Sunday, October 4

 

Harvest Dinner at Estia’s Little Kitchen

1615 Sag Harbor Turnpike

Sag Harbor, NY

 

Seatings: 6pm and 8pm

Price:  $50 plus tax and tip

For Reservations: 631-725-1045 or

Colinambrose@mac.com

 

Featuring Lucy’s Whey cheese in every course!

 

Chef Colin Ambrose has taken the challenge: to prepare a 5 course dinner with a different artisanal cheese in each, paired with local bounty

 and Long Island wine.

Menu to include:

 

          Local red and green apple timbal duo with complimenting cheeses: red-Fiscalini cheddar & green-Green Hill camembert

 

           Roasted sweet pepper and sunburst squash Napoleon layered with Vermont Shepherd cheese

 

    House made Long Island duck egg paparadelle with Quail Hill herbs, Dave’s Bridgehampton shitake mushrooms and Super aged Gouda

 

 Pan Roasted Amagansett Venison finished with Bayley Hazen Blue

 

 Home grown rhubarb and raspberry tart topped with

creamy, Catapano Chevre

 

Wines from Bouke a new winery located in Mattituck on the North Fork, that is making some sensational wines!

 

 

Lucy’s Whey

and

Slow Food East End

invite you to meet

 

Contemporary Culinary Pioneers

Herb and Kathy Eckhouse of

La Quercia in Norwalk, Iowa

 

Monday, October 12, 2009

5:30 – 7pm

Children’s Museum of the East End

376 Sag-Bridge Turnpike

Bridgehampton, NY

 

Named “Food Artisans of the Year”

by Bon Appetit Magazine,

Herb and Kathy were the first to produce organic-certified

and heirloom-breed prosciutto in America.

 

Join us as we taste their very special

artisan-cured meats, paired with apples from The Milk Pail,

 cheese from Lucy’s Whey,

local wine and American hard cider.

 

Tickets: $40 per person

Seating is limited, reservations necessary.

For information, contact lucy@lucyswhey.com

or call 631-324-4428.

 

Proceeds to benefit the Edible Schoolyard projects

supported by the East End chapter of Slow Food.

 

Spring is here - well, almost! Despite the massive snow storm that we had on Sunday night and the fact that there are huge mounds of snow EVERYWHERE, it is a beautifully warm and sunny day today and I feel excited! Spring brings with it all things new and I am happy to tell you that lucy’s whey is bringing in some new and wonderful new things this week and I hope you will pop in this weekend to try some of them!

On the cheese front, Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville, Georgia just sent us a batch of their delicious Green Hill Camemberts and boy are they creamy, sweet and totally decadent - when my customers ask me what my favorite cheeses are, these babies are always first on the list. I LOVE them! Made with the farm’s own Jersey cow’s milk the Green Hill’s are aged up to six weeks and have a soft ripened bloomy rind - perfect for spreading on the perfectly matched Anjou Bakery Crostini that we recommend with them! Come try for yourself- you won’t be disappointed - I promise!

Last month, Lucy and I took a road trip to Connecticut to visit one of our cheesemakers - Mark Gillman of Cato Corner Farm. Located in lovely Colchester, the farm is a mother/ son partnership between Elizabeth MacAlister and Mark. Elizabeth has owned the farm for more than 25 years and began milking cows and making cheese in 1997 as a way to keep her farm sustainable. In 1999, Mark left his job as a 7th grade English teacher to join her and nowadays, Mark makes most of the cheese and oversees its aging while Elizabeth manages the farm operations including milking and caring for the cows. Cato Corner demonstrates the critical combination of good grass, excellent dairy cows, boundless creativity, extraordinary skill and careful attention to quality. In particular, Hooligan, perhaps more than any of their other cheese ,reflects all of the above elements. Hooligan starts as a small 1.5 pound wheel that Mark ages two to three months, during which he washes each wheel twice a week in a bath of buttermilk and brine. Very quickly the rind turns bright orange, a characteristic signature of brevibacterium linens, which contributes to its distinctive “stinky cheese” aroma and wonderful mild flavor and sweet aftertaste.  lucy’s whey is lucky to have 2 wheels of this wonderful cheese and we encourage you to sample a piece - but hurry because they sell out quickly!

