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?

Australian cheese, Cheese Mongers, New Zealand cheese5 Comments

Cheesemongers – finding and talking with these cheese heros

Lucy from Life and Cheese

Stepping into the cheese cave at Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder is like stepping into an Alladin’s cave. Stacked on shelves, lolling on slabs of wood and marble, crowding into every nook and cranny is a panolpy of cheeses. Earthy, subterranean smells enveloped me and I felt cheese to the bone. I felt transported to France and loved it. Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder This was my second cheese stop in Melbourne and like La Latteria it had friendly staff and generous tastings. I could have whiled away hours in that cave, with cheesemonger Nadia slicing, smearing and slivering me … Continue reading Cheesemongers – finding and talking with these cheese heros

Australian cheese, Cheese Mongers, Cow, Review11 Comments

La Latteria, Burrata and Melbourne – Let them eat cheese!

Lucy from Life and Cheese

Cupped in my palm, it wobbled like a breast, a Marie Antoinette of a breast, all milky white and delicate. This was Burrata, a filled Mozzarella that Rog and I had trekked across Melbourne to find. I was in cheese geek heaven, for in my possession was a rare and fabled fresh cheese, unseen in Wellington. Another cheese notch on my bed post. I carefully brought it back to the hotel and created a bed of salad ingredients on which to place it. Though I had no olive oil to anoint this lovely treasure, it lay white and prone on … Continue reading La Latteria, Burrata and Melbourne – Let them eat cheese!

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

New Zealand cheese, Review, Wine and cheese15 Comments

Buffalo mozzarella and Insalata Caprese – heady fragrant joy

Lucy from Life and Cheese

There is a reverence to the way my friend Kate breaks Mozzarella di Bufala. The same gentleness of hand, sense of purpose you see in a priest breaking bread. For fresh buffalo milk mozzarella is indeed a special cheese and in this post I want to understand why. First of all though you have to banish all memories of those rubbery gourds of commercial mozzarella, vacuum packed and available in the supermarket. The only similarity is that both are stretchy when heated. One is pizza cheese, mild and factory produced, the other is an Italian icon, a national treasure, made … Continue reading Buffalo mozzarella and Insalata Caprese – heady fragrant joy

Cheesey recipe, Goat, New Zealand cheese, Wine and cheese8 Comments

Goats cheese and kiwifruit – strange but true…

Lucy from Life and Cheese

Goats cheese and kiwifuit? With basil? On toast? OK Madame Fromage, Cheese Courtesan from Philadelphia, you got me tempted. What an unexpected pairing of our national fruit, and by an American, this combination turned out to be a revelation! A hot looking canapé, simple and fairly inexpensive, it’s bound to become a staple this coming summer. Just smear fresh goats cheese on bruschetta, add a slice of kiwifruit and a jaunty spring of basil. Easy as. Pair with a G & T or a chilled Sav. Delicious. I used Meadowcroft Chevré, a New Zealand-made, French-style, fresh goats cheese made by … Continue reading Goats cheese and kiwifruit – strange but true…

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!