"cheese board" news and stories

• Frigid winter weather calls for black bean soup and cornbread cassoulet.
• The secret to a well-assembled cheese board is contrasting tastes, textures and colors -- and capping the selection at six different varieties.
• Tired cooks can get more shut-eye by preparing their breakfast dishes before going to bed.
• Sliced beef filet on baguette rounds is a winning tapas recipe for timid eaters.

That's right! Buy it while you can still find it and afford it. A recent New York Times article explains that as of March 22, the government is raising the tariff on Roquefort from 100 to 300 percent. Yes, the tariff is already quite high. So, if you're already shocked by the markup on artisanal cheeses, you can stop blaming vendors and start getting frustrated with the federal import tariffs.

Cheesemongers from various stores, such as Murray's Cheese, stated that they will most likely stop selling Roquefort. The NY Times article states that we will still be able to find cheap "everyday" Roquefort from Fairway for $8.39 per pound. That's about how much it costs for high-end Roquefort in Paris. So, I think I'd rather abstain from the "everyday" kind. The "everyday" type is okay for sprinkling on salads, but the normal to fine ones, such as Roquefort Société and Roquefort Vieux Berger, have complex one-of-a-kind flavors and textures.

Roquefort isn't the only cheese with a tariff. Have you ever wondered why imported cheddars are so expensive? To protect American cheddars from foreign competition, there is a heavy tariff placed on British imported cheddars. This seems like another great reason to start buying local artisanal cheeses or to move to France.

Anyone who has spent a fair amount of time in Berkeley and has eaten more than two meals there knows the Cheese Board. Owned and operated by the workers, in true Berkeley style, it is a fantastic cheese shop and bakery, with a pizza place next door that has lines down the block at lunch and dinner. The Cheese Board is the kind of place that locals go to on a near-daily basis and others take trips out of their way to stop in.

But stopping in isn't an option, particularly if you live nowhere near the SF Bay Area. If you want to try your hand at some of their products at home, The Cheese Board: Collective Works is definitely the book to get. It has recipes for some of their most popular items, including currant scones, bran muffins and lots of their famous breads. The quick pastry items, such as the scones, are much easier and less time-intensive than the bread recipes, but their instructions are comprehensive and you will achieve good results if you put in the time it takes to work through the recipes. Aside from the breads, the book also has a cheese guide and a history of the co-op, which was founded in 1967 and has become a Bay Area institution in the time since then.

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