Avec L'Amour À Maman!

There is something about Mother's Day that causes men great stress....so in an effort to ease the palpitations that are starting to occur, let me try to help you "Get It Right"!

New in the store this week are wonderful products that use culinary lavender as a major ingredient - Lavender Lemon Marmalade, Lavender Honey and a Lavender Apple Compote (all are priced at $6.99) from Steed and Co. Lavender.  Who knew?  Not only is lavender a wonderful fragrance that soothes the soul, it also complements cheese too!  Try drizzling the lavender honey over Paillot de Chévre or use the Lavender Apple Compote with a creamy brie and I am sure that you will be Mom's fave.  And the Lavender Lemon Marmalade is perfect with a croissant or scone to start her special day off on the right foot (or left, doesn't matter too much.)

Don't forget that fresh croissant, Pain Au Chocolat and Brioche are here at C'est Cheese Please! first thing on Saturday morning

And if your Mom has been a really good girl this year, there are lovely café au lait bowls ($19.99), sweet little milk jugs ($21.50) and confiture pots ($16.99) just arrived from France.

So Happy Mother's Day to all those special Mom's who wipe noses, tell you to straighten up and get a  grip and who love you to bits -          always!



Bon Appétit!



Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue!

OK, yes I admit it - I am  so excited about Prince William and Kate Middleton's upcoming wedding.  I got up in the wee hours of the morning to watch Diana and Charles' wedding (not so for the wedding of Charles and Camilla, but 'nough said about that) and I will be doing the same this Friday!  So with that in mind, I thought that I would remind you that there are frozen scones here at "C'est Cheese Please!" - Raspberry Lemon and Orange Cranberry ($11.98 for 6 large scones).  There is also MacKay's Lemon Curd which I thought would be great with the Raspberry Lemon scones and Lime Curd which would go with the Orange Cranberry scones very well - $7.50 for a 340g jar.  Or if you prefer, there is a selection of Greaves jams - peach, plum and black currant at $2.50 for a mini pot.  Now you just have to pour yourself a cuppa, sit back and enjoy the spectacle!

One of the touching things that this couple have done is to request donations in lieu of gifts and they have selected a number of charities that have missions that resonate with them.  In Canada, they have selected the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, so in honour of their wedding, 10% of sales this week will be donated to this organization.

Best Wishes Will and Kate!

Bon Appétit!

And Little Lambs Eat Ivey.......

Spring is taking it's own sweet time arriving this year.  While the rest of us are moaning and groaning about the rain/damp/snow that Mother Nature is throwing our way, these young ladies take it all in stride (or maybe hoof!) providing the mild, sweet milk for the cheeses made by Best Baa Dairy in Conn, Ontario.  Truly a family affair, Elizabeth and Eric Bzikot along with their son and daughter-in-law, Peter and Nicole manage their herd, farm and dairy operation along with developing their unique products while promoting the sheep dairy market.

In 1998, they moved from Manitoba to Ontario, purchasing the farm with the intent of raising sheep strictly for their meat and happened into artisanal cheese-making after discovering a market here for sheep's milk products.  Yogurt was the original product and soon after, Elizabeth started trying her hand at cheese-making.  Today, Best Baa Dairy makes a range of cheeses both with pasteurized and unpasteurized sheep's milk. Mouton Rouge is a wash-rind cheese with a lovely reddish exterior encasing a creamy, light yellow paste.  This is a raw milk cheese, aged for 60 days, nutty and butttery with a lovely creamy finish.  Sheep In  The Meadow with its dusting of herbes de provence, is creamy, mushroomy and fabulously smooth. Eweda is a deliciously, aged take on a Gouda.  All of these cheeses are in the case at C'est Cheese Please!

With spring weather nearly here, why not try this recipe for a hot Greek Salad with the Best Baa Feta available both  pasteurized and unpasteurized, $8.99 a tub at C'est Cheese Please!

Hot Greek Salad*

4 Zucchini

3 Yellow Peppers

3 Red Peppers

1 Red Onion

Good hand-full of Green Beans

Same of Yellow Beans

1 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing

Parmesan Cheese

Best Baa Sheep's Milk Feta either pasteurized or unpasteurized

Chopped tomatoes (when our lovely Ontario tomatoes are not available, try using some grape or cherry tomatoes, cutting them in half)

Black olives

Romaine lettuce

Clean and tear the romaine lettuce and arrange on a large platter leaving the centre of the platter bare.

Prepare the vegetables by chopping into bite-sized chunks (don't be too fancy, this salad should look rustic and hearty).  Grill the vegetables on your BBQ using one of those great baskets to toss them around in.  Place them into a good sized bowl.  Heat the dressing in your microwave, pour over the grilled vegetables and toss the hot vegetables in the hot dressing.  Remove the vegetables from the dressing using a slotted spoon, place in the centre of the platter.  Add the chopped tomatoes, feta cheese, black olives and sprinkle generously with the Parmesan cheese.

