Category: Uncategorized

Cheesey recipe, Hard cheese, Uncategorized9 Comments

Apple and fennel cheese straws – temptation on a platter

Lucy from Life and Cheese

To my surprise these flew off the plate. Air-light flakes of pastry with the sweet crunch of caramelised grilled cheese. The addition of apple and fennel seeds had transformed the mouth-puckering dryness of traditional cheese straws into delicious flakey moreishness. The extra effort was well worth it. I love cheese straws, and am usually content to eat most myself, few others seeming to share my love of cold puff pastry. These ones however come with a warning – make sure you get your fair share before handing them around, because they won’t last! These are the evangelists of cheese straws. … Continue reading Apple and fennel cheese straws – temptation on a platter

Cheese boards, DIY Cheese, Fresh cheese, Uncategorized16 Comments

Labneh – easy to make yoghurt cheese for Spring platters

Lucy from Life and Cheese

I’m loving fresh cheeses as Spring continues to unfold. They hint at upcoming months of outdoor eating, platters of tapas and mezze, and little glasses of something bubbly. This week I’ve been making Labneh, a Middle Eastern yoghurt cheese. Well, making is a bit of an overstatement, really it’s an easy assemble and, although you need 24 hours start, it’s fail-proof, looks impressive and tastes great. Labneh, or laban, is yoghurt that’s been seasoned and strained. It becomes thick and super creamy, with a hint of yoghurt’s lemony zing. It’s then a versatile addition to a summer platter. I’ve been … Continue reading Labneh – easy to make yoghurt cheese for Spring platters

Cow, Dairy, Uncategorized8 Comments

Have you tried Lewis Road Creamery Butter?

Lucy from Life and Cheese

If you haven’t tried Lewis Road Creamery butter yet, stop what you are doing. Right now. And go get some. And get some good bread. Make a cuppa, cut a slice, slather it in butter, sit back and savour. Savour a fine New Zealand butter. I can eat this stuff as is, by itself, sans the bread, it is so good. The taste is fresh and light and creamy with a slight lemon lift at the end. Super fine and velvety, it melts satisfyingly on your tongue, lingering long after factory butter has disappeared. You really feel this is cream … Continue reading Have you tried Lewis Road Creamery Butter?

Cheesey recipe, Goat, Uncategorized13 Comments

Grilled Cabécou and asparagus – a spring starter

Lucy from Life and Cheese

At last asparagus has burst into the stores, and we hope with its arrival the beginnings of spring and the inevitable glory of summer. I love how seasonal asparagus is, and how its brief appearance reminds us of the soil and the seasons. I love this too about cheese, and in particular artisan cheese. It speaks of place and breed and particularity. I found this recipe when researching a little gem of a cheese called cabécou (pronounced ka-be-coo) and translated it from French, care of Babelfish. Cabécou du Perigord Cabécou is a tiny disc of a cheese, only 5 cm … Continue reading Grilled Cabécou and asparagus – a spring starter

Cheese boards, Cheese geekery, Uncategorized8 Comments

Secrets to a great cheeseboard – Prep, place and accessories (part 2)

Lucy from Life and Cheese

We eat with our eyes first, then our noses and last our palettes, I read once, but I reckon we also eat with our imaginations! I mean what is eating with the eyes? Sure, there are some down right sexy looking foods, perfectly ripe strawberries, a gooey Brie, the sensuous fall of honey from the spoon. But bound up in there is also anticipation, triggered by the remembered.  Past experiences flooding back, priming the taste buds with imaginings of upcoming joy! This post then my cheese-y friends, is about transforming your cheeseboard so it calls to your guests like sirens … Continue reading Secrets to a great cheeseboard – Prep, place and accessories (part 2)

Goat, Uncategorized6 Comments

Secrets to a great cheese board – Shape, texture, progression (Part 1)

Lucy from Life and Cheese

“I’m still fizzing about the Roquefort and Sauterne,” giggled my friend Kate after we’d devoured two cheese boards based on selecting, presenting and wine matching tips from my favourite cheese-onistas Fiona Beckett and Max McCalman. They were superb!  So in my next few posts I’ll share their wisdom with you. This post is on selecting cheese, the next on presenting and the final on wine matching. Part 1 Choosing cheeses – shape, texture, progression There are three things they say to remember when choosing cheese: shape, texture, and a progression of tastes. So I started with one cheese, an anchor … Continue reading Secrets to a great cheese board – Shape, texture, progression (Part 1)

Cheesey recipe, Cow, Uncategorized6 Comments

Tartiflete – best potato winter warmer ever!

Lucy from Life and Cheese

“Cheese people are the best people” says Tony in his cheese-y podcast and he was proved right by the young French Cheesemonger at Moore Wilsons. I was making Tartiflette, the cheeseyist, most delicious potato gratin you have ever tasted, and was asking about rebochon. I couldn’t find this French, washed rind cheese from the Alps and when I explained I was making Tartiflette his eyes lit up! He asked how I was making it and what I was putting it it. Unfortunately they had no reblochon so he suggested I use a raw milk camembert instead of reblochon. He  told … Continue reading Tartiflete – best potato winter warmer ever!

Cheesey recipe, Uncategorized138 Comments

Cheese Scones – best recipe ever!

Lucy from Life and Cheese

Sometimes food can say a thousand words. Like saying sorry to your neighbour for getting the wrong tree cut down, or ‘oops – inside thought‘ to a friend, or ‘thank you’ to a colleague.  And when I need to do penance, or bribe or thank someone these scones are delicious foodie emissaries. This is the best and easiest cheese scone recipe I know. It comes from a cafe in Wellington – Ministry of Food. It’s close to our Parliament buildings and I got addicted to these scones when I was working near by. Thanks to Cuisine for publishing it. Though this is quick and easy … Continue reading Cheese Scones – best recipe ever!

Cow, Mountain cheese, Review, Uncategorized, Washed rind cheese2 Comments

Mont d’Or Vacherin – oh how we adore you!

Lucy from Life and Cheese

Smearing it on baguette, ladling it on boiled potatoes and spooning it directly into our mouths, my guests were transformed by a ‘fondue’ of Mont d’Or Vacherin on Saturday night. Possessed by its silky velvet, we were turned greedy by this most decadent of cheeses. In its wooden box, spiked with garlic and a slosh of white wine, it had been baked ’til it melted into a most unctuous delight. This is indeed a transformational cheese and from the minute I spied it in Moore Wilsons, the Mont d”Or had been obsessing me. For this is the kind of cheese … Continue reading Mont d’Or Vacherin – oh how we adore you!

Cheese geekery, Cow, Goat, Sheep, Uncategorized8 Comments

Fantastic feta – why so many choices?

Lucy from Life and Cheese

Cow or goat, goat or sheep? Brine or in oil, Danish or Greek? Crumbly or smooth, plain, sun-dried tomato or basil? Each time I buy feta there seems to be a new formulation or iteration! So today I’m on a mission to understand this salty-conundrum – what exactly is feta, and what do I need to know to make a good choice? I’ve googled and wikipeidaed, checked my cheese books, and to be called Feta in Europe a cheese needs to be Greek and made of ewes’ milk, though it can have up to 30% goat. In New Zealand it … Continue reading Fantastic feta – why so many choices?