NEW ARRIVALS AND RECIPE SECTION

Stilton Long Clawson DairyEngland $28.50 / LB
Long Clawson Dairy was founded in 1911 when 12 farmers from the Vale of Belvoir formed a co-operative to produce Stilton Cheese in the village of Long Clawson. Traditionally made rich taste and texture, tangy but balanced. Made with vegetarian rennent

Lemon White StiltonEngland $29.50 / LB
This unusual dessert cheese is made with vegetarian rennent and is dotted with candied lemon peel. It has no blue veining, is mild in flavour with a tangy, sweet lemon taste. Quite the conversation piece on a cheese tray!

Pear and Apple White StiltonEngland $27.50 / LB
Creamy White Stilton has been blended with succulent chunks of pear and apple to deliver a wonderful orchard flavour. Made with vegetarian rennent it has no blue veining.

Cranberry Wensleydale England $23.50/LB
Clean, mild, slightly sweet flavour with a honeyed aftertaste. The superb texture of fresh Wensleydale is perfectly complemented by the addition of all natural cranberries of the finest quality. Wensleydale with Cranberries is an innovative blend of flavours.

Fiscalini San Joaquin Gold California $25.00 / LB
We've had this one in before - but not recently. An American Original Farmstead Cheddar Cheese. In the European tradition of naming unique foods after the location where they were first produced the cheese is named after the rich San Joaquin Valley of California. Aged 16 months, nutty flavour and Parm-esque texture


The Farmstead Difference

We love Fiscalini Farms and Cheese Company. John Fiscalini's dream to make his own cheese started many years ago. After visiting Lionza, the small town in the Swiss Alps where his family originated, his cheese making plan came together. John envisioned the dairy and cheese facility that his forefathers established in the 1700's.

Picturing the cows grazing on the lush green grass of the mountainsides, he decided to continue the tradition of making a hand-crafted farmstead cheese. Aged Cheddar and Parmesan were selected as the cheeses that he wanted to make.

Fiscalini was among the first dairies in California to be certified by the Dairy Quality Assurance Program for environmental responsibility, and was the first dairy in the nation to be certified for compliance in animal welfare issues. Their cheeses are made with only natural products, using raw milk. They add no colors, preservatives, or other artificial ingredients. Fiscalini cheeses are made in an open vat, in small quantities, handcrafted the old-fashioned way. They do not pasteurize the milk, which allows for the wholesome, natural flavors of the fresh clean milk to be expressed in the cheese.


RECIPE SECTION

Comte Cheese Frittata Serves 4:
1 medium onion, sliced
Olive oil
8 eggs
1 cup milk
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
Salt, cayenne and nutmeg to taste
6 ounces Comté cheese, grated (1 1/2 cups packed)
6 ounces quality ham, cubed
8 asparagus spears, steamed until tender

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
2. Sautéthe sliced onion in olive oil until soft. Reserve.
3. Using a fork, beat the eggs with the milk. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, reserved onions, salt, cayenne and nutmeg to taste. Stir in the grated Comté and cubed ham and mix well.
4. In a medium oven-proof skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the egg mixture and cook for a few minutes, until the bottom starts to set. Arrange the asparagus on top. Place the skillet inthe oven and cook until puffed and golden, 10-20 minutes.
This recipe is from the Comte Cheese Association

We'd like to hear from you!
Email us your favorite cheese recipes and you may be published in The Cheese Shop on Park BLOG BLAST. Remember - traditionally made cheeses only please!

Send your cheese recipes to:
recipes@thecheeseshoponpark.com

check out our website www.thecheeseshoponpark.com
and shop online!



Happy Holidays!

Italian Parm commercial BACK STAGE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-jnZlzUyvA&feature=related OK - I guess it's official, I'm obsessed... the link here is to BACK STAGE at the italian parm commercial. For you newbies who have not seen the actuall commercial, scroll down to March 24 to see the commercial... oh what the hey... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmZ28NIQPbM&feature=related here's that link too!! Enjoy!

And you know - just to plug some cheese - we love Piave just as much, if not more than, Parmigiano Reggiano so come on in and TASTE THE DIFFERENCE.

Art Festival Shuffle

The Winter Park Art Festival is this Friday - Sunday March 14, 15 & 16

When enjoying the fine art, jazz and beautiful weather in the park this weekend why not forgo the, ahem... "festival food" and shuffle on down to The Cheese Shop On Park for a lovely, portable cheese plate? We'll have them ready to go with a sampling of Cheese Monger Favourites.
Try one of three different cheese plates (available only during the Art Festival):

• "Netherlands Nibbler" featuring our young Prima Donna Gouda and aged Gouda Mona Lisa


• "Festival De France" with Comte, and Mimolette


• "The Wild Card" featuring Quicke's English Farmhouse Cheddar, and Appenzeller from Switzerland - a really cool flavour combo.

All are artfully arranged on stylish black, portable, plates and garnished with our lovely, delicious dried fruit. Plenty for sharing price range is $8.00 - $15.00 per plate based on weight of cheese. Available only during the Art Festival.

We have chilled wine and beer for sale (for off premise consumption only) to pair with your tasty cheese plates (and just in case - lovely disposable wine glasses two for $4.00).

Bon Appetit & Enjoy the festival !

Welcome To The Cheese Shop On Park

OPENING WEEK

We've had a great opening so far, the first week has been steadily busy and we've met lots of happy cheese lovers. A hearty Thank You to all of you who stopped by to wish us well and peruse our gourmet selections. Many of the other merchants in the area also came in and gave us a warm welcoming to the neighborhood.

