Cook Like A Cheesemonger: Pumpkin Pancakes

Confession: I’ve never had a pumpkin spice latte. I wouldn’t call myself a “PSL” hater, it’s just never something that I’ve craved, despite being a huge squash and gourd fan. However, I would eat these pancakes every single weekend if I could. What a better way to use up your pumpkins from Halloween. (Yes, you can absolutely eat your Jack O’ Lanterns)

Fair warning, they’re pretty decadent. You could eat this for breakfast, brunch, dinner, and absolutely for dessert. 

These pancakes get their substantial rise from the acid in the buttermilk interacting with the leavening agents; lightly beating the egg whites gives them the similar fluffiness you’d get from whipping whites, minus the elbow grease. Because the pumpkin adds extra moisture to the batter, it’s important to cook the pancakes low and slow so they can cook all the way through. 

I topped mine with our house roasted pecans, one of the most delicious cultured butters, and my favorite maple syrup we sell from Runamok. 

Batter Ingredients: 

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 1/2 cups AP flour 

2 tsp. baking powder 

3/4 tsp. baking soda 

1 cup roasted pumpkin, squash, or organic roasted pumpkin puree

1/4 cup organic cane sugar 

3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter 

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

1 2” piece of fresh ginger, finely grated 

2 1/2 tsp. Ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt 

Maple Butter/Garnish and Assembly: 

1/2 cup ploughgate cultured butter, room temperature 

4 tablespoons Runamok Maple Syrup (for whipped butter)

1 cup F44 Moroccan roasted pecans, roughly chopped 

Maple syrup to garnish 

Directions: 

1. Separate yolks from eggs over a small bowl to catch egg whites. Place yolks in a large bowl. Add buttermilk, pumpkin puree, sugar, butter, ginger, and vanilla to egg yolks and mix with a rubber spatula to combine.

2. Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to combine, then gently add to buttermilk mixture and mix until dry ingredients are mostly hydrated.

3. Briefly beat egg whites lightly with a fork, then add to batter and mix until completely incorporated. Let batter sit for 15 minutes.

4. Make your maple butter! While the batter is resting, heat softened butter in a microwave-safe bowl in microwave 10 seconds. The butter should be extremely soft but still pale yellow in color and not melted. Add 4 Tbsp. maple syrup 1 Tbsp. at a time, whisking vigorously after each addition to fully emulsify before adding more, about 2 minutes total.

5. Heat oil in a griddle or a non-stick pan. I used a 1/3 measuring cup, but you can really make these as big or small as you’d like. They are relatively dense, so low heat seemed to work better for me.

6. Top with your whipped maple butter, Runamok syrup, and pecans. Enjoy!

Meet Your Monger: Kennedy

You’ve worked in cheese previously, and as a fishmonger for many years in Minneapolis. What’s exciting about being a meat monger with us in the shop?

Love the idea of being a new "monger"! Our selection of meat is so wide and our product is so good! So it's been really exciting learning new cuts I'm not familiar with. Plus I just love to talk to people about the things we have in our shop.

What’s your current favorite cut in the case?

Picanha easily. It's such a delicious and tender cut. I honestly feel nothing compares! if you don't take it, I will!

Outside of work, what fills you with joy and how to do you like to spend your time?

To be entirely honest I'm a total nerd! I love to play D&D, board games, and card games!

Word on the street is you have two really cute dogs… names and variety?

I do! a little Frenchie named Pickles and an English bully named Tallulah.

You seem to be a person who enjoys our incredible restaurant scene here in the Twin Cities. What was the best thing you’ve eaten recently?

I actually recently had Hawaiian food from Ono in the North loop! Kalbi ribs, spam musubi and Hawaiian fried rice! Sooo filling!

Cook Like A Cheesemonger: Carbonnade à la Flamande

Classic Flemish beef stew, (Carbonnade à la Flamande) might be the Frankenstein of all dishes. It’s beyond delicious, however, because of the deep layering of robust flavors that develop over time while the beef slowly simmers in onions and Belgiun ale. It’s a melt in your mouth situation, a no brainer, a thank you very much, can I please have some more, can’t stop won’t stop, dish. We’re so fortunate to get such incredible beef from Peterson farms, and it’s simple and very uncomplicated to make. I added espresso and Valrhona cocoa powder to deepen all those rich and delicious flavors. It will make your heart sing, and give you all the “feel goods” you need this time of year.

