In a recent statement, a senior White House policy adviser rejected a petition from ~6,000 citizens seeking a change in the federal ban on sales of raw milk across state lines. Doug McKalip, senior official in charge of rural affairs, stated that the Administration preferred the current state of affairs, where individual states regulated the raw milk trade within their borders:

Take a look at these awesome beer events going on this week in Oregon from oregonlive.com. Events include Shot and a Beer Dutch Style and Beer Dragon at the Valley. 

SHOT AND A BEER DUTCH STYLE   

5-7 p.m. Friday, the Hop & Vine, 1914 N. Killingsworth St.;   

Cheese, butter and sourdough bread. No other information is needed. Try this new recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything. 

This naughty Bloomin' Onion Bread has cheese stuffed in every crack and is cut just like the Bloomin' Onion from Outback. My family loved this but really it's enough to feed a small army. It's a fun way to serve bread because everyone can just pull off a piece of cheesy onion bread. This would be a great appetizer or bread for a meal.

Click here for full recipe.

These little round cakes are adorable to say the least. Fill them with goat cheese using this recipe from food babbles for a huge breakfast lunch or dinner win:

Ebelskivers (pronounced “able-skeevers”) are puffy, sphere-shaped pancakes that are filled with all sorts of things. They can be sweet or savory. Sometimes they’re served with toppings or sauces as well.

I decided to make two types of ebelskivers, wanting to try both a sweet as well as a savory. My first batch was herb and goat cheese. These were decidedly my favorite. A fresh sage leaf on the top of the sphere tastes earthy and distinct while warm, tangy goat cheese completes this little pancake. I couldn’t stop eating them!

Click here to see the recipes

The Cheese and Champagne girls have discovered a new cheese from New Jersey and they like it a lot:

Yesterday I joked on Twitter that I’d be serving neutral Swiss cheeses for this weekend’s football play-off games. I’ve tried not to gloat about my home state team’s victory in the Rose Bowl, but this Sunday, Jill’s Green Bay Packers take on my husband’s New York Giants. It’s the first time I’ve been glad Jill moved out of state.

But rather than driving the wedge further, perhaps we can find some common ground: Jill has family from Jersey, and we drive through Jersey every time we go back to New York. Okay, maybe I’m reaching a little. Regardless, I received this cheese at Thanksgiving and have yet to share it, so here we go.

Greek yogurt is a booming business these days, and New York State is benefiting more than most. William Neuman at the New York Times has the story:

Sales of Greek yogurt are booming, benefiting from a perception that the food is healthier than regular yogurt and other snacks.

Chobani takes in some three million pounds of milk a day, from which it makes a million pounds of yogurt.

“It’s an indulgent texture, but it’s also guilt-free,” said David J. Browne, a senior analyst for Mintel International Group, a consumer research firm.

Greek yogurt has certainly been healthy for the economy in New York. Two of the leading brands, Chobani and Fage, have their main production plants in upstate New York and are expanding their operations.

Cheese expert Laura Werlin knows cheese rights from cheese wrongs. In this video she gives pointers ranging from the serving to the cutting of cheese, with a little bit of rind etiquette along the way.

No love is lost between Russia and Ukraine, its former satellite state. But conflict is now brewing over an unexpected fight: import and regulatory issues surrounding Ukrainian cheese sold in Russian stores. The Moscow News has the story:

Russian-Ukrainian relations face a new hurdle as Russia’s chief sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko said Ukrainian cheeses aren’t cheesy enough by Russia’s standards. 

Local consumers need to be aware that they are buying a “cheese product,” and not actual cheese, given the amount of palm oil “used without control” by many Ukrainian cheese factories, Onishchenko told Interfax on Thursday.

A special probe has been launched by Russia’s sanitary watchdog Rospotrebnadzor as a part of a larger investigation, the agency reported.

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In this episode of NY CHOW Report, Alex Van Buren treks out in the snow with her friend Sarah Karnasiewicz to sample the Georgian khachapuri bread at a restaurant called, appropriately, Georgian Bread.

A very pregnant Jessica Simpson admitted to Showbiz Spy that eating for two means comfort food:

The actress/singer and TV personality — who’s expecting her first child with fiance Eric Johnson — admits she can’t get enough salty macaroni and cheese!

“I’m a big fan of Kraft Mac N’ Cheese… That keeps me happy. That keeps me sodium happy,” she said.

“I, like, wake up swollen because I put Lowry’s seasoning salt all over it.

“I’m craving a lot of things I had when I was a kid, like, this morning I buttered a Pop Tart. I haven’t done that in years.”

Read all the dish here.