Where to begin with this sweet and grassy goat's milk cheese shaped like a little bell, une clochette? Clochette emanates a gorgeous bright floral aroma. Its rich dense texture seems to melt into cream on your palate. The cheese is produced in the region of Poitou-Charentes starting at the end of March and ending some time in autumn. Its appearance varies. Sometimes, it is covered in natural green and white molds. When it's really fresh, there are almost no molds, but if there are, do not fret - you can eat them too!
Besides its distinctive luscious tang, it posseses the most adorable name, Clochette, meaning "little bell" in English. Although the flavors are not challenging, it fits its category perfectly as a fresh-ripened goat's milk cheese. It is incredibly well-balanced and not too rich. In fact, it could be aged for as little as two weeks.
You can purchase Clochette at almost any cheese shop or specialty food store with a reputable cheese department. When you bring it home, let it set out in room temperature for a couple of hours before savoring it. Clochette is delicious slightly warmed up. Try a slice of it with some fresh raspberries and a glass of sparkling white wine.
We've been talking a lot about ice cream lately, so I became extremely excited yesterday when I found this article over at The Huffington Post. It features goat's milk ice cream, an intriguing dairy creation that's apparently healthier than regular ice cream and popular with celebrities like Jim Carrey and Kate Hudson.
The brand discussed in the article is called Laloo -- check out the site for details and adorable pictures of baby goats (kids, I know, but baby goats sounds so much cuter). After consulting the list of local dealers, I found out that it's actually sold at tons of stores that are close to my home. I'm a bit cautious about trying it, but if any of you have rave reviews, I may just have to go and purchase a pint. Anyone?
Have you noticed how hard and dry goat's milk cheeses become after spending a couple of weeks in the fridge? They may seem as though they are ready to be thrown away. Although they will not taste as good on their own, there are several ways you could use these dried out morsels of cheese to add flavor to a dish.
At a Super Bowl Party filled with Velveeta-laden spreads and greasy potato chips, crostini can be a welcome alternative. This recipe is one of my favorites: it pairs creamy goat cheese, tart red peppers and a toasty baguette for a refreshing break from the norm.
When I was at the farmers market on Saturday with Sarah, I picked up a couple pounds of gorgeous-looking beets, without much of a plan other than they called out to me. Yesterday afternoon around 3 pm, they started to talk to me from the vegetable drawer and so I put a pot of water on the stove to boil them up. I had picked up a package of chevre at Trader Joe's and I started to imagine a beet and goat cheese salad with red onion, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
While I was in the middle of making some relatives showed up and my cooked beets spent about an hour gently cooling in their skins on the kitchen counter. When I finally got back to them, they slipped out of their skins easily. I cut them into half moons, tossed them with some great olive oil that somehow wandered into my parents' kitchen, the crumbled chevre, some slivered and soaked (in attempt to make them a little less pungent) red onion, a little balsamic, a bit of cracked black pepper and some salt.
I had intended to top it with some toasted walnuts, but people came in and started eating it before I got to that step. Instead I just cut off a hunk of sourdough from a loaf I bought at New Seasons earlier in the day and scooped up a plate of beet salad for myself. They were some of the best beets I'd ever had, sweet and earthy and so tender. If you have some beets laying around, this is a great way to make them appeal to a large swath of people, as no one who has passed through the house yet has been able to say no to it.
Earlier this week, I was doing a little grocery shopping at Reading Terminal Market (if you're a foodie and you're coming to visit Philadelphia, don't miss a trip to Reading Terminal) when I stumbled across a pomegranate deal. These puppies were just $.50 a piece and so I splurged and bought four (they've been so expensive here recently that I haven't indulged at all this season).
But once I got them home, I realized that I had little clue what to do with them other than just eat them straight. I've been working my way through them, pairing them with this or that to see what works (pomegranate seeds with plain yogurt was a little too bitter for me). One match-up that worked beautifully was the salad you see above. The juicy outer part of the fruit gave the salad (romaine lettuce, goat cheese, sliced apple and a honey lemon dressing) a nice sweetness and the seed gave it a nutty crunch. And they were so good with the goat cheese. It's definitely worth a shot if you have a pomegranate around.
In New York, more restaurants are staying open, or opening up, to cater to the late-late crowd that come out to eat in what some consider to be the wee hours of the morning. Some do it because they like to stay up late. Others do it because you have a "built in clientele" of people who are up and have few options of where to go.
The first, the biggest, and perhaps the best, artisan goat cheese maker in the US has recently been sold to a French company. The company specializes in developing and continuing small artisan lines, and plans to continue Laurel Chenel's work. She plans to continue to raise goats and, even once in a while, take some time off.
There are so many conflicting studies about the health benefits and/or risks or eating fish, it's hard to know what to eat. Most still agree that some fish will have health benefits, as long as you avoid kinds known to be high in mercury.
It is little wonder that this simple salad is a favorite of Anne, from Anne's Food. She starts with a base of baby spinach and blanched baby green beans, which contribute a light flavor and a nice little crunch to the mix. The greens are dressed with a simple vinaigrette, spiced up with a bit of mustard and honey. Frankly, that salad would be lovely on its own, as a side dish to a larger meal, but that base is not what makes it great. The secret is an easy one: fried cheese. Anne slices a piece of chèvre, dips it first in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, and fries until golden in a pan of olive oil.
The hot cheese is placed immediately on top of the greens, and the combination of crispy edges and melty inside makes heaven on a plate. Who knew it would come from salad?
As Nicole already mentioned, you can get a lot of picnic mileage out of simply prepared fresh vegetables. Another way to get a salad to your picnic without the hassle of bowls, forks and dressings is just to wrap it up in a tortilla or other flat-bread. Lately I'm fond of making wraps with hummus or soft goat cheese topped with peeled carrot, cucumber, tomato, dill, spinach and lemon juice. The main thing to keep in mind is the water content of what you're wrapping. Seed things like tomatoes and cucumbers first, and if you plan on using a dressing, go easy. Bringing along a lemon to squeeze into the wraps at the last minute will help keep the tortillas dry.
We've been talking a lot about 
In New York, more restaurants are staying open, or opening up, to 
Brooklyn has become America's 
Cheese Course: Brebis Pardou
A transcendent summer tomato salad
Sliced bread turns 80 today
