Beecher’s World’s Best Mac n Cheese and Sunday Brunch

Beecher's World's Best Mac n Cheese (before cooking)

As you know, The Lady has allowed two interlopers to invade the manse. As of today, they have been here torturing me for an entire week…will it never end…

And just when I was adjusting to Miss Anne and her constant wanting to pet me…what does she think I am, a pet???…in walks an entire brigade of humankinds who came for Sunday Brunch…it seemed to me that there were hundreds of them…but in reality I can’t be sure as I was under the bed and didn’t venture out…

The tall guy known as Dad or Richard is the brother of another tall one named Marv and they were doing some brotherly bonding…or some such nonsense that brings pleasure to humankinds. Marv brought his family with him and he has a big family in all sizes and ages.

The Lady and Miss Anne fixed brunch for the crowd and horror of horrors, they served two of my favorites from Beecher’s:  No Woman , Marco Polo and Rogue Creamery’s Smoky Blue…for a second I thought The Lady had lost her mind and was sharing the last of the Rogue River Blue but thank the cheese gods, she saved that for me… but did she have to let them eat my No  Woman??? She can be so annoying…there had better be No Woman left for me or The Lady will be sleepless in Vancouver tonight…

When the throng arrived they were served the cheese plate as mentioned above with 34° Rosemary Crispbread as an appetizer.

The Lady's Signature Salad

Then they moved on to The Lady’s “signature” salad of field greens (aka “weeds” according to The Man), baby spinach, red seedless grapes, mushrooms and pecans topped with crumbled White Stilton Lemon Zest cheese and a dressing of Modena Balsamic Vinegar and EVOO.

The main course was Beecher’s World’s Best Mac n Cheese  (and everyone agreed it is indeed the World’s Best)which The Lady made using the recipe in Kurt’s Pure Flavor Cookbook; one with dried Chipotle Peppers crumbled on top and one plain. Both were gobbled up and everyone was asking for more… lucky for me and the sleeping schedule of The Lady, she saved some for her favorite feline foodie…that would be me.

The meal ended with bite size brownies, biscotti, Pepperidge Farm Milanos and a selection of Tillamook Ice Creams.

Finally as my afternoon snack time came and went (which I missed…thank you very much…) they left…all except Miss Anne and the tall guy…I hear Miss Anne calling me now…sheesh…

Vegetarian Suitable Cheese & Raw Milk Cheese Chart

The Lady gets a lot of requests for cheeses that meet specific dietary needs. After goat cheese (ych…) the next two most requested cheese categories are “Vegetarian Suitable” and cheeses made from raw milk for those following the raw food lifestyle.

The Lady decided to build a chart to help these two lifestyle enthusiasts enjoy cheese more.

CHEESE	VEGETARIANSUITABLE	RAW/PASTEURIZED	SOURCE
Applewood Ilchester	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Asiago		Pasteurized	Cow
Beechers Flagship	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beechers Flagship Reserve	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beechers Marco Polo	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beemster Mustard	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beemster Vlaskaas	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beemster Xo	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Berthaut Epoisses		Pasteurized
Black RiverGorgonzola	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Bleu d’Auvergne		Pasteurized	Cow
BlueShropshire		Pasteurized	Cow
BlueberryStilton	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Brescianella Aged
CabecousFeuilles		Pasteurized	Goat
Cablanca Goat Gouda	Yes	Pasteurized	Goat
Caerphilly Somerdale	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Cahill’s IrishPorter	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Cambozola	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Cantalet	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Castello Blue			Cow
Capretta
Champignon	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Chaumes	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Comte	Yes	Raw	Cow
CranberryWensleydale	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Cremier deChaumes
Crottin			Goat
Delice deBourgogne		Pasteurized	Cow
Denhay FarmhouseCheddar		Pasteurized	Cow
Double GloucesterSomerdale	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Emmenthaler	Yes	Raw	Cow
Explorateur		Pasteurized	Cow
Florette		Pasteurized	Goat
Fol Epi	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Fontina d’Aosta		Raw	Cow
Fourgerus		Pasteurized	Cow
Forme d’Ambert		Raw	Cow
Fresh Mozzarella curd		Pasteurized	Cow
Fromager d’Affinois		Pasteurized	Cow
Gaperon Garmy		Pasteurized	Cow
Gorgonzola Dolce		Pasteurized	Cow
Gorgonzola Mountain Aged		Pasteurized	Cow
Grana Padano		Raw	Cow
Greens of Glastonbury	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Gruyere	Yes	Raw	Cow
Humboldt Fog	Yes	Pasteurized	Goat
Iberico		Pasteurized	Cow, Sheep, Goat
Idiazabal		Raw	Sheep
Jarlsberg		Pasteurized	Cow
Kerrygold Blue		Pasteurized	Cow
Le Chatalain		Pasteurized	Cow
Livorot			Cow
Mahon		Raw	Cow (may have up to 5% sheep)
Manchego		Pasteurized	Sheep
Maytag Blue	Yes	Raw	Cow
Mimolette		Pasteurized	Cow
Morbier		Raw	Cow
Muenster Fleur de Sur
Ossau-Iraty		Pasteurized	Sheep
Parmigano-Reggiano		Raw	Cow
Parrano	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Pecorino Romano		Raw	Sheep
Pecorino Toscano		Pasteurized	Pecorino
Piave Vecchio		Raw	Cow
Pierre Robert		Pasteurized	Cow
Pont l’Eveque		Pasteurized	Cow
Provolone (Hanging)			Cow
P’tit Basque		Raw	Sheep
Quicke’s Bad Ass Goat Cheddar		Pasteurized	Goat, really nasty goat
Raclette	Yes	Raw	Cow
Red LeicesterSomerdale	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Rembrandt Aged Gouda	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Ricotta Salata		Raw	Sheep
Robiola Di Rocc		Pasteurized	Goat
Robiola 2 Milk		Pasteurized	Goat & Sheep
Robiola 3 Milk		Pasteurized	Goat, Sheep, Cow
Rogue Crater Lake	Yes	Raw	Cow
Rogue Echo Mtn.	Yes	Raw	Cow
Rogue Grape Leaf	Yes	Raw	Cow
Rogue Oregon Blue	Yes	Raw	Cow
Oregon Smoked Blue	Yes	Raw	Cow
Roquefort Societe		Raw	Sheep
Roth Kase Grand Cru Gruyere	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Roth Kase Grand Queso	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Roth Kase Petit Swiss	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Rozaire Brie de Nangis	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Saint Agur		Pasteurized	Cow
Saint Albray	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Saint Andre	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Soignon Chevrion Buche	Yes	Pasteurized	Goat
St. Marcellin
St. Maure		Raw	Goat
Stilton Blue	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Taleggio		Pasteurized	Cow
Tomme de Savoie	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Valdeon		Pasteurized	Goat & Sheep
Valencay		Raw	Goat
W.V. Brindisi	Yes	Raw	Jersey Cow
W.V. Perrydale	Yes	Raw	Jersey Cow
Winey Goat		Pasteurized	Goat

