young pecorino.  With an amazing balance of slightly sour, tangy flavor and a slightly dry and airy texture, this is an excellent pressed cheese for the summer.  Plus the two dudes from Jersey whose family own the farm in Abruzzo, where this cheese comes from, are just about the most delightful people you can hope to meet.  Great cheese.  Great people.  Perfect.”  Dylan!  I didn’t even have to edit this at all.  I just copied and pasted because even though Dylan may smell like a goat, he has the brain of a human boy.  A real human boy.

Here is where Abruzzo is! It's so pretty and mountainous and has like 12 people in it. Sheep cheese heaven!!!!!

To pair with this cheese, Dylan would pick up some of the Marcelli Formaggi Miele di Tiglio (Lime Flower Honey – arguably the best honey I’ve ever had.  Literally.) to spread on a crusty baguette.  Perhaps from Il Forno bakery in the Bronx?  Grab a moussamousettes (this totally awesome small production sparkling field blend rose for the Loire in FRAAAAHNCE made by a husband and wife team.  Rene and Agnes Mosse.  Cute.  I wonder if these guys know that they are making wine that is specifically designed to get you laid.)  You can buy this little gem at our favorite neighborhood wine shop Uva!  And guess what?  You put all these things together and yer bout ta have a good time.

Can you guys tell that I just learned how to insert hyperlinks?  Because I’m real excited about it.

Oh snap!  Dylan!  All this time we thought you were going through the motions but it turns out you be a real CHEESEMONGERRRRRRRRRRRR.  Way to be.  We love you.  Hooray.  Too much ice tea.

Ok, that’s all!  And since things are slowing down for summer time, expect some totally fun blog posts!  Hooray!

XOXO, Me.

Hi.  It’s me.  Your flaky blog buddy who decided to take a summer vacation.  Remember me?  Of course you do.

Well guess what.  I snuck inside from my serious summer of sunbathing and white wine spritzers to write something on the blog.  Because the internet doesn’t take vacations.  No sir.

So I thought I’d get back into the swing of things with everyone’s favorite: CHEESEPINIONS!  Huzzahhhhhhh.  And we are back with everyone’s most bespectacled cheesemonger, STEPHANIE!  And the crowd goes wild…

So this week, Stephanie is all tingly over Appalachian from Meadow Creek Dairy in south eastern Virginia.

Meadow Creek's Appalachian

We haven’t had any of the Meadow Creek cheeses for MONTHS now.  Literally forever.  I mean, get it together Virginia.

At BCS we have been waiting so patiently for ANYTHING from the Feete Family’s farm and finally, Virginia Cheese Season is upon us.  (So put down your PBR and time to waddle over to the shop for some real AMURRRRICAN flavor).

Stephanie says that the Appalachian right now has a “lovely, satiny smooth rind, dotted with yellow flowers.”  And that delicious interior pate?  Totally “laden with tang and minerality – not too hot to eat in the summer!”  And let me tell you – it’s been so hot that I’ve been schvitzing cheese curds for about a week.  Oy….

Anywho.  What to have with this wonderful summer time cheese?  “I would have it with a tall, ic e cold bottle of Lone Star and a jar of home made bourbon soaked cherries – cause that’s Southern y’all!  XO!”

Lone Star, everyone's favorite Texan beer!

Southern cheese party!  Whoooo!  Now if only we could get our hands on some of the cheeses from Sweet Grass Dairy we’d be set for a regular hoe down!  Cheese down?  Cheesy-hoe down.  Hose down.  I would have these two DJ, because I would be so PUMPED for what would happen.

Look at the slit in that dress! What! And that wig! Totally fly. Like. The coolest thing everrrrrrrrrrr. God. She’s so great! I can’t get over it.  Anyways.  Back to cheese.  Well, nevermind.  I don’t really have anything else to say about Appalachian except is tastes like sweet, clover butter.  From the South.  Which means it’s the real deal.  Like….block your calories with happiness type of deal.  Yeah.  Gout and diabetes HERE I COME.

