In honor of the looming Papal Conclave, this post is dedicated to those two great Italian staples – Mozzarella and Parmesan. Mozzarella has to be one of the most abuse cheeses in the world – how many of us have had bad mozza on a pizza or in a ubiquitous “Caprese Salad” (usually served at a Baltic temperature). I like my Mozzarella white and of the Buffalo kind and I found this fairly good interpretation in the dairy cabinet at my local supermarket. While not exactly fresh, it was creamy and the perfect addition to my grand Italian plan. Friends know that I have somehow rediscovered or unearthed my latent…
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Shake, Ricotta and Roll – Or Why Ricotta is the Yanni of Cheeses
In a couple of weeks, Yanni is coming to the city that I live in for a concert. You know, Yanni. The Greek composer born Yiannis Hryssomallis and the architect of such memorable ditties as ummmm…quickly looking up Wikipedia….Keys to the Imagination…allegedly. He calls himself “new age”. Look, Yanni’s most interesting claim to fame is that he was in a relationship with Linda (Khrystal Carrington) from Dynasty – she of the shoulderpads and the fight with Joan Collins that ended in a pond. Stick with me, there is a point. Yanni remains popular for all his NEw Age metrosexuality in spite of his blandness. Ricotta is the Yanni of Italian…
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Everything is Better With Burrata
I’m putting this out there – I have only just discovered the wonder that is Burrata. I mean seriously, where has this creamy wonder been all my life? And to my eternal shame, Burrata means “buttered”, and you KNOW how I feel about butter. This folks, is a cheese so great that it even has its’ own Facebook page Burrata Fan Page Apparently, Burrata is “poor man’s Mozzarella”, something I seriously can’t fathom given its lushness. Again, it owes its origin to buffalo milk, which I discovered in my research this week, is actually richer and higher in protein than cow’s milk, making it a perfect candidate for creamy cheese…
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Get Your Frico On
In view of the upcoming Papal Conclave to elect a new Il Papa, and because the eyes of the world will soon be trained on Rome, I thought I would spend a couple of posts exploring the rich and tasty world of Italian cheese. Dean & Delcua in Doha is very helpful when it comes to identifying its’ cheeses, with little national flags printed on the name and price tags. This was recommended by the cheese counter guy, who later admitted he was actually the deli counter guy moonlighting because cheese guy was “working late” “This one looks good,” he said, pointing at the large round on Montasio, a cheese…
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Taleggio Tales But True – A Hunk of Italian Love
It had been a particularly brutal day of toil in the vineyard of truth, and all that would salve my wounded soul was the thought of the Italian hunk sitting at home. By hunk, I do not mean in the literal studly sense, rather a hunk of Italian Taleggio cheese, purloined from the good people at Jones the Grocer in Doha. And so my tour of European basket case countries continues. I am a latecomer to the cult of Taleggio, having aligned myself early on in my cheese loving career with the Francophiles…Francophones….or whatever the kids are calling it now. But, like a persistent Italian man, it won my appreciation.…