Dancing Spoon

Cheese: Weisslacker

Cheese About

by Dana A. Romero
Weisslacker
Weisslacker or Beer cheese is a type of cheese that originated in Germany, but is now known worldwide. Also produced in America, mostly in Wisconsin, it is a pungent and salted cheese. It ripens for seven months in highly humid conditions and is related to Limburger cheese. Connoisseurs of this delicacy often take it with beer (sometimes dipping the cheese directly in their drinks), hence the name. Many find it too overpowering to serve with wine. This cheese is also served on small slices of rye or pumpernickel bread often with some sliced onion. It is a common item on pub and restaurant menus in the Czech Republic, the country with the highest per-capita beer consumption in the world. Weisslacker is also known as bierkäse, bierkaese, beer kaese and beer cheese. In addition, Weisslacker is a common ingredient in various breads, soups, and dips.

Continue reading about Weisslacker...

Love cheese? Need a cheese guide? Dana A. Romero runs the Cheese Group at Dancing Spoon. This is where you can learn and discuss everything having to do with cheese. Every week we will highlight a different cheese.

---

Cheese Books

Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best
Filled with indispensable information from America’s foremost authority, Max McCalman, Cheese: A Connoisseur’s Guide to the World’s Best is your road map to exploring the world of fine cheese. As the maître fromager at New York’s acclaimed Picholine restaurant (the first in the country to offer a serious cheese program) and author of the widely acclaimed The Cheese Plate, McCalman has selected, tasted, and studied hundreds of cheeses, serving them to thousands of cheese lovers. And now he has created the definitive reference on the subject. Cheese profiles about 200 of the world’s best cheeses—and only the best—complete with all the practical information you could need and all the fascinating details you could want.

Hand selected books for foodes are at Foodie's Emporium! Click here.

---

Apricot Glazed Roast Chicken

Irishman The Healthy

by Chef Gavan Murphy
Roast Chicken with Apricot and Rosemary Glaze
Though I grew up eating root veg and I thoroughly enjoy winter crops, I must be ready for spring because I found myself craving some spring/summer fruit at the farmers market the other day. This got me thinking about how I could satisfy my craving without having the in-season fruit at hand. Like mint and lamb, apple and pork, I love the combination of apricots and roast chicken.

True, you should be able to find Chilean imported apricots in most major stores from January until early August, there’s something special in buying locally farmed produce. California apricots are available from May through July while Washington apricots are on the market from June through early August. Being that it’s late February I decided to improvise using sugar free preserves to see if I could create the taste I was hoping for. 

Isn’t cooking grand?

Salmon Cakes

Irishman The Healthy

by Chef Gavan Murphy
Salmon Cakes
Continuing our February Foodie month we are now headed towards Oscar night, oh the glamour and excitement of it all. Let’s take a moment to think about those poor celebs who are afraid to eat because they have to fit into their glam gear. Lucky for most of us we get to watch them in the comfort of our homes, noshing on whatever we feel like. But wouldn’t it be cool to serve up some of the glamour without all the guilty calories?

Being that it’s still American Heart Month this recipe is doing double duty without you even thinking about it. Eating salmon boosts your intake of Omega-3’s, fish oils containing anti-inflammatory properties, which studies show decrease the risk of coronary heart disease and certain cancers. 

And the Academy Award goes to…..

Cheese: Paneer

Cheese About

by Dana A. Romero
Paneer
Paneer is the most common Persian and South Asian cheese. It is an unaged, acid-set, non-melting farmer cheese made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice or other food acid.

Most varieties of paneer are simply pressed into a cube and then sliced or chopped, although the eastern Indian variety is beaten or kneaded like mozzarella, and crumbles more easily than the North Indian variant of paneer. Paneer is one of the few types of cheese indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, and is widely used in Indian cuisine and even some Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian cuisine. Unlike most cheeses in the world, the making of paneer does not involve rennet as the coagulation agent. Paneer is completely vegetarian making it a great source of protein for vegetarians.

Continue reading about Paneer...

