Winter 2011
Ricotta Beignets
This unlikely duo first met when Brown hired Pham as his sous-chef at a restaurant in Provo, Utah. Their disparate upbringings—Brown on a ranch in Arizona, Pham in the Bay Area—have led to their signature style of using a mix of locally foraged greens and other edibles with high-end ingredients such as spot prawns, diver scallops, or elk tenderloin. The result is sophisticated, elegant fare with a whimsical, homespun touch. Oh, and they love cheese.
Culture: Utah is producing some really great cheese. What are some of your
favorites?
Viet Pham: I love Snowy Mountain Sheep Creamery. We use Strawberry Peak, an alpine style mixed with Jersey milk, as well as Delano Peak (sheep’s blue) and Timpanogos Peak (Brie-style sheep’s blue).
Queso Syrah, Syrah: Earthy and vibrant California syrahs are deserving of your cheese
Syrah is the red equivalent of Riesling when it comes to buying wine: the wine everyone talks about but nobody drinks, the one sommeliers wish guests would order instead of the more usual suspects. And that’s too bad, because syrah is where it’s at in California right now.
Sure, there are plenty of California syrahs that aim to be nothing more than cheap and easy, in the mode of the Aussie “good drinks” that spurred them on. And there are other syrahs that wish to be in the Cult Cab crowd, thick and black with fruit, and glossed with the vanilla sheen of oak.
CALIFORNIA
Mendocino County
Copain 2009 Tous Ensemble Syrah ($23)
Mendocino Ridge
Drew Family Cellars 2008 Valenti Vineyard Syrah ($36)
Outer Sonoma Coast
TLC in NYC: a cave-aged artisanal selection from the affineurs at Murray's Cheese
• Quadrello di Bufala (8 oz)
• Champlain Valley Triple Cream (4 oz)
• Fourme d’Ambert (8 oz)
• Etivaz (8 oz)
• Rustic Bakery Flatbread (1 box, 6 oz)
• Fresh Walnut Preserves (1 jar, 18.9 oz)
Spiced Chicken Livers with Goat Cheese Grits, Sweet Onion Vinaigrette, and Chicory
Bryce Gilmore: Chef/owner, Odd Duck Farm to Trailer and
Barley Swine, Austin, TX
Age: 29
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Still (barely) in his twenties, Gilmore exemplifies the new generation of recession-era chefs, with his rustic localized cuisine, laid-back style, and out-of-the-box thinking. After opening the wildly successful Odd Duck in an old trailer, he created Barley Swine, an ode to his love of good food, beer, and pork products.
Serves 4
Livers:
1 tablespoon coriander seed
1 tablespoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika
½ teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon chili flakes
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Leaves from 3 sprigs thyme
½ cup olive oil
Errico Auricchio, Founder and President of BelGioioso, Talks Cheese
Errico Auricchio, founder and President of BelGioioso Cheese, Inc., reflects on the past with culture editor Elaine Khosrova.
I came from a little village near Naples [Italy] called San Giuseppe Vesuviano. My family has been in the cheese business for four generations, starting with my great-grandfather in 1879. One hundred years later, in 1979, I moved to the United States with my wife and our three little children to start a cheese company with a cousin.
Star Search: A quest for great cheese leads to a dazzling prowl around Los Angeles
When I moved to Los Angeles from New York in 1991, I couldn’t understand why LA seemed so lacking when it came to gourmet provisions, including serious cheese. The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills was the exception, but it was beyond my grad student budget; I couldn’t find much else.
To see an interactive map of the best cheese spots on Los Angeles, click here
A Photo Tour of Catalonya and its Cheeses
Culture's winter issue features a trip to Catalonya, Spain, where writer Sue Style visited several cheesemakers and reported on the treasures she found. Here is a visual tour of the creameries and farms Sue traveled to, and the people she met along the way. Photography by the talented Ivan Raga.