Ingredients: 

3 pounds beef flatiron or blade steaks, cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices, about 3 inches wide. 

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter 

3 cups thickly sliced sweet onions

1/2 Cup AP or 00 Flour

3 garlic cloves, crushed and minced 

3 fresh bay leaves

1/2 tsp. espresso powder

1/2 cup fresh parsley 

2 tablespoons fresh thyme 

2 tablespoons fresh chives, for garnish

1 tablespoon Valrhona cocoa powder

3 cups any Belgian style beer

Directions: 

1. In an enameled cast-iron pot or Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Season the beef with salt and pepper and add one-third of it to the pan. Cook over moderate heat until lightly browned, 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with 2 more batches of meat, using the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.

2. Once you’ve finished browning all of the beef, add your onions, garlic and thyme. Caramelize the onions for 30 minutes until deliciously golden.

3. Add your seared beef, bay leaves, thyme, espresso powder, cocoa, and beer to the pot! Now it’s a waiting game :)

4. Cook on low, for 2 hours or until fork tender!

5. Serve over polenta, egg noodles, or potatoes.

Meet Your Monger: Gunnar

You lived in Scotland while you were completing your Master’s degree. What do you miss the most about the UK?!

I definitely miss the “Tesco Meal Deal.” You can’t beat a chicken, butter and cheese sandwich, hot chips, and a drink for $3.

What’s your current favorite sandwich in the shop?

I love the turkey chutney, and I think adding greens and bacon is an exceptional choice. It reminds me of Thanksgiving, and tis the season, right?

If you had to pick a current favorite pantry or retail item we sell, what are you most excited about?

I’ve been really excited about our Tuscan white bean and kale soup. It’s so delicious and not super heavy. I'm always incredibly satisfied and never too full after.

You’re a new member of our community here, and we’re so excited to have you. What do you like to do when you’re not slanging sandwiches and selling cheese?

I love hitting up the Paperback Exchange, spending afternoons reading and writing, or hanging out in my Sky Chair with a glass of wine.

Meet Your Monger: Isaiah

How did you come to work at the Cheese Shop

 Friend of a friend, restaurants. 

Cake or pie?

French Silk Pie! 

What is the proper way to eat a hamburger?

Hold it by the butt and don’t set it down, ever! 

You've cooked in some great Minneapolis restaurants—what's something that would surprise most people about restaurant kitchens? //or// what's an easy way to level up home cooking?

Level up home cooking by using a       thermometer, and buying local organic   produce.

Is a hot dog a sandwich?

No. 

What do you think is a more cringe-worthy food trend: snackle boxes or butter boards?

Butter Board. 

Cook Like A Cheesemonger: Ribeye Cheese Steaks

Sometimes the heart wants, what the heart wants, and it just so happened that I had a massive craving for a cheese steak this week. The universe was completely in my favor, because I have access to some of the best ribeye in the Twin Cities and a vast selection of phenomenal cheese. There was just no way I wasn’t going to make this come to fruition for myself. 

I’d like to be clear, this isn’t a “Philly Cheese Steak.” I’m not going to pretend I’m using an Amoroso roll, or that I work at Pat’s or Geno’s, but that doesn’t mean I’m not completely inspired by this icon of a sandwich. 

Ribeye is the traditional cut of choice, and normally (depending who you ask) it’s topped with caramelized onions and provolone (also cheeze whiz is a contender). 

I did my own slight twist on this American classic.  I used Peterson Farms ribeye, thinly sliced Ogleshield, and grated fontina that I made into a traditional cheese sauce.

Ogleshield, and a English-style raclette, is perfect for this sandwich because of its melting qualities and delicious richness. Add yourself a side of our house made tots, and we’re talking game over, never look back, that’s it, just go home, bye. It’s perfect for game day, an easy week night meal, or you could just follow in my footsteps and cave into your cravings just because you can. You don’t have much to lose. 

Ingredients:

(Serves 2) 

10-12 oz thinly sliced Peterson Farms ribeye steak 

1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced

1/2 green bell pepper, sliced 

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced 

2 hoagie rolls (or baguette, toasted)

1/2 lb Fontina cheese, grated 

.25 lb Ogleshield

1 cup milk 

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter 

1/2 tbsp kosher salt 

1/2 tbsp black pepper 

3-4 tablespoons of EVOO 

Directions:

1. Cook your peppers and onions in a sauté pan over medium heat with a tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until caramelized, and set aside.