Love cheese? Need a cheese guide? Dana A. Romero runs the Cheese Group at Dancing Spoon. This is where you can learn and discuss everything having to do with cheese. Every week we will highlight a different cheese.

---

Cheese Books

Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best
Filled with indispensable information from America’s foremost authority, Max McCalman, Cheese: A Connoisseur’s Guide to the World’s Best is your road map to exploring the world of fine cheese. As the maître fromager at New York’s acclaimed Picholine restaurant (the first in the country to offer a serious cheese program) and author of the widely acclaimed The Cheese Plate, McCalman has selected, tasted, and studied hundreds of cheeses, serving them to thousands of cheese lovers. And now he has created the definitive reference on the subject. Cheese profiles about 200 of the world’s best cheeses—and only the best—complete with all the practical information you could need and all the fascinating details you could want.

Hand selected books for foodes are at Foodie's Emporium! Click here.

---

Drink Me: The Matrix

by J. Michael Wheeler
While Esquire’s Francine Maroukian denies any scientific claims, The Coffee Matrix (Esquire 3.09) is so full of those cross-indexing, spider-webby kinds of lines, whose unachievable goal is to make the complicated clear, that you might think her title is Dr. Of Something Or Other, rather than that magazine’s food editor. But food editor she is and The Coffee Matrix reassures that the best way to make a great cup of coffee is with a French Press.

To quote from the article (subtitled A Simple Guide to Your Ideal Cup)

We are not scientists. [Really, she says this. In bold.] We are simple people who want to make a good cup of morning coffee in our own kitchens. To that end, [and here’s where “we’re not scientists” begins to crumble] we designated three bean categories...from three brands...used five typical brewing methods...

Well, I’m glad they did it and after tracing each squiggly line from Typical Brewing Method to Designated Bean Category to one of 15 Taste Results, I agree with the we’re-not-scientists: a French Press can’t be beat, using any designated bean category.

Making coffee in a French Press is simplicity itself: medium to coarsely ground coffee is placed in a cylinder, hot water is poured into the cylinder and a plunger separates the coffee from the grounds. Done. The details follow...

Valentine's Beet Soup

Irishman The Healthy

by Chef Gavan Murphy
Valentine's Beet Soup
February has turned into a quite a month for foodies. So far we’ve conquered the Super Bowl and now it’s time for the oh-so-romantic Valentine’s Day. Did you also know February is American Heart Month?

I bet oats are the first thing that comes to mind when you think of heart-healthy foods but the cornucopia of foods that are good for your heart are broader than you might realize. Take beets for instance. These colorful root vegetables contain powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers, especially colon cancer. Beet juice can help lower blood pressure and since Roman times, beetroot juice has been considered an aphrodisiac.

Perfect for Valentine’s Day wouldn’t you say?

Recipe: Moose and Stout Chili

Ordinary Out of the

by Kate Krukowski Gooding
Moose and Bar Harbor Stout Chili
With temperatures below zero for a few weeks this winter, the ice gained thickness on the ponds and lakes quickly. I love watching the guys prepare for their week trips and daily jaunts to go ice-fishing. This dish is perfect for after one of these cold days of ice-fishing; a bowl of chili with big crusty bread will really stick to your bones.

I combined some of my favorite spices in this dish, and I love this beer: it adds a depth of flavor that makes you smack your lips and want more. I love cumin; roasted and ground. It is aromatic because of its oil and it has a distinctive bite. I recently learned that cumin seeds are a small dried fruit in the parsley family. Cumin is sometimes confused with caraway, however cumin is spicier, lighter in color, and larger than caraway. Another favorite is my homemade chili powder. Remember the fresher you grind your spices, the better the flavor. Enjoy!

Cheese: Menuet

Cheese About

by Dana A. Romero
Menuet
Menuet is reminiscent of small batch, farmhouse cheeses found in the countryside of Normandy. Its texture is deliciously creamy with a great balance of grass and herb undertones. The long, lingering finish is sure to please. Menuet is completely handmade and seasonally available. The name comes from a French dance of the baroque period that was described as a dance of many small steps, not unlike the many small steps in the making of this cheese. Pair with Pinot Grigio or if you prefer red, try a Merlot or Zin.

