Labor Day is the third most popular grilling day of the year. Join the fun and invite some friends over to celebrate everyone’s hard work over the past year. Serve your guests some of our sweet sausages, hot sausages, and sweet with fennel sausages. They are perfect for grilling along with our Black and Bleu Angus burgers. Surprise your guests by adding Halloumi, a Greek grilling cheese, to the plate. This cheese is perfect on your burgers and sausages and great with juicy watermelon!
You’ve worked hard all year, wipe the sweat off your brow … let Carlino’s do the work for you!
And speaking of entertaining… One of the most frequently asked questions is “How to plan and execute the perfect cheese board.” The question WE ask the most is, “What cheese do you like?” Then we take it from there.
There are a variety of ways to do this… Follow the milk and offer goat, sheep and cow; follow the consistency and present soft, semi-soft, semi-hard and hard. Feature cheeses of one country or a specific region: for example, the Venuto region of Italy which could include Asiago (Fresco or Aged), Grana Padano, Piave, Trugole, Robiola and Ubriacone (all part of Carlino’s cheese menu). Or have the cheese board follow the wine selection. High acid wines work well with full fat cheeses (double and triple crèmes); champagne works well with semi soft cheeses (like Morbier) because the cheese leaves a residue of creaminess of the throat that provides the champagne bubbles with a place to land.
Offer three to five cheeses in a pre-dinner gathering; provide each guest with at least one ounce and up to four ounces of each cheese depending upon what is to follow. If the cheese is the main event, then expand the number of the cheeses presented to seven.
A great cheese board always includes a variety of accompaniments. Carlino’s artisan crusty bread and/or crackers, fresh and/or dried fruit, nuts, honey, fruit spreads and jams, olives, Carlino’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil and/or Carlino’s Balsamic Vinegar, dried and cured meats (especially Prosciutto)… all available at Carlino’s along with expert advice to guide you in your selection. Visit our “Grove” and select from over 40 imported extra virgin olive oils, infused extra virgin olive oils, balsamics, and infused balsamics to accompany your cheeses. You’ll be the talk of the town. Be bold, experiment and remember to let your taste buds be your ultimate guide; trust them to come up with your interpretation of the perfect cheese board.
-Patty Church
Carlinos’s Executive Cheese Specialist
Did You Know?
Recently we blogged about what “The Grove” has to offer at both Carlino’s locations. Click HERE to read that post.
Featured Cheese
Chorherren-Kase:
This pasteurized milk cheese is an Austrian, semi-hard cow cheese. Made from a mixture of milk and buttermilk, it has a buttery, buttery flavor. This mellow yellow cheese makes for a lovely table cheese. It evokes memories of some of the milder Trappist cheeses of yore.
Campo de Mantalban:
Campo de Montalban is a cow, sheep and goat’s milk cheese from La Mancha. The use of three different milks adds depth to the flavor, as you can taste each one. This Spanish cheese is rich and buttery and finishes with perfect balance.
Stilton with Blueberries: Stilton Cheddar is paired perfectly with Blueberry and many other fruits because of its unique aroma and flavor. Known as the “King of English Cheese”, Stilton has a cream-colored interior with blue-green texture & a delicate balance of flavor & aroma. It makes for an excellent dessert cheese and goes well with Port or red wines.
Entertaining Goes With Party Trays
Rosh Hashanah, or “head of the year,” refers to the Jewish New Year. It is one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar. Much like the American New Year, it is about making resolutions. There are many food related traditions with this holiday. Dipping apples in honey represents a sweet New Year. One can also dip bread in honey. Some head to a flowing body of water and cast small pieces of bread into the water symbolizing the casting off of sins. Commonly, no work is permitted on this holy day. No matter how you celebrate, let us do the cooking! Check out our Rosh Hashanah Menu today and let us help you celebrate.
Click HERE to visit our Rosh Hashanah Menu.
Recipe
Gruyére Croquettes
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons
4 ½ teaspoons flour
1 cup milk, 2 egg yolks
½ cup grated Gruyère
2 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano
A pinch of nutmeg, salt if needed
A sprig of thyme
Flour, 1 egg (beaten)
3 cups bread crumbs, oil for frying
Preparation:
Melt the butter in a sauce pan, add the flour, and stir until smooth, taking care not to let it color.
Pour in the milk, stir until smooth, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring constantly so that this béchamel does not stick.
Remove the pot from the heat, let it cool some and stir the yolks into the sauce one at a time.
Bring to a boil and pass through a fine strainer.
Add the Gruyère and Pecorino, the nutmeg, the salt (if needed), and the thyme leaves (stripped from their stalks.)
Spread the mixture onto a piece of buttered foil, making 5×6 inch rectangle.
Cover with foil and cool 1-1½ hours.
Now cut the Rectangle lengthwise into three equal pieces and crosswise into strips about ½ inch wide.
Dip the croquettes in the egg and coat twice in bread crumbs.
Heat the oil to 360° F. Deep fry for 2-3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
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