*adapted from a recipe found in "What's Cooking?", Kraft Recipes

I love this recipe as you can feed a few or lots just by adjusting the amount of vegetables.  It goes great with Rack of Lamb marinated in lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and a sprinkling of Fleur de Sel and mini red potatoes (I par cook in the microwave and finish off on the BBQ) et voilà a fabulous meal and most of it happens on the BBQ - great for those hot summer nights when we all try to keep the heat out of the kitchen!

Bon Appétit!

I Love You in a Cheesy Way

How do I say "I Love You"?  Well, it's quite simple when there is a heart-shaped delicacy that will do all the talking for you because what doesn't say "I Love You" like a fine piece of cheese?  Coeur de Neufchatel comes from the Normandy area of France where it is one of the oldest cheeses in continuous production dating back to 1035.  It was granted AOC status in 1969 (we have discussed the importance of the AOC designation to protect the production of these cheeses ensuring that the cheese that you enjoy today has been made following the traditional methods).  The milk used for this cheese comes from the Normande breed of cattle which was brought to the Normandy area by the Vikings.  The milk from this breed is particularly well-suited to cheese making (improved curdling quality and higher yields just in case you were wondering!)  During the cheese making, the curds are allowed to drain for a longer period of time than is the case with a traditional Camembert.  The resulting cheese has a grainy and thicker paste than does its Camembert cousin. 

This is a cheese that is more enjoyable in its younger version with a rich, mushroomy flavour enrobed in its velvety white rind.  Although the cheese is available in other shapes, it is the heart shape that it is famous for.  It is said that during the Hundred Years War (14th and 15th centuries) that the young maidens in Normandy fell madly in love with the English soldiers stationed in Normandy and started making the heart-shaped cheeses - you see even they knew that the way to a lover's heart was with a fine piece of cheese! 

Be sure to pop 'round to "C'est Cheese Please!" where Coeur de Neufchatel is in stock at $14.99.

Avec l'amour et Bon Appétit!

Vacherin Mont D'Or

The Jura Mountains is a small mountain range that connects with France, Switzerland and Germany.  "Jura" means forest mountains and aptly describes the geography of the area - rich in lush grass meadows, high in the mountains.  In France, this is the province of Franche-Comté, renowned for it's cheeses, Comté being one of them.  On the other side of the mountains is the French-speaking area of Switzerland.  The traditions of both areas are quite similar and this is evidenced by the cheese above, in France it is called "Vacherin du Haut-Doubs" and in Switzerland "Vacherin Mont D'Or" (Do you hear the song "I say tomato, you say tomato" playing??).  No matter what you call it, this is a spectacular cheese only available at Christmas time after the cattle have returned to the barns from their summer meadows and are on hay.

This is another of the AOC protected cheeses which guarantees that the cheese has been made with the same time-honoured process that has always been followed and that the cheese making and processing is of the highest standards.

Vacherin Mont D'Or comes in a lovely pine box which is removed to expose the cheese which has a birch strip, called a sangle, encircling it.  The cheese is allowed to come to room temperature after which the rind (which is inedible) is removed.  Under the rather gnarly-looking rind is a creamy, rich, gooey, decadent cheese.  In Switzerland, the cheese is enjoyed along with fingerling potatoes.  In France they sometimes make a small hole in the rind and pour some champagne or white wine into the cheese.  And perhaps this was the original "baked brie" as the cheese is often warmed in the oven.  Here is a wonderful recipe:

• Leaving the cheese in the pine box, make a sleeve around the box of aluminium foil
• If you are serving the Vacherin Mont D'Or as an appetizer, you may want to prick the surface and insert some slivers of garlic.  The Vacherin is often served as a dessert cheese, so in this case, eliminate the garlic.
• You may pour a generous ounce of white wine or champagne over the surface which has been pricked
• Bake in a pre-heated 200 degree Celsius oven for about 25 minutes
• Now dig in and sigh contentedly and like Tiny Tim say "God Bless us everyone!"

Vacherin Mont D'Or is an increasingly difficult cheese to come by on this side of the pond, but I have managed to bring some in.  Not inexpensive, it is a treat at Christmas or New Year's or a special gift for that hard-to-buy for foodie in your life.  So come into C'est Cheese Please! soon and scoop up this delicacy!

Literally!

Bon Appétit!

Christmas at C'est Cheese Please!

