If You’re in Omaha, There’s a Cheese Club Waiting For You at Baker’s
September 11, 2011
Miranda discusses her cheese club and her passion for cheese in an interview with CBS-Affiliate KOLN’s own Lance Schwartz. Please click on the link below to see this charming interview:
Stay Tuned… MarcellaTheCheesemonger.com is Under Contruction
September 10, 2011
The Lady and I have taken the cheese plunge and are about to unveil a full-service website that for some unknown and inexplicable reason is being named after The Lady rather than moi, your humble Feline Foodie, Spaulding Gray, who does all the heavy lifting around here while The Lady takes all the glory… one more time…
Please visit the website by clicking here.
Until construction is complete, we will continue to blog here and at our recipe blog… especially while The Lady is in Italy at the Bra Cheese Festival hanging out with the Cheese Swells and I am, once again, left behind to wrangle The Man… I just don’t get it… I think it all has to do with that opposable thumb thing…
I’ve been peeking and Troy, the IT genius behind the new website, is doing a bang-up job getting it ready… Stay Tuned…
Murray’s Cheese is coming to the Kroger in Aiken, South Carolina. If you are a Foodie or know a Foodie who lives in the Aiken area, please have them contact Don Routman and apply to become a Murray’s Cheesemonger!!
Getting Rogued at Rogue Creamery
September 3, 2011
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| Rogue Creamery |
(By clicking on the above picture, you will be able to view a slideshow of the entire trip.)
The Lady was invited to join six winning Fred Meyer Cheesemongers and two fine Ladies from DPI to make cheese at Rogue Creamery.
The winners were chosen based on their sales of Rogue Blue Cheeses at their kiosks and their merchandising abilities.
The trip began with a five-course dinner with Rogue Creamery Owners, David Gremmels and Cary Bryant, who graciously welcomed the group to their hillside home. Each course featured a different Rogue Cheese with Cary preparing several of the dishes including a wonderful, savory creme brulee that started the meal. The cheese course included the latest Rogue creation, Flora Nelle, a marvelous blue named after Cary and David’s Grandmothers. (The Lady brought home a wedge and we will be reviewing it soon…)
After an overnight stay at the Wine Country Inn in Jacksonville, Oregon, the Fred Meyer mongers traveled to Central Point and the cheesemaking facility of Award-Winning Rogue cheeses, including the 2011 Best of Show at the American Cheese Society Competition, Rogue River Blue. There, Cary, David and head cheesemakers, Craig and Jason, worked with the winners to make two vats of cheese: Tou Velle and Oregon Blue. After aging, these cheeses will be sold exclusively at Fred Meyer Cheese Kiosks in early 2012. The Fred Meyer group learned they were the first group invited to make cheese at the Creamery – what an honor!!!
Shawn, a member of the Rogue family, led the group trough a Rogue Cheese Plate, a sack lunch was enjoyed and then the group headed out to tour the two sustainable dairy farms that provide the milk to Rogue Creamery.
Rogue Creamery is a leader in sustainable farming and cheesemaking, having been certified by Food Alliance, Oregon’s Tilth and Steritech. The guys shared with The Lady their choice of “sustainable” over “organic” (although they do make a couple of organic cheeses). Simply put, sustainable farming treats animals more humane than organic. With organic dairy farming, if an animal becomes sick, it is destroyed. Sustainable dairy farming allows treatment of the animal, pulling it from production until all antibiotics are out of the milk. As Cary said, “When I get sick, I take medicine; the doctor doesn’t put me down.” As an animal of the feline persuasion, all I can say is, “Whee… thank goodness for sustainability around the manse.”
They encourage recycling and energy conservation both at the Creamery and home. The Creamery is powered 100% in the summer by solar panels (which also provide about 30% during the winter); they recycle everything that can be recycled. If an employee rides a bike to work 45 times in a year, Rogue gives them a top-of-the-line bike. They pay bonuses for carpooling, biking and using public transportation. It’s amazing and it’s beyond admirable…
After touring the dairies, it was time to play and the group headed to Grants’ Pass and a four-hour dinner tour up the Rogue River on Hellgate Excursions‘ jet boats. Eighteen miles up the river, they stopped for a BBQ dinner at the OK Corral. Both up and down the river, the boat pilots treated the group to maneuvers that resulted in lots of wet clothes and gleeful screaming. They saw many osprey and two eagles on the adventure.
