"blue cheese" news and stories

Buffalo Wings -- the perfect three bite appetizer for any game, but especially for the Super Bowl. If you're throwing a party at home and don't feel like doing take-out or making them from scratch, there are numerous frozen varieties available, and Slashfood's panel of wing connoisseurs will help you pick the best of the bunch.

Find out which wings caught their attention after the jump.

The mere thought of blue cheese evokes a surge of flavor memories -- sweet caramel, piquant peppers and earthy aromas. Favorites such as Gorgonzola Piccante, Rogue River Blue, Fourme d'Ambert and Vaquero all come to mind. But Cayuga Blue from Lively Run Goat Dairy eschews the standard flavor profile of a blue cheese. Instead, it's downright subdued with an herbaceous grassy taste reminiscent of a goat's milk tomme-style cheese, similar to Twig Farm's Goat Tomme.

The blue veins interestingly seem to function as a slightly spicy "topping" to this already flavorful cheese. The delicate goat's milk comes across first before you're hit with the mild tang of blue molds. Aged for two months, the cheese develops a firm dry texture that becomes soft and velvety on the palate. Altogether, it makes for a subtle blue, toned down with a rich, creamy taste.

At the Lively Run Goat Farm in the Finger Lakes region of New York, meticulous care of the several different goat breeds (Alpine, Nubian, Saanen and South African Boer breeds, and even crossbreeds) results in the flavorful aromatic raw milk used to create the cheese. In addition to the milk from her own farm, Susanne Messmer mixes goat's milk from five other sustainable farms in the area with hers to produce Cayuga Blue.

• Got milk? To make traditional mashed potatoes decadent enough for the holiday spread means one thing: heavy cream, and lots of it.
• Chocolate isn't just for dessert. Take it from the Italians and try adding the "food of the gods" to savory pastas, soups, risottos and crostini.
• Experts say the pumpkin shortage Libby's announced last week won't affect your pie this year, but next year may be a different story.
• Pungent, bold-flavored blue cheese "can help satisfy your cravings for rich, creamy foods without the guilt."
• Get out those planners -- Thanksgiving dinner is all a matter of good scheduling.

The days when only Maytag Blue represented American blue cheese are long gone. From sweet and peppery Bayley Hazen Blue to the mineral-like taste of Tilston Point and the fruity pear flavor of Rogue River Blue, the options for American blue cheeses have dramatically increased. And, now, there's a new distinctly rustic blue cheese to add to this growing list -- Vaquero from Willow Hill Farm in Vermont.

Unlike other American blue cheeses, Vaquero has a creamy taste with a fascinating and delicious crispy dark chocolate flavor. "I would have to say it's the milk combination," explains Willow Smart, who co-owns the farm along with her husband, Dave Phinney. "We milk both sheep and cows, hence the yellow-ness from the cow's milk. We milk Brown Swiss and Dutch Belted cows, which always have very yellow milk as the beta-Carotene [red-orange pigment] from the pastures comes through in their rich milk."

Vaquero's rustic-looking rind, pale-yellow paste, and thick buttery consistency also make it stand apart from other blues. The natural exterior of the wheel appears similar to that of a Tomme de Savoie. Indeed, the cheese has the same brown Tomme de Savoie mold. Aged for three to five months, the molds, flavor and spreadable texture develop in caves that Willow and Dave built back in 1999.

With the rise of artisan American cheesemakers, it shouldn't be a surprise that some of them, like Rogue Creamery and Uplands Cheese Company, are exporting their cheeses to markets abroad. Tasting even a small bite of the lusciously creamy Rogue River Blue (now, imported to England by Neal's Yard Dairy) makes it clear that stateside cheesemakers mean business when it comes to quality.

Hand wrapped in grape leaves, Rogue River Blue has a smooth complex flavor that ranges from sweet and fruity to nutty. Its texture is intensely rich, reminiscent of a Roquefort Baragnaudes. However, unlike Roquefort -- which is produced from raw sheep's milk -- this blue is made from raw cow's milk. And in contrast to many blues, like Gorgonzola Piccante, this one is more sweet than spicy. So, for those of you whose palates have been traumatized by overly-pungent blues, this one is sure to win you over.

Like most delicious artisanal cheeses, the craftsmanship (and local collaboration) involved in producing Rogue River Blue is directly responsible for its brilliant taste and consistency. The cheese comes from Rogue Creamery in Central Point, Ore. There, in the Rogue River Valley, the wheels are covered in grape leaves that are harvested from nearby Carpenter Hill Vineyard. But these aren't just any grape leaves: They're all macerated in Clear Creek's Pear Brandy and then tied to the cheese with strands of raffia.