Cookin' in the 'Cuse

Honk if You Love Cheeses

I don't put bumperstickers on my car but if I did--this is the one I'd create.  I love cheese.  I don't know what I'd do if I had to give it up--perish the thought!  The fact that there is so much great cheese being made in our area just feeds my obsession.  In the midst of today's thunderstorms, I took solace in room temperature Trillium cheese from Wake Robin Farm spread on crusty bread fresh from the oven--glorious!

If you shop the Central New York Regional Market, you may have noticed that there is an abundance of great cheeses being sold.  Often the cheesemakers are off at other markets so if you miss them one week--check for them the next.  These newcomers join some of the market mainstays like Wake Robin, Keeley's, and the Muranda cheeses that you can get at the Finger Lakes Family Farms booth in C-shed. 

Painted Goat Farm Cheese

Illyssa Berg (along with partner Javier Flores) is the hardworking woman behind these beautiful cheeses.  I've tasted the incredibly fresh and creamy traditional herb coated goat cheese but I've been spreading the goat cheese with fig jam on pecan raisin bread and calling it dessert.  Oh so good.  Illyssa will be at the Regional Market this Saturday and she tries to get there a couple of time a month.  Check out their Facebook page to stay up to date.

American Farmstand Cheese

Gordon Walts is a man on a mission to get others to love New York State cheese.  He's at the Regional Market (and on the internet) selling small producer, hard to find artisinal cheeses.  He's passionate and knowledgeable and is willing to share the love. 

Three Village Cheese

I keep wanting to take a photo of their cheeses but I keep eating them first.  Their cheeses are made from the same cows and milk that make Maple Hill Creamery yogurt so delicious. 

Blue Danube Cheesecakes

This is the classic way to have cheese for dessert when you don't feel like assembling a cheese plate.  These are rich and creamy New York style cheese cakes that come in perfect mini-cake sizes for one (or two if you are more generous with your cheesecake than I tend to be).  Hazelnut and oreo cookie are my favorites.  You can find Erica Derrick giving out samples at the Regional Market on Saturdays or Green Hills Market on Fridays. 

Rising Food Costs--What are YOU Seeing?

Kim Severson's piece in The New York Times last weekend has me thinking about the cost of food.  Actually, I think about the cost of food every time I go to buy some.  But I contend that I'm slower to notice the rising costs of food because I buy so much of it locally from small producers. 

Remember when food prices spiked a few years ago, sparking riots for bread in Kenya and other places?  Friends who shopped exclusively at large supermarkets complained that their food costs had gone up nearly 20%.  I didn't notice an increase at all.  I had already locked in my CSA costs for vegetables and was growing a lot of my own herbs.  Buying in bulk for grains and beans meant that it took a while before I noticed any increases.  I suspected that the forces that drove grain prices up in other parts of the globe were not the forces affecting the cost of flour milled in the Champlain Valley up north. 

I do know that several local meat farmers have already informed patrons that prices for chicken and other meats have been raised due to the increased cost in feed.  Maybe getting that news months before I actually purchase the chicken softens the blow.

This time around, I'm going to pay closer attention to see if food costs are rising on our other locally grown foods.  I'm not in a CSA this year so will be more subject to market forces, as it were. 

What do you see?  Have you noticed any increases yet?

I'm a Believer...

...in five minute artisan bread.

Now understand me:  I'm a sourdough nurturer.  I like kneading dough.  But I love crusty loaves fresh from the oven even more.  A recent visit to Bluestone Farm--where those fabulously locavore nuns I love so much farm and cook from scratch--converted my heart and my tastebuds. 

On a beautifully sunny day we sat down to potatoes au gratin and a rooster salad (they say he was a mean old bird and his time had come).  With Timothy napping on my lap I sopped up extra drippings of melted cheese with a slice of a crusty baguette.  When I inquired how they had time to bake this bread every day they revealed the 5-minute technique. 

I ordered the book a few days ago and with about ten minutes of hands-on time, an overnight chill in the fridge, I woke up Sunday morning (before work) and baked a beautiful loaf of bread.  I just baked another one a few minutes ago.  It's crazy!  Crazy good!

Have you tried this method yet?  If not, what's your favorite method for getting good, fresh bread on the table?

Thank you Gary, Steve, Josephine and the Syracuse Community!

The Grace Church Spanish Soiree was an incredible success.  It is hard to find adequate words to express my gratitude to Gary Decker of Vinomania wine shop, Steve Kern of the Everson Museum, and his wife Josephine Nieuwenhuis for their above and beyond giving of time and resources to make sure we had some of the best wine and tapas to found anywhere.  It took nearly cast of hundreds to pull these off and so many other community members gave of their time, talent, and resources to help us including donors to the silent auction--Thank You.  Special thanks to the Fish Cove, Green Hills Market, the beautiful music of LuBossa, and all who attended or bought tickets.  Your generosity helps us to continue our work of feeding the hungry, helping the needy, and working for justice. 

Here are some photos--we'll do it again next year!

Gary Decker of Vinomania

Ah...the cheeses...

 

The amazing Josephine takes a break from the kitchen.

 

Luba Lesser of LuBossa goes through a sound check with Pete Clouser.

The tortillas are a Steve Kern specialty

It was a good place to bring your appetite--just delicious!

Just three words...

Pork Belly Confit

I've got lots of posts waiting to be put up but I had to tell you about my new favorite thing--pork belly confit from The Piggery in Ithaca.  OMG.  Have you had some?  No?  Then I'm telling you it is worth the trip to get some.  (You could make it but why not let someone else spend 12 hours curing your pork belly?) 

This is my version of Pizza Night--pork belly confit, fresh mozzarella, Pasta's Daily Bread pesto on fresh pizza dough (get it at Columbus bakery on the north side or Wegmans if you don't have time to make your own). 

The pork belly confit is like bacon that melts in your mouth--and just a "little dab with do ya".

Other pies we had on deck for pizza night included one made with chunks of chorizo, spicy hot tomato oil (from Pasta's), fresh mozzarella and roasted garlic and a simple pesto, mozzarella and roasted garlic.  I think we have a new Thursday night dining tradition!