New to lucy’s whey from Cato Corner are two other delicious cheeses; Bridgit’s Abbey, a Trappist-style cheese with a natural rind and Black Ledge Blue, a creamy blue with a natural rind. Come on in and try them!

On a savory note, we are introducing Rustic Bakery’s Cheese Coins this weekend. Small biscuits that are made with artisanal cheeses, these little yummies are perfect with that piece of  lucy’s whey cheese and a glass of wine. They are just so delicious I can’t stand it - it is impossible not to eat the entire bag. Luckily for all of us, the bags are tiny so we can’t cause too much damage! My favorite flavor? Point Reyes Blue Cheese and Walnut. YUM!!

See you soon we hope!

This past February weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the 7th Annual Sonoma Valley Cheese Conference in lovely Sonoma, California. Sonoma has been a favorite place of mine for years so imagine my excitement when I was able to combine business with pleasure for four days - and what a great time I had! The Cheese Conference was hosted by Sheana Davis of The Epicurean Connection and Ig Vella of Vella Cheese Company and some of the speakers that I was privileged to meet were Rob Kaufelt of Murray’s Cheese Shop in NYC, Sid Cook of Carr Valley Cheese in Wisconsin,  Anna Cox of Shamrock Artisan Goat Cheese in California, Jill Giacomini of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese in California and Bill Boersma of Bravo Farms in California.  Each speaker offered their own unique cheese advice and information to those of us attending and I came away from the conference having learned a lot and really having been inspired.  The American cheese community is a very close-knit group with the intense desire to spread the word about American Artisanal cheeses and they are doing a terrific job - this is an exciting time in American cheesemaking and many of the cheeses now available in the United States easily rival their European counterparts. Between Ig Vella and Sid Cook alone there are two hundred years of family cheesemaking!! Quite impressive indeed!! I encourage you to explore some of these wonderful artisan cheeses and I hope you will stop by lucy’s whey where we are proud to carry many of this country’s finest!

We are happy to tell you that our new charcuterie and olive counter has been met with a lot of enthusiasm from many of our loyal customers and each week we add something new and exciting. This week alone we welcomed the San Francisco Salumi Company Fra’Mani. Handcrafted salumi that is simply delicious and completely organic, these salami are a wonderful compliment to our cheeses - after all, what more do you need than good bread, cheese, salami and wine?!!

Flying out the door since we have reopened has been the deliciously naughty Fat Ass Fudge. Made exclusively for lucy’s whey using organic goat’s milk this fudge is out of this world and we just can’t keep it in stock - flavors include dark chocolate, milk chocolate, vanilla white chocolate with pistachios and peanut butter milk chocolate. My mouth is watering just telling you about it!! Come on in and try some - we guarantee you will leave with your own bag (or two)!!

See you soon we hope!

We’re back!! lucy’s whey reopened our doors last Friday, February 13th and we welcomed many of our friends back after our 6 weeks of rest, renovation and cheese research! Our new charcuterie and olive counter is beautiful and filled with delicious American-made, handcrafted salami from Creminelli Fine Meats in Seattle and yummy olives from an organic olive grove in Napa, California. We invite you to stop in to visit us and to taste some of these new and delicious products!

 On the cheese front, we are proud to be carrying a new cheese called “Big Eds” - a cow’s milk cooked curd, firm cheese that is reminiscent of a Swiss Emmental. This yummy cheese comes from Saxon Creamery in Wisconsin -one of the area’s newest farmstead artisans. An environmentally friendly and virtually organic creamery, the farm’s cows practice rotational grazing and with the exception of extremely cold days, they can be found out in the pastures foraging on grass. This healthy system creates rich, creamy, beautiful milk which is then turned into the farm’s delicious cheeses. Pop in to try a bite of “Big Ed” - you won’t be disappointed!!

