Coupole

Serving cheese for outdoor entertaining may bring to mind several favorite options, but serving the right cheese does make a difference this time of year. You don’t want to feel weighed down by nibbling on too heavy a cheese in warm weather, or have a cheese that appears to be melting on your serving tray right before your eyes.

The solution is as easy as taking cheese out of its package. And, in this case, I’m offering a suggestion for serving an artesian handcrafted and slightly aged goat cheese. A distinct goat cheese, called Coupole. It is easily cut into wedges, making it an ideal way to serve in warmer and more humid weather.  

The Coupole is a fresh, young goat's milk cheese shaped like a small dome and lightly dusted with vegetable ash. It hails from the ambitious new Loire-Valley-style production facility at Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery which has been pioneering innovative dairy products for over 25 years. Their fresh chèvres, spreads, butters and fermented creams can be found in chef's kitchens across the country. As the Coupole ages, a slightly wrinkled skin develops, and the paste softens. This creamy, delightful goat's milk cheese is a wonderful addition to America's dairy products. One piece weighs approximately 8 ounces.

Goat cheese is an ideal lead-in to most summer foods which are on the lighter side and also pairs well served along side grilled fruit, grilled vegetables and grilled fish.   

Serve with quartered fresh figs and spiced nuts, or drizzled with honey for dessert. You may also go Genoa style by topping it with a freshly made pesto. If you really want to gild the lily, top with pesto & honey; a serving suggestion that was served to me from the master himself, Val Manning of Manning’s Food Emporium in Ballylickey, West Cork, Ireland.

Serve with summer beverages; lagers to wines such as sauvignon blanc, chenin blanc, or rose.

 image credit: Vermont Creamery

Fentimans

When was the last time you had a rootbeer float? You don't need to wait until August 6th (National Rootbeer Float Day) to get inspired. Here's my spin on a summer rootbeer float. You need two ingredients; good icecream + Fentimans Ginger Beer. Tip: use an ice cold glass.

I am seeing a resurgence in the popularity of an 18th century beverage, ginger beer. Not to be confused with ginger ale, which is made with ginger extract. The original version of ginger beer was actually an alcoholic beverage originating in England, today really only available by the home brewer.

Today's commercial brands are classified as soft drinks/sodas; containing less than a half percent of alcohol. Fentimans of the UK, is a great example of a company that has been brewing ginger beer since the 1900s. The point of difference in their ginger beer vs. any other, is their original brewing process requiring a few days of fermentation compared to the limited production time of other ginger beers available today on the market.

Fentimans on their ginger beer:

Unlike other Ginger Beers our process starts with fermenting the finest chinese ginger root. This goes a long way to explaining the wonderful Ginger "Burn" that each bottle contains. If you like Ginger, you will love our Ginger Beer!

Fentimans: available in the US

Pick 5 Grilling Essentials

Are you ready for the weekend? There are many types of grillers — the weekenders, the year 'round grillers, and the serious barbecuers; yet the essentials are fit to grill for us all. Check out my five grilling essentials and get ready to Know Your Fire!

Simply Outdoors - digital shopping guide, powered by Sears

1. Kenmore Deluxe Grip Long Plastic Handle Grill Cleaner: Good grip + stainless steel scraper.

2. 12-Piece Barbecue Set with Digital Fork Thermometer: The complete collection of all the basic tools + skewers.

3. BBQ Pro Charcoal Starter: Have your coals smoldering in minutes; holding 4 lbs. of briquettes.

4. Kenmore 4-Burner Gas Grill with Open Storage: Full size grill with side burner, area for prep + storage.

5. Stainless Steel 3-Piece Barbecue Set: Rust Resistant + 19 inch handles for safety.

Who is Hass?

The name HASS - we see it in every grocery market marking the most common variety of avacado in the world. The chocolatey pebble-skinned avacado was named after its original cultivator Randolf Hass, a mailman with a green thumb in the late 1920s. He patented the variety and partnered with nurseryman Harold Brokaw, and rest of the story made California the source of what is now a billion dollar crop industry. The key to the Hass success is its long growing season, good quality fruit and high yielding crop. 

It's that time of year to whip-up a good homemade guacamole, salsa and enjoy a margarita.

Turn any meal into a fiesta by serving guacamole as a healthy dip.

Guacamole is a delicious Mexican specialty that can be used as a dip, sauce, topping or side dish. In Southwest cuisine, guacamole is used as an appetizing dip or one of the toppings and/or fillings of enchiladas, tacos, tostadas, or burritos. Guacamole tastes best when you use fresh cilantro and ripened avocados. A ripened avocado will have a sweet aroma and be soft to the touch. Guacamole is also wonderful as a cold sauce for grilled meats or fish and this versatile, flavorful dish is easy to make, only sixty seconds onc you have ingredients chopped. 

George’s ’60 Second Guacamole

From George Hirsch Living it UP! TV series 

Recipe by George Hirsch | www.chefgeorgehirsch.com

makes 1 cup 

2 ripe avocados, room temperature 

Juice of two limes 

2 Tablespoons sweet onion, chopped fine 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

1 jalapeno, deseeded and chopped 

2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro 

hot sauce and salt to taste

Press onion and garlic into the side of a medium size bowl with a pinch of salt. Slice avocados in half, remove the seed and scoop out avacado meat from skin with a large spoon. Roughly mash avocado in bowl. 

Squeeze the lime juice all over the avocado. Add chopped jalapeno, chopped cilantro, and hot sauce. Toss and serve immediately. 

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Posole

Have you ever had Posole? Nip the spring chill in the bud by making a pot of one of my favorite soups. Posole, a traditional Mexican dish, is a thick soup made with hominy–dried corn with the hull and germ removed. it makes any large gathering a fiesta! 

What would your favorite beverage be to serve-up at your Patio Fiesta? 

George's Posole

Makes 8 servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

2 pounds pork shoulder chops

1/2 cup Posole Pork Rub

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 sweet onion, sliced thick, grilled and chopped

4 jalapenos, roasted on grill; split seeded and chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped

4 cups hot chicken broth

4 cups canned hominy, drained and rinsed

1 Tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh cilentro

3 fresh red radishes, sliced thin

1 cup fresh cabbage, finely shredded

Rub pork on all sides with Posole Pork Rub, and refrigerate for at least two 2 hours or overnight.

Pre heat large soup potto high heat.

Brush chops with 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Add chops and sear pork on both sides until browned and not fully cooked. Add 1 Tablespoon olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the hot broth, jalapenos, hominy and simmer for 1 hour. Remove chops, cool and chop meat into small pieces. Put pork back into soup. Continue cooking for 30 additional minutes. The longer and slower the soup simmers the better.

Stir in cilantro and serve bowls of soup topped with sliced radish, shredded cabbage, and with warm corn tortillas.

Posole Pork Rub

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Tablespoon each: ground cumin, black pepper, garlic powder, sweet paprika, chili powder, thyme

1/2 teaspoon each: nutmeg, allspice

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Store in a tightly sealed container.

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