 

This list is comprised primarily of the cheeses The Lady sells in her kiosk and while not yet complete (it will be updated as more information is found), it’s a start to help all those cheeselovers who are vegetarians and/or raw foodies…

Long Clawson Dairy Lemon Zest Stilton

Vegetarian – Suitable Cheese

The Lady brought home a wedge of another dessert cheese created by the same cheesemakers, UK’s Long Clawson Dairy, which made the Blueberry Fayre I reviewed recently. You can read that review by clicking here.

The basis of this cheese is the white creamy and crumbly stilton that is used to make the world-renowned Stilton Blue Cheese. This white cheese is similar to a farmhouse Cheshire with a buttery texture. It is mild and with the addition of the candied lemon zest, it’s a cheese you won’t soon forget.

The Man is not known for his culinary talents and one of the downsides to him of having The Lady working in the cheese mines is he has to fix his own lunch each day. Sandwiches are a popular fare for him; but earlier this week he created his own mini-cheese platter. He cut mini-wedges of Comte, Tillamook Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar, Emmenthal, Cantalet and Lemon Zest. He and I had not had the Lemon Zest before…wow…on a 34° Degree Sesame Crispbread Cracker, this cheese will knock your socks off…what a retro thing to say…

When The Lady got home from the cheese mines, The Man went on and on about how much he liked this cheese and I added a few meows to the chorus.

Tonight The Lady made a salad and added Lemon Zest cheese. I thought The Man was going to weep. They both agreed it was one of the best salads they had had in quite a while. You can read the recipe for The Lady’s Lemon Zest Salad at our recipe sister blog.

I give Long Clawson Dairy Lemon Zest 4 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: As part of a dessert cheese plate with 34° Crackers, salted nuts and candied fruits. You can kick your salads up more than a bit with Lemon Zest. Long Clawson has several recipe suggestions on their website.

Wine Pairings: I would suggest a glass of Sophia Sparkling Wine.

Beer Pairings: Portland’s Own Widmer Hefeweizen – winner of the 2008 Gold Medal Beer Cup

Source: Pasteurized Cow’s Milk

 

Up next: A fan sent me a wedge of Smoked Gouda he bought at the Rogue Creamery Cheese Shop asking me to sample it and pass along my review…which I will do later today. My humble thanks for both the cheese and your trust in my response.

Dessert Cheese – White Stilton with Fruit

Vegetarian – Suitable Cheese 

It’s like eating cheesecake without the sugar…

The Lady brought home a slice of White Stilton that was laced with blueberries, very generously laced.

The Man, as you recall has a sweet tooth, was immediately interested, in much the same way that Politicians (aka Rat Ass Bastards, according to The Lady) are interested when other Politicians are lying (getting pointers on how to improve the “skill”)…but I digress…

The Man asked if this slice of cheese heaven was considered a dessert cheese and The Lady confirmed that it can be eaten after a meal as dessert; but she had other ideas…she planned to crumble it on some of this week’s bounty from Purple Rain Vineyard and make a salad with the cheese and “field greens”, which The Man prefers to call “weeds”; but he eats and enjoys them.

I was dismayed that the cheese would be going into a salad rather than my kitty pate dish but The Lady didn’t disappoint. She crumbled some up and gave it to me, her favorite feline foodie. It was my first experience eating blueberries and while they are not my first choice for lacing cheese; it could have been worse…

The Stilton part of the concoction was crumbly with a soft texture. Alone my guess would be that it would taste much like a yogurt. With the blueberries, it tasted like blueberry cheesecake.

The Lady mentioned that it often is made with lemon zest, mango, cranberries and apricots. I think Stilton should consider adding some crispy, crumbled Micomaronus leytensis which is so rare that even Wikipedia doesn’t have an article about it – but take my word for it…it would be yummy with White Stilton.

I give White Stilton 3 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: On crackers or ginger cookies would be a nice after-dinner treat. Crumbled on field greens works if you are of the humankind persuasion…

Wine Suggestions: A little bubbly would go quite nicely with this cheese.

Beer Suggestions: A fruity ale.

Source: Cows’ Milk

Fat Content: 45%

Suitable for Vegetarians.