Paris Grocery News 5/14 Saturday, May 14 2011

Manzanita, from Oregon, is a dry goat's milk cheese with a molé-spice coating and an eye-catching shape.

Cheese @ PG

This weekend, it’s the Seattle Cheese Festival at the Pike Place Market! Take a break from the madness upstairs and come visit us and our sister store, the Spanish Table. We’ve stocked our case with tons (seriously, TONS) of cheeses. Here’s a list of some of our freshest wheels, organized by type, which I find is a great entry point for learning about cheese and figuring out what you like.

For more information about all the cheesy happenings, go here.

We just cut into a new wheel of gorgeous Tome de Bordeaux! Picture from Culture Magazine.

Goat’s milk, aged:

Tome de Bordeaux

This goat cheese from the caves of Jean d’Alos wears a coat of fennel, rosemary, and thyme, with a starburst pattern of juniper berries, white peppercorns, and bird’s-eye peppers. The cheese is soft yet compact, with an enticing aroma and a clean, sweet, and earthy flavor. Taste the rind for some texture and powerful herbal flavor! $32.99/lb

Pave de Jadis: goat's milk cheese with an ash rind.

Goat’s milk, young, ash rind:

Pavé de Jadis

So named because of its shape: a pavé is a small paving stone. This goat’s milk cheese from the Loire Valley is dusted with vegetable ash and has a fudge-like texture. The taste is very clean, mild, and lemony. $16.99/lb

Sheep’s milk, blue:

Roquefort Coulet

This raw sheep’s milk cheese from Pascal Coulet is a superlative example of Roquefort. A  perfectly crumbly and moist texture, with a gorgeous snow-white interior and elegant green veining. The flavor begins slightly mild, then sweet, then smoky, and fades to a salty finish. Wow! $34.99/lb

Sheep’s milk, semi-hard:

Brique Agour

This award-winning Basque sheep’s milk cheese is renowned for striking an ideal balance between sweet and salty flavors. Slightly firm in texture, with a nutty, complex undertone and notes of Parm. Try it with a black cherry spread and a medium-bodied red. $24.99/lb

Samples of Cremeux de Bourgogne on Raincoat Crisps. Something you may just see this weekend at the shop.

Cow’s milk, triple cream:

Crémeux de Bourgogne

A cow’s milk triple-cream cheese from a small family of producers in Burgundy. Rich but not overwhelming, with hints of fresh butter. A fantastic cheese with champagne and fruit– at dessert or any time. We love them on crackers with nuts and fruit, like Raincoat Crisps. $16.99/lb

Cow’s milk, soft, washed rind:

Langres

This cow’s milk cheese from the Champagne region has a dense texture and a rich, creamy flavor with distinct notes of sour milk and a long finish. Unlike many pungent washed rind cheeses, Langres is milder and more delicate. Pairs perfectly with French bubbly. $12.99/each

Cow’s milk, washed rind:

Le Maréchal

Le Maréchal is a semi-hard raw cow’s milk cheese, made by hand in a tiny dairy in the small Swiss town of Corcelles-Aux-Payernes. It owes its rustic flavor to the herbes de Provence that are rubbed onto the cheese during the aging process. Named for the cheesemaker’s great grandfather, the village blacksmith (le maréchal-ferrant), this cheese, like the man, has a robust tough-skinned exterior concealing a rather warm heart. $25.99/lb

Thanks for reading, see you soon!
Rachel

and
Steve Winston and Sharon Baden
Owners, Paris Grocery

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Paris Grocery News 4/3 Sunday, Apr 3 2011

The first delivery of rosés! Can you stand it? (You can't.)

Wine @ PG

“April is the cruellest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.”

From “The Waste Land” by T.S. Eliot

Apparently, perpetual sad guy Thomas Stearns never shopped at Paris Grocery. (Though I love the way he places those gerunds at the end of the line). But it’s hard for us to be cranky about this blustery spring weather when the first crop of rosés has officially arrived at the shop! Like so many shining flowers emerging from the cold bed of winter, these wines glitter with the promise of summer.

Sorry to be so corny. I just really really like rosé.

Chateau L’Ermitage Costières de Nimes Rosé 2010

This Rhône blend of 50% Syrah, 30% Grenache, and 20% Mouvedre is a perhaps slightly more fruit forward wine than the Provence rosés. It’s a vivid carmine color, with bright notes of melon and strawberry and a touch of spice and minerals. This is my pick so far for a “summer swiller”: that cheap rose that pairs with just about anything, making it perfect for larger groups getting together for a picnic or bbq. ($8.99)

Domaine Sorin “Terra Amata” Côtes de Provence Rosé 2010

Robert Parker called winemaker Luc Sorin one of the most exciting in the South of France, and his wines are served at some of the finest restaurants in the Côte-d’Azur. They have gained a reputation for being smooth and appealing, making for an excellent match with many styles of cuisine. The Côtes de Provence rosé is their best-known wine. A lovely, dusky pink, it’s light and refreshing, with intriguing notes of herbs. ($11.99)

Triennes Rosé 2010

Primarily made from Cinsault, the juice for this Provençal rosé spent only a couple of hours in contact with the skins, resulting in a very pale color and delicate texture. It’s  bottled early to maintain its vibrant freshness. This one is my favorite, and I think it’s one of Sharon’s, too; it’s just such a beautiful wine. Light strawberry and red currant notes, with a vibrant minerality and an ethereal creaminess on the finish. It’s got that Provençal quality that I like to call “fruit and rocks.” ($15.99)

Château du Rouët Côtes de Provence Rosé 2010

Delicate and delicious; a perfect evocation of Provençal-style rosé. Made with a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah. The grapes are hand-harvested from volcanic gravel soils that washed down from the Esterel mountain range. We love the curvaceous bottle! ($14.99)

Cheese & Butter @ PG

Le Wavreumont. (Say that five times fast.)

Back in stock!

Le Wavreumont

A newly commissioned cheese for the Belgian city of Liège, made with raw organic cow’s milk from the area farms. Inspired by the long tradition of monastery cheeses, this has a  creamy, palate-coating texture and a complex, eggy flavor. Deliciously snackable! ($25.99/lb)

Perfectly round, perfectly yummy.

Soumaintrain

A cow’s milk cheese from Yonne in northern Burgundy. Like Époisses, the wheels are washed with brine and marc de Bourgogne. Pungent, gooey, rich, mushroomy, and barnyardy- some even say it displays umami. Try it with a Chablis for a particularly blissful experience. George, our resident cheesemonger, is obsessed with this cheese.  ($24.99/each)

Beurre d’Isigny

Isigny Sainte Mère is a well-known brand of dairy products. The milk they use comes from the cows of many cooperatives who eat the nutritious grasses of northwest France all year long, allowing for higher trace amounts of iodine and other minerals. These charming paperboard tubs of sweet, unsalted butter are great for use in baking or just as a spread. ($6.99/each)

Thanks for reading, see you soon!
Rachel

and
Steve Winston and Sharon Baden
Owners, Paris Grocery

Leave a Response »