I love cheese! I can nibble away at ungodly amounts of cheese- let's just say I'm contributing to the bovine methane emissions problem one cow at a time. Yesterday, I got a vampire-like craving for cheese so I head over to Trader Joe's. They have a great selection, but I was on the prowl for "English Coastal Cheddar" and thank GOD they had some or my whole day would have been ruined. It's a white cheddar from the Dorset Coast of England that's aged for a minimum of 15 months.
It's probably one of my favourite cheeses.. Well, next to a well-aged Parmigiano Reggiano. The texture of the coastal cheddar is firm yet creamy. To top it off, each nibble is peppered with little crunchy bits of bursting flavour crystals that are typical of a harder, well-aged cheese. It has a subtle, nutty, smooth taste that totally coats your palate in that creamy cheesy goodness sorta way. I usually slice and platter it because it's sooo good just eating out of hand, but it works well in anything a sharp cheddar would compliment. The subtle sharpness is balanced well with the creaminess of it.
Currently it's selling for $6.99 a pound at TJ's. I think it pairs really well with wines that are on the lighter, fruitier side. Something light and crisp enough to cleanse the palate because this cheese just melts on your tongue like Belgian chocolate. A Pinot Grigio, Gewurztraminer or even a CA sparkling wine like Mumm's Cuvee M pair quite well with this cheese.
My newest *find* at Trader Joe's is yet another otherworldly white English cheddar with caramelized onions in it!! Oh my god, tell me that's not crying to be an ingredient in garlic roasted mashed potatoes or a warm spinach artichoke dip. It has one of the most interesting mouth feels of any cheese I've had in a long time. It's not nearly as firm as the coastal cheddar and it's darker in colour slightly.
Currently it is selling for $8.99 a pound at TJ's.
If I had to put my finger on it, I would say once you take a bite of it, you'll notice it has more of a slighty firmer than stiff cream cheese bite to it. It's really hard to describe it, but it's very good, and it doesn't coat the palate as much as the English Coastal Cheddar. As soon as you wrestle off the protective covering, you immediately get a whiff of this sweet caramelized onion smell. I just wanted to chew through the cellophane.
I envision a leisurely Sunday of sparkling wine, amazing cheese, hard salami, a box of Carr's assorted table crackers and crapload of Brothers Quay flicks.
Aaah.. the cheesy life is good on a lazy Los Feliz Sunday afternoon.
-tara
tags: eating, cheese, cheddar, Trader+Joe's
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Hello All,
I'm new here and I am a self professed foodie- there.. I admitted it. I love good food in any form or at any altitude. Give me hospital food and I will critique it. Tonight I was chatting with Steen about, what else.. food, when I shared with her a much beloved link to a website that I feel NO foodie traveler should be without.
AirlineMeals.net
Are you tired of crappy airline meals? Are you tired of asking for water and getting a little sippy cup sized doling? I say give me the whole bottle dammit! Perhaps you're fed up with paying like $5 for a sandwich sans condiments and donning a layer of neon orange *pasteurized cheese food* that I wouldn't feed my pet rats?
If you agree with any of the aforementioned, then you're a foodie on wings and as such you deserve proper beforehand knowledge of what meals you can expect while trapped in those metal birds. Arm yourselves, take to the skies with a camera. Snap a few shots of the meals you've loved/endured and you can help other foodies on wings become empowered before they confirm that flight.
The days are gone when I could pack myself a cute little plane picnic. Now when I fly, I have to bare my soul in a plastic bag just to get through boarding. Good-bye fair chef salad and umpteen litres of Evian tucked safely away in my carry-on, ready at a moment's notice- waiting to be imbibed. Good-bye lovingly prepared spinach wrap, you are now replaced with sub par vittles peddled at a premium that I begrudgingly pay for.
Economy, Business or First class.. we deserve good food!!
Personally, I love flying Lufthansa, and up until recently, there was internet access aboard most flights. Let's face it, we're all pretty much suckling on the teat of the world wide web, so net access on a plane is a boon on any flight. Also on Lufthansa, not only does the wine and cocktails flow like the river Nile, but the food is actually pretty good. Camembert, Pinot Grigio, a sun-dried tomato pasta and lemon scented linen face towels prior to our meal pretty much sum up my experience on Lufthansa Economy class to Frankfurt from LAX.
We are no longer stuck up there at their mercy. Foodies on wings unite!
-tara
tags: airline+food, eating, dining
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