The best of Kristin Wiig

She's a goddamn genius. Straight up.

Mustache of the Day

Wowzers! Since its been a long time since I've posted, I thought i'd return with a doozie!
Here's Butters with some random big hunk o' mustache!

CHEESE OF THE WEEK Y'ALL!

So, the grand opening of the first Massachusetts Wegmans is two weeks from today. Its gonna be big y'all. Like, they already know the traffic is going to close down the two major roads its situated on and they are expecting 1000 people to be waiting in line even before the stores 7am opening. (My brave mother and sisters are going to be part of that line, proudly waving their Shoppers Club cards!)

So in preperation for the big day, a lot of awesome training has been happening. As I am now a team leader in the most fabulous cheese shop in New England I have been helping train the new folks in everything fromage!

Here i am with some of the wonderful new Wegmans cheesemongers sampling a tray of about 12 of the finest soft-ripened cheeses from France. Being able to indulge in such an array of awesomeness is something that will likely never happen again. It was hundreds of dollars in cheese for our pleasure only.

One of the gorgeous little things (AbFab reference anyone?) that we were shoveling down into our gullets was Epoisses from the Berthaut Fromagerie.

                                       

Epoisses cheese originated as early as the XVIth century in a religious community of monks in the small village of Époisses. Two centuries later, when the monks left the village, the recipe was handed over to the peasants in the valley. The wives of the Burgundy farmers assumed the responsibility for making the original Époisses cheese. Over time, they introduced their own traditional skills into the process and improved the quality of this outstanding cheese.

But the wars meant the loss of a significant part of the male population, leaving the women to face the work in the fields alone. Without time to take care of the cheese making or seling the cheese in local markets, the dairies became neglected. By 1954 Epoisses had all but disappeared form the farms.

In 1956 a pair of small farmers, Robert and Simone Berthaut decided to re-launch the production of Époisses by mobilizing the traditional skills of those who still knew how to make the cheese. Berthaut Époisses increasingly gained favor among its devotees and became a spectacular success.

Guided by his parents Jean Berthaut observe and studied the making of Époisses. Remaining faithful to the knowledge passed by them and the people of the terroir, he gradually developed and implemented innovative technologies reproducing, precisely, the traditional process involved in the making of Époisses. The constant search for excellence is the challenge accepted by the Berthaut Fromagerie. "Epoisses Berthaut", as the French call it, has been awarded more than 82 times since 1970!
From http://www.http//www.frenchcheeseclub.com/about/about_berthaut.htm

It has been said the Epoisses was a favorite of Napoleon "Get Shorty" Bonaparte.

Epoisses is an intense flavored cow's milk cheese that some might even call stinky, which is the french word for "Le Stank." It comes from the Burgandy area of France and has a washed rind that contributes to its very strong but wonderful aroma.

I had a chance to work at the Pittsford Wegmans in Rochester over the summer and there they have an amazing open air aging case where they display cheeses like Epoisses. But there, they go an extra step with the cheese. For four days, every morning, they hand wash the Epoisses with Bourbon, then rewrap it and keep it in a seperate cooler. After the four days of "washing" it is displayed for sale. It is amazing!!!! We hope to be able to do something similiar at our store sometime soon.

Anyhoo, this post is long as hell. Goodbye.

 














CHEESE OF THE WEEK Y'ALL!

This is a great video explaining how fresh goat cheese is made.

I'm glad im not a goat.

Butters and Butters take Boston!

So Butters just boarded her train to head back to the city in order to catch her plane and I am totally bummed. It has been one hell of a week.

Starting with last weekend where we attended my cousins wedding at the Thousand Island club on Wellesley Island, which was absolutely incredible. An amazing night of seeing family, dancing our arses off and drinking too many Citron and sevens.

On Monday was the big move. We packed up and left the house at 7:00. What would have taken four hours to get to my new home in Massachusetts took eight and a half hours due to a portion of the Thruway being closed. We were rerouted through a million small hicksville towns and sat in stand still traffic for hours. If you know me you know what little patience I have on a normal day. Bless Butters for keeping me calm.

The new place is great, I actually have my own washer and dryer. Again, if you know me you KNOW how much I LOVE doing laundry.

