Cheese Plate of the Month - APRIL

In 2007, I was treated to a fabulous dinner at Bacchanalia for my birthday.  It was a table of girls and when I ordered my dessert (a cheese plate), they laughed at me.  Then they tried the cheeses.  Generally, at Bacchanalia, they will present two or three choices of each variety:  cow, goat, sheep and blue.  I chose the following for my birthday cheese, and it is, to this day, one of my favorite cheese plates ever.

MONTE ENEBRO
Farm: NA
Location: Avila, Spain
Milk: Goat
This one feels like a typical goat cheese, however, it's got the mold that makes blue cheese injected in it.  Interestingly, this one starts out creamy and acidic, and is shipped to the US just 21 days after it's been made.  As it ages, it becomes more dense, like a goat's milk cheese, but still keeps some of the creamy attributes.  It's a very intense cheese, very spicy.


FOURME D'AMBERT
Farm: NA
Location: Ambert, France
Milk: Cow
This is one of France's oldest cheeses, and probably one of the most gorgeous, in my opinion.  The milk for this cheese used to come from pastures around the town of Ambert, but now the cheese is made in lots of locations in the Auvergne region.  This cheese is pretty to look at.  The mold is about 8" tall, the inside is  white and marbled, and the outside rind is dark and rustic.  It's not crumbly like most "blue" cheeses are; likewise, it's not as "ripe" tasting as Roqueforts can be.  It is one of the mildest of blue cheeses, making it likable, if you're just getting into blues.  This is a favorite of mine because of its creaminess.






BERKSWELL
Farm: Ram Hall Farm
Location: Berkswell, West Midlands, England
Milk: Sheep
This fruity, nutty cheese is made in these cute "traditional" basket molds (basically a colander!), so their shape and size is distinctive - it looks like a little "pouf"!  The flavors are sweet and complex.  Depending on the age, it can be moist and creamy or rather firm.  





AFFIDELICE
Farm: NA
Location: Burgundy, France
Milk: Cow
This is a chablis-washed rind, cow's milk cheese that is similar to the Epoisse (it's actually made by the same Creamery in the Burgundy region of France).  It's a soft, creamy cheese - best tried when it's at room temp.  While the taste is creamy and rich, the smell is rather pungent (just like the Epoisse).









Most of these cheeses are made available at your local Whole Foods.  If, however, you have the chance to purchase from a cheese purveyor, I'd recommend that route to ensure the freshest, quality cheeses.  

BBQ RIBS

It's summertime in the South, and that means we're grilling AT LEAST twice a week!  There is nothing more comforting to me than smoking something on the grill all Sunday afternoon to end a good weekend.  And RIBS are one of my favorites.

A couple of summers ago, I really got into smoking Baby Back Ribs.  So much so that I thought I was going to get a Big Green Egg for Mother's Day.  You read it right - a grill for Mother's Day ... Because in THIS house, the mama is the GrillMaster (if you can consider 2 pups for children, I would be the "mama")!   But, alas, no Green Egg here.  What I have learned is that, while some of my favorite Grillin' Dudes think this piece of culinary toolset is a must for your backyard, I can do exactly what I need to on my charcoal grill that they can do in their expensive Egg.  Would I like one?  Certainly, if someone was to purchase it, deliver it, build a snazzy table-stand for it and set it up.  Do I need one?   Not necessarily so.

For me, the science of it all is best explained in the Summer 2010 issue of Cook's Illustrated - A very good cooking pub, by the way.  If you haven't had the chance to glance at one on the news stand, I recommend it.  Always chock full of recipes, equipment reviews, techniques and not a single advertisement, this magazine is a treasure.  The key to a perfect smoking environment is building a well measured charcoal fire - in this case, a "modified two-level" fire, where you pile about 75 lit coals on one side of the grill and leave the other side empty - open the bottom vents, and then open the vent where your piggy pieces will be placed to draw the smoke through the grill.  Cooking times and procedures will be described in the following recipe instructions.

INGREDIENTS

RIBS
2 racks of 2 lb baby back ribs

BRINE
1/2c table salt
1/2c sugar
Water

Wood chunks / chips

SPICE RUB
1Tbsp & 1tsp smoked sweet paprika
1 1/2 tsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground white pepper

3/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 3/4 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp table salt
2 Tbsp chipotle powder
1 Tbsp fine ground coffee






DIRECTIONS:

Dissolve the salt and sugar in about 4 qts of cold water.  Add the ribs.  Make sure your container lets you submerge the ribs in the brine.  Let the ribs sit in the brine, in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Soak the wood chips for about 15m, while you mix the spice rub.

Remove the ribs from the brine and dry completely with a paper towel.  Rub the spice mixture all over the ribs and let stand in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Once you have heated your coals (I use a chimney starter), and put them on your grill in the "modified 2 level" design as described above, place your wood chips on the coals, open your grates and place your cooking grill on top of the coals.  Let it heat up for about 5 minutes and scrape it clean with a grill brush.

Dip a paper towel in canola oil and rub the hot grates.  Place the ribs on the cooler side of the grill and pull the cover down.  Your grill temp should be about 350 to start, but it will drop down to about 250.  This is good because "low and slow" is the name of the game for super melt-in-your-mouth, tender ribs!  Cook for about 2 hours, flipping the ribs and changing their position on the grill to be sure they are cooked on all sides, every 30 minutes.  Check them for doneness.  If your grill has dropped in temperature, they should cook a little longer.  Continue to cook the ribs in this manner another hour and a half - or until you can easily pull meat away from the bone.  One way to test the doneness, besides taking "samples for the chef", is to check the ends of the ribs.  If you can see the bone tips, they should be getting close to done.

Once they are done, pull them off the grill and transfer to a cutting board.  Let rest a few minutes, then cut between the ribs and serve them to your special friends (only "special friends" - this is too much work for just the "ordinary friends"!).

Accoutrements:
Spicy Black Bean Salad
Cole Slaw
Potatoes au Gratin (with cheese)
Mac & Cheese
Pinto Beans

Wine Accompaniment: Chase Cellars' 2008 Hayne Vineyard Zinfandel - $45 - This wine has an amazingly concentrated fruit flavor because it came from the smallest crop ever noted at Chase.  The zinfandel vines at Chase are "old vines" (read: great flavor depth), whcih have been growing on the property since 1903!  This great fruit-forward wine has a creamy balance that makes it an excellent pair to these spicy ribs.

ENJOY!