And to depart, here is an image of Chris Brown at the World Cup this year:

Way to let us all down, Chris Brown. Viva Rihanna.

Ha.  Dorkus.  I bet he’d come in and ask for “Brie cheese, manchengo, and cotswold.”  HA.  Cheese jokes are always so f’ing funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HEAR YE. HEAR YE.

Here marks the beginning of the end…

…of Spring time goats milk cheeses.  (GOTCHA!  I bet you thought I was going to say something about the end of the blog.  Ha!  Never.  This blog will NEVER DIE.  Just like Elizabeth Taylor.  Or Terminator…)

Anyways – I again apologize for the lag in blogging!  I am a busy little cheesy bee, running around and trying to get things done.  But, I am back for another round of everyone’s most favorite installment: CHEESEPINIONS. (And the crowd goes WILD.)

So this week Dani has got some things to say.  Even though he is in Europe right now, raging with the best of them in Barcelona and Holland, he shall be heard across the pond – right here in Brooklyn.

April is a special month for cheese.  After spending the winter months sitting inside and doing nothing but eating and getting all fat and pregnant, goats and sheep all over the world start popping out babies like Octomom.  As a result, they start producing the most delicious, nutrient rich, and decadent cheese of the entire year. (Gotta keep those babies all fat and happy, you know…)  As a result, goat cheeses in the spring time are SICK.  And I don’t mean sick in that pukey, I-ate-too-many-taquitos, kind of way.  Sick as in good.  So f’ing good.  But, come mid-May, all the babies are born, and we move onto tangier goat cheese pastures.

One of the last cheeses we are going to get from this goat baby mania is the delicious French blob – Chevrot.

Ok, so it's more of a drum...shapes aren't my "thing."

Dani is going crazy over these little midgets. (That’s right. MIDGETS.)  Dani is super excited for spring and summer and is ready to crack out his booty shorts while eating goat cheese.  These cheeses taste like grass and fresh milk and call for summer picnics and ridiculous BBQ’s.

This may or may not be an accurate portrayal of my birthday BBQ this year.

With this simple yet delicious round disc, Dani would pair it with some honey and a chilled Riesling.  Aww…sweet.  These goat milk cheeses tend to be super tangy and pair great with the sweet flavors of honey.  (Kind of like Sour Patch Kids…except only the red ones because all the others are so gross.)  He would eat all this with a Reisling.  Mainly because it gets you drunk, but the sweetness of a wine would create the perfect end to a romantic spring picnic for two.  Talk about sweet finishes…

Anyways.  That’s all from me.  Yes.  So…..any ideas for blog posts?  Recipes?  More interviews?  Does anyone have any questions about cheese I can answer?  And I know people are reading this blog – I use Google Analytics and I know what cities you are in and how long you stay on the blog for.  So…..just humor me and talk to me.  Via the internet.  Ok…it just got creepy.

This has nothing to do with cheese, but look at this cat!

Yes, amigos.  ‘Tis that time again, where I share the secrets of the inner workings of the Bedford Cheese Shop cheesemongers.  So dark and twisted and full of dairy products.

This week, I present to you Dylan, one of our newest hires, who hails from the sunny state of Colorado (is it sunny there?  I’m actually not really sure.  I’m pretty positive he’s from outside Aspen?  Which leads me to believe it’s mostly sunny.  Because that sure does sound tropical.  ASPEN.  Like Aruba.  Or Des Moines.) and is pretty new to the cheese biz.  But, like the rest of us, he already has opinions about what products he wants to put all over his tastebuds.

This time around, Dylan presented me with a two part Cheesepinion.  One for when you are feeling fancy and one for when you’re feeling down on your financial luck.  How considerate, dear sir.  His first pick this week is Stanser Schafkase, a lovely sheep’s milk cheese from east central Switzerland.  It’s kind of grassy, herby, and spicy and doesn’t pack too much of the stinky barnyard pungency of other soft sheep cheeses.  Dylan thinks that this guy is a “phenomenally complex, soft slice of sheepy goodness that leaves you wondering what the next taste will reveal.”  How “Labyrinth” of you, Dylan.

