Our first stop was Cowgirl Creamery...Cheese is a macro nutrient right? It is when you spend $25 on it!
The first cheese we tasted was Casatica Di Bufala - soft and ripe but citrusy. Totally oozy and gooey and completely palatable all on its own or on a toasty piece of crusty bread and a sliced fig. Easy eating and delicious rind too! Its Buffalo cheese from Lombardia, Italy made from water buffalo milk - a super richly creamed milk which contains twice the cream of cows milk...needless to say this cheese is velvety rich and little goes along way.
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The next and perhaps my favorite is the easy eating goat milk Detroit St. Brick from Michigan.. It's spicy but not chili pepper spicy. It's black pepper spicy and it imparts a truly unforgettable flavor. My mother cooks with pepper. She has always been a supremely sensational chef and her dishes are never lacking in flavor. She hails the black pepper and touts it often as her "secret ingredient." Though it's no secret for me, I can't seem to get enough of the stuff! I bought a sliver of this cheese and savored it every day. I ate it on flat bread I made here myself and coupled it with a hardy (and local) Crispin cider. The black pepper paired with the spiky cider was unmatched! I reccommend trying it. This pair is more my speed. It reminds me of a summer evening bike ride to fireworks or a crispy spring morning when you can smell the dew drops or a breeze coming through your window on a hot night bellowing the curtains in the breeze...you get the picture. I have romanticized this Michigan cheese with this California cider. It's a superb match!
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This whirlwind of cheeses brought us to a yummy smear of Harbison. A creamy, ripe cheese that tastes of the country side and mustard flowers. It's wrapped in bark and Hails from Vermont. And when I say mustard flowers I mean it! I saved this creamy cheese and made a pork roast. I served the pork roast on home made sweet rolls that I smeared with the Harbison and grilled onions. Talk about a hit! There were people at the party who asked why I would waste a fine cheese on a sandwich...let me assure you, this was not any sandwich and certainly not just any cheese and they paired delightfully well and don't try to tell me that your mouth is not watering right now!!!
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