Gunternation

We were very happy when Sheridans Cheesemongers starting bringing a stall to our local market in St. Anne’s. We chatted to the monger frequently enough to learn his name, and then one day a new guy starting coming whom I call Tim, but is possibly named Tom, or even Sebastian. “Tim” is always handy with the samples and suggestions. One day he gave me a taste and asked what I thought. The cheese was little crumbly and bold flavored, but in the moment my mind emptied of all cheese varietals save one. “Is it cheddar?” I said, and as I spoke those words I felt any food cred fall away, and saw a small shadow darken Tim’s eyes. He was a gentlemonger of course, and kindly told me non-cheddar cheese’s name, but I can’t remember exactly what happened after that. I think I just bought some Haloumi and slinked away before I started declaring all the cheeses “Swiss” (which I probably did anyway. I can never say Emmental).

Before you go all Wisconsin on me, I know cheddar is a perfectly fine cheese with varying provenances and pedigrees, it’s just not the only cheese.

In October, Bill and I spent four Wednesday evenings nestled among fellow cheese lovers in Dax Cafe Bar, participating in a class presented by Elisabeth Ryan from Sheridans. Each week we learned about the different kinds of cheeses, and the factors that influence each cheese’s flavor. I had never realized that hard cheese is made in the summer when milk is more plentiful, and soft cheeses are from winter milk. Also, there is no such thing as one “room temperature” and you shouldn’t let your cheese sweat. And the “flavor crystals” Bill and I used to comment on are a real and desirable thing.

Most importantly, we ate cheese. We sampled some Big Hit cheeses from a variety of regions, including the luscious Epoisses from France, seductive Manchego from Spain, and bold Stilton from England, but we spent a lot of time talking about Irish Cheeses. If you haven’t already heard, Ireland is truly embracing its inner curds and whey.

Lovely

One evening Kevin Sheridan led us through a tasting of Irish Cheeses that had recently won medals at the Irish Cheese Awards. Kevin explained that Ireland’s cattle are predominately grass fed which differentiates Irish milk from other European countries. Ireland’s unique milk creates spectacular cheeses, because, as Kevin said, Cheese is Grass. Ireland also produces lots of goat’s milk cheese and several sheep’s milk varieties as well. Sheep’s milk cheese are more rare because sheep are low milk producers, but the fat content in the milk creates very creamy cheese.  Helen Finnegan’s Knockdrinna Meadow that won Gold Medal in the Cheese awards is just that, a creamy bite of meadow. Bill and I are also fans of Crozier Blue, which won the Sheep Silver. We like that it’s richer than the cow’s milk varieties. [I’m a huge fan of blue cheese though, from crumbly to oozing, from blushing blue to blue in the face. And how cool is it that the bacteria for Cabrales come from the walls of the cheese cave rather than being injected. Another tip from cheese class!]

Mmmm...grass.

Ireland’s fantastic milk and perfect cheesemaking climate–“Ireland is one big cheese cave” Kevin said–allow Irish cheesemakers to borrow traditional cheesemaking methods, but make cheese that uniquely Ireland’s own. On our third evening of cheese class, David Tiernan of Glebe Brethan, spoke to us of his journey from dairy farmer to dairy farmer who makes award winning Gruyere-type cheese. Making cheese allows David to benefit more directly from the care he puts into producing his milk, and he enjoys seeing the end consumer. He says he loves the moment when a customer has picked up a bite and walked away, only to stop and turn around when the taste comes through. He does have to frequently explain that it is not cheddar. As a matter of fact, a slogan for Glebe Brethan could be, “It’s not effing cheddar.”

David has a farmer’s practicality and says to pay attention to the traditions that come before you. If cheeses makers in France say to mature the cheese on spruce planks cut when the moon is waxing, there is probably a pretty good reason to do that, because they’ve been doing it for centuries.

David shared that maturing cheese is the real skill in cheese making. David and Elisabeth told us of magical cheese tasters that can predict the exact time that a cheese will reach perfection. One element of our tastings was trying two maturity levels of a few cheeses, including Glebe Brethan, to contrast the flavors.