2. In order to get your steak cut as thinly as possible, it’s helpful if you put it on a sheet tray in the freezer for 15-20 minutes before you slice it.

3. While your steak is chillin’ out, make your cheese sauce in a small saucepan. Over medium high heat, melt your butter. Whisk in the flour and slowly whisk in the milk. Add in the cheese, and whisk until melted. Set aside.

4. Take your thinly sliced steak and season with salt and pepper. Heat a tablespoon of evoo in a large griddle or pan over medium high heat. Spread your steak out in an even layer, allowing as much surface area as possible. It should only take a minute or two to cook

5. Time to assemble your cheesesteak! Divide your steak in your pan into two even portions. Top your individual portions with your pepper and onion mixture, and cover each with slices of Ogleshield. Let melt, and using a large spatula, put each into your roll of choice. They should be packed full of goodness! Slather that thing in your homemade cheese sauce.

Cook Like A Cheesemonger: Duck Breast

Duck, duck, grey duck? (Not in this kitchen.) Duck is my favorite protein of all time. I’ve been fortunate—spoiled, really—to have worked in fantastic restaurants where I had access to beautiful birds. Duck is uniquely rich and complex—there's just nothing quite like it. Cooking duck at home is always a daunting prospect, we hear this from customers all the time. Achieving that perfect crispy-yet-rare balance is easier than you think.

Lucky for you and me, our Culinary Director, Scott, is here to assist this week. He's spent decades working in some of the country's finest kitchens, where he's prepared more duck breast than he probably cares to remember. He took some time out of his busy schedule this afternoon to school me on cooking my favorite protein. Merci, Chef! (He will 100% hate this shout out, but he deserves it.)

This recipe began, like most, with inspiration from a single ingredient. Earlier this week, the Kamā line of Jordanian spices arrived in the shop, and my eyes shot out of my head Looney Tunes-style. The unassuming jars hold some of the loveliest spices I've had the pleasure to taste, all sourced from independent Jordanian farmers. This recipe features the za'atar and the tahiniyeh, both excellent additions to any pantry.

Ingredients (one serving):

1 whole duck breast, scored, patted very dry and seasoned with salt and pepper. 

1/2 cup full fat Greek yogurt 

0.5 lb slender carrots (or thick carrots, halved lengthwise), peeled
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon fine sea salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground Za’atar seasoning

For the Tahini Glaze: 

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup tahiniyeh (or another tahini)
3 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste
3 tablespoons maple syrup
¼teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste

Directions for the Duck:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Place duck skin side down in a cold pan. Let skin begin to render and brown over medium-low heat, 5-8 minutes. Once nice and crisped, flip the breast over and move pan to the oven for another 6 minutes for medium rare. Let duck rest while you make the carrots. When ready, flip the duck skin side down, and slice. Salt as desired.

Directions for carrots: 

1. Increase the oven to 425 degrees. Place sliced carrots (quarter and halved) on a large rimmed baking sheet and toss with the oil, salt, and pepper. Roast carrots for 15 minutes, then turn them and continue roasting until they are golden at the edges and tender.

2.  While the carrots are roasting, make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, tahini, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, maple syrup, za’atar, salt and 1 tablespoon water until smooth. Whisk in 1 to 2 more tablespoons water until you have a thick but pourable sauce. Taste and add more salt or lemon juice, or both, if you like. 

1. Once the carrots have finished roasting, gently toss in the tahini sauce. Garnish with a heavy hand of za’atar seasoning. Plate as you like next to the duck and a smear of yogurt. and enjoy!

Cook Like A Cheesemonger: White Beans

I just returned home from an extended trip overseas with my family to Scotland, which was unbelievably beautiful and fulfilling. We ate our way through the countryside and all over the islands, enjoying every rich bite of culture and history. The trip was amazing, but when I returned home earlier this week after a long day of travel, all I wanted was a taste of home. 

This lemony bean salad is comforting, easy, and packed full of big, bold flavors. Just pop your beans on the stove for a couple hours, and the rest comes together in moments. 

This recipe also features one of my favorite ingredients from the Cheese Shop, haricot tarbais (although you can easily used canned cannelloni, too.) Haricot Tarbais are heirloom beans from France with sweet, milky flesh and thin skin. Certified as beans grown the traditional way in a specific region, these beans are the ideal choice for cassoulet. Tarbais beans are also perfect for salads, such as this one.  It feels good to be home and enjoy something that always brings me total satisfaction. 