Another “newbie” to the lucy’s whey cheese counter is Cabot Creamery’s Clothbound Cheddar. A world-class cheddar that rivals any of its British counterparts, this cheese is mellow and deep and certainly deserves to be on the plate of any American collection. Cabot Creamery, a cooperative that was started in 1919 is located in Montpelier, Vermont and an interesting note about this particular cheese that the dairy produces is that it is carefully aged in the caves at Jasper Hill Farm - another farm that produces incredible cheeses. We encourage you to stop in and try a piece of the Cabot Cheddar and see what you think for yourself!

Speaking of Jasper Hill Farm, Winnimiere fans control yourselves - they are here but are in short supply! Creamy, gooey and simply scrumptious it takes all the will power we have not to eat them ourselves so HURRY IN!!!!! Also back from Jasper Hill are the delectable Twig Farm Fuzzy’s. These raw goat and cow’s milk tomme’s have a lovely cheesecake texture with a mushroomy flavor and are also of very limited availability.

See you soon we hope!

Happy New Year Everyone! Lucy and I would like to thank all of our wonderful customers for making this past holiday season so much fun and so successful…….we wish you a healthy and happy 2009 and we look forward to seeing you soon!

As many of you know, we are closed for the month of January to “recharge our batteries” as well as to make some changes to the store. We are very excited about offering you some new products when we reopen in February and of course, some delicious new cheeses from some of the best farms in the United States. Next week I will be heading to Rhode Island and Vermont to research (and taste) quite a few cheeses from those areas and I look forward to being able to share them with you next month! In the meantime, however, lucy’s whey will be offering some Cheese and Wine Pairing 101 classes beginning next week. Our first class will be held on January 15th so if you are interested, please contact us at lucy@lucyswhey.com  The classes will be held in our store at 80 N. Main Street in East Hampton and the wines will be personally chosen by Michael Cinque of Amagansett Wines and Spirits. Michael and I will work together to match his wines to our cheeses so that they will perfectly compliment each other. So hurry and make your reservations - space is limited!!

Once again, thank you for making lucy’s whey such a great place to work and play - see you soon we hope!

lucy’s whey is all dressed up for the holidays! It is so exciting - celebrating our first December in our cute little store and we are busy, busy, busy stocking our shelves in anticipation of the last minute rush that we anticipate will begin this weekend! We are already sending out lots of our lovely gift boxes so , if you have not ordered one (or two) yet, please stop by for our brochure or call us to place your order. People are already raving about them and we are afraid that we may run out of crates!

As far as our holiday cheese selection is concerned, we have gone ALL OUT this season! We are proud to announce that we will have Grayson - the delicious washed-rind baby from Meadow Creeek Dairy in Virginia. We are so taken by this that we beg you to come in and get some before we eat it all ourselves!

 The big box from Jasper Hill in Vermont will arrive tomorrow chock full of Bayley Hazen, Constant Bliss, Twig Farm Fuzzies and a few other surprises that you have to come in to see for yourself - after all, isn’t that what the holidays are all about? (Lots of fun surprises!)

 Our friends at Consider Bardwell Farm in Vermont have come up with a new cheese that they have named Equinox and lucy’s whey is lucky to be getting two wheels of this innaugrual creation! A hard, sharp, extra aged goat’s milk cheese that was inspired by the Italian classics of Romano and Piave this cheese is delicious on sandwiches and is also great for grating! Don’t worry though, we will still be getting our quota of Chester’s - actually, 8 to be accurate!! They are creamy, ripe, delicious and wonderful and I can’t wait to share them with you!

Sweet Grass Dairy has stocked us up on their incredible Green Hill Camemberts and we would have been very happy with those alone but hidden inside the shipping box was a treat - a special cheese called Jessane that is a raw-cow’s milk cheese made in the style of a swiss cheese. Made only in the spring when the milk of their Jersey cows is particularly sweet and rich, this cheese is aged for 9 months. It is wonderful - sweet, nutty and tart - it pairs well with a variety of wines! Yummy!! 

