Marie Fromage

Interviewed by Lost in Jersey Podcast!

It was an honor to be interviewed by the dynamic women of the "Lost In Jersey" podcast! 

Please give it a listen here: LINK

 

 

Interviewed by Podclair! 11-3-2019

 

LISTEN: 

I was recently interviewed by Podclair, a podcast series that covers life and entrepreneurship in Montclair, NJ. I am deeply humbled and grateful for the opportunity to share my tales of cheese and music! To give it a listen, please click on the link below OR look up Podclair on the podcast app on your iPhone OR click this link!

 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

 

2020

NYC: French Cheese 101 Classes 

Celebrating over Three Years Teaching
@ French Cheese Board

PLEASE NOTE:

Classes for 2020 are postponed for now. Please follow me on Instagram @MarieFromage to get
the latest updates on when classes will resume.
Until then, please stay safe & healthy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy National Cheese Lovers Day! A Gift From France - The French Cheese Board

Quick, what is your favorite French cheese? Brie! What else, maybe Brie’s sassy little cousin Camembert? Yes! But those cheeses are only the tip of le grande fromage. It is said that France is home to more than 350 types of cheese, which is mind boggling. Fortunately we have the French Cheese Board to educate and entertain our taste buds.

Comté (Gruyère’s French sister), Emmental (holey), Epoisse (stinky!), Mimolette (looks like a cantaloupe), Raclette (melty) are just a sampling of the many cheeses on rotation at this unique space.

 

I wrapped this baby in puff pastry and baked it.

The French Cheese Board is the showcase for Cheeses of Europe, a trade association that promotes French dairy farms and cheese makers to consumers, distributors and retailers within the United States. It is a pop-up cheese shop, an event space, art gallery and culinary laboratory – all of it to celebrate the glories of French cheese. There are cheese pairing classes, holiday-themed events, edible art installations (many are free) and shopping! The pop-up store portion of the space offers a selection of cheeses and butters that change monthly. And some products are 50% off regular retail prices, which is a win for the cheese lover.

A cocktail made with Mimolette infused Calvados, Lemon, Fig & Egg White.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next French Cheese Board pop-up is planned to open in lower Manhattan in mid-March. In the meantime look for your French fromage favorites at Murray’s, Stinky Bklyn, Dean & Deluca, Citarella, Whole Foods and other fine food retailers. 'C'est magnifique!

Restaurant Raclette Opens in the East Village

Sweet Jesus, a restaurant dedicated to and called "Raclette" just opened in the East Village.

Raclette is a type of cow's milk cheese made in Switzerland. It is also a cousin to Fondue, but instead of dipping things into bubbling melted cheese, the bubbling melted cheese is POURED over things (like cornichon, bread, dried meats & potatoes). The best method is when a large wheel of raclette is cut in half and the cut end is exposed to fire or a special melting machine until it blisters. The melted cheese is then scraped off the wheel and onto all of the goodies waiting on the plate.

The best wine for this? Grüner Veltliner - a crisp, bright white wine from Austria that nicely cuts through the richness of the cheese.

Check out a recent article about the restaurant in The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1JtPeXY

 

VERY Easy Baked Brie for A Crowd

This is more of a composition than a true recipe, a shopping list as opposed to a list of ingredients. However that said, I think you will appreciate the delicious ease of this cheesy treat for a crowd.

 Yield: about 10-12 people

Ingredients:

14oz Round of Brie

¼ - ½ Cup of Apricot Preserves (room temperature)

1 Package Puff Pastry, defrosted (recommended brand: Dufour)

1 Egg

1 Tbs. Water

1 Tbs. Flour (to be used for dusting surfaces) 

Equipment:

One Cookie Sheet

Parchment Paper (cut to fit the size of the cookie sheet)

Small Bowl

Fork or Small Whisk

Pastry Brush

How-To:

Pre-heat oven to 350°. Cut the parchment paper to size and place onto the cookie sheet. If the brie has been in the refrigerator, take it out and let it warm up a bit while the oven is pre-heating.

 

 I picked up this one at French Cheese Board, located on W. 39th St. near Bryant Park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take the puff pastry out of the refrigerator. Lightly dust the work surface with flour and unwrap the puff pastry.

Place the round of brie right in the middle. 

 

 

 

 

Spoon the apricot preserves onto the top of the brie. 

 

 

 

Wrap the brie with the puff pastry. Bring the corners together and form a twist at the top. Bring the edges in to the sides of the brie round and press the sides in to seal. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                         

 

Place brie-pastry package onto the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Beat the egg with the water in a bowl to make the egg wash. Lightly brush the egg wash all over the brie-pastry package. This will give it a nice bown burnish and will help to seal it up as it bakes.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. Place on a decorative plate and serve it warm. Crackers and bread optional. This is very rich - it will pair nicely with a crisp white wine, prosecco or champagne. Enjoy!

 

 

Copyright ©Marie Fromage All Rights Reserved; Photos by Marie Fromage except where noted.

In The NY Times: A Brie Binge East of Paris

An article by Alexander Lobrano in this week's NY Times makes me want to drop eveything and go get some of my favorite bloomy rind right at the source.

Click here!

Marie Fromage's NYC Cheese Events Calendar

NYC is a cheesy town: check out my cheese events calendar where you can find out what cheese friends Martin Johnson, Wendy Crispell Wine, Murray's, Bedford Cheese shop, Saxelby Cheesemongers and others are up to!

