Blue ... my new favorite color ...

I’ll be the first to admit I’ve not extensive experience with the blue cheese category. I pre-supposed it would be too sharp, or I didn’t know what to make of the blue mold, or too elitist, or it was simply outside of my naïve and prior conservative artisan cheese experience. I mean, come on! My mom fixed mac-n-cheese with Velveeta and grilled cheese sandwiches on Wonder bread with pre-sliced American cheese. It has taken me awhile to overcome that programming and seek new cheese horizons!

But here I am! I bought four different blues a couple of days ago. One is Smokey Blue made by Rogue Creamery in Oregon, another is an English/Irish Stilton, the third is a Maytag Dairy Farm blue cheese from Newton, Iowa, and a Danablu or Danish Blue.

I’ll follow up on the other three, but I was so taken with the Rogue Smokey Blue that I couldn’t wait to tell you about it.

Rogue Creamery offered the first blue cheese—Oregon Blue—made on the West Coast. They make five blues: Crater Lake Blue, Oregon Blue Vein, Oregonzola, Rogue River Blue, and Smokey Blue, the latter was also the first blue ever smoked. Smokey Blue is handmade from 100% natural full cream sustainable milk from Bonanza View Dairy. The Creamery uses raw cow's milk (the cheese is aged 90 days or more), salt, enzymes, cultures and Penicillium roqueforti.

Then they cold smoke it for 16 hours over hazelnut shells from the Pacific Northwest. The smoking provides a delightful balance of blue sharpness with very slight caramel and hazelnut flavors, although I didn’t detect a specifically hazelnut presence. What I did detect was a very enjoyable cheese that was heavenly when I popped a crumble of it into my mouth, and it was much creamier than I expected.

Since this cheese was first presented to the public in 2004, it garnered honors, including 2005 Best New Product at the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade’s (NASFT) Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City. That was quite a coup since there were 1,200 new products introduced that year.

When I went to the Rogue Creamery website (see below), one of their recommendations was to crumble it onto grilled hamburgers.

What luck! Our CENTURY 21 Bay Properties office staff was having our annual summer BBQ and the timing was perfect for taking some of this cheese with me. No sooner was the sizzling hamburger off the grill and placed on a bun, then the crumbled Smokey Blue was spooned onto the meat and it started to soften. I also put a tomato slice and romaine lettuce on the other side of the meat patty and I took my first bite.

Yum! I mean … really … YUMIOSSO!!!!

Everyone who tried it raved! It had the sharpness of blue, but mellowed by the smoke process. It was a perfect taste match on the grilled burger.

I encourage you to go to their website to get more blue cheese recipes and to learn more about this American artisan cheese.

I learned that in 2002 David Gremmels and Cary Bryant—neither of whom had any prior cheese making experience—bought the creamery where artisan cheese had been hand crafted since 1935. Since their purchase, they have won dozens of medals and trophies, including having Rogue River Blue proclaimed as the overall best blue cheese in 2003, nudging aside blue cheeses from all over Europe.

I heartily recommend the Smokey Blue. You’ll not be disappointed!

The photograph used with this article was compliments of www.roguecreamery.com

"Cheese Bites" ... A Fab Five ...

I was chatting with Anneke, a gal-buddy of mine up along the Sunshine Coast; a good Dutch girl who loves her cheese. She was bemoaning the cost, and the too large size of the pre-packaged artisan cheeses up where she is in BC, Canada, and she can't seem to use it all up before it becomes a “science project.”

It reminded me again, what a benefit it is to seek out a cheesemonger who cuts their own cheese and can provide you with a smaller portion—usually a minimum of ¼-oz—to suit your individual need. But, we all aren’t so fortunate to have one close at hand.

However, I was just at Haggens in Fairhaven (Bellingham, WA) this morning and while in the cheese section of the supermarket was delighted to see a basket of single portion .06-lb cheese, called “Cheese Bites” available for purchase. I found a Tintern, a Cotswold, Beecher's "No Woman," Irish Whiskey Cheddar and Chipotle Cheddar.

I commented to the cashier how pleased I was with their Cheese Bites and she said they are very popular. Their client base includes a lot of students and retired folks. If your store doesn’t already do so, ask the store manager if they will package and sell these solo servings. They want your business, so why not ask?

Ah, but now let’s get down to the fun stuff … All five cheeses are made with pasteurized cow’s milk.

Tintern is a mature, very creamy cheddar, blended with chives and shallots. I really enjoyed the taste of the chives, but it didn’t overpower the cheese. Tintern has a distinctive bright green wax covering. It’s named after the Abby of the White Monks of Tintern in Wales. Shelf life is around 4 months and you can find out more about it at www.somerdale.co.uk/abergavenny.htm .

Cotswold is an English double Glouster w/chives. Very tasty, much like a mild cheddar with the added taste of the chives, but more creamy, not as crumbly. It would be super with crackers and grapes, or melt it in an omelet or a casserole.

I could well understand how Cotswold and Tintern are called “pub cheese” and would taste good with beer, unless you must have wine with your cheese and then would recommend a full-flavor red.

No Woman is by Beecher’s Handmade Cheese. Wow! I liked this one! Jamaican Jerk spices are added, which gives the cheese a warm, smoky, spicy flavor. It left a really enjoyable aftertaste on my tongue. If you go to their website: http://www.beechershandmadecheese.com/ you’ll see they recommend serving it with dried mango and roasted almonds. I had it with a crisp apple and almonds … perfection! They also recommend pairing with beer or wine: a Hefeweizen or Red Ale, or a chardonnay.

Irish Whiskey Cheddar is a rich and creamy aged cheddar with unique undertones of the smooth, woody and robust taste of pure Irish whiskey. Entrenched in the history and traditions of Ireland, cheddar and whiskey are a dynamic duo. One thing I didn’t care for was that it seemed to coat the inside of my mouth. A good taste, but these other cheeses didn’t have that lingering feel.

I left the Chipotle Cheddar from Rogue Creamery for last because I thought it would have the strongest taste and I didn’t want it to overwhelm the taste of a more mild cheese. This is a tangy cheddar base, marbled with ground chipotle peppers. It’s briefly aged to infuse the cheddar with the KA-POW of chipotle. When I first bit into this cheese, I was surprised it didn’t have more of an immediate chipotle taste, but then the flavor literally unfolded in my mouth. This would be yummy on quesadillas or in chicken mole. Check out more on this cheese at http://www.roguecreamery.com/.

... a delectible cheese with which to end the taste of the Fab Five Cheese Bites!

Coming soon: my visit to Grace Harbor Goat Farm in Custer, WA.