s o n a d r e a m e r y

sona creamery - let's dream in cheese

[farmweather]

Green grass, apple blossoms, & warm days filled with the tunes of peepers. This is what we wait for all winter long.

[sonacreamerythings-blog]

love them, love them.

[sonacreamerythings-blog]

Test Kitchen

(photos by kiley fisher)

this is such an exciting week in the Sona kitchen!  about a month ago, Gen & Conan started talking about how they wanted to completely redo the menu. we found some awesome new chefs to help out (the fantastic Jamillah Linkins and Lisa Steele) and G & C started looking for ideas! stacks of recipe books, heaps of scrawled-on print-outs, and a dozen coffee-infused brainstorming sessions later, they are officially trying the new dishes out. so far:

# of times Conan has yelled that he loves Test Kitchen: 4

# of times I’ve shown up and the new dish has already been completely eaten: >9,000

# of new vegetarian dishes: 5 and rising

Favorite things to take pictures of: figs & roasted fruits (above)

# of times I’ve felt self conscious and double-checked how to spell the word “dessert:” infinite

Best new dish so far: goat cheese, pepper, mushroom & truffle flatbread

....to be continued!

[cheesenotes]

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 18th is Raw Milk Cheese Appreciation Day! Check out the Cheese of Choice site for a complete list of events and tastings around the world! 

[sonacreamerythings-blog]

April 18th - Raw Milk Cheese Appreciation Day!

tomorrow is the first annual raw milk cheese appreciation day!  we luuuuuv raw milk cheeses and all of the complexity of flavors they have to offer.   rich history & rich taste make many of these cheeses our favorites!  

I asked our head cheesemonger about some of her favorite raw milk cheeses. we have dozens, so it was a “big” Q - but she eventually settled on a trio of cheeses from Vulto Creamery.  rich, buttery raw cow’s milk cheeses from NY, it would be tragic to imagine any of them losing any of that flavor via pasteurization.  the pictured cheeses above are the much-loved, absinthe-washed Miranda, the rustic Walton Umber, and the well-rounded Andes.

if ya manage to stop by this weekend, be sure to try out some (or all) of these cheeses - or try out some (or all) of the five raw-milk cheeses on our featured cheese list.  happy #RawMilkCheese Appreciation day, cheeselovers!

(featured chzes:)

Majerero

raw goat • Spain

milky • nutty • floral

Tome du Pere Antoine

raw cow • France

elderflower • sweet • creamy

Ossau-Iraty

raw sheep • France

chalky • acidic • black walnut

Mahon Reserva

raw cow • Spain

meaty • sharp • buttery

Blue Hills Bleu

raw sheep •Wisconsin

sweet • tangy • buttery 

[f525252-blog]

It’s the jam.

Your New Favorite Way to Eat Bacon via Food52

[sonacreamerythings-blog]

raclette service 

so around valentine’s day, we became obsessed with melted cheese. and i mean obsessed.  gen & conan (the owners) went on a trip to nyc to eat all the cheese and came back in a whirlwind of energy and cheesy ideas.  add a few days for shipping, and suddenly they’re up at the cheese counter, sly as cats, with these “party board” raclette melters, asking the mongers about everything we could possibly melt on them, and how soon?

here’s what we used (this time): 

reading raclette 

marieke fenugreek

& chevre a racler.

the marieke was definitely the most interesting, because the cheese naturally has this amazing maple flavor - and the smell was intoxicating (also it melted faster, so we could eat it faster).  people in the restaurant came over and asked if they could just stand there and inhale.  “sure” we said uneasily, wondering if we would have to share.  (we did.  it was fine. we just made more!)

our next challenge: how to get them to work on the patio.  they’re a huge hit indoors (duh) but outside is a lil tricker.  i have a feeling we’ll figure it out, though!

[sonacreamerythings-blog]

Monte Enebro

one of the beautiful cheeses in our case, Monte Enebro has always been a favorite. it’s been featured several times and is nearly always a Sona staple! the distinctive rind - so amazingly textured and colored, especially in contrast to the pale, uniform interior - is created using penicilium roqueforti (the same thing used to make roquefort). you can also see a little bit in this picture how the cheese has become much creamier under the rind, almost runny - whereas the inside is smooth/chalky.

(this weekend, I brought home a tiny little Langres cheese. the stratification of colors, textures and density changes a lot in this cheese as well, and while explaining it, a friend pointed out that “chalky” doesn’t sound appealing.  it’s, perhaps, more like a textured creaminess?)  

Monte Enebro is a goat’s milk cheese from Spain. this month, we’re featuring it as a “desert pairing.”

[sonacreamerythings-blog]

Dunbarton Blue

we were really excited to get this cheese!  made with pasteurized cow’s milk in Wisconsin, this comes from a family of cheesemakers that is just starting to (after multiple generations) really experiment with artisanal cheese.  our head cheesemonger, Lisa Hviding, has been dreaming about a wheel she got while she was working at Blue Duck Tavern.  this cheese - think cheddar meets blue - has a pretty unique flavor profile.  Our wheel is a little more cheddar-y than the wheel of Lisa’s dreams, but with some great earthy, zesty flavors.  i’ll admit that my first impression was “huh....weird!” (I was expecting a more traditional blue) but I was soon asking for more.  stop by to try some!

[sonacreamerythings-blog]

The Parmageddon. 

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testing out new drinks for this summer - we’re going to call this one “The Jess: A Badass New York Sour for Sona’s New York Badass” 

[sonacreamerythings-blog]

Gen making soda bread with her super-secret soda bread recipe for St. Patrick’s Day!  We’re going to be serving it with Isle of Mull cheese :) 

[sonacreamerythings-blog]

For St. Patrick’s Day, Gerald made Shepherd’s Pie!  Using lamb, Coolea cheese (from Cork County, which we plan on touring this fall!), watermelon radishes (which are beautiful, by the way), mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, and some good ole’ crispy potato jaunt.  Very seriously delish. 

[scienceandfood]

Flavor of the Month: Beer

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a frosty glass of beer? Before taking that first sip, consider these quick facts about the science behind the many complexities in beer flavors. Now that’s something to raise your glass to! Read more…

[marshmallow-jelly]

'Why am I sitting next to a blue cheese with a bit of tartan wrapped around it? 'Ah, that'd be Horace,' said Rob Anybody. 'He's Daft Wullie's pal. He's no' being' a nuisance, is he?' 'No. But he's trying to sing!' 'Aye, all blue cheeses hum a bit.'

Just a bit of Discworld fan art I needed to get out of my system. I am such a nerd for Horace. :D

EDIT: I fancied it up a bit and you can buy it here!

[sonacreamerythings-blog]

let's make some cheez

photoc: kiley fisher

[sonacreamerythings-blog]

creamed kale by gerald addison

photoc: kiley fisher

[sonacreamerythings-blog]

it's March so,

 Irish cheese, okay?

xxxxxxx

photoc: kiley fisher