Baron Bigod

by Benjamin Roberts

If you sells cheese long enough (16 years!) it is less and less likely that you will be surprised by how delicious cheese can be. I’ve tasted a lot of cheese over those years, I mean a lot of cheese, and so it seems that there might not be anything new under the sun.

So there I was in Northern Italy, it was September of 2019 and I was attending a party with the who’s who of the artisan cheese world. We had landed in Italy only hours earlier, and so, totally jetlagged, I walked into a packed Italian manor and a piece of cheese was immediately thrust into my hand. The warning was: You’re going to love this cheese but you can’t buy it….yet.

Fast forward a couple of pandemic years and then the word comes that this cheese is finally available in the USA. There I was again in a sweaty room brimming with cheese professionals and I stride up to a table and this time I know what I am about to try, yet somehow this time it was even more delicious than the first time I had it. How could a cheese surprise me this much two times?

Baron Bigod! This is what a brie style cheese should taste like. Sweet cream, savory vegetables, a pinch of salt, fresh hay. Milk transformed into an absolute kaleidoscope of flavors. This is what real French style brie should taste like—except this one is made in England. Exported by our friends at Neal’s Yard Dairy in London, there isn’t a more exquisite piece of cheese we can sell you at our counter. Want to learn more? Click HERE for the deets.

The Pairing: Sunny Ridge + Terre dei Buth

by Sophia Stern

Why we love the cheese 

Sunny Ridge is a newer customer favorite and a lovely addition to our cheese case. From the folks at Blakesville Creamery, this beer-washed cheese is well-balanced, fudgey, and tangy. Like all Blakeville goat milk cheeses, it’s made entirely from their own herd of Saanen and Alpine goats. This cheese melts in your mouth like butter and is complexly savory and deliciously bright.  

Why we love the wine 

Organic wine makers Terre dei Buth have created another stunner with their Frizzante Rosé. This light and bright sparkler is full of flavor and a delight to drink. Aromas of strawberry and raspberry jump out of the glass, followed by notes of redcurrant and gooseberry on the palate. This wine is predominantly made from the Glera grape with a touch of Raboso, a local red grape. This unfussy, straightforward wine is easy to love and enjoy.   

Why we love the pairing 

Despite the edge of funk from the goat milk and the beer wash, Sunny Ridge has a rather delicate flavor. The Terre dei Buth’s lightness keeps the cheese in the spotlight and there’s enough fruit in the wine to offer a relief from the savory notes of the Sunny Ridge. The wine’s bright fizz cuts through the goat cheese richness, matching acidity and offering a super refreshing mouthfeel with flavors of juicy watermelon.  

What else you should do with it  

Inspired by the classic Cuban pastry, introducing Guava and Sunny Ridge Pastelitos! Essentially, hand pies. Guava and goat cheese make a delicious sweet and creamy pastry, with just a little tang to keep it interesting. Sunny Ridge will offer an extra gooey, rich characteristic to the traditional pasty. You can find guava paste at many larger grocery stores or Mexican markets around the Cities. Acquiring some high-quality, store-bought puff pastry will make this even easier. You can follow this recipe from the New York Times, but substitute cream cheese for room-temperature Sunny Ridge, making sure you have 170 grams without the rind. Half a pound of Sunny Ridge should cover it.  

Cook like a Monger: Spaghetti all'Assassina

by Anna Glassman-Kaufman

Can you tell we love pasta around here? There’s just nothing quite like a big bowl of pasta after a long day.

For this recipe, I’m going to need you to forget everything you’ve ever learned about cooking pasta. There’s no pasta water to salt, no ‘al dente’ to achieve. This dish originating in Puglia, Italy has you cook the pasta in the method of risotto, low and slow with periodic additions of tomato broth along the way.

It’s aptly named “Spaghetti all’Assassina”, or the Assassin’s pasta - the dish is spicy, crispy, and keeps you on your toes.

All you need: spaghetti or another similarly shaped pasta, tomato sauce, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, olive oil and garlic. This recipe serves 2, but feel free to double to feed 4. If you’re going any bigger than that, I’d recommend splitting it into two pans, to ensure maximum crispiness.

