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Parmesan.com, 13 Years in the Making
Syracuse native and cheese enthusiast Nancy Radke bought the domain name parmesan.com 13 years ago. However, it has taken her until this may to convince the Italian producers of Parmigiano-Reggiano to allow her to promote their cheeses on the English language website.
Thirteen years ago, Nancy Radke, of Syracuse, secured the website name "parmesan.com."
It took until late last year to convince the Italian dairy group that makes authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to let her create an English-language website to promote their product.
"It was me being a pain in the neck," Radke said. "The Italians do things slowly. They have 800 years of history. What's 13 years to them?"
Raising the Bar on Grilled Cheese in D.C.
Cleveland Park restaurant "Ripple" has launched a grilled cheese bar, featuring such sandwiches as the french onion and the "swiss bank account" (that's prosciutto, challerhocker cheese, and truffle butter)
Mondays through Thursdays, Ripple in Cleveland Park will offer a variety of grilled cheese options, including one where you select the cheeses and various add-ons to build a custom-order creation. It's bifurcated, from 5-6:30 p.m. for the early birds and 10:30-midnight for those in need of a grilled cheese before bed.
On Monday, The Huffington Post sampled some of Ripple's creations, including our favorite, the Krusty Krab, where grilled Mt. Tam triple-cream cheese is coupled with jumbo lump crab imperial with bechamel sauce. (That's $11.) The Swiss Bank Account comes with hand-sliced prosciutto, challerhocker cheese and truffle butter. (That's $12.)
Giant Cheese Crown Carved for Queen's Jubilee
A student in Lyme Regis, England, carved a 27 kg crown out of West Dorset Cheddar this weekend in time for Queen Elizabeth II's jubilee weekend. If only we could get the Queen to wear it...
IT SOUNDS cheesy, but a student has created a crown from a giant truckle of West Dorset cheddar in Lyme Regis.
Lyme Regis cheesemonger Justin Tunstall, based at the Town Mill, commissioned artist Camilla Johnstone to create the sculpture from the 27kg Ford Farm cheese.
"Healthy" Irish Cheeses Spared in Advertising Ban
As reported yesterday, a planned ban on advertising cheese products to children as a national health initiative in Ireland has attracted controversy:
Today, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland announced that they would allow cheese products high in calcium with lower rates of saturated fat, like string cheese, cheese triangles, and brie, to continue to advertise to children as a compromise.
It says cheese slices, cheddar, parmesan, edam, gouda and feta cheese should all be on the banned list before the 9pm watershed because they contain unhealthy levels of fat and/or salt.
However cheese strings, light cheese triangles, brie and low-fat cheddar get the green light because they're high in calcium and relatively low in saturated fat and salt.
Ask the Cheesemonger
Juliana Uruburu is the cheese program director at the Pasta Shop markets, with locations in Berkeley and Oakland, California
Q: I’m pregnant and wondering what the deal is with eating cheese—some people say to avoid it altogether, others say it depends on the cheese. Can you please clarify?
Throw some Cheese on the Grill
Does "grilled cheese" only bring to mind gooey fromage between two pieces of white bread? Think again with Halloumi, a tasty cheese who acidic content allows it to be heated without melting. Grill it, and toss with some cool veggies in this recipe from North Jersey.com
Halloumi is one of a small class of cheeses that do not melt when heated. It's all a matter of acid. A cheese with either lots of acid or very little acid won't melt. Halloumi has lots, which is why you really can toss it directly on the grill.
Halloumi is popular throughout the Mediterranean and the Middle East, where it often is cubed and threaded onto skewers for grilling. Try it in this recipe for grilled cheese salad.
Cheese and Beer Pairings from Esquire
The folks at Esquire have assembled a guide for marrying two of life's greatest pleasures: cheese and beer. To see how blue cheese and IPA's play together, or if stouts and Gouda enjoy each other's company, keep reading.
It takes a hell of a beer to stand up to the powerful flavors of a veiny, complex blue cheese. Stilton has a meatiness and high salt content that contrasts well with IPA's piney, intense bite.
Michelle Obama's Cauliflower Mac & Cheese
From the recipe cards of Michelle Obama comes a blueprint for macaroni and cheese with cauliflower puree, demonstrated at yumsugar. In keeping with the First Lady's focus on national health, this dish passes up on roux - the creamy stuff that gives mac and cheese its gooey texture and more calories - in favor of a lighter yet delicious dish with pasta, milk, cheese, and cauliflower puree.
In honor of next week's release of Michelle Obama's cookbook, American Grown, we baked up something sweet, and now we're onto another one of America's favorite comfort foods, mac and cheese.
Jersey Shore's Mack & Manco's Pizza Has A New Name
I might be late to this party, but I was stunned to find out that Mack & Manco's (of Jersey shore pizza fame) is now called Manco & Manco. The change is subtle enough that a double take is required when you look at the sign. Adam Kuban of the Daily Slice has the story:
Word of the name change first came in late December 2011, after what a Manco partner described as an amicable split with the Macks in June 2011—that was just slightly before Slice visited last summer. As Caroline Russock noted during her summer 2011 visit, "more saucy than cheesy, it's a slice that tastes like summer."
Pepper-Glazed Goat Cheese Gratin
Goat cheese is pretty delicious. This creamy dip is just another testament to that.
This warm, sweet-spicy goat cheese dip is an easy alternative to a cheese plate.
Read the recipe
