dinner at French Basque chef Iñaki Aizpitarte's Le Chateubriand.
Corral Nou. Tastes like....first kiss?
12/01/2010
A rhapsody on raw milk cheese//don’t stop ’til you get enough
Well, I am back home in NYC now. I just finished my 10 month Le Cordon Bleu/gastronomic/living-the-life stint in Paris. I miss it so much. The lights, the art, the beauty, the beautiful babies, the food stores…but what I miss most is the stinky, filthy, whore-y cheese…
Know your roll.
Cheese tastes different in France. Better. Stinkier. Filthier. My fridge was dense with scents and flavors one is tempted to describe as sweaty, oppressive, dank and sultry. It doesn’t take long for the knowledge to seep in that these flavors are due to the awesome power of unpasteurized (or raw) milk which is entirely legal and actually encouraged to consume in France. Once back stateside, I had a mini panic attack that grew into a full breakdown in the cheese aisle at Whole Foods. Things will never be the same for me and my fromage.
Unpasteurized or raw milk cheeses get their complex flavors from the (duh) raw milk which is produced by cows who graze on the land, eating acorns, wild greens, wild garlic and a large variety of herbs. Since no two cows are raised the same or eat the same things, there is great variety and seasonality in raw milk cheeses. In France, the cows, the milk and the farms are trusted and as such raw milk cheeses are not a food safety issue. Here in the US, we don’t (and should not) trust that our cattle are grass fed, healthy and free of disease unless they come from very small, artisanal farms.
The United States Food and Drug Administration and the USDA hold hands and govern the consumption of raw milk products. Due to The Dictatorship, raw milk cannot be transported across state lines with the intent of human consumption. Unpasteurized cheeses are actually legal in the US…as long as they have been aged at least 60 days in an area held at 35 degrees Farenheit. During the aging process, the cheese becomes more acidic, killing most potential sources of bacterial infection. This leads to what I call “zero-personality cheese”. This process takes away much of the filthy characteristics true to cheese such as the very well known and popular Camembert. Go to France and taste the Camembert de Normandy and it is an entirely different being. It’s Mozart versus Elton John on the piano, same instrument, looks the same but sounds entirely different.
Alas, you can get some very good cheese here in New York City if you drop the food snob act (ugh, Mom, do I haaave tooooo?).
TO DO:
Artisanal
2 Park Avenue
(212) 725-8585
*other retailers sell Artisanal cheese. List is on website
Despana
408 Broome Street
New York, NY 10013
*specializes in products from Spain
Murrays Cheese
254 Bleecker St.
New York, NY
*other locations
Saxelby Cheese
Essex Street Market
New York, NY
*FYI: Anne Saxelby sells fine American cheese
Stinky Brooklyn
261 Smith St
Brooklyn, NY
(718) 522-7425
Bedford Cheese Shop
218 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Larder
228 Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
(718) 783-1250
Yummy babies:
Strong – Livarot
Stronger – Mereilles
Strongest – Vieux Lille
Goopiest – Petit Soumantain
*taken from a cheese tasting with Chef Becs in Paris
Sources:
Raw Milk Facts
21/12/2009
Stylecons//i not-so-secretly want to look like you
Vampy 'n trampy
Elvis coiff, leathah and to-die-for eye makeup? Yes we can.
At this point. You probably know my Carine Roitfeld obsession. She kills it bebe. Love the black on black on black with hair-in-face.
Sexy 80's rocker Joan Jett? ME-OW OW OW. I wish I could rock a mullet. 2 belts on leather pants? Mama, u rock.
Blood red nails + blood red lips. Vampire chic. Ed Cullen come get me...
Dark, mysterious and sexy. Lace & Legs. Told you I love Carine. She is Paris bebe. Paris...
Related:
Stylecon 1: Carine Roitfeld
French Vogue is better
Stylecon 2: Ines De La Fressange.
21/12/2009
Articles of interest//weekending Dec 21
Fauchon: killer design
Yawn. It’s hard to avoid the top ten lists that get shoved in our face at the end of every year. OH WELL. Allons-y:
In a cheese-serving-rut? Try some different ways of serving your cheez plate.
As the year draws to a close, what can we expect but more top ten lists. This one, on cookbooks, is a bit quirkier. [SE]
Q&A on mamma’s fave beverage, Champage [WSJ]
Not really an article but WHOO effin’ HOOO [NYM]
HuffPo talks about women in food today. Finally. Grrl Power [HuffPo]
Breathable wine glass. Kinda, sorta..genius?
