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!