The recipe comes together in under a half hour, and you probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry! But lucky for you, we carry them all in the shop too (even gluten free options!)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp tomato paste

8oz dried spaghetti

1 cup tomato sauce (we sell our house-made sauce in the refrigerator case, or pick up some San Marzano tomatoes and make your own!)

1 ¾ cups water

Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated

Combine the water and tomato sauce in a pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer.

In a 12-14 inch skillet (the wider the better), heat up the olive oil on medium heat.

Add the garlic and chili, and a bit of salt and pepper. Stir until the garlic begins to brown and is very aromatic, then add the tomato paste. Stir with a wooden spoon and cook for about a minute.

Spoon about ½ cup of the tomato broth into your pan, and stir to mix all ingredients.

Next, add all your dried pasta in one layer into the pan. Spoon another ½ cup or so of tomato broth onto the pasta and move around with a fork or tongs to be sure that every piece of pasta is coated in the broth.

Now comes the hardest part - patience. Let your pasta cook for a few minutes at this stage. This is the one way the recipe differs from risotto. If you stir and agitate your pasta constantly, you won’t get the satisfyingly crispy bits at the bottom of the pan. Move around slightly just to ensure it’s not sticking, but let the hot oil and sauce do its job.

After about 4-5 minutes, or when the pasta has absorbed all of the liquid, begin adding the additional liquid, one ladle at a time. As the pasta cooks, you can move it around slightly to create a nice even layer on your skillet.

Continue this process until you’ve added all the broth. At this point, it’s time to turn up the heat a bit and flip over that pasta. Check carefully to ensure that you have a nice toasted, almost burnt base on your pasta, then use a fork or tongs to flip it all over, like a pancake. Turn the heat up and cook the other side to get a nice toasty crust on there as well.

Plate immediately and serve with grated Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly cracked black pepper, and a nice glass of red wine.

Cook Like a Monger: Old Fashioned Pork Ribs

By Matt Gruber

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Most of those times of day are when I like to enjoy some good ol' fashioned BBQ Ribs. Oddly enough, ribs haven't always been a "pit" staple. It wasn't until the 20th century that people started really dabbling with barbecued ribs. Part of this has to do with people neglecting the tougher and gristle heavy cuts of the animal. Most people were delighting themselves with the more tender and easier to deal with cuts.

I myself felt lost and confused that I couldn't recreate the delight I have had from smoked ribs in my travels down south at places like Papa Turney's Old Fashion BBQ in TN - and even right here at home at places like Ted Cook's 19th Hole in Minneapolis. I was stuck on the idea of needing a smoker to have tender, fall off the bone barbecue at home. Turns out all I needed was patience, acceptance of no smoke, and an oven that can hold a low temp (I think this one is pretty common).

Pork ribs are such an easy day off food that I believe everyone should explore. Leftovers for a breakfast hash, pull off the bone for a lunch sandwich, or a full on spread for a picnic inside dinner, this is how you start your new obsession.

Ingredients for homemade BBQ sauce:

1 cup chicken broth

½ cup ketchup

1 cup grated onion

2 tablespoon Worcestershire (highly recommended Col Pabst)

1 tablespoon mustard

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

¼ cup molasses

Optional - 2 teaspoons your favorite hot sauce

For the rest, all you need is pork ribs and your favorite sides

1. Salt and pepper pork ribs 24 hours ahead of time

2. Preheat oven to as low as 200, but somewhere between 200-215

3. In a small sauce pan add together all BBQ ingredients and salt and pepper to taste

4. Whisk together and reduce until sauce consistency and set aside

5. Place ribs in oven uncovered on middle rack, sit back and relax.

6. Once the ribs reach an internal temperature of 200, glaze with BBQ sauce and broil until internal temperature reaches 215 and has a nice bark.

There you have it, it’s mostly a waiting game until 215. You cannot screw this one up! Depending on the size of the ribs, allow yourself ~1 hour per pound, maybe even a bit more is a good rule of thumb. Also, don't be ashamed to just use some good old Sweet Baby Rays either (not a sponsor).

The Pairing: Montgomery’s Cheddar + Restoration Cider Co ‘Driftless’ Semi-Dry Cider

by Sophia Stern

Why we love the cheese 

You’ll smell grass, earth, and rich cream right away. Montgomery’s Cheddar, a 60-pound, clothbound cheddar made by hand by Jamie Montgomery, is the gold standard for traditional English cheddar making. The Montgomery’s cows graze on 1,200 acres of gorgeous countryside in Sommerset, England. Their milk is only used to make this standout cheddar, which is made seven days a week. Neal’s Yard Dairy hand selects each wheel they sell, picking wheels that are particularly beefy, savory, and bold.  