The Food Channel explores the top ten food trends for 2010. I think this is one of the better and more thoughtful “top ten” lists out there. [The Food Channel]
03/12/2009
On reading//articles of interest for the weekending 12/4
Thank you London.
Two ex-Saveur Magazine employees start Canal House Cooking. A (daunting) print venture in these internet times. Show your support for paper by subscribing. [NYT]
Nation’s Restaurant News just came out with its survey of food trends for 2010. I’m, not sure whether to laugh or cry that “nutritionally balanced children’s dishes” are a trend for next year. [NRN]
NY Mag pushes its holiday gift guide for foodies. Someone buy me the Spanish pantry!!!! Don’t buy me the Dean & Deluca tea sampler tho, it’s strictly Mariage Freres or Hediard for me bitch. [NYM]
The Huffinton Post on “French Cuisine Today”. really good article featuring my favorite French foodie, Alexandre Cammas, founder of Le Fooding. On a side note, why are these guys (the French foodies) obsessed with David Chang? I love Momofuku as much as the other guys but come on…I can think of at least 10 other American chefs to be obsessed with. Let’s get over it and move on. [HuffPo]
This is cute: What’s inside Ruth Reichl’s fridge. [Salon]
NPR’s top ten cookbooks of 2009. [NPR]
I’m sweating HuffPo: The priciest foods ever and why. [HuffPo]
02/12/2009
Cheerio//Scence from London’s Borough Market
[cough, British accent please]
Whilst I lay visiting my young sister in London, we happened upon a truly fantastic and colorful market: Borough Market located on the south end of London Bridge.
Meat pieslease hover over the Pork & Stilton Pie and bask in its British glory.
Olives. All kinds. One could make a meal of this. My fave was olives/ Harissa. Spicy.
Olives in wood barrels with large wood ladels. Beautiful.
Black and white truffles want you to smell them. I prefer white.
Truffles + anything you can dream of = dreams do come true.
Truffle honey.
Best store sign ever. Read it.
Condiments for fish 'n chips. Stay safe.
23/11/2009
On reading//articles of interest for the weekending November 22
Art Nouveau exhibit @ Musee d'Orsay
Hiya. I used to post links to articles of gastronomic and culinary interest but then I stopped for a reason unknown to me (butter and cream clouded my capacity to read perhaps).
Homework:
A loving tribute to Gourmet’s Thanksgiving issue(s). [Oregon Live]
Exploring Paris & her culinary delights via a 19th centuray guide. [NYT]
Animal, Vegetable, Miserable – a great Op-Ed piece. [NYT]
10 foods that flopped. [Mental Floss]
Sad. Don’t eat Bluefin tuna. [NYT]
An oldie but a goodie: why one chef vanished after cooking for the greatest chefs in the world. Plus an amazing menu. [Chicago Tribune]
Reviews of New Food. [McSweeny's]
GG, out.
16/11/2009
Bisous//from the design files
Ohhhlaohhhlala rah rah ohhh mamaaaa
Terribly bored by Fauchon products. Terribly in love with their design & packaging.
11/11/2009
Mucho Gusto//Gusto
I often find myself in the same place over and over again. No particular needs ever draws me there, I don’t know anyone there and I can hardly tell you the address. But, somehow, I land there safely ever time.
In the heart of Paris there lies a rather large culinary shopping district in the the heart of this area lies a very special place, Librarie Gourmande. I have traveled a good part of the world and have yet to come across a bird are special and as rare as this bookshop. Librarie Gourmande carries books in every language (though most are in French) from almost every part of the world ranging from traditional French cuisine and pastry to food sociology and literature. You can even buy food calendar’s, magazines and gourmet books for kids. I’ve seen baguette pens and magnets, aprons and muffin tins. Everything a gastronomical me needs. A gem indeed.
My new favorite food journal
I also found my new favorite source of gastronomic literature at Librarie Gourmande – Gusto. I bought this back issue about women in the kitchen/at the table for 10 euro. It’s published in French with an English translation a cote. I’m not sure if they are publishing anymore as the last issue I found was from 2008. Sadness ensues…
A bit about Gusto:
“Initiated by IEHCA, The European Institute of the History of Food Culture, gusto reports on the annual round table discussions held in Tours which bring together the leading players in the field of cuisine, not just those that create it but those that reflect upon it. Within this framework, the magazine plays an active role in the French procedure to request that French cuisine be recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.”
Librarie Gourmade
90, Rue Montmartre
75002 Paris
Metro: Bourse