The next morning The Ladies stopped at the Rogue Gift Shop and loaded up on cheese, wines and cheese pairings and headed back to reality…
The Lady asked that I make sure everyone at Rogue Creamery understands how special this opportunity was… so here’s a shout out to: David, cary, Sonja, Mimi, Chelsea, Meredith, Craig, Francis, Jason, Tom, Sue, Lacey, Shawn, Delmer, Holly, Huck, Andy, Gabe and Marcela, Brandon, MacKenzie and baby Mason… and the cheesemakers whose names she failed to get… it is a time that will not be forgotten…
Now for a final note… I’d like to bring it to each of my faithful reader’s attention that one more time, The Lady was hanging out with The Cheese Swells and I was left back at the manse with The Man… I have got to have a long conversation with The Brain about the balance of power around here… I’m in charge… although with The Lady off galavanting you’d never know it… and the biggest galavant to date is just 10 days away… The Lady leaves on the 13th to attend the Slow Food Cheese Festival in Bra, Italy and work as a monger at the American Cheese Booth with Cheese Swells from Rogue Creamery, Cow Girl Creamery, Vermont Butter Creamery, Jasper Hills Farm, Uplands Cheese Company, Cypress Grove, Kroger, Murray’s Cheese and AFI… there just is no justice…
Sir Kitty Cheese Paws
September 1, 2011
Sir Kitty Cheese Paws Dictates to The Lady
The Lady and I have a new Cheesy Friend, Miranda, who is a Cheese Steward at a Baker’s in Omaha, Nebraska. She saw The Lady’s picture (hey, where’s the picture of The Cat????) and our mention in the new Fall Issue of Culture Magazine and dropped us a line via the Kroger pipeline.
Miranda hosts a monthly Cheese Club at her cheese shop in the Baker’s store and we will be posting information on those events so that all you Cheese Nerds in Omaha can attend and taste some great cheeses that are paired “purrfectly”…
Miranda, evidently a nicknamer by nature, has bestowed on moi a new moniker… from this day forward The Lady and The Man are hereby requested to refer to me only as… Sir Kitty Cheese Paws…
Fall 2011 Culture Magazine
August 28, 2011
The Lady and I subscribe to Culture Magazine, the top-selling magazine dedicated solely to the slow food closest to our hearts: cheese, glorious cheese!! The fall issue mentions The Lady and moi, your not-so-humble Feline Foodie… please buy a copy and read the latest news about “Milk’s leap to mortality”.
Also, on page 107 there is a picture of two of the important players in making cheese for Rogue Creamery: one is a gentle animal who gives more than takes from the earth… and the other is a cow…
Please subscribe to Culture Magazine by clicking here. You can “like Culture” on Facebook and “follow Culture“ on twitter…
Looking for Murray’s Cheese Associates in Denver Area for King Soopers and City Markets
August 24, 2011
Murray’s Cheese is opening three stores in Denver area
King Soopers and City Market – Glendale/Leetsdale cheese shop is already up and running.
They are currently seeking to “cast” additional candidates in the “role” of
cheese associates
at these stores.
If you have always dreamed of working in a cheese shop
or you know someone
with an outgoing, enthusiastic personality
who adores customer engagement and cheese,
this would be a great role to apply for!
Contact:
Kristin Harrison, Human Resources
King Soopers/City Markets
303 778 2782
Store Locations:
Store 124
4600 Leetsdale Drive
Glendale, CO 80246
Store 96
6000 So. Holly Street
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Store 72
2750 S. Colorado Blvd.
Denver, CO 80222
October Marks the First American Cheese Month
August 19, 2011
The American Cheese Society has named October “American Cheese Month” – all American cheeses… not that rubbery stuff… The Lady is attending a meeting next Monday afternoon at the Denver Headquarters of the American Cheese Society to help kick off this first ever American Cheese Month… stay tuned… we will post events as they unfold and are scheduled… woohoo!!!
Colorado Proud!! Rocking W Flavored Monterey Jack
August 14, 2011
Get your Locavore on today at Murray’s Cheese Shops grand Opening at the King Soopers on Leetsdale in Glendale, Colorado!!
If you love Monterey Jack and you love Monterey Jack stuffed with stuff, then you’re going to love the Rocking W Natural Cheeses from the West Slopes of the Rocky Mountains!! It just doesn’t get much better when it comes to local flavored natural cheeses.
The Lady returned from Denver with a bag full of cheese and in her Colorado cache were three flavored Jacks made by a sixth-generation family of cheesemakers.
More than forty years ago Robert and Charlotte Webb (great name!!) decided to buy her parents twenty dairy cows and start their own dairy. Then they bought eighty acres just west of Olathe, Colorado and began their lives as dairy farmers. Today their son and son-in-law are co-owners in this farmstead artisan cheesemaking business. The milk is made into cheese within twenty-four hours of milking from cows that only eat feed grown on the Rocking W Farm.
The three cheeses The Lady brought home are all Monterey Jack stuffed with wonderful herbs, spices and vegetables. The first one we tasted was filled with Portobello mushrooms. It was earthy, creamy with lots of Portobellos, button mushrooms and leeks. Delish!! The second we tasted was tomato and basil jack cheese. Mam, oh, man; lots of tomato and lots of basil. The third had chives and garlic; this one was a favorite of The Man. The Lady and I found the Portobello jack to fit our tastes the best. The cheese is all three was crumbly when slicing but creamy on the palate.
All ingredients labels indicated that nothing artificial had been added; just milk, rennet, salt and the veggies and herbs… now that’s natural.
