This Week's Warehouse Tasting

Here's what we've got on our cheese plate this weekend: Two types of chevre from our adorable friend Amelia Sweethardt from Pure Luck Dairy (that's her on the left and sister Gitana on the right.) Her herd of Nubian and Alpine goats make the creamiest chevre and the June's Joy, named after Amelia's baby, is made with honey, smoked black pepper and thyme mixed throughout for an extra-special spread we love on pita chips.

We've also got samples of the Sand Creek Caerphilly, a buttery and mild raw milk cheese from Cameron, Texas modeled after the English cheese of the same name. It's the cheese we'll be using on grilled sandwiches today, all in the name of finding the perfect recipe for our stand which--drumroll, please--will be opening at the City Hall farmers market on February 9!

Just a heads up that there are about 20 tickets left to the February 3 cheese and beer tasting we're throwing at St. Arnold's so get them while you can! (Amelia will be there so you can say hi.) See you soon.

A Visit to Veldhuizen Family Farm and Eagle Mountain

Last Monday Elizabeth and Scott made the five-hour drive to Veldhuizen Family Farm in Dublin, TX and even farther up north to Eagle Mountain Farmhouse in Granbury. They were lucky enough to stop in while Stuart Veldhuizen was heating and stirring the curds for cheddar in his 300 gallon vat and he was happy to say that they were getting much more yield (about 1 lb of cheese per gallon) now that they have more Jersey cows in his grazing herd.

The store is open six days a week and when they arrived several people were there buying gallons of raw milk. There's also a viewing window where visitors can watching the cheese-making, which happens four or five days a week, and Elizabeth and Scott even got to see the inside of the aging cave built into a hill on the way into the farm.

Here's a picture of Scott inside the cave with all the cheeses.

Up in Granbury at Eagle Mountain, right next to the Brazos River, Elizabeth and Scott got to see their natural rinded Granbury Gold aging. It's made with milk from Sandy Creek farm in Bridgeport, TX where they have purebred and pasture grazed Brown Swiss cows. Matt Eagle was just sanitizing the equipment post-cheesemaking, which he does with his father David Eagle. Here's a final shot of the aging cave.

Our Hazelnuts Hit the Big Time

Our hazelnut providers, Barb and Fritz Foulke of Willamette Valley in Oregon, were recently featured in the New York Times magazine Field Report. The article offers a behind the scenes look at all the work that goes into harvesting hazelnuts. Despite the beauty of the moss-draped trees, it's really not easy: "Throughout the year, Barb shells 5,000 pounds on Monday, roasts them on Wednesday and ships them on Friday, so they’re never more than four days out of shell." Eat on!

This Week's Warehouse Tasting

Not to be cheesy, but it's been an exciting week in dairy. Thursday was National Cheese Day (we hope you celebrated) and we're featuring some special, limited availability cheese this week at the warehouse.

For fans of the Pure Luck Dairy chevre, we got another shipment and it will be our last until the spring when the goats have their babies so stock up while you can!

We also received eight wheels of the coveted Rush Creek Reserve, a French-style cheese with a custardy inside made by Uplands Cheese in Dodgeville, WI. Wheels have been very hard to come by and there is only one more batch to be released before the season is over. When we asked a friend if she wanted a wheel she said, “Yes, yes, yes! I can have a party around that cheese.” It’s that good.

As always, we'll be in the warehouse (2201 Airline) from 3pm-6:30pm today and 10am-2pm tomorrow.

This Week's Warehouse Tasting

Each Friday and Saturday we throw a little cheese tasting at our warehouse and invite you to drop by for a beer and to sample five or six cheeses (along with delicious Slow Dough breads and mountains of nuts, honey, crackers and olive oil). Here's a sneak peek at a few of the cheeses we're showcasing this week:

Brazos Valley Brie--This raw milk cheese from Waco is both mild and creamy. It's a crowd-pleaser and great to bring to dinner parties.

Caraway Cheddar--Pictured to the left, this sharp cheddar from Dublin, Texas is sprinkled with caraway seeds. The flavor is similar to rye bread (but well, cheesy) and would be amazing melted over roast beef.

Little Boy Blue--Sheep's milk cheese is hard to find and this one comes all the way from Wisconsin. A rindless blue, it has a sharp, sheep-y flavor with a smooth, yet crumbly texture.

We'd love to see you drop by the warehouse (2201 Airline) Friday 3pm-6:30pm or Saturday 10am-2pm to taste these cheeses and several more. If you can't make it tomorrow, tastings take place every week and the cheeses are always changing.