Newsletter sign-up: 
Get Breaking News on your cellCheese O' The Week: a local fresh goat perfect for summer
12:03 PM Mon, Jun 30, 2008 | Permalink |
E-mail News tips
 |
 |
 
|
|
August 2008
Recent Posts
Big Tex Awards: Getting fried at the Fair Jennifer Schaertl's 'Crappy Little Kitchens' Why it pays to ask questions at ethnic markets Book signing with a cheese maven this Saturday Local mom dishes on family friendly restaurants Categories
GuideLive.com
Entertainment Blogs |
But in the summer, of course, our palates tend to crave more direct, uncomplicated tastes. It's the perfect time to appreciate fresh goat cheese. When crafted from caring hands, it is no less a premium cheese, but it has a simple, pastoral quality that suits hot weather. If you're feeling burnt out on fresh goat cheese, if you've had enough crumbly, chalky clumps of it tossed into too many restaurant salads, here's an antidote: The chevre made by La Cuesta Farms in Clifton, TX. (Check out the farm's web site, they make a bunch of other cool goat goodies as well.) Everyone at the office who tried a straight spoonful of this chevre squenched up their face in a happy way and went "mmmmm." It has a smooth, moist texture and a taste that does flow through some complexities, but all of them refreshing: The first lemony sensation makes you pucker for a millisecond, then it mellows into sweet with just a hint of salt. The "goatiness" is very mellow. This cheese could easily be the star ingredient in a lazy summer meal - a sandwich of heirloom tomatoes and maybe Bibb lettuce with the cheese spread over some ciabatta or similar bread. It pairs well with a plain baguette and a glass of Sancerre. Heck, I'm still eating it plain out of its little plastic cup. A little goes a long way, too, and that helps make it worth the price: A 4-ounce container ran for about $8 at the Central Market on Lover's Lane. |
 | |
|
Spotlight
|
|
Comments
Posted by Kim Pierce @ 12:30 PM Mon, Jun 30, 2008
I'm going to blog closer to Saturday about La Cuesta coming to the Dallas Farmers Market on Saturdays starting this Saturday. They'll be in Shed No. 1 with the farmers, and the cheese will cost less. While I'm commenting, I have to say that I am underwhelmed by heirloom tomatoes. I've paid outrageously for them at CM, and the texture and flavor have been meh. Fresh locals: much better.
Posted by Steve W @ 12:49 PM Mon, Jun 30, 2008
I met Alberto at Whole Foods Market on Lomo Alto about a year ago. I was lamenting the "goatiness" of goat cheese [tastes like a goat smells] and he said, "You haven't had ours. It's a truly fresh cheese." Ever since then, when I want goat cheese, La Cuesta Farms cheese is the only brand I will buy. And yes, it's worth the price, but I wonder how much of that price finds its way back to the farm.
Posted by Jerry @ 2:50 PM Mon, Jun 30, 2008
Heirloom tomatoes don't travel well. They pick them early and by the time you get them at the stores they are mushy. You want good heirlooms, you have to grow em! A home grown heirloom tomato is an "out of body experience" good. I recommend Cherokee Purple. Yummy!