Dance Magic Dance.

And to make your picnic complete?  “I would enjoy this guy with a Cote de Rhone and a Creminelli Picante salami to really stimulate those taste buddies.”  You go boy with your spicy self.

Well that’s all this week.  Oh wait.  JUST KIDDING.  Totally jk’ing here, folks.  Dylan has a SECOND cheesepinion to throw out there this week.  This is the Blue Light Special edition, where Dylan breaks it down for those of us who like a bargain.  Dylan is also really pumped about Leonora, a Spanish goat’s milk from the rambling hills outside of Madrid.  It’s cakey, lemony, and grassy.  With a gooey edge (like me).  Dylan loves this goat’s milk treat because it’s like licking a sweaty, stanky goat, with a hint of lemon.  And to finish your goat picnic: “I would probably just grab a baguette and a 6 pack of Pabst with this because in reality this is all I could really afford.”  Yessssssssssssssss.  Honesty is totally the best policy, Dylan.  I love when you break it down for LA GENTE.  Besides, would Dylan ever lie to you?

Is this pony named Honesty?

Ok.  So for reals this is the end of the blog today.  I promise.  But I’m working on something really super cool about THERMALIZED MILK.  Yeah.  So cool, y’all!  Or is it?  I dunno – you’ll have to wait to see what I say.  Ok!

Oh!  And be our friend on Facebook!  Just search for us and you’ll be one of the cool kids.  Finally.

Hello there lovers and people that I don’t know who read my most intimate cheese thoughts.  I am back again this week with everyone’s favorite.  Another installment of Cheesepinions.

Cue the fanfare of trumpets and elephant parade.

This week, I asked Amy what she was vibin’ on.  At first, she felt too pressured and refused.  But, after I picked her up off the floor and curled her out of the fetal position, she came up with a lovely suggestion for this fantastic New York spring weather we’ve been having.  This week, Amy suggests that y’all come in and try Caprotto Madaio.  It’s an aged goat’s milk from Campania (where Naples and the Amalfi Coast are…Jay-Z eat your heart out) in southern Italy.  It’s hard and crumbly and has flavors of sweeter nuts and pepper.

Amy made the bold statement that “it’s the best goat…ever.  It’s like biting into a lemon…made of goat cheese.  It’s refreshingly sharp and nutty and lemony, but not too dry in texture.”  Mmmm.  Nothing makes my stomach grumble like the image of fruit molded out of cheeses.  Sounds like Grandma’s house.  What?

And what would Amy do with a hunk of this lactic goat treat?  “Chunk it up into nuggets and eat it with a green salad and some fresh fruit, maybe a Creminelli Casalingo.  Maybe drink with a Vinho Verde or Albarino, or a hoppy ale.  All this in the park…in the sun.”  Obviously.  Sounds like heaven.  But spending any time with Amy is like being transported straight to heaven via a giant escalator that is full of your favorite people.  Like Freddie Mercury.  And Pepe LePeu.  And Kitty.

Well.  That’s it this week.  We are developing some new ideas for different things to add to the blog roster.  Like recipes.  And cheese vocabulary.  And food history.  Do YOU guys have any suggestions?  Anything you would like to see?  Please, write a comment!  Because I get a lot of spam porn comments that I just delete.  And we’d love to hear from you.  Ok.  That’s all!  Love you guyz!

So this week I’m going to start by admitting to something decidedly embarrassing.  I spent about five minutes before I began writing anything down trying to figure out if I could somehow incorporate the lyrics from the Backstreet Boys song “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” into this opening line.  The only real thing I could come up with was “Cheese Blog’s Back!”  But, I didn’t think that everyone would get the reference.  And then I decided it was a pretty dumb reference that probably doesn’t appeal to anyone but 12 year old girls from 1999 (which is pretty much how my brain works.  Hello, Lisa Frank!). So, maybe just play that song in the background or watch this video on Youtube or something so that you can try to imagine the state of mind I was in upon trying to get this post in motion…

This week, we are getting cheese advice from our very own Mike.  Mike took a very serious approach to Cheesepinions and had to go home and mull over his decisions.  Upon his return he presented me with a piece of paper that was incredibly organized and detailed and I think that the best thing to do would be to copy down exactly what he wrote (also partially because I’m a little unclear as to what he is referencing to at points…but hey, gotta roll with the punches…).  So here we go. “Cheesepinions” direct from Mike’s mouth.