Kelly Bear likes his new home too. (Jimmy has been under the dresser for three days, couldnt get a picture)

 Tuesday morning we left bright and early for our first day in Boston. After driving rush hour traffic, which by the way I cannot believe people do such a thing on a daily basis, we found a bus and headed into Cambridge to pretend it was our first day as Harvard students.

We sat in the Harvard yard for awhile watching all the gorgeous smarties walk by. I expected the students to all be wearing sportcoats and ties; dresses with sensible pumps, but no, it was a sea of skinny jeans, basketball shorts and ratty flip-flops to match their ratty hair.

oh, heres a pic of me being attacked by a grilled muenster cheese sandwich with pickles.

We took the train over the river to Boston where we spent the day lolly-gagging around like we were the shit. We walked the esplanade (where everyone runs and are hot as hell, and not because their running), we strolled the gardens and visited the Old Granery Burying Grounds were very important peeps are buried including a bunch of Franklins and Paul Revere. The headstones were creepy as all get out.

Day two we took the train in and toured the town like rockstars. Quincy Market, Fenuil Hall, Financial District, Chinatown, dinner and canolli's in the North End and the best part of the whole trip was our bike ride from the North End down along the harbor to South Station at dusk. It was truly remarkable.

This Hubway program is really neat, check it our HERE All around the city there are these docking stations were you swipe your credit card and take a bike for as long as youd like to use it. If your a local you can use it to cross town to catch a train or if your visiting you can ride it to almost any area in Boston.

All in all the trip with Butters has been:

CHEESE OF THE WEEK Y'ALL!

I pity the fool who don't like cheese.

My parents just returned from a life-long dream vaca to Washington, DC (they're really into that history stuff) and while most parents would bring their children back a presidential trinket of some sort (I wouldn't have been opposed to a Michelle Obama talking doll that reminded me to eat my veggies) alas,my parents brought me back cheese.


This, ladies and gentleladies is Mt Tam, a triple cream, soft-ripened cheese from Cowgirl Creamery. Based out of the San Francisco Bay area, the creamery also has a retail store in the DC area.

Cowgirl Creamery desribes their cheese as such: "Just North of the San Francisco Bay, Mt. Tamalpais rises like a monument to Northern California's natural beauty. In deference, Cowgirl Creamery named its signature cheese MT TAM. It's a smooth, creamy, elegant, 10-oz, triple-cream - made with tasty organic milk from the Straus Family Dairy. MT TAM is firm, yet buttery with a mellow, earthy flavor reminiscent of white mushrooms."

I can describe it as a small, creamy cloud of pure butterfat that made me do the truffle shuffle across my kitchen floor. I had to throw the cheese knife across the room in order to not consume the whole thing.

Check out their site here to learn more about their artisanal methods and maybe order some for yourself. Be prepared to shuffle.

I just got my socks rocked!

Indulge me as I take a second and rave about about the amazing customer service I just received from Cafepress.com.

Yesterday I received a t-shirt that I ordered that I wanted to wear to the Sterling Folk Fest next weekend. I was super excited it had arrived, but when I opened it I became distraught. There was some sort of chemical splatter on the sleeve of the t-shirt and even worse, the design on the front was crooked, not by much, but enough to make this obsessive-complusive really nutso!

I panicked a little, thinking that trying to return the t-shirt and get a replacement by next week would be a hassle, these days it seems everything is a hassle. Boy, was I wrong! I called up Cafepress and explained the sitch and the customer service rep was SOOOOO friendly and apologetic. She didnt ask any questions she simply put in a new order for a t-shirt and is having it overnighted at no charge.

I then asked her how she wanted me to return the damaged t-shirt, and she told me there was no reason to return it and I could use the shirt to wear to bed or use the next time Im painting.
The entire phonecall took about three minutes. I was so stunned by the amazing service I kept saying thank you over and over and over.

I have worked in customer service in one way or another for 19 years, and I actually feel a bit embarrassed, thinking of the many times I have argued with a customer over this and that (usually they were jerks that deserved it.) This woman from cafepress, her name was Ursulla, has inspired me to bring it back down to the basics and make sure I too go above and beyond when dealing with people.

Id like to be responsible for making someones day, the way Ursulla has made mine. Cafepress.com forever!!

I'd do her.