I give all three Rocking W Flavored Monterey Jack Cheeses 3 out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).
Serving Suggestions: Snacking is always an option; but cooking is also a definite way to go with these cheeses. As I write this review, The Lady is making breakfast quesadillas using the Garlic and Chives Jack. You can read her recipe by clicking here. She has plans to make a mac n cheese with the Portobello and leek cheese… always a favorite around the manse…
Wine Pairing: The Lady suggests either a Chardonnay or a nice Table Red.
Beer Pairing: For fear of offending Mr. Richardson from Fort Collins (read his comment at the bottom), The Man decided to go with Fort Collins Brewery’s Weizenheimer Wheat IPA… seemed a perfect pairing suggestion on several levels…
Source: Pasteurized Colorado Cow Milk
Rocking W Cheeses are available at your new Murray’s Cheese Shop located at select King Soopers including the new Murray’s at the Glendale, Colorado location … stop in today and enjoy the new Murray’s Cheese Shop and take home some Rocking W to enjoy tonight. The wines and beers recommended are also available in the liquor department as well. King Soopers is Colorado Proud!!
Rogue Creamery Judged Best Cheese in North America Again
August 13, 2011
At the 27th Annual American Cheese Society (ACS) Judging and Competition in Montreal, Rogue Creamery’s Rogue River Blue was crowned Best in Show, beating out 1675 other entries. The ACS is the largest cheese competition in North America and often is referred to as the “Academy Awards of Cheese.”
This is the second time in three years that Rogue Creamery and its signature blue cheese, Rogue River Blue, have won this prestigious award. The creamery is owned by Cary Bryant and David Gremmels and in Central Point, Oregon.
“We are honored by this recognition of Rogue River Blue, an American blue that represents the flavors of our region,” says Co–owner and Cheesemaker Bryant. “We enter the ACS Competition and Judging annually for the score sheets. Both technical and aesthetic cheese judges from around the world take part in this competition and provide invaluable feedback on the cheeses they score. The Best of Show for us not only celebrates Rogue River Blue as the finest cheese in North America, but it showcases our teams’ dedication to quality from the dairy, to the make room, aging caves and packaging.”
Co-owner and Cheesemaker Gremmels adds, “It takes a lot of hard work, planning and passion to make Rogue River the most distinctive blue cheese in the world. The recognition from ACS affirms this effort put forth to achieve the distinguishing flavor character, texture and quality inherent in a raw milk cheese.”
Rogue River Blue is handmade using autumnal equinox milk from Brown Swiss and Holstein cows’ milk, certified sustainable by Food Alliance. The cows graze in 1,650-foot elevation pastures along the Rogue River and in 5,000-foot elevation pastures along the Klamath River, where they eat a variety of grasses, wild herbs, and wild flowers supplemented with grass hay, alfalfa and grain grown on the ranch. The 5-pound (2.2-kg) wheels are made by hand and aged in specially constructed caves. The cheese ripens from naturally occurring molds found in the Rogue River Valley and, therefore, reflects a deep connection to the land. After maturation, the cheese is wrapped in Syrah grape leaves from Carpenter Hill Vineyard, which have been macerated in Clear Creek Pear Brandy and tied to the wheel with raffia. The cheese is released annually starting in September.
This year the ship date is scheduled for on or about September 13th. It should be in your favorite specialty cheese shop by the end of the month.
Rogue River Blue was honored as World’s Best Blue at the 16th World Cheese Awards in London, beating out entries from all over the world. That was the first time that an American blue cheese has won the title. The creamery also made history in 2007 by becoming the first American exporter of raw milk cheese to the European Union; its cheese is carried in Whole Foods Market, Neal’s Yard Dairy, London and Fromagerie Laurent Dubois, Paris.
Rogue Creamery was founded in 1928. The Vella family from Sonoma, Calif., acquired it from a co-op in Southern Oregon in 1935. In the 1950s, it began making some of the country’s best blue cheese. In 2002, Ig Vella selected Cary Bryant and David Gremmels as the new owners, and it now produces a variety of award-winning cheeses. It offers the only vertically integrated third-party certified sustainable cheese in the U.S. Its local dairy, Rogue View, and creamery, Rogue Creamery, both are certified sustainable by Food Alliance and Steritech, and certified organic by Oregon Tilth.
In the Pacific Northwest, you can buy Rogue River Blue in late September at select Fred Meyer Stores. Year round, you can find other Award-Winning Rogue Creamery Cheeses at most Fred Meyer Stores. For a location near you, please click here.
Rogue River Blue will also be available at Murray’s Cheese in Manhattan and Murray’s Cheese Shops in select Kroger Stores nationwide. For a list of Murray’s Cheese Shops in Kroger Stores, please click here.
Source: Rogue Creamery
Full FTC Disclosure: The Lady has been invited to “make” (remember… this means hang around in the make room and do things that won’t ruin the cheese…) cheese at Rogue Creamery August 24-26… so… Rogue Creamery has a special place in her heart…
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