 Last but certainly not least, is a cheese from The Mozzarella Company  in Texas that they have cleverly named their “Christmas Cheese“! A succulent, spreadable round of fresh cheeses, red chile puree and fresh jalepenos, this cheese will knock your socks off! It is a pretty, vibrant red cheese that is topped off with a jalepeno star - how fun is that? Stop by lucy’s whey for a taste and we guarantee that you will leave with one of these holiday treats!

Don’t forget that lucy’s whey offers lots of other delectable diversions for the holidays. Our incomparable cheesecakes,  Bo Parson’s seasonable tarts, the new goat’s milk chocolate concoctions created by Fat Ass Fudge exclusively for us, truffle-filled salami and the ultimate crowd-pleaser, Montauk’s own Marlin Dip!

How can you stay away?!!

Thanksgiving is almost upon us and we are excited for our first holiday season here at lucy’s whey! In anticipation of a busy week, we have stocked up on some wonderful cheese and we hope that you will stop in to see what we have to offer. There is nothing better than sitting around a roaring fire with loved ones, sharing a plate of perfectly ripened cheeses - a great finale to a hearty turkey dinner! May I consider Consider Bardwell Farm’s Chester - a delicious, creamy washed-rind raw cow’s milk beauty that will literally ooze off your plate if you let it or perhaps a wedge of the always dreamy Pleasant Ridge Reserve that goes amazingly well with a slice of ripe pear or apple. Yum! Just the thought of it makes me want to run down to the store to grab some for tonight!! (One of the great perks of owning a cheese store!!) I am also happy to announce that the bad boy of washed-rind cheeses is back in town - Hooligan from Cato Corner Farm is here and boy is he naughty. Good bad though if you know what I mean! If you have the guts to try him, come on in quickly - there are only two available!! On the sweeter, more gentle side we just got in some amazing Green Hill Camemberts from Sweet Grass Dairy. They are perfectly ripe and just begging to be taken home. Paired with the crunchy, fruit-filled Crostini from Anjou Bakery, this is a match made in heaven. Trust me, I know! 

Another fun thing at lucy’s whey is the new goat’s milk fudge that we are now offering. To be honest, I am not really a fudge-kind-of-gal but when I tried this I almost fell over. It is DELICIOUS!! Made exclusivelyfor us by Fat Ass Fudge (I know, I know), this fudge is made with organic goat’s milk and I guarantee it will knock your sock off. Pop in and try some - you won’t believe your taste buds!

Our in house baker, Bo Parsons, is pleased to be offering his famous pies this week. His three flavors are pumpkin, pecan and apple crumb. Call to place your order by Wednesday to ensure that you get to take one of these delectable pies home - yum!!

Finally, don’t forget that the gift-giving holidays are almost upon us. lucy’s whey is offering a great selection of fun gift boxes for you to send to those many family members, friends, business acquaintances, teachers, neighbors etc…. They are chock-full of delicious things, including of course, great American cheese!!

Lucy and I wish you and your family a very happy Thanksgiving and we hope to see you at some point this week. Don’t forget that we will be open Tuesday and Wednesday from 10-6, Thursday (Turkey Day) 9-12, and Friday and Saturday from 10-6. We will be closed this Sunday to spend time with our families!

Now that the cold weather is here, we are excited to invite you back to lucy’s whey on Friday evenings for our weekly fondue tastings! Beginning at 5:00 p.m. every Friday evening, we will offer a delicious, creamy and bubbling hot fondue that will be made from a selection of some of our amazing American artisanal cheeses. Not only can you taste, but each week we will have the highlighted fondue cheeses ready for you to take home in your own bag - crusty bread included! How fun is that? We hope you will stop by to see us and to taste…….

We are getting ready for the holidays here at lucy’s whey and are thrilled to offer 6 amazing gift boxes as well as an adorable, hand-made cheese board that is perfect as a hostess gift for the many parties that you will have coming up. The cheese board comes with a wedge of the delicious Hudson Valley Camembert, our popular crostini and a lucy’s whey cheese spreader. Wrapped up with a big red bow, this gift is sure to please any hostess and the price of $22.00 will thrill you we hope! Give us a call to find out more information about the holiday gift boxes that will be available to order beginning November 17 or stop by to pick up our fun new brochure - we are really excited and hope to be a part of your holiday gift-giving this year!