1.)    Doe’s Leap Trappist.  Tastes like yummy sweet grass.  Has a fresh snappy taste – umami.  (**Editor’s note: I had to look this word up and I basically figured out that it mean’s “savoriness.”  And it the idea behind MSG.  Cool.**) And it’s American!  Eat it with a white Touraine and cornbread made with goat butter, bacon grease, sage, and no sugar.

2.)    Battenkill Brebis.  So many different flavors and nuances in a nice balance.  Potatoes and earth, hay, berries, flowers.  And it’s American!  Eat it with a red from Languedoc, after a Navajo Taco.

3.)    Pleasant Ridge Reserve.  Like jumping in the deep end of cheese flavor.  Big taste!  Reminds me of chocolate cake with raspberry filling…that got dropped in the mud maybe.  And it’s American!  Eat it with an Ommegang Rare Vos, or cook into some mac and cheese with a meltier cheese partner.

Well, there you have it.  The specifically Patriotic choices of Mike.  I am also curious about this “Navajo Taco.”  What exactly is that?  Tortilla + Dream Catcher +See Your Animal Spirit Guide or something?  It sounds like a great drug or some sort of really dirty sex toy.  Whatever it is…I want one. (I’m now being informed that it’s a sort of fried bread tortilla topped with mutton and assorted toppings.  Sounds good, but I’ll still take one Navajo Taco between the sheets.) (more…)

Hey there blog buddies!  We are back with round two of our “Cheesepinions” installment, this time bringing you our one and only Stephanie B-Money.  This week Stephanie is jumping for joy over our Stracchino di Capra from the Italian cheese-aging experts at Guffanti.

(Ok, so for you perfectionists out there, I know this is a pictures of Stracapra, NOT Stracchino di Capra, but do you guys have any idea how HARD it is to find a picture of Stracchino di Capra?  Seriously.  It’s bizarre.  Just as bizarre as Sandra Bullock being nominated for an Oscar.  Whaaaaaat?  Oh snap.)

This Italian goat cobblestone is in very lovely shape right now – “sweet and lactic, sticky and mouthcoating with delicate ‘goaty’ notes.”  Now who doesn’t want a little goat lovin’ all up in your tastebuds?!  And to round out the day on her bestial goat’s milk treat?  Some crusty bread, a few dried apricots, and a crisp bottle of Vernaccia (a Tuscan white wine with good acidity and strong citrus notes) to wash it all down.  Oh hey, girlfriend – this sounds like that perfect picnic we had Under the Tuscan Sun.  Minus Diane Lane…and our Italian Villa…and ignoring the fact I’ve never been to Italy.  More like Under the Bedbugs in my Bushwick Apartment.  Sounds just as romantic, right?

Well, that’s all from us here at “Cheesepinions!”  We’ll be back next week to bring you some more tasty and delightful suggestions from our eager to please cheesemongers.  And get excited.  In the near future we will be bringing you posts about a great local farm, as well as an appearance by the elusive Charlotte Kamin!  She will be filling us in on her recent trip to France and Switzerland to visit our favorite European cheesemakers.  So crack out your leiderhosen and yodel all the way home.  Until then, see you soon!

Hello again cheese fanatics.  Back again with some more “Cheesepinions” to keep your cravings at bay.  This time around our resident agriculturalist (who actually just went back to Michigan to get his farm in working order….we miss you already, buddy!), Jess, is going to stop thinking about sustainable farming practices for twelve seconds and let you know what cheeses he is super keen about.  This week, Jess is really diggin’ on both:

Appleby’s Cheshire (a British raw cow’s milk cheese that is tangy, crumbly, and grassy)

and Mrs. Kirkham’s Lancashire (another British raw cow’s milk that is mild and buttery).