Our delicate petite French cheeses have all but sold out and we've already reordered. The Charouce double creme was very popular (so creamy and smooth it is masquerading as a triple creme) .

A not so well know French cheese called Morbier was also well loved. Morbier is an aromatic semi-firm cheese with a thin layer of vegetable ash running through the center. It has a lovely mild sweet flavor and a distinct nutty after taste. Morbier comes in a larger wheel, rather than a petite individual button and we still have plenty in stock.

OUR NEIGHBORS

The Bistro On Park recently relocated to a much bigger space in the courtyard across the street (remember the Crepe place?) They have a fantastic menu - I'm addicted to their salads - and now they're doing a Sunday Brunch that features a Bloody Mary Bar. The Bloody Mary's were adorned with our Windy City Wasa Beans from Rick's Pick's - pickled green beans with a spicy kick of wasabi! Next time you are cheese shopping on The Avenue stop into The Bistro and tell Randy The Cheese Shop sent you!

PICTURES

Here's the Grand Unveiling for all our out of town family and friends!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

OPENING DAY IS:
TUESDAY JANUARY 8, 2008!!!!!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And visions of French washed rind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And visions of French washed rind?

The Cheese Shop is ready to bring you cheddar,
And fresh Bufala Mozzarella
The Cheese Shop is ready to bring you cheddar
And fresh Bufala Mozzarella

And ther's a Brie, my trusty friend,
And here’s a glass o' wine;
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
Aft’ New Year’s the opening is set.
Aft’ New Year’s the opening is set, my dear,
Aft’ New Year’s the opening is set,
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
Aft’ New Year’s the opening is set.

HAPPY 2008!
WE HOPE EVERYONE HAD A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEARS CELEBRATION
FROM THE CHEESE MONGERS OF
THE CHEESE SHOP ON PARK

OPENING DAY IS:
TUESDAY JANUARY 8, 2008!!!!!

Raw What?

• You've probably heard some hub-bub about raw milk. Here's the skinny. Raw animal milk - cow, goat, ewe - is used to make the best cheeses in the world. Pasteurization kills all the tiny scary things that lurk in raw milk that could make one ill BUT great flavor, complexity, elegance etc. quickly follows the demise of bacteria during pasteurization.

• Can we get, sell, eat raw milk cheese in America legally? Yes. But only after said cheese has been aged for at least 60 days (the tiny scary things can only lurk for so long). That's good news for all of our longer aged, harder cheeses such as Parmesan, Gruyere and Romano, that naturally require a more gradual ripening process to peak. Bad news for the soft, moist, delicate cheeses such as a fresh raw goat's milk from France that peak two weeks out of the creamery.

• Fear not fresh goat lovers - we are perfecting our preternatural Cheese Monger powers to bring you the very best raw goat's milk cheeses - just to entice you with a few - Bonde de Gatines (raw goat's milk cheese that is light and gentle and aged long enough to make the journey from France) and Caprino Noccetto (from Italian goats, aged for 90 days and wrapped in walnut leaves with strips of raffia holding them in place - Ciao!)

Construction Update

• Painting of the walls has begun - only primer white so far - boring but necessary. We're cutting concrete this week and installing the underground plumbing. Then we'll be ready for the pretty stuff - colors on the wall which have not yet been chosen although we're narrowing it down, flooring, coolers (to hold lots of cheese) lighting, cool counter tops and cutting stations - and don't forget the wine racks. Wait until you see the center piece I have for the wine section!

• If you see the doors open please feel free to stop in and say hi. We met lots of folks over the past few weekends when we've in there painting (yes we're doing a lot of the work ourselves - I personally would rather spend more money on great Chevres!)

• I'll post some more pictures soon. Keep sending your suggestions and comments - we love all the feedback. ***NOTE*** Color scheme suggestions will earn you major kudos!!!

Gourmet Gatherings

Reporting back from our trip to Atlanta - The Gourmet Food show was a great success! We placed a few orders, gathered tons of information, and met SO many helpful people.

• Look for Moravian Cookies - the thinnest cookie in the world. These unique, paper thin, crispy wafers might feel delicate (and are low in fat) but they pack a flavorful punch. Made by a family run (we love that) company who immigrated to the US from Czechoslovakia, we will carry three different flavors to start, but you'll have to come in to discover which - and enjoy a taste of each of course!

• We found jellies infused with wine, mulling spices from England (think liquid apple pie), artisan made java biscuits that respect free trade and satisfy your caffeine craving, and must-have chocolates laced with wild fruit flavors whose proceeds benefit wildlife.
  
  
• Amazing Artisan Honey in an array of fancy flavors (pour over Brie or St. Andre, open a bottle of a Washington Riesling and let's talk!) Tea that blooms a flower before your eyes as it steeps and much more.
  
  
• WAIT - WHAT ABOUT CHEESE ??!! We have so many fresh, hand-made cheeses you're going to love, crave, obsess over - STAY TUNED

More pictures will be posted next week of our construction progress - but things are moving along nicely. Feel free to stop by and peek in the windows, and stop in for a bite to eat at our neighbors The Bistro on Park (fabulous salads, sandwiches and Asian slaw!) - Tell Randy at The Bistro "The Cheese Shop on Park sent you!"

Here's a handy link to our website http://www.thecheeseshoponpark.com/ check back with us for updates and information.

Please fill out the comment form below - we would love to hear from you!