Family Cookery

Here is a nice solution to the challenge of cooking for a family of four, all with different tastes. I made this pizza and topped one-third of it with plain fresh mozzarella (for the kids), one-third with spicy sausage (for husband), and one-third with grilled veggies (for myself). Everyone was happily satisfied with this one creation. Success!

In Search of Constant Bliss

The cheese, I mean. After recently reading about the luscious virtues of a delectable cheese called Constant Bliss produced by Jasper Hill Farm, I decided to go down to the Cheese Board in Berkeley to sample some for myself. After my first attempt was thwarted due to the Cheese Board being closed for a summer vacation, I returned again last week to find that they didn’t carry this particular cheese, but they did have on hand another of Jasper Hill’s products: Bayley Hazen Blue, and I sure am glad I brought some of that home with me.

This was without a doubt the best blue cheese I’ve ever tasted. With some crusty bread and some sweet-tart apples from a friend’s tree (yes, apples are ripening in California in August), I was close to nirvana. This cheese literally melts on the tongue.

Jasper Hill Farm is a small family farm located in beautiful Greensboro, Vermont, run by brothers Andy and Mateo Kehler, which, since 2002, has been producing three varieties of raw milk cheese. According to their website, Bayley Hazen Blue is made with raw whole milk every other day, primarily with morning milk. Containing “an array of flavors that hint at nuts and grasses and in the odd batch, licorice… [the] texture reminds one of chocolate and butter.” Yum.

The cheese is actually named after an old military road commissioned by George Washington, which ultimately brought the town of Greensboro its first settlers, and is still in use today.

Fortunately I still have a small bit of this scrumptiousness wrapped and waiting in the refrigerator. In the meantime I am looking into other options for acquiring a hunk of Constant Bliss. I’ve never ordered cheese online before, but am considering it now. This artisanal cheese website looks promising. If anyone has a favorite cheese to recommend please post.

Bubba's Pie Redux

For those of you who have been anxiously waiting for it, here is the recipe, straight from Bubba's mouth to your eyes: I won't post the full recipe, 'cause it's a little long, but here are the basic ingredients:

-your favorite 2-crust pie dough
-1 lb. of strawberries, hulled & halved
-1 lb. rhubarb in half-inch dice
-1.25 cups o' sugar
.25 cup of corn starch (or less, if you like a runnier pie)
-.5 tsp. of cinnamon

Assemble all this stuff and bake in a 400-degree oven for 50-55 minutes, or until top is nicely browned and juice is bubbling out of the crust vents so thickly that you can't stand it anymore. Das it.

Tzatziki

When we were in New York this summer another friend gave me his recipe for tzatziki. This is that delicious, creamy Greek cucumber-yogurt dip often used as a sauce for gyros or souvlaki, but is great with pita bread too. I tried out this recipe recently and it is quick, easy, and very authentic. My friend says that whenever he has one of the ingredients in his kitchen, he goes out and buys the rest so that he can always have some of this on hand. Exact measurements are not given--just prepare to your taste:

1. Grate skinned cucumbers.
2. Squeeze out and discard liquid.
3. Mix with any plain yogurt.
4. Add crushed garlic, olive oil, salt, and torn (not cut) mint leaf.

Always serve cold. Enjoy!

Bubba's Pie

I am fortunate to have a very dear friend who bakes the most excellent pies I have ever tasted, although unfortunately I only see him infrequently these days, as we now live on opposite coasts. Of his many fabulous creations, I have heartily partaken of a quince tart, several apple and apple-cranberry pies, about three different sweet potato pies, and a peach pie. When he visited at the beach house this summer he brought along this incredibly scrumptious strawberry-rhubarb pie, which we devoured bit by bit, sometimes even for breakfast, the goal being to have the pie last for the duration of the week he was visiting. I think we made it four days. It was usually eaten a la mode. It's been several weeks and I'm still thinking about it longingly. (Is this what is meant by food porn?) I've been asking for the recipe, and if he sends it along I will post.