Apparently we at the cheese shop have an affinity for dairy products from the UK…  Apart from being delicious cheeses, Jess is into these two for more “sentimental” reasons.  Jason and Raef, two of our buddies from Neal’s Yard Dairy just popped over for a visit and it reminded Jess how great the mouthfeel of these milky, tangy, fluffy British cheeses are.  While Cheshire and Lancashire aren’t the strongest of cheeses, they are delicate enough to taste the subtleties of good cheesemaking.   You always loved a challenge, didn’t you Jess?  Jess thinks that his perfect lunch would be these two cheeses, some McClure’s Pickles, a dollop of mustard, and an English bitter (like Old Speckled Hen or Fuller’s London Pride).  Hey – maybe you and Dani should start providing British farm hands with gourmet picnic lunches?  Sounds….semi-lucrative.  Maybe stick to the cheese, boys…

On two completely random notes, I want to throw some cheese trivia at you fellow cheese dorks and appreciators that I personally found fascinating.

Fact #1: Appleby’s Cheshire is thought to be one of the oldest cheeses in Britain, with its recipe dating back to Roman times.  It is mentioned in the Domesday Book, which was sort of like the first census of England ever taken (well, if you count a census as the government only counting the wealthy and their sheep.  But what else REALLY matters.  Am I right???)  in 1086 for William the First!  Woah.  Totes old.

Fact #2: Mrs. Kirkham’s Lancashire comes from one of the best-named cheese producing places in the world.  Can you guess what it’s called?  Bet you can’t.  Ok, I’m gonna tell you.  It’s GOOSNARGH.  Fine, so maybe the majority of you “adults” out there won’t find this funny.  “Don’t make fun of other places for being different!”  Yeah, whatever.  But, for the rest of you out there who don’t function well in the morning, doesn’t this totally sound like the majority of words that come out of your mouth pre-cup of coffee?   Besides, if I ever saw this on a map I would probably think that I bought some weird Harry Potter wannabe atlas designed to make British children excited about geography.  Tru dat.

Oh. Hello there.

Welcome back, friends, to the dawning of a new Bedford Cheese Shop blog era!  We are sorry that we left you, high and dry, in the cheesy woods for a year, but guess what.  WE ARE BACK.  Oh yeah…

We have been coming up with new and exciting ways to get out our fromage knowledge into the Blogosphere and will be debuting one below!  We thought that you guys would want to know more about farmers, farms, and what we think – the Bedford Cheese Shop cheesemongers – about our products.  So today, we unveil our first installment of “Cheesepinions.”

Here, you will find the thoughts of one of our cheesemongers about the products we stare at and lovingly handle all day, every day.  So let’s get started with one of our star employees, Dani.

This week, Dani is on a real British Isles kick.  A sucker for hardy, “working man” cheeses, Dani has been noshing on foods that a farmer would take with him into the field to sustain him for the day.  Apparently, nothing is better for planting your rows of beetroot than your trusty hoe and a good wedge of crumbly cheese.  Trying to relive his pastoral glory days of the coal mines, he decided that his favorite dairy products in the store right now are:

Coolea (an 18-month Irish gouda),

Caerphilly (a crumbly, lactic and vegetal Welsh cow’s milk),

and Ardrahan (a semi-soft, washed rind, pungent cow’s milk from Ireland).

When asked what Dani would eat with his agronomist cheese plate, Dani responded with “A bottle of Rye, a can of Matiz sardines with Lemon, and some Brooklyn Brine Serrano Beans.  Because why not.”  Don’t forget your cup of tea and sticky toffee pudding, Dani.

Well that’s all from us this time!  Come on in and try out Dani’s cheese choices for the week and see what you think.  And if you have any comments or suggestions to the blog go ahead and let us know!  Pip, pip and cheerio!