“You know, there is always a little something leftover for cheese” one of the times my mother’s voice would sound fuller than normal. She even looked taller when she could, with all confidence, assure me that no matter how long the phone might be cut off or worse, ringing off the hook with people looking for payment, there was a little savory crumble or smear of utter indulgence and joy tucked away in the skinny flat drawer of our oft sparsely stocked refrigerator.
Those early years my mother struggled being a single mother, and she did the absolute best she could to try and help me find joy in the little things seeing as the “big ones” weren’t available to us at the time. I learned to blow my wishes into a wand saturated with sudsy bubble liquid. Dream big, deep chest filling breath, wish telepathically whispered into the bubble that formed before my wide eyes. I would then stand there watching as those hopes and dreams floated way above my head and down the street, hoping the whole time that they would go as far as they could before bursting spreading my desires to places out of my reach. Never knowing that one day bubbles would play an instrumental role in a career that took me places I could never have dreamed of standing there on the grass, barefooted, a little hungry, bubbles trailing down the street, my attention drifting to a tiny nibble from the special drawer of the refrigerator.
My adoration and appreciation of great cheese followed me into my adult life and the cheese department at The Wine Country was the very first department I was fully in charge of twenty something years ago. I started by bringing in the standards, Brie, Camembert, New York Cheddar and a smattering of my beloved blue cheeses. The more confident I got watching people grab handfuls of various wrapped wedges, the more I began to explore, but for the most part sticking with the vast world of cheeses from Europe. That began changing, like a lot, about 6 years ago.
When I began as the cheese buyer for The Wine Country the term “American Cheese” held with it a very different connotation. Most of us were immediately picturing those thin, waxy slabs wrapped in, and frankly tasted a little like, plastic. Good for a comforting, old school, grilled cheese or melted over a burger patty at a backyard barbeque, but maybe not one wants to nibble on while enjoying a wine from your local wine merchant. I can assure you that American cheese has been folded into the foodie world. People are not only open to trying artisanal cheeses from The United States, they are devouring them and coming back for more. I for one now believe with all my cheese loving heart, the cheeses from The United States have surpassed, in terms of diversity, many cheeses from the Old World. There. I said it.
I think, for us anyway, the real awakening came with the cheeses from right here in California. Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog, Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk and Mt. Tam, the mild offerings from Central Coast Creamery and the bold Blue from Point Reyes. We had access to these fine local gooey offerings and the quality, well like I said, pried our palates and minds right open. This led to local purveyors seeking more incredible cheeses from around the U.S. for us to discover and the things they have brought for us, game changing. Period. Now some of the cheeses I am reordering, suggesting, and taking home to feed my inner cheese monster are, you guessed it, “American Cheese”
Still stocking those beloved eye-opening, or palate prying, favorites like Humboldt Fog, Mt. Tam and Red Hawk but we are always bringing in cool new thinks from small U.S. creameries and below are some of my new all-time favorites. Happy snacking from the cheese drawer everyone!
Your Local Wine & Cheese Nerd,
Samantha Dugan
Sweet Grass Dairy Pimento Cheese 6oz, $7.99
Now this cheese has been featured a lot on our social media pages, blogs and my face. We are crazy in love with this spreadable, smokey, mild but immensely addictive cheese. The grated bits offer texture, the pimento gives us a gloriously smokey note and we have eaten it pastas, grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers, as a dip for fresh veggies and I have been known to smear it on a bagel or toast. Limited only by your imagination.
Milton Creamery Prairie Breeze 6oz, $6.99
This is such a brilliantly intense cow’s milk, Cheddar styled cheese. Just a big blast of almost caramelized milk flavor. Like a cross between great Cheddar, Parmesan and aged Gouda with a rich mouth feel and a super long, almost sweet finish. A favorite for grating over salads, burgers, and simply nibbling on with fresh fruit. Gorgeous cheese.
Milton Creamery 4 Alarm Cheddar 6oz, $4.99
Not for the weak of palate! They aren’t kidding about 4 alarm here, this is wicked fiery cheese that is great grated into a more mild cheese for tacos, burritos, chili or if you are a fire eater, again, just to nibble.
Jasper Hill Farm Harbison 9oz, $16.99
This is a super sexy, oozing, pungent, silky cheese that has a bloomy rind and is wrapped in a band of spruce bark which imparts a wicked cool herbal flavor. Not the most beautiful on the outside but this stinker is spilling out with sumptuous feral and olive oil flavors. Crusty bread, crackers and fresh fruit, heavenly.
Boxcarr Rocket’s Robiola No size indicated but it is a thick hunk, $21.99
This is another more pungent, gooey cheese that ranges from being fudgy to being running and silky. Cow’s milk washed with vegetable ash that takes on a wrinkly outer skin. Inside you get mushrooms, grass, creamy milky notes, and it finishes with a bright tang. Lovely spreadable cheese for a cheese plate or dolloped into mushroom dishes, like pizzas.
Beecher’s Smoked Flagship Cheddar. No size indicated but about 4oz, $9.99
Beecher’s was another creamery that started it all in terms of artisanal domestic cheeses and they have a massive following even outside their shop in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. The regular Flagship has won awards for years, but fewer people know about this smoked version. Great crumbly texture, like Cheddar but with a powerful smoked flavor. A favorite for grilled ham and cheese, burgers, nibbling with sweet fruit and adds tremendous punch to grilled pizzas.
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