Why we love the cider 

Restoration Cider Co makes elegant, complex ciders inspired by the dry cider traditions in Northwest Spain. Hailing from the Driftless, Restoration champions local by using local apples and dedicating 5% of their profits to restoring streams in Southwest Wisconsin. This semi-dry cider, ‘Driftless’, is light and crystalline with a refreshing, crisp finish. It’s not too sweet and easy to drink.  

Why we love the pairing 

This is autumn in a pairing. Montgomery’s Cheddar needs a little sweetness to round out all the savory, earthy notes in the cheese. This semi-dry cider does the trick. The Driftless tastes just how you want: like fresh, crisp apples with lingering sweetness. The light fizz in the cider balances against the richness of the cheddar, making it easier to keep going back and forth between the two. 

What else you should do with it  

This is an ideal pairing to take on a fall picnic. Montgomery’s Cheddar makes an amazing sandwich cheese. Make two sandwiches: one with fresh sliced apples, Montgomery’s Cheddar, and honey. The other with mustard, caramelized onions, Montgomery’s Cheddar and roast beef on some beautiful rye bread. Bring the cider along and enjoy it all with that basket of apples you picked when you visited the apple orchard.  

Making Apricity with Alemar Cheese

By Joe Kastner

Last week, a team of our Cheese Shop staff had the awesome opportunity to do some cheesemaking with our friends up at Alemar Cheese Company in Northeast Minneapolis. Located in the Food Building, along with Lowry Hill Provisions and Baker’s Field Flour & Bread, Alemar is definitely the creamery closest to France 44, which makes for a great working relationship. We get their cheese delivered along with bread and salami from the same building, and when we need cheese in a pinch, Alemar is our first call! Head Cheesemaker Charlotte Serino has been with the company since 2021, and we are very grateful that she invited us to come make cheese with her!

Apricity has become one of our favorite soft cheeses at the shop, and for good reason! Charlotte just started making this cheese last fall, and it has already gained a lot of buzz. Apricity most recently won Best in Class at the 2023 American Cheese Society Awards, giving it national recognition along with our local appreciation. The name Apricity means “the warmth of the sun in winter”, which I think is just a perfectly romantic name for a new cheese to represent Minnesota.

Apricity is a “lactic-set” cheese, which works a little different than your typical curdy, rennet-set cheeses. This technique is seen frequently in goat’s-milk cheeses, which is where Charlotte learned it. Apricity uses very little rennet to coagulate the milk, instead relying on natural acidification and fermentation over a longer period of time to transform the milk into a smooth, creamy curd. This gives the cheese a great brightness and tangy flavor, along with an almost ricotta-like texture. To turn this curd into cheese, we as a team got to salt the curd, mix it up, and then scoop it into snowball-sized spheres and roll into perfect orbs.

The batch that we helped make is now on sale at our shop!

We thank Charlotte and the Alemar team for inviting us in and showing us around. Connecting with local, talented cheesemakers is one of the best parts of working in a small cheese shop, and seeing how cheese is made and where it comes from can only help us be better stewards of their products! If you’re looking for a new softy to fall in love with this fall, come give Apricity a try!

Hidden Falls + Union Sacre Pinot Noir

by Sophia Stern

Why we love the cheese 

We maintain that the cheeses coming out of Shepard’s Way Farms are some of the best sheep milk cheeses made in the United States. Hidden Falls is similar to brie, with a lovely bloomy rind and soft, creamy interior. So luscious, so buttery, with just enough earthy-tartness to balance out the richness. If you’re looking to branch out from your triple creams and classic brie, Hidden Falls is the way go.  

Why we love the wine 

The wines from Union Sacre are stars on our shelves. They make some of the most exciting and delicious wines in Santa Barbra and the country. Union Sacre winery is a project by lifelong friends, Xavier and Philip. Together, they champion accessible and dynamic wines that are usually too expensive or out of reach for most consumers. Their 2022 Pinot Noir is bright and fruity, with lively notes of summer strawberries, just-ripe cherries, and light licorice. It’s best served with a slight chill.  