Pour yourself your favorite glass of white wine or a crisp beer, and enjoy! 

Ingredients:

1 lb. Haricot Tarbais beans (can sub 2 cans of rinsed Northern or Cannellini beans)

1 bunch rainbow Swiss Chard 

1/4 cup olive oil

1 lemon, halved 

1 small yellow onion, sliced 

2 tablespoons salted capers (rinsed)

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 anchovy filets

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves 

1/2 cup parsley

Pecorino or Parm to garnish 

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. If you use haricot tarbais beans, they need to be cooked first. Put the beans in a big pot with the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook partially-covered for about an hour, up to 2, until the beans are tender. Add salt to taste during the last 30 minutes of cooking.

2. Heat the olive oil in a pan, add your garlic and onion. Swirl until the garlic starts to “pop” and add your anchovies and capers.

3. Add your beans, and let simmer for 8-10 minutes.

4. Tear or cut the chard off the stem and rip into large pieces. Add the chard to the beans.

5. Move to a large serving platter and top with mint and parsley. Shave as much cheese as you like! Squeeze the lemon over the whole dish.

Rogue River Blue

by Austin Coe Butler

In the autumn, cool, Pacific air pours into the Rogue River Valley. After a dry summer, rain falls like a benediction. The landscape, parched and increasingly blacked by wildfires, brims again with green, and a kind of second spring unfurls. It is at this moment that the cows at Rogue River Creamery dine on fresh, green pasturage again and Rogue River Blue is made.

Rogue River Blue is about as big a deal as there is in the contemporary world of cheese. It was awarded the prestigious title of “the best cheese in the world” after winning the 2019/2020 World Champion Cheese Contest. Rogue River Blue winning first place was remarkable for many reasons, but most notably it was the first time an American cheese had ever won this global award. Thirty, maybe even only twenty, years ago, it could be argued that Europe was producing “better” cheeses than the United States. But, speaking plainly, the US is now producing some of the best cheeses in the world, cheeses on par with European merits of excellence.

But you can’t eat a title, and they don’t make cheese taste better. I invite you to put that title aside and instead taste it for yourself, enjoy it for what it is, and learn about what makes this cheese phenomenal and inspire excitement.

Rogue River Creamery is located in Central Point, Ore., just north of Medford in the rugged Rogue River Valley. It was originally founded by Tom Vella as Vella Cheese Company. Tom ran the creamery until his death at the age of 100 and his son, Ig (Ignazio) took over. David Gremmels frequented the creamery often. He had a long history in specialty foods and had plans to open a wine bar in Ashland, Ore. He knew he wanted to serve Ig’s cheese, and when he approached Ig about the business, he realized how much he and Ig had in common, how much respect they had for artisan producers and products. A deal was struck that David and his partner, Cary Bryant, would take over the creamery with the understanding that the Vella family cheeses would continue to be produced according to tradition. They shook on it, and in 2002 David and Cary took over the creamery. That same year, the first batch of Rogue River Blue was made.

Rogue River Blue is made with that rich, autumnal cow’s milk precipitated by the first rains. This milk is special because it has equal parts butter fat and protein. Once the cheese is made, it spends its first 30 days in a cellar designed to mimic the Combalou caves where Roquefort is aged, 98% humidity at 50º Fahrenheit. It is then moved to a different cellar where it is inoculated with Penicilium roqueforti (blue mold) at three months and aged a further eight to ten months before being wrapped in Syrah leaves from neighboring Cowhorn vineyard, which have been macerated in pear eau de vie. Rogue River Blue is produced seasonally and the voracious demand for it means its availability is limited. It is released on the autumnal equinox of each year (September 22nd this year, September 23 in 2023 for those of you already planning ahead) and is usually sold out by Christmas.

Rogue River Blue’s flavor is phenomenal. Flavor conveys in an instant what words can only do at length. There is the sweetness of pears poached in port, salty, smokey, and meaty flavors like bacon or guanciale, and a gentle yet piquant blue tingle reminiscent of Roquefort. You’ll find that depending on where you eat from this cheese, near the rind, the center, or elsewhere, different flavors will wane and come to the fore. I’d encourage you to try the leaf, too, which David and his team painstakingly pick in June and July. It lends the cheese a lovely balanced vegetal and fruity flavor. The texture is rich and fudgy, and studded with many different types of fine crystals like calcium lactate, tyrosine, and brushite, all of which are flavorless but add to the textural experience.

