No. 179: Buckaroo & Lil' Ziggy

With most anniversary PR releases and pitches, my eyes pretty much glaze over as the "Happy Birthday to Us" email loads up since oftentimes it's a one-shot dinner/party that's hard to preview OR recap.

Slices of Buckaroo (lower-left) and Lil' Ziggy

So I definitely perked up a little when I was invited to try two new cheeses exclusive to Whole Foods for their 30th Anniversary celebration, since this is something that's going to be readily available for quite a while. And of course, it helps that for their big 3-0 they've collaborated with two of my favorite artisanal California cheesemakers, Cowgirl Creamery and Cypress Grove.

With Cowgirl, a Petaluma-based cheesemaker known for their aged, washed-rind mini-wheels such as Mt. Tam, St. Pat's and Red Hawk, they teamed up to make Buckaroo, a cow's milk cheese (with the milk coming from nearby Straus Family Creamery) aged at least two months with a saline rind wash [by hand!], resulting in a semi-firm cheese that's mildly salty with a nutty cheddar fragrance and a silky-smooth mouthfeel. But what I love most about this cheese is its hard rind, which has a more prominent nutty profile with a little bit of funk, reminiscent of an aged Parmigano-Reggiano or Asiago. This cheese was great for snacking on its own (which is what I did with most of my wedge,) but given its mellow, buttery profile I'd imagine it works wonderfully with sandwiches, melted over a burger or in cheese sauces too.

Their collaboration with Cypress Grove, an Eureka-area cheesemaker known for their goat's milk creations including Purple Haze, Humboldt Fog, Truffle Tremor and (my personal fave of the line) Midnight Moon, is Lil' Ziggy, literally molded in the shape of a miniature flat-top ziggurats. A soft ripened cheese with mixed molds, the slightly-crumbly Lil Ziggy has a good dose of tang and a little tingly bite at the finish. Considerably more assertive in flavor than the Buckaroo, for me this cheese works best alongside some fruit or preserves, or smeared over crackers or warm toast, alongside a crisp, fruit-forward white wine or a hefeweizen.

Of course, Whole Foods have a lot of other products debuting for their 30th too, plus charitable partnerships with some of their longtime vendors (and just held an awesome contest for a culinary weekend at its HQ for 30 lucky winners,) so I'm definitely keeping my eyes peeled. But I'm definitely adding these two cheeses to my rotating repertoire for my next impromptu party platter, or just to snack at home.

Friday Quickies #6: Whole Foods, Two Chances to Meet J Gold, Blind Tastings

Whole Foods Western U.S. flagship in Pasadena: Keeping it short and sweet since every blogger, foodie community and media alive covered it already; astrounding variety and impressive quality - just set aside two hours to explore, go check it out and gawk at all the features of this 77,000 sq. ft. two-story behemoth of a market, from the freshly roasted nuts counter to the shopping cart escalator to the wine & tapas bar and all the ready-made foods available, including a very aromatic meat smokehouse. That being said, I personally wouldn't come here on a regular basis (as I did the Wild Oats, R.I.P.) -- it's just too easy for me say sayonara to my shopping list & wallet here and spend too much time and money. I can hardly believe that an hour and a half disappeared when I barely skimmed the aisles and sections on its grand opening day (which wasn't as crowded as I anticipated, thankfully). However, I would still swing by here from time to time if I'm shopping for a special occasion or looking for a unique ingredient (or maybe just to take a swig of wine & a sampling of cheeses.) For some fantastic photos of this place's offerings, go to Clare K's blog.

Two opportunities to meet Jonathan Gold: How he looks is no secret on the internet, but if you want to meet the Pultizer-winning LA Weekly food critic in person you'll have two chances at it: on November 17 he'll be at the Great Los Angeles Walk providing handouts of his favorite Pico Blvd. eateries, and on November 15 he's the guest of honor at the Society of Professional Journalists' Fall Mixer at the Redwood Bar & Grill (FYI, the mixers are not restrictive to journalists only and typically there's a significant crowd of other types such as *cough cough* PR folks and others "interested in journalism". However, regardless of your profession, do make the courtesy of letting them know you're going.) Both events are free to attend, except for whatever you'll be buying to drink and eat.

Going blind for wines?: Slate's wine critic Mike Steinberger wrote a nice piece about the supposed gold standard of "blind tasting" to evaluate wines and made a few good points about why that's not always the best method of appraisal. Give it a read and share your thoughts! (Speaking of wines . . . I had my first cork-tainted bottle last night~ a 2004 Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon that I had saved for awhile (and no, the label didn't prepare me for a damp cardboard nose, ecchh!) and forgot where I bought it from, so no dice for attempting to return it, boo. I believe the bottle was around $8-10 so it wasn't too tragic a loss.)

Finally . . . I'm heading to the East L.A. Tamale Festival tomorrow (around 11 a.m. - noon), hope you masa lovers can make it this weekend too ;)

Ok, finally for REAL this time: I've been following The Next Iron Chef, can't wait to watch the finale this Sunday! The series started out pretty weak, but got better as contestants got eliminated, giving more air-time of the remaining contenders as they prepare and present their dishes.