There is nowhere that I would rather be at Christmas than at my home with my family enjoying the laughter around the table, pulling the Christmas crackers (and of course, wearing the stylish paper hats!). One of the traditions that we have is that a noon hour on Christmas Eve, everything that is going to get done is done and anything that is unfinished, well, that is the way that it will stay. Then we all go out to see a movie and come back to a nice meal. This year's Christmas Eve dinner will be, as they say, easy peasy - a chicken pot pie from Summerhill Market. See them? Third shelf down on the left, the steak and mushroom pot pie is on the right. These are as good as homemade - perhaps even better because you don't have to clean up the mess! Or if you are a traditionalist, there are fabulous tourtiéres from the Farmer's Daughter.

I have a few things on my Christmas Wish List and this reproduction of a French Tartine Stand is one of them. I can just see that on my pine harvest table with a changing display according to the season - sometimes fruit, in the fall gourds and, oh, yes my famous Lemon Meringue pie!

There is a fabulous selection of really unique cheese platters in the store for a really one-of-a-kind gift .  There are the wine barrel head platters and a new line from Urban Salvage.  This latter company salvages the trees that are cut down in the cities and re-purposes them into a variety of products including the handled platters.  They come in three sizes...

And I should mention the Gigha Fruits.  What a great gift - and I won't tell if it is going in your own stocking!  Promise!  These are fabulous.  They come from a cheese maker in Kintyre, Scotland (yes, the Mull made famous by Sir Paul is nearby).  They feature cheddar made from the milk of the Guernsey cow (see the blog entitled "Bursting With Pride" for some interesting information about Guernsey cows) which is blended with Pear Schnapps in the pear, Highland Liqueur in the apple and Orange Liqueur in the orange.  Also in stock at C'est Cheese Please! is Captain's Claret (mature cheddar blended with claret) and Highland Chief (mature cheddar blended with single malt whiskey).

Shown with the Gigha fruits are spectacular balsamics - a 12 year old balsamic blended with pomegranate, fig, truffle, blackberry.....also in stock, a 50 year and 100 year balsamic beautifully presented and sure to be appreciated!

If you are looking for brie bakers or something special to put some olive oil in or.....

a really beautiful cheese cloche, how about these beauties all hand-painted by a potter in Montrèal?

 If you are looking for something for the foodie in your life, there is the AMAZING olive oil from the Pingue family farm in Italy - ask for a sample, you will agree with me when I say that it is quite simply the best.

I should also mention that the store will be open the three Sunday's before Christmas, December 6th, 12th and 19th from 11 am until 4 pm.  My daughter, Brittany will be running the show so come in and say hello!

In the meantime,

Bon Appétit!



Another Winner from our Belle Province!

I have  a confession to make, when I was a little girl I hated cheese!  Even my Mom's homemade Macaroni and Cheese wasn't a favorite of mine.  I can empathize when little ones come into the store and cringe when I offer them a sample because that was me a few years ago - OK, maybe just a little more than a few years ago, but just a little!  And it wasn't such a long time ago that I thought that I didn't like blue cheese....until one time I selected a little morsel from a cheese tray that was delicious.  I went back for more and then when no one was looking, took the whole piece!  It was later that I discovered that this was indeed blue cheese and once I got the tang, well suffice it to say that I haven't looked back. 

Today's topic is the magnificent blue cheese from a small cheese maker in Québec, Fromagerie du Presbytère just east of Drummondville.    Le Bleu d'Elizabeth is the second cheese to come from Fromagerie du Presbytère and won a gold medal in 2009 at the Québec Seléction Caseus awards!  This says a lot about the quality of cheese making and the skill of the cheese makers, brothers Jean and Dominique Morin who are fourth generation farmers of this land.  Le Bleu d'Elizabeth is a farmhouse cheese, meaning that the milk produced from the farm's mixed herd of Holstein's, Jersey's and a few Canadienne is the sole source of the milk used to make the cheese not only that but the farm has been organic for the past 20 years.  The cheese itself is aged two to three months which produces a milder blue although the brothers are busy aging some of the cheese for 12 months for those who like a stronger blue kick.

Le Bleu d'Elizabeth is a raw milk cheese with full flavours of sour cream, butter and salt all balanced in a creamy paste that is melt-in-your-mouth delicious and not a bitter note to spoil the experience!  To all of you who proclaim not to like blue cheese, this one may very well change your mind.  Pair it with a glass of Cidre Glacé available at the LCBO and why not try  Le Bleu d'Elizabeth  ($8.00/100g) with an aged Comté ($7.70/100g) on your cheeseboard - a bit of Old World paired with the New!

It is of note that another cheese produced by Fromagerie du Presbytère, Louis d'Or won the gold medal at the Seléction Caseus in 2010 - 2 years in a row!  We will be watching to see what masterpiece comes from this cheese maker in the future.  And you can be sure that I will be adding Louis D'Or to the shopping list for "C'est Cheese Please!"

Bon Appetit!