Halloumi (part 2)

Last month, on the unasked for cheese blog.  I talked about the ups and downs of a little-known, highly-volatile cheese called Halloumi.  Today I conclude with part two of the Halloumi saga, which brings me to a short narrative… and a recipe.

“Once upon a time in the British Isles lived a fair maiden by the name of Nigella Lawson.  Nigella had magical skills such as baking a Chocolate Guinness Cake and mixing Spaghetti with Bacon, Egg, and White Wine.  She was so good at cooking, in fact, that she got several of her own cooking shows and won the hearts of many men’s stomachs.  One day, on one of these shows, Nigella roasted Halloumi with sausage, red peppers, and basil.  Then I made it, and I lived happily ever after.”

A vision of Halloumi with sausage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• 8 Merguez sausages (or any small link sausage for that matter)
• 1 8 oz. package of Halloumi, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 8 oz. jar of roasted red peppers, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 handful of basil leaves, torn
• a drizzle of garlic oil

Serves 2 people, assuming one of them’s not me

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  On a large sheet tray arrange sausages, slices of Halloumi, and red peppers in a single layer.  Drizzle with oil.  Roast for 15-20 minutes until the sausage is cooked and the cheese is browned, then sprinkle on basil shards and EAT.

Nigella wearing her Halloumi-cooking dress

Recipe courtesy of Nigella Lawson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I’d say that’s first rate.” – Nigella talking about the newest BBC Sherlock episode

A Cheese Board

I am not a cheese expert by any stretch of the imagination.  But I do like it when I’m eating it.  When it comes to making a cheese board for a dinner or party, it’s really easy, and it looks great with very little effort.  I recently made one such board this past Christmas time for a holiday party, that included a Brie, a Stilton, and a Beemster.  I usually go with three kinds of cheeses, two kinds of crackers, and one kind of fruit.  See some more useless suggestions below.

a cheese board made for a Halloween party circa 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 Cheeses – For the cheeses, I go with a cow’s milk, a goat’s milk, and a sheep’s milk.  I also try to go for varying textures (a hard cheese, a soft, cheese, and a blue cheese).

2 Crackers – Table Water Crackers are a good choice, and then I also grab a whole grain cracker.

1 Fruit – If pears or apples are in season, I go with them.  Grapes add good contrast in flavor and texture.  Figs or dried apricots can also be a good choice.

Don’t hesitate to ask the cheesemaster at your local grocery what kinds of fruits will pair with what kinds of cheeses.  They’re probably bored anyway.

Don’t forget to add a knife to the board.  Bottom line, cheese is delicious, and so are crackers and most fruits.  It’s hard to mess this up.  But people are generally very impressed with your ability to make this.

Brie

The other day, I ventured into the woods for a weekend away from all the downloading.  A group of seven of us set out to rough it in the wilderness without the modern conveniences of front-load washers and garbage disposals.  Our rugged lake-side cabin with full kitchen, full bathroom, and a deer set as the perfect backdrop to hike, play games, tell life-alteringly scary stories around fires, and eat.

It was brought to my attention that I should probably bring cheese considering this blog.  I swiftly made a trip to the local cheesery and selected a ripened, delicious-looking brie to store in the mouths of those in attendance.  Brie is a cow’s milk cheese with an edible rind that can be delicious in a variety of ways.  It can be sliced and eaten atop crackers (Table Water Crackers preferred), as was done during the weekend at the cabin.  It can be eaten with fruit (also done at the cabin with apples).  It can be warmed in the oven, causing the cheese to ooze inside the rind making a tasty, gooey mess, then topped with honey or fruit.  It can also be eaten in a grilled cheese sandwich as brought to my attention at Washington DC restaurant Busboys and Poets in their grilled brie panini with caramelized onions, spinach, and tomato.  Sometimes it’s even wrapped in phyllo dough!!!!

In conclusion, if you haven’t tried brie by this point in your life, at a party or somewhere, there is something wrong with you.

A stoic deer baby who we lovingly named Hank. Yes there were flowers in December some how.

 

 

Halloumi

Amidst the busy and sometimes-productive bustle of Capitol Hill in D.C. sits a small Greek restaurant by the name of Cava which  serves up on its dinner menu, among other things, a grilled cheese salad.  Before you throw up at the thought of grilled cheese salad, know that it’s not ‘grilled cheese’ as in grilled cheese sandwich, but actual slices of cheese that have been grilled then served warm with bread and fresh mint.  Enter Halloumi  (ha-loom-ee).

Halloumi as found at Whole Foods Market

Halloumi as found grilled, from stolen internet photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloumi is a salty, unripe cheese from Cyprus made from goat and sheep’s milk with a high melting point, making it ideal for grilling, frying, or roasting.  It’s similar in texture to mozzarella and in taste to the salty feta.

Among Cava’s other cheese offerings are Saganaki (fried cheese), Paperdelle Mac and Cheese, and Goat Cheese Fritters, the latter two of which I have tried and went temporarily blind from how delicious they were.

And while on the subject of Cava, I think it’s important to note that sometimes they think it’s appropriate to douse their Saganaki Cheese in alcohol and set fire to them while at your table, unannounced, as seen below.

Cava Saganaki flame burst (also effective for killing R.O.U.S.’s)

Some important congressman, no doubt on his lunch break

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So the next time you’re in DC wondering where to eat amid the Greek knock offs, give the real thing a try at Cava, or go here.  Or here.  Or here.  Or here.  Or here.

“Also try one of Cava’s martinis.  Go Nats!” – Marlon Brando 

Mimolette, the Tastiest of Cheeses

When thinking of tasty, tasty cheeses, my mind often wanders to the mysterious year I lived in Virginia.  It was at a quaint fromagerie-turned-patisserie called The Frenchman’s Corner on East Davis Street in Culpeper where I was first introduced to Mimolette (mim-oh-let).  Mimolette has the size, color, and texture of a cantaloupe, but fortunately, a much better taste and fewer seeds.

Mimolette

A Cantaloupe Melon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The delicious mimolette is a hard French cheese made from cow’s milk that can be eaten at various stages of ripeness.  It smells of socks, has a taste similar to Parmesan, can have crystals on the inside and a chewy rind.  Unfortunately, the cheese can no longer be imported to the United States after a trade embargo was placed in 2013 by the FDA, because, while this cheese is delicious, it also may contain dangerous cheese mites that work their way inside your head attaching themselves to your brain stem making you unable to see the color blue or hear songs by Molly Cyprus.  An occasional Whole Foods or specialty foods store may have slipped past the embargo.  But beware!

I can only assume this is what the cheese mites look like. Or maybe this is a photo I took of them. Not really sure.

Please don’t risk eating cheese mites.  Maybe one or two small slivers of tasty Mimolette will do you in.

Photos courtesy of the Google.  Thank you Wikipedia for information that is accurate %1000 of the time.

“Mimolette tastes good.” – Thomas Jefferson