Why we love the pairing 

What a treat that these phenomenal producers make products that go so well together. The cheese and wine together are a textural delight. Flavor wise, creamier, decadent cheeses like Hidden Falls scream for fruit forward wine, and the Union Sacre Pinot provides it. A little bit of sweetness is drawn out of the wine by the soft mushroom notes in the Hidden Falls. The Pinot Noir has a bright acidity that matches the delicate tartness in the cheese.  

What else you should do with it  

Ring in Minnesota fall with an end-of-season happy hour! Spread a layer of Hidden Falls on our France 44 crostini, top with a local Minnesota apple slice, and drizzle with some honey from Ames Farms. Enjoy with a glass of the Union Sacre Pinot Noir for a crisp and satisfying autumn patio party.  

France 44 Farm Visits: Redhead Creamery & Shepherd’s Way Farm

by Joe Kastner

Last week, a group of our mongers from the Minneapolis shop got the chance to go visit a couple local creameries and see first-hand where some of our cheeses come from. We got to go visit Redhead Creamery out west in Brooten, and Shepherd’s Way in Nerstrand, which is just down by Northfield. Seeing these family farms, hearing their stories and why they make cheese, this is what our cheese counter is all about: connecting with our neighbors through food and celebrating the talented makers of cheese near and far. 

Redhead Creamery has been making cheese for 10 years now, but this year in particular is bound to be a big one for them. We were greeted by cheesemaker Alise Sjostrom with a bowl of squeaky fresh cheese curds made earlier that morning, who then proceeded to give us a tour of all the new goings-on at the farm. Just within the last month or so, they’ve added some awesome automation for the farming side of things, including an automated milking machine, where the cows milk themselves! This will give Alise and the team even more time for cheesemaking and playing with recipes, as well as their other big project, a new distillery! The Redhead team plans on using the whey from cheesemaking to distill into spirits, and then serve those spirits at their all-new dine-in expansion, which we got to see the development of! We’re all very excited for these next steps at Redhead and can’t wait to see what’s next for them!

The very next day another group got to travel down past Northfield to see Jodi Olsen Read at Shepherd’s Way Farms. Despite some issues with their water well that had just come up the night before, Jodi very graciously hosted us, showed us around the farm, and served us a delicious assortment of sheep’s cheeses, some of which you can find at our cheese counter! We got to tour the milking and make facilities, and even got to see the cavernous upper level of the barn that had just been used for a family wedding reception. Jodi has been making cheese for about 25 years now, and has really honed her craft with the different varieties of cheese Shepherd’s Way puts out. You can also find them at many farmer’s markets around the city, where they also sell their sheep’s milk by the bottle, which is a real treat. We love selling Shepherd’s Way cheeses and hope you’ll try one next time you’re in the shop!

ACS Winner: Sequatchie Cove Creamery

By Austin Coe Butler

Last, but not least, in our six-week series celebrating American Cheese Society Award Winners is Sequatchie Cove Creamery! Sequatchie Cove Creamery won in the following categories:

Cumberland – 1st Place – American Made/International Style made from cow’s milk

Cumberland – 2nd Place – Best in Show

Coppinger – 3rd Place – Washed Rind Cheeses made from cow’s milk

Having been raised in the South, I can’t help but rejoice at seeing a Tennessee-based creamery coming in 2nd for Best in Show. In fact, of the six different creameries we’ve featured so far, Sequatchie Cove had the biggest wins of the bunch. And while this may be the first time some of you have heard of Sequatchie Cove, they’ve spent more than a decade working diligently at their craft.

In the late 90s, Nathan and Padgett Arnold met at Crabtree Farm in Chattanooga, Tennessee, an urban farm dedicated to sustainable agriculture and community access to food. The two fell in love and spent several seasons on the farm as their interests in food grew and developed. Nathan eventually went to work for Bill and Miriam Keener on a nearby organic farm just northwest of the city named Sequatchie Cove Farm. In 2004, the Arnolds and Keeners went to Terra Madre, a biennial Slow Food conference in Turin, where their interest in cheesemaking was sparked by French alpine cheeses like Tomme de Savoie and Morbier.