See you soon we hope!

Lucy and I had the incredible opportunity to visit some of our favorite farms and farmers last week in our whirlwind adventure to Napa and Sonoma. We had an amazing time together and our heads are still spinning from our trip! The bad news was that we had to close the store for almost an entire week and for that we apologize, but we are open again today and ready to share our experiences with you - as well as some fantastic new cheeses!

Our first trip was to the Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese Company, the award winning producer of the Bandaged Wrapped Aged Cheddar that we are thrilled to carry and which has been one of our top sellers since we opened. Fiscalini is an immense dairy farm in Modesto, California that took us 2 hours to reach from Napa but was worth every traveling second! We got a personal tour of the cheese making facility and the aging rooms from renowned cheese maker Mariano Gonzalez which was exhilirating. We then met with John Fiscalini and got to go around the farm with him which was just amazing. John’s wife Heather then joined us and together we went to visit with the cows. The babies are Heather’s favorites and so we all got the chance to cuddle with and get licked by these precious animals! We then headed back to the Fiscalini home where we were treated to a lovely lunch by the pool - what a day!! Many thanks to Mariano, Heather and John for the opportunity that they gave us.

 The following day it was off to Point Reyes Station where we visited the Giacomini Dairy Farm. This beautifully located farm is much smaller than Fiscalini but it also produces some world class cheese known as Point Reyes Original Blue. The family has farmed in western Sonoma County and Point Reyes Station since 1904 but it was in 2000, after 30 years of dairying with 250 Holtsteins on a 700-acre farm, Bob and his wife Dean wanted to retire and turn the business over to their four daughters. None of the women wanted to run a dairy but neither did they want to lose it or the farm’s history or traditions. After much research, debate and careful consideration they resolved to make cheese. The decision to make one cheese, their Point Reyes Farmstead’s Original Blue, was truly inspired; the family could take advantage of its outstanding milk and showcase one artisan product not found elsewhere in California. Since 2001, Point Reyes Farmstead has grown steadily and continues to produce a wonderful, creamy blue cheese! If you have not had the opportunity to try this delicious cheese, please pop into lucy’s whey - we have lots of it and you will love it - we promise! Many thanks to Bob Giacomini for giving us a personal tour around his farm as well as his daughter Lynn who arranged for us to visit and gave us a wonderful little goodie-bag filled with yummy blue cheese!!

 Fall has arrived in East Hampton - the weather is just beautiful, the summer crowds are gone and all of a sudden you can get a parking spot in town! We invite you to visit us to check out some of our wonderful new cheeses that we picked up in California as well as some other products that we discovered while on our trip. As always, everything we carry is 100% American-made, and mostly from small producers all over the country.

Share our passion - see you soon!!

August came in with a bang last week with the exciting news that some of our cheesemaking friends had won awards at the American Cheese Society’s annual competition this month. Congratulations to Karen and Michael Catapano of Catapano Dairy Farm on their win for best goat blue in America!! Pretty impressive considering that they just started to make blue cheese this year! What is even more exciting is that Karen and Michael only allow two cheese stores to carry their delicious blue so far and lucy’s whey is one of them!! We encourage you to stop in and try a bite of Peconic Mist and see for yourself what all of the excitement is about!

 We are also thrilled to announce that  our friends at Consider Bardwell Farm in Vermont won awards for their fantastic cheeses - Dorset placed second in the cow’s washed-rind category and Manchester placed first in the goat washed-rind category. What an amazing accomplishment. We are very proud to not only carry these award-winning cheeses but to also be friends with these cheesemakers who strive to produce such special artisanal cheeses.

Also going home with awards were a few of our other cheesemakers - Old Chatham Sheepherding Company won first place for their Hudson Valley Camembert and second place for their Ewe’s Blue. Not bad!! Sweet Grass Dairy once again won first place for their Green Hill Camembert and Harley Farm won an award for their beautiful Monet. Congratulations to everyone and thanks for letting lucy’s whey be a part of this great experience!!