Wednesday Morning Breakfast

A quick but definitely savored breakfast.

Earl Grey and Vermont Butter and Cheese Co. Creme Fraiche on lightly charred fresh sour dough.

Details to come on what made that Creme Fraiche a knock out. 

Good.  Damn.  Morning, everyone.

Bloody Mary Week: Classic B.M. w/Capricho de Cabra + Manchego Stuffed Olives

     As the cocktail train keeps rolling I realize that I should have labeled this "Garnish Week"  being that it's what I'm most excited about in these Bloody Mary's.  I am pretty stoked about today's offering.  
    What we have here is an olive stuffed with a mixture of Capricho de Cabra and One Year Aged Manchego.  That's right, I'm mixing milks here.  Goat Cheese + Sheep's Milk Cheese = Love (Forever).  I told you it would get crazy in here this week.  
    The Capricho is bright and balanced, with a touch of that familiar lemon zest of fresh goat cheese.  Meanwhile the Aged Manchego adds depth and fatty-earthy aroma.  Together they make my favorite stuffed olive yet.

 Olives w/Capricho de Cabra and 1 Year Aged Manchego

Pitted Olives

(Green works best with this variation)

Capricho de Cabra, plain

1 Year Aged Manchego

• Bring Capricho and Manchego to room temperature.  About 20 minutes out of the fridge.
• Drain and pat dry olives.
• Shred Manchego using a hand held cheese grater
• Mix 1 part Capricho with 2 parts shredded manchego
• To stuff the olive roll a pinch of the cheese mixture in the palm of your hand and gently poke it into the  olive. 
• To get the pretty "snowball" effect from the photos dip the large end of the stuffed olive into any remaining Manchego shreds.  This is also good for extra Manchego flavor.  

Enjoy!

      (Responsibly)     

    

Visit TBAW here for the Classic Bloody Mary recipe! 

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Mascarpone

    Mascarpone. Pronounced  [mahsk^_ar-po-nay]. Not [masker-pohn].  I swear I do a mental face-palm whenever I hear someone trying to be "cultured" and totally mangling the pronunciation.  I hold no punches for the ignorant.  This is a cheese to be respected.  Especially this particular mascarpone. 

    Yet it isn't made in Northern Italy, where the style originates, instead it is actually the product of that oft mocked dairy state, Wisconsin.  Not just a land of uncomfortably electric yellow commodity cheeses and the mysterious "string cheese" (whatever that is).  Wisconsin has in recent years begun to put out a fine offering of artisanal dairy products that are quite in line with the artisan food movement sweeping the continent.  Crave Brothers is no exception. 

Continued after the jump...

Sneak Peek #3

I have some lovely autumnal offerings in the works for you. 

Some unedited footage for your satisfaction.

Sweet Ravioli with Handmade Ricotta & Strawberry

 Straining excess whey from my homemade whole (cow) milk Ricotta

Mixing it with in-season strawberries, a good heaping spoon full of moist brown sugar, & a squirt of lime juice.

Wanton wrappers are my easy ravioli cheat. Someday I'll be ambitious enough to make my own pasta dough...

I feel like shapes influence texture.  These "flying geese" shapes were my favorite.

They turned out rather well (to my surprise as i made this up on the fly.  it's what happens when i have an excess of any food & no desire to plan ahead.).  They were lightly sweet and the lime brought out the headiness of  the strawberries.  The ricotta gave it further richness & a hint of unsweetened cheesecakey-ness.  In short this was an unexpected success.  I can't wait to try it again with raspberries & perhaps a little olive oil.

The Good Stuff.

It's no secret that I'm a fan of Avalanche cheeses.  

Most notably the pillowy fluff of their fresh Chevre.  Since I'm pining for the return of The Guy (he's doing business type things out of state) I decided to cope by buying myself some fancy-type cheese.  But what's a lady to do when a plain log of Chev isn't enough?  Naturally she scrounges in her refrigerator (in the back and slightly above the crisper) and produces magic. 

That's what.

To elaborate this Chevre is rolled in paprika and chopped fire roasted tomatoes w/olive oil, garlic, and herbs.  A tiny salad of spicy/bitter greens adds a zing of contrast.  Of course my security blanket of a cheese platform, cracked pepper water crackers, balances it all out.  

I do suspect 7 out of 10 times I take cheese anywhere, that cracker comes with me.  

This time it had the pleasure of delivering that fine, fine Chev concoction to my face.  

Which, naturally, soothed my pining.  

Still, a log of cheese is a poor substitute for a Fiance. 

Picnic Food.

Monday Afternoon Pizza

365 Whole Foods Market Garlic Naan Crust, San Danielle Prosciutto, Crave Bros. Fresh Mozzarella (ciligene size), Mitica Capricho de Cabra w/Black Pepper, Divina Fire Roasted Tomatoes in Oil w/Garlic & Herbs, 365 Whole Foods Market Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
(plus freshly cracked salt and pepper)

This is what I made after bemoaning how I wasn't motivated to make lunch for myself.  I agree with what a friend told me recently.  I always seem to be more motivated to cook if it involves cooking for other people.  Recently my lunch consists of anything that can be easily scooped onto saltines or is already in tupperware.
Classy.

So, yeah, motivation.  Evidently I have it.

Mozzarella. Bar.

Handmade Fior di Latte.  c/o charmingitaly.com

That's right, you heard me. Mozzarella. Bar. Whoa.  Thanks to a sudden inability to spell the word mozzarella (as i was preparing for a totally different entry regarding the same cheese) I blithely typed the first few letters into my Google search bar, also known as my personal spell check.  The fourth option Google listed for mozzarella was "Mozzarella Bar Boulder".  I may have blacked out for a half a second out of sheer joy.  The world seems so complete now.  A world where the soft, milky, briny, creamy lactose packed fresh curd perfection known as mozzarella never stops coming.  Where I can belly up to a bar and stuff myself with Fior di Latte until tears of happiness blur my vision.  Currently I am devising a way to beat the Mothers Day crowds and go to this font of dairy wonder*.






*Don't fret Osteria Marco! I will only cheat on your house made burrata a teensy bit.  I'll always come back to you...