Monday, February 13, 2012

A Roaring Forties Tasmanian Devil Of A Blue

We visited the Belmont Shores neighborhood again this weekend, this time to check out a cheese shop. Did you hear me? A shop that specializes in cheese. Oh My God. It was a small shop but the two glass cases they had were jam packed with cheeses from all over the world.

And they let you taste anything you want. We couldn't really decide, because how is it possible to decide which one you want when you are faced with so many choices? I asked the girl who worked there to suggest a few types and she did. I can't even name what they were, but they were delicious.
I read several of the cards describing the cheeses - nutty, soft, ultra creamy, tart, tangy, earthy, grassy, herbal, buttery, woodsy, moist, sweet. Who the hell knows what all that means? Would I like an earthy cheese? Does it taste like dirt? What about grassy? Nutty?

I wound up buying a piece of the Roaring Forties Blue which was featured on their website (photo below from their website). Isn't it beautiful? It's Australian - from Kings Island Dairy in Tasmania. The description says, "matured in wax, moist, sweet, tangy, good with honey, nuts, dried fruit". It was $21.50 a pound, but I didn't need that much, I only bought enough to make the following recipe.

I'm going to make a recipe I found in the
Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook - it's called Blue Cheese Pizza with Caramalized Onions. It's similar to the one I made with goat cheese, but I think this blue cheese is going to make this pizza ROCK. Here's the recipe:
BLUE CHEESE PIZZA with Caramalized Onion
6 tablespoons extra-virgin oliveoil
2 1/2 pounds onions, halved and thinly sliced
1 large sweet apple, peeled and cut into thin wedges
Salt
3/4 pound store-bought or homemade pizza dough
8 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

In a large skillet, heat 4 tablespoons of the oil over low heat. Add the onions, cover, and cook, stirring occassionally, until tender, about 25 minutes.

Uncover the onions and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir in the apple, season with salt to taste, and cook until the apple is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 500°F with a rack set in the lowest position.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out to a 14-inch round. Transfer the dough to a large baking sheet and brush the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Scatter the caramelized onion-apple mixture over the top, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Scatter the cheese and nuts on top. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the crust is crisp and the cheese has melted.

Wow. I cannot WAIT to try this!



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
Waiter! There’s A Beer In My Soup!
2 YEARS AGO:
I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Wolf
3 YEARS AGO:
Eddie Getting His Licks Friday
4 YEARS AGO:
The Place Is In Ruins
5 YEARS AGO:
Winter Shadows
6 YEARS AGO:
The Angels Of The New York D.O.T.

3 comments:

Kimberly said...

I love cheese shops!!! And your recipe sounds amazing. I can't wait to hear how it turns out!

Gil said...

I agree with Kimberly. You seem to have a knack for finding cheese shops as I remember you writing about one in the Carolinas or someplace in that area a year or so ago.

BeadWhisperer said...

Blue cheese pizza? Oh my goodness. There's a cheesemaker around here that makes something called Blue Suede Moo (heh) and it REEKS...but is such a great stinky yummy blue cheesy thing. That'd probably be great on that pizza. With pecans instead of walnuts. Oh my.