This cheese can be savored on its own, but if you’re looking for a pairing, try it on an Effie’s oatcake with a pear gastrique, or on a rosemary cracker. For beverage pairings, enjoy Rogue River Blue alongside a glass of Villainie or Gewürtztramminer. Naturally, Syrah or an Oregon Pinot Noir is a welcomed accompaniment. This cheese can hold its own against stronger beverages like Basel Hayden’s bourbon, Dampfwerk’s pear brandy, or, a personal favorite, the French desert wine Banyuls.

We have six wheels of Rogue River Blue, and this is the only time of year this cheese is available, when the autumn rains return to the Rogue River Valley and the cows are grazing on the preternaturally green grass to make next year’s batch of Rogue River Blue. Stop into the shop this week and buy a wedge. Whether it’s to see what all the hype is about or enjoy an old favorite, you’ll leave with a great American blue cheese.

Gruyere Alpage

Désalpes et le Gruyère d’Alpage Chenau!

by Austin Coe Butler

Last weekend, one of the most singular and exciting events in the world happened in the Alps—a celebration known as Désaples in Switzerland. After a grueling summer of labor and isolation, shepherds descended with their cows from the mountains to the safety of the valleys in the time honored tradition of pastoral transhumance. Pastoral transhumance is the seasonal, rotational grazing of animals, and shepherds around the world from the Basque Country to Mongolia and even Wisconsin follow this ancient practice. But in the Alps, there is a heightened drama and revelry brought to the event. Farmers march their animals into the remote heart of Alps like Hannibal to make cheese for the summer. On their descent, they are fêted by entire towns and villages.

Dèsalpes is not just a gastronomic celebration where cheese is a gustatory pleasure, but a communal event where cheese is at the heart of culture, society, and economy. The shepherds and townspeople are dressed in Tracht, traditional clothing like Dirndl and Lederhosen, while the cows are crowned with plumes of feather grasses, antlers made of fir branches streamed with ribbons, and wreaths of bright, brilliant marigolds bearing massive, clangorous bells. The bells sound less like cowbells and more like the belfries of a town all ringing out in celebration. Cows that have produced the most milk are honored with the largest bells and most magnificent crowns. Cows are also adorned with religious iconography, consecrating milk as a primordial liquid like so many other religions and civilizations. The crowds cheer and applaud the farmers and cows like returning seafarers, and this last moment of the summer becomes a celebration of food and drink, community and tradition, which by night turns raucous with dancing and carousing. I’ve written before of the time I watched this procession in Piedmont (known in Italian as the Tranzhumanza), but I am often reminded of the German woman standing next to me who whispered in wonderment, “Unglaublich, unglaublich…. Incredible, unbelievable…”

Our current wheel of Gruyère Alpage comes from Chenau. Alpage, which refers both to the high altitude pastures and the diversity of grasses and wildflowers the animals graze on, signifies that this Gruyère was made during the summer months at a high altitude from the milk of cows who ate wild forage. Chenau overlooks the Col de Lys, and Guedères, where last year’s Gruyère Alpage was made, is just one valley over, a few miles away as the crow flies. Father and son, Pierre and Christian Boschung move to five different chalets throughout the summer, ascending to a peak elevation of 5,500 feet(!) elevation before descending at the beginning of autumn. These chalets are spartan in their amenities. High above the cloud line, they are removed from the world, like Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain. There is no cell service, no electricity, so a small generator is lugged up the mountain for essential tasks like milking. Pierre and Christian conduct the grueling work of making Gruyère by hand in a cauldron over wood fire like the old gruyiers of the 13th century as their aprons, smudged with soot from leaning into the cauldron to stir and cut, attest. The wheels are brought to Fromage Gruyère S.A., the only remaining affineur of Gruyere in Fribourg, where Gruyère was born..

Whereas the Guedères Alpage was marked by a fruity, alpine strawberry aroma, the Chenau Alpage has more savory, cured meat notes like sugar cured bacon with a subtle smokiness. At times it is reminiscent of Parmigiano Reggiano with its tyrosine crunch and brothy savoriness.

Come celebrate Désalpes and the fruits of the summer at the shop with us and a hearty wedge of Gruyère Alpage from Chenau this weekend!