Nathan and Padgett moved quickly. By 2010, after years of travel, tutelage, and licensing, they bought the farm from the Keeners and converted it into the creamery it is today, and by 2012 they had their first category award from ACS for Dancing Fern. The last three years have been astonishing in growth for Sequatchie Cove. Nathan and Padgett went from hard-scrabble cheese makers trying to balance labor shortages, milk access, cheese sales, and the pandemic, to requiring months-out preorders for their cheeses. Last year saw the massive renovation of the creamery to better meet demand.

Sequatchie Cove has made many cheeses over the years, but they’ve settled into a rhythm with the following four. Cumberland is inspired by Tomme de Savoie, and just like that humble cheese, it is the ultimate snacker and a workhorse in the kitchen. Beneath its suede-like rind is a springy paste with straightforward and tangy flavors that make Tomme style cheeses so craveable. Coppinger, a Morbier inspired cheese with its decorative ash line and washed rind, has the fruity, yeasty flavors of a Saison with a deeply satisfying fudgey texture that will fill your head with intrusive thoughts that you should take a bite directly out of the wedge. (Go on, do it.) 

Sequatchie Cove also makes the delectable, boozy Shakerag blue that is wrapped in fig leaves and soaked in Chattanooga whiskey. Padgett, the resident horticulturalist, goes out into the Tennessee woods to gather fig leaves that she trims, cooks, stacks, and macerates in whiskey before they are intricately wrapped around the cheese. The result is a blue that is crumbly yet creamy, bold and boozy, with a sweetness reminiscent of sugar cured bacon, root beer, or sasperilluh’ (sarsaparilla), and may even rival Rogue River Blue.

Lastly, Sequatchie Cove also makes a Reblochon-inspired cheese named Walden, a smaller format of their now discontinued cheese, Dancing Fern, which put them on the map. With its delicate flavors of walnuts, button mushrooms, and cultured butter, and a pudgy, mochi-like spring that made it go viral when we posted a video on our Instagram.

We’ll be promoting Sequatchie Cove Creamery cheeses all weekend long, so stop by the shop to pick up a wedge or two of some incredible cheese for 15% off and savor the calm, cool days of autumn.

Cook Like a Monger: Oxtail Ragù

by Matt Gruber

One of the greatest joys of working behind the counter at any of our locations is talking about food and recipes with customers. Oftentimes, sharing and exploring new corners and regions of dishes I never would have thought to explore or combine.

One afternoon a customer proposed the question “Is oxtail the right cut for my ragù?” Stumped for a moment, I admittedly had no idea. So, the conversation evolved and I found myself bringing home an oxtail to put it to the test. I love oxtail as much as the next person but had never worked with it at home. A bit unsure I grabbed some ground pork just to be safe. After doing a bit of research I had no idea I was walking into a classic Roman style Ragu - coda all vaccinara. Ragu in the style of the butcher. It was meant to be. Caught up in an 18th century dish I never knew I needed in my life.

The sheer velvetiness of the sauce caught me off guard. The oxtail is traditionally served on the bone, so I wanted to try that for my first experience with the recipe. It can be a little awkward though, so I would recommend shredding the meat. This ended up being one of the best meals I’ve created in a long time.

Ingredients:

1 QT Beef Stock

1 Package Spinosi Pappardelle

1 Oxtail

⅓ # ground pork

1 Medium onion, diced

2-3 Stock of celery, sliced into half moons

4 Cloves of garlic, sliced thinly

Fresh basil to taste, I put a few leaves in the sauce while reducing 

1 Jars LC (La caterdral de navarra) 

2 Jars Bionatura Strained Tomatoes 

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 block Cravero Parmigiano Reggiano

Steps:

1. In a large dutch oven, brown ground pork and oxtail ~3-5 minutes a side over medium heat

2. Add garlic, onion, celery and half of the beef stock and bring to a boil

3. Add the 3 jars of tomatoes with the rest of the beef stock and simmer

4. Continue to reduce until you have a thick sauce, approximately 4-5 hours occasionally scraping the fond off the sides.

5. Bring 5L of water to a boil, then cook the pappardelle for 3-6 minutes or until al dente

6. Shred meat off of the oxtail bone and return to sauce.

7. Assemble a bowl and garnish with fresh basil leaves and grated Parm. And there you have it, a simple yet outstanding ragù. 

Cook, serve, delicious