This month is packed w/fromage fun, see what's happening today (click HERE)!

 

 

 

The Big Cheesy

The Big Cheesey - it is a sold-out gooey weekend cheese extravaganza now in its fourth year. This year it took place on April 12 & 13 at Openhouse Gallery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One ticket gets you one hour, 2 beers and all the grilled cheese you can eat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And you have to vote for your favorite! It was tough to decide... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the winner (at least in my book) was the grilled pimento cheese with smoked mushrooms on sourdough from Brooklyn's Van Horn. It had that toasted cheese thing that makes my heart sing.

The official winner? 5 oz. Factory's delicious offering of provolone, havarti and brie with mushrooms, asparagus and a bit of of horseradish, all pressed together into bubbling cheesy perfection. Van Horn came in second, so I was close!

Proceeds for the event went to benefit the Food Bank for New York City. 

Blissfully cheesed-out, a good time was had by all.

 

 

 

Hoboken Mutzfest 2014

I live in Manhattan, and those who dwell here consider it to be the center of the universe, where the best of the best is readily available, including cheese. Little did I realize that I was about to be schooled in the ways of the mutz by a bunch of Italian American delis just across the river in New Jersey.

“Mutz” – that’s mozzarella to you and me. But in Hoboken they call it “mutz” and it was the focus of a boisterous celebration and competition at the Elk’s Club on Sunday January 26, organized by the Hoboken Family Alliance to benefit several local charities.

 Over 800 people turned out to sample the mutz making expertise of six of Hoboken’s finest Italian delis. 

M&P Biancamano, Losurdo Brother’s Deli, Vito’s Deli, Fran’s Deli, Gigi’s Rosticeria and Littletown, NJ presented abundant samples of their mutz to those lucky enough to attend and eat. And eat. And eat.

 

 

There was mutz on a sandwich, mutz with dried meats, mutz with jalapenos, mutz with olives and even mutz dipped in a chocolate fountain (yes indeed and not bad). Mutz quality ranged from excellent to absolutely divine. 

 

The event was sponsored by Polly-O, which supplied the raw curds. Yes, Polly-O of the supermarket cheese fame. Apparently they have some of the finest raw curd in the region for mutz making. Who knew?

Delis competed for the People’s Choice award as well as the Critic’s Choice award. Attendees were given a voting card and token and were instructed to cast their ballot after completing the tour of the mutz.

The winners…

 * M&P Biancamano  - won best mutz in the People’s Choice category as well as best sandwich in the Critic’s Choice category.

 * Vito’s Deli – best mutz in the Critic’s Choice category. 

Vito’s mutz was truly as good as they say – tender, silky and milky with just the right amount of brine. And I really liked M&B Biancamano’s mutz on a sandwich (even the bread was amazing).

But there were two legendary Hoboken delis that did not compete – Fiore's House Of Quality and Lisa’s. Fiore’s, in particular, is famous for a gigantic roast beef, brown gravy and mutz sandwich reportedly so good that it makes people willing to stand on line in the rain just to have it.

I may have to cross the river again just to find out.  

Hoboken Mutzfest: www.mutzfest.com

Curd Nerd Salad

Summer is officially here!  I have created a salad featuring cheese curds and roasted tomatoes that is easy to toss together and will make you the talk of the next cookout. 

Cheese curds from Hillcrest Dairy, Moravia, NY. Purchased at Saxelby Cheesemongers

This recipe is pretty straightforward and will require just a little oven operation and a bit sourcing for great ingredients. 

Curd Nerd Salad

Ingredients: 

2 cups of Cheese Curds* (or if you can't find curds use Bocconcini mozzarella balls)

2 cups Roasted Grape Tomatoes

1 Tbs. Fresh Basil, Julienned

2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar

Kosher (or Sea) Salt and Fresh Cracked Black Pepper, to taste

The How-To:

1)  Pre-heat oven to 400°(oh come on now, you probably have air conditioning in your house. You will be fine!).

2)  Line a baking sheet with foil.

3)  Wash the grape tomatoes, drain and add to a medium sized mixing bowl (tomatoes will still be a little wet).  Scatter a healthy pinch of salt over the tomatoes and toss to coat.

4)  Pour tomatoes onto the baking sheet, place in the oven and roast until tomatoes are a little scorched, collapsed and wrinkled up a bit - about 45 minutes.

5)  While tomatoes are roasting, julienne the basil leaves and set aside.

6) Remove tomatoes from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

7) Use a large bowl: add roasted tomatoes, cheese curds and sliced fresh basil and toss together until combined.  

8)  Add the extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and toss to combine. 

9) Add salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste and - you guessed it - toss to combine.  

10) Allow everything to just mingle together for about an hour before serving.

Please note: 

a) All ingredients should be room temperature when this salad is put together.

b) The roasted grape tomatoes may be made the night before & refrigerated until ready to use (tomatoes made this way are also a delicious, slightly sweet and low calorie add-on to sandwiches, omelets, as a simple side dish to chicken or fish - the possibilities are endless).

* A word about Cheese Curds: 

Cheese curds are basically what cheddar cheese looks like before they are pressed together and aged. They are a delight as they are, with a mild, milky taste and springy, squeeky mozzarella-like texture if you eat them fresh.  Sadly they are not easy to find and if you live outside of Wisconsin or Québec you probably never have had the pleasure of this taste experience. HOWEVER, if you live in or near New York City you are in luck! Try finding them at Saxelby Cheesemongers or Beecher's.