Our last evening of cheese class was about wine and cheese pairings, and the basic message was eat cheese and drink wine that you like. When putting together a cheese plate, it is unlikely one wine will work wonders with each cheese, so the goal is to choose a wine that can be a graceful accompaniment. But some wine and cheese combos create amazing new flavors, like a pairing we tried of Cratloe Hill Sheep cheese with Il Casolare Rosso.

If there is any doubt that we are in the Age of Irish Cheeses, check out the new book by Glynn Anderson and John McLaughlin, Farmhouse Cheeses of Ireland – A Celebration.  This beautiful book will tell you everything you need to know about Farmhouse cheese in Ireland. I met Glynn’s wife Lucy at the Savour Kilkenny Food Market, and she invited me to a book launch reception with Feargal Quinn, a senator and the founder of SuperQuinn.  At the reception I chatted with Eugene Carr, who had started working with cheese makers in the 1980s to provide marketing support and help build up a retail presence. He said he would take 15 cheeses to a meeting and folks would say, So, tell me about all these cheddars. (They weren’t all cheddar!)

Eugene told me that SuperQuinn’s  early interest in Irish Cheese was important to the developing industry. So, it was fitting that Feargal Quinn spoke, and “christened the baby,” as they said at the launch. In his talk, Feargal said this book would influence future food traditions of Ireland. A wonderful part of food culture in Ireland is that any food producer is no more than a half day’s drive away. Bill and I have met several producers like the lovely Anna Laveque of Triskel cheese, and when on the Beara Pennensula, we called out to the home of Milleen’s and chatted with Norman Steele. He told us the amazing story of how their cheese grew in popularity on the power of its flavor alone (and possibly the power of its aroma!). I loved the part where they started getting telegrams with orders, as they didn’t have a phone. As Norman pointed out, the postman had to ride his bike up a very large hill. I can’t imagine a more lovely place to live and make cheese.

The view down the Steele's drive

A great part about a book launch for a cheese book is the eating of the cheese at the reception. Even better we were given takeaway boxes to take home samples, so I took some Triskel pyramid, a lovely Loire-valley style goats cheese. Back at work that afternoon, I wanted to share the Triskel love, so I served up a good slather on some brown bread and offered it to a coworker. He took a bite, and was viscerally reminded that he doesn’t happen to like goats cheese. I saw him heading to the bin with the uneaten portion and I shrieked, Don’t throw it away! Don’t throw it away! So he returned the remaining bit to me, and I ate it, and it was glorious.

https://twitter.com/#!/tulanian/status/134281601403207680

I loved field trips in school. The excitement of it all–boarding the bus, riding into Houston to visit the zoo or the Natural Science Museum (they had shrunken heads!). Having money for snacks and souvenirs. Extra opportunities to be with my friends and study the behavior of boys in a new environment. In his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama, Bill took many field trips to the NASA Space Center, which was great because he loved the huge rocket, the lunar landing video game (before there were video game arcades), and the freeze dried ice cream.

Now we are grown up and we take field trips to restaurants and bakeries. In Drogheda. And we love it.

Last Saturday, we joined a crew of food bloggers to meet Jeni and Reuven, owners of Eastern Seaboard  to learn about their successful restaurant as well as their two new ventures, The Brown Hound Bakery and Mo’s To Go.

We assembled at the Brown Hound where Jeni and Reuven invited us into their delightful bakery.  Jeni and Reuven worked with New York baker Craig Thompson to develop the recipes and train the staff at Brown Hound.  Many of the offerings are inspired by Thompson’s grandmother’s recipes, and I have to say, Thompson must have the most elegant grandmother ever.

I can’t imagine entering the Brown Hound without expressing a few Wows. A mix of art gallery and Victorian parlor, the interior positively gleams with glass and chrome illuminating piles of scones,  towers of cookies, and cakes and pies topped with exquisite meringue and icing.  The cool metals are warmed by painted cake stands and platters and the most comforting of all sights–baskets of beautiful bread. Surfaces not covered by enticing edibles feature glassware by artist John Derian, or bottles of olive oil (which are art in themselves).

Jeni and Reuven were so kind to gift us each with a box of bakery samples, tied with a Brown Hound ribbon. I’ve heard that these treats did not last long for anyone. There’s a particular buzz about the chocolate banana bread and I have to join in that chorus. It’s moist, perfectly sweet, with huge chunks of delicious chocolate. We also bought a brown butter cake with lemon curd–beautiful to gaze upon, great texture, nicely tart lemon curd. I like that many of the cakes come in several sizes, including cupcake. We picked up a bottle of that gorgeous olive oil as well.