This cheese is made at the end of a Vermont country lane, the farm sits with a few red barns and a small white house. It's centered in the middle of 243 acres of organic pasture and hay fields. With views of the Green Mountains to the East and the Adirondacks to the West, this is home to a herd of blissful bovines. This is home to Dancing Cow Farms.

Continue reading about Menuet...

Love cheese? Need a cheese guide? Dana A. Romero runs the Cheese Group at Dancing Spoon. This is where you can learn and discuss everything having to do with cheese. Every week we will highlight a different cheese.

---

Cheese Books

Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best
Filled with indispensable information from America’s foremost authority, Max McCalman, Cheese: A Connoisseur’s Guide to the World’s Best is your road map to exploring the world of fine cheese. As the maître fromager at New York’s acclaimed Picholine restaurant (the first in the country to offer a serious cheese program) and author of the widely acclaimed The Cheese Plate, McCalman has selected, tasted, and studied hundreds of cheeses, serving them to thousands of cheese lovers. And now he has created the definitive reference on the subject. Cheese profiles about 200 of the world’s best cheeses—and only the best—complete with all the practical information you could need and all the fascinating details you could want.

Hand selected books for foodes are at Foodie's Emporium! Click here.

---

Herb Crusted Lamb

Irishman The Healthy

by Chef Gavan Murphy
Herb Crusted Lamb in Tomato Sauce
Lamb, for the Irish, is like beef for Texans, fish for Japanese or pasta for Italians. Some would reckon it's in our DNA to love the taste of lamb, hogget & mutton, all different versions of lamb but labeled according to age. Every part of the lamb can be roasted, from the shoulder down to the leg so for this recipe we'll be using the shoulder for its extra sweetness and flavor. It's true the shoulder tends to have a little more fat than other cuts, but this merely enhances the flavor and adds succulence. For those of us that prefer leaner cuts, this method of slow cooking the meat makes it so tender that any remaining fat can be discarded easily.

Mark Bittman: A New Recipe

by J. Michael Wheeler
Mark Bittman: Conscious Eating Tom Ashbrook of On Point (2.2.09) from NPR, interviewed food writer Mark Bittman, food columnist for The New York Times. He writes “The Minimalist” column and the “Bitten” blog and is the author of "How to Cook Everything." Mark Bittman has joined the ranks of foodies with a cause. His cause is nothing less than saving the health of Americans while at the same time saving the planet.

Bittman says that the way Americans eat are killing both themselves and the planet. "Too much meat. Too much junk food. Too big a footprint."

From the award-winning champion of culinary simplicity who gave us the bestselling How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian comes Food Matters, a plan for responsible eating that's as good for the planet as it is for your weight and your health.

We are finally starting to acknowledge the threat carbon emissions pose to our ozone layer, but few people have focused on the extent to which our consumption of meat contributes to global warming. Think about it this way: In terms of energy consumption, serving a typical family-of-four steak dinner is the rough equivalent of driving around in an SUV for three hours while leaving all the lights on at home.

Bittman offers a no-nonsense rundown on how government policy, big business marketing, and global economics influence what we choose to put on the table each evening. He demystifies buzzwords like "organic," "sustainable," and "local" and offers straightforward, budget-conscious advice that will help you make small changes that will shrink your carbon footprint -- and your waistline.

Listen to Tom Ashbrook interview Mark Bittman: Conscious Eating: Click Here.

---

Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Recipes Bittman, a food writer who loves to eat and eats out frequently, lost thirty-five pounds and saw marked improvement in his blood levels by simply cutting meat and processed foods out of two of his three daily meals. But the simple truth, as he points out, is that as long as you eat more vegetables and whole grains, the result will be better health for you and for the world in which we live.

Hand selected books for foodes are at Foodie's Emporium! Click here.

---