Coulommiers Rouzaire

You know I like to pass along good stuff when I come across it. Today's topic, the ever important wedge of soft cheese - that you don't need to hold on to your hat, when buying, this quality of product.

Fromagerie Rouzairein, is a third generation cheese factory owned by the Rouzaire family. The factory is located less than one hour from Paris center, in the heart of the Seine et Marne, the Île-de-France region. 

Old Ourcq canal dockside in Meaux, France, image; LundeuxMeaux medieval passage

Coulommiers, made from cows milk, is considered a member of the Brie family made in Meaux, aka the "land of Brie," about 40 miles east of Paris. It is smaller and thicker than the more typical Brie-style cheeses, and some say that Coulommiers is the predecessor of Brie. 

Coulommiers' hand molded artisanal cheese is described as "the color of fresh churned butter with a supple paste and well-developed rind with a hint of hazelnut." 

The famous Brie de Meaux, crowned "king of cheeses" at the 1815 Congress of Vienna, has a Label of Controlled Origin. It is a distinctively soft cheese, encased in a covering of white skin, scattered with reddish pigments, with a light hazelnut taste

Coulommiers is delightful on crackers, spread on a baguette and pairs well with with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or even Merlot.

Available at fine specialty shops and artisianalcheese.com

My Proline

Those that know me-know, I am not big on collecting kitchen gadgets. It might stem from my fierce culinary training. We were programmed to believe that you can't hide behind all the fancy kitchen accouterments. Frankly, there was no time to reach for the special doohickey for this or that; which explains why for many years I drank my coffee black - adding milk takes an extra 30 seconds. Well things have changed, somewhat. I now put milk in my coffee and have gotten used to a few good kitchen gadgets, my coffee maker, The KitchenAid Proline Coffee Maker. It is worthy of touting about. I know I am not alone, a good cup of coffee in the AM can help get you on the right foot for the day.

Other articles:

Coffee, Beyond the Brew

The Daily Grind

For Chocolate Lovers

We tend to think of chocolate as a sweet candy created during modern times. But actually, chocolate dates back to the ancient people of Mesoamerica, who drank chocolate as a bitter beverage. For these people chocolate wasn’t just a favorite food, it also played an important role in their religious and social lives. I have to admit chocolate is not one of my favorite foods, but I do find the history of chocolate fascinating. 

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MODERN HISTORY

Europeans drank their chocolate with sugar and milk. As with the Spanish, most Europeans liked their chocolate sweetened with sugar, another expensive and exotic import from faraway plantations. And in the late 1600s, Sir Hans Sloane, president of the Royal College of Physicians, introduced another culinary custom; mixing the already popular chocolate drink with milk for a lighter, smoother flavor.

In 1879, Rodolphe Lindt created another important device: the conching machine (so called because the earliest machines resembled a conch shell). It churned the paste made from cacao seeds into a smooth blend perfect for rich, creamy chocolate bars. The divine drink, builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole day without food.

Hundreds of new chocolate factories and flavors have come and gone. Over the years, many creative confectioners developed lots of new varieties and flavors of chocolate. A few icons of the early 1900s still survive today. Hershey got his start making chocolate-coated caramels in 1893. And his competitors, the father-and-son team of Mars, created the malted-milk-filled Milky Way after an inspiring trip to the local drugstore soda fountain.

Milton S. Hershey stated, “Caramels are only a fad. Chocolate is a permanent thing.”

During World War II, American soldiers introduced chocolate to the Japanese, where its popularity continues to rise today.

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CHOCOLATE TRIVIA

Chocolate syrup was used to represent blood in the famous 45 second shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's movie, "Psycho" a scene which took 7 days to shoot. 

Once upon a time, money did grow on trees. Cocoa beans were used as currency by the Mayan and Aztec civilizations over 1400 years ago. When they had too much money to spend, they brewed the excess into hot chocolate drinks.

The Swiss consume more chocolate per capita than any other nation on earth. That's 22 pounds each compared to 11 pounds per person in the United States.

Rumor has it that Napoleon carried chocolate with him on all his military campaigns for a quick energy snack.

The word "chocolate" comes from the Aztec word xocolatl, which means "bitter water".

The amount of caffeine in chocolate is lower than most people think. A 1.4 ounce piece of milk chocolate contains about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of decaffeinated coffee. There is an average of 6 mg. of caffeine in both an ounce of milk chocolate and a cup of decaffeinated coffee, while a cup of regular coffee contains between 65 and 150 mg. of caffeine.

HOT CHOCOLATE CARAMEL Recipe | George Hirsch

HOT CHOCOLATE BERRY CUPCAKES Recipe | George Hirsch

click image to enlarge recipeThis sweet was created in my restaurant years ago, as a hot dessert to satisfy every chocoholic. Think the molten lava of chocolate desserts.

Return to Summer

With record snow this weekend in most of the Atlantic East coast and temperatures pushing the envelope for the whitest, coldest winter in decades, I began my day dreaming of summer 2010 by my East End beaches. 

When I fell into my mid-summer day dream, I pictured myself stopping at Pikes Farm Stand in Sagaponack to pick up their prize vine ripened tomatoes and candy-like white corn on the cob. To serve the tomatoes, I simply slice and drizzle olive oil upon a crusty ciabatta bread topped with freshly ground pepper and a gently torn fresh basil leaf, from my garden. I munch on this snack paired with a crisp cool glass of sauviginon blanc while waiting for my corn to grill to perfection. The corn was picked just one hour before cooking; so with corn that fresh, I like it au natural - no or butter needed.

Rude awakening. It's the beginning of February. But I have something up my sleeve that's very fitting and will put a summer smile on your face and mine. Here's the how-to for cooking up a good pot of Spicy Corn Chowder.

image, Moza

Gumbo vs. Pork

This weekend’s Super Bowl brings on yet another reason to party or entertain. Although, there may not be as much hype this year on GameDay, I feel a certain personal attachment to both cities. I have good friends in both team cities representing New Orleans and Indianapolis.

New Orleans' great city screams rich food culture with its strong Cajun, French and Spanish roots. But, on the surface you may scratch your head thinking - does Indianapolis bring to mind any signature dishes as sexy as gumbo and jambalaya? Well yes. For Indiana, think German influence in the heartland and with substantial hearty foods beyond Orville Redenbacher. (Yes, Orville started his company in Indiana, the state of corn.) Vision foods more like bratwurst, bockwurst, German wieners with sauerkraut, red cabbage and choice spicy German mustards. Maybe even the prized Indiana pork with Kassler Rippchen, a smoked pork loin dish. 

You can mix a menu with dishes from the “Crescent City” and from the “Hoosier State”. Flip a coin and pick my gumbo recipe, or BBQ pork sandwich, or both. Either way, they’re both delicious winners!