Next door to Brown Hound is Mo’s To Go, a takeaway featuring some choices from Eastern Seaboard as well as an item of extreme interest to the Americans in the group–corndogs. Along with hush puppies and fried whitebait, sides of cold spicy noodles and tabbouleh, this is not your average chipper. Jeni told me that Mo’s is named after her mom, who supports her and Reuven in so many ways, including frequently leaving food for them to find when they get home. The idea of food as gift is embodied throughout all three of Reuven and Jeni’s eateries, through attention to ingredients, preparation and presentation.

After gawking over Brown Hound and Mo’s, we settled down for the best part of the evening–dinner. Eastern Seaboard has been open in Drogheda for a few years and has developed a loyal following. I mentioned to a Laytown friend that I was meeting some foodies in Drogheda for dinner. “Oh, are you going to Eastern Seaboard?” he guessed,  “You’ll love it.” Our seating was a 6:00 and the restaurant was already busy. Our end of the table decided to order several starters to share. An extremely good idea as we got to taste tons of things, including perfect calamari, a luscious pig’s cheek terrine with celeriac slaw, crab cakes, garlicky crab claws, and a butcher’s board featuring pork rillettes and an amazing black pudding, chorizo and pistachio ballotine.

For mains I had the sea bream special with lemon salt and pea shoots. I chose Asian slaw and sweet potato wedges for sides. The fish was delish, especially the skin, and my sides were two great tastes that taste great together. The vinegary sesame flavor of the slaw was particularly refreshing. Bill’s rabbit was outstanding, tender and luscious with sides of perfect spinach and balsamic-laced lentils. The rabbit loin was char-grilled and topped with a smoked bacon and rabbit “ragù.” The smokiness from both the grilling and bacon perfectly complemented the tender rabbit.

For dessert a I had the coffee jelly with ice cream, on recommendation from Clare of An American in Ireland. Clare grew up eating coffee jelly (aka jello) in Japan and was thrilled when she found that Reuven, also Japanese, had included it on Eastern Seaboard’s menu. I absolutely loved this light, flavorful dessert, and am a bit obsessed with it at the mo. Bill’s Little Pots of Warm Chocolate Heaven were exactly what it says on the tin, and included chocolate pop rocks, if you can believe it.

Reuven told us they opened Eastern Seaboard to provide a casual dining option. “Casual Dining” has a black mark in the US for its association with the proliferation of chain restaurants, but the idea that dinner should not require high heels or a bank loan is a good one, and welcome in Ireland. I love the food first attitude at Eastern Seaboard.  But don’t think they don’t let the atmosphere suffer! (I swear their smoking lounge is going to encourage more people to start smoking. You have to see it.) It’s so obvious that these guys care, and I’m thrilled to have spent an evening in their world.

Many thanks to Clare for organizing, and to all the other food bloggers for your stellar company:

Caryna’s Cakes

Daily Spud

Smorgasblog

Kuchennie

Gracie Bakes

Dinner du Jour

Katz Miaow

It is truly fun to dine with the food obsessed!

Um, Can I bum a cig? Don’t want to leave this smoking lounge!

To celebrate the day the whole world is Irish, here are some images of Dublin and environs from the turn of the 20th Century, posted recently on Flickr by The Library of Congress.

Also, Flickrers are posting fun Then & Now shots.

According to today’s Irish Times the inventor of the spice burger, Walsh Family Foods, has gone out of business. I had no idea the spice burger was strictly an Irish thing. They may have been a tradition for 50 years, but from my one experience with them I think they’re really awful. The one pictured in the article looks much better than the one I had.

In honor of their 150 anniversary The Irish Times has made available on their website digital versions of certain past editions. Sharon and I spent some time Saturday reading a personal account of the 1916 Easter Rising and it’s fascinating. Sharon walks to work through many of the neighborhoods mentioned in the article, and it’s thrilling to recognize the streets and areas. Also in the archive are articles on the assassination of President Lincoln (page three news in Ireland), the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (page 9) and the first Transatlantic flight (which landed in County Galway near Clifden–we visited the monument to the landing when we were there last year).