Rachelle Rak is the sassiest diva dancer on Broadway. My obsession with her goes deep...way deep. I wanna eat her up with a demitasse spoon so I can take my time and go nice and slow. Wow, creepy much?
Watch these vids and try not to gag on her body and dancing.



Get your own spoon and join the movement here: rachellerak.com

BESTIES: MY TOP FIVE CURRENT OBSESSIONS

Tibetan metal Drum table. I want this table baaaaaaaaaad!!! And if it werent $1,000,000,000,000, dollars I would have it. There are 1,000,000,000 styles of drum tables and some are rather inexpensive but something about this one makes me crazy happy. In case any one out there has a generous heart and $1,000,000,000 dollars to spare, you can find it at Pottery Barn.





Aaliyah. This beauty tragically died so young in 1991. I can only imagine how amazing she would be now, so much better than some of the current shit out there now. Her music always brings me back to my early twenties when I was living so care free and pop r&b was at an all time high. Each of her songs triggers a distinct memory for me. Ill always love her. Dont diss the L-i-y-a-h!!



Cutoffs or cut-offs or cut offs? I know, theyve been around for fifty years. but Ive just discovered how simply marvy they are. They really do look good on guys and they're so easy and inexpensive to make. For $5.00 at your local Salvation Army and a pair of scissors you could have an entire summer set-up. Next month Im gonna be slummin it at a big weekend hippie festival and im sportin cutoffs all the way! Bloop!


Seriously though, I adore nothing more than a funny woman. I LOVE funny women and Maria Bamford is my new love. Introduced to me by my bestie Tweed, who has such a knack for finding things for me to obsess about, she has a slew of videos on youtube, including stand-up, her own web show and commercials for Target. I wish I knew her so we could share a Wegmans sub and she would make me piss my pants.


Sam Adams Cherry Wheat beer. ohhhhhh yessir! I am not a beer drinker, unless Ive met my quota of Stoli's for the night, but by then I could be drinking goat pee and I wouldn't care. I was recently introduced to this liquid magic by a good friend of mine and I havent stopped since. Though, it only tastes good when drunk (is that correct?) from a sweet beer glass.

Check your hat sir, check your coat sir, check your vest sir, check your pants!

Chita Rivera, Shirley Maclaine and Paula Kelly + Bob Fosse = Bitch please, there isnt much better than this!

Mustache of the day

Yowzers! People are just so creative, aren't they?

CHEESE OF THE WEEK Y'ALL!

* This weeks installment of "Cheese of the week y'all" is dedicated to my favorite Meredith Baxter Birney lovin' lady from Sarasota, FL - Maria DeMarco.

Manteche


Manteche is a unique cheese that is from the Pasta Filata family. During production while the cheese is still hot the Provolone is hand shaped around a 1/2 pound block of unsalted butter. Manteche is now recognized as an artisan cheese and Belgioioso is the only company producing this product. While aging, the Provolone and butter pull the flavor from each other resulting in a very unique and delicious cheese and butter. To serve slice the cheese into wedges to include both the Provolone and the butter and pair with bread or fruit. (from Manifoods.com)
This cheese is very unique and a lot of people are scared to give it a try. It makes a wonderful presentation on your table to slice in half and serve as your butter dish. People will go gaga over it.

I found this "Ode to Manteche," and wanted to share it.

Beautiful, butter-filled ball
No one knows what to do with you
You don’t seem so complicated to me

I’ll scoop out your slab,
leave you open and waiting
like a butternut squash
before the Moosewood hippies
fill you with raisins
and stick you in a communal oven

I will use your infused insides
For greasing my casserole,
savory bakings, omelettes of stature.

Then I will carve your provolone shell,
eat you with apples,
grate you into my bubbling stew,
melt you on my polenta.

Oh Manteche, people will talk.
Say, like Parrano, that you only pretend to be Italian.
Spread rumors that your name means "lard".
Declare you a heart attack encased in wax.

People will mock you
but it’s just because they are scared
Your dairy synergy is love to me.
From ( chzmongrrrweeps.livejournal.com/2826.html)

CHEESE OF THE WEEK Y'ALL!

Mozzarella di Bufala (Buffalo Mozzarella) The buffalo was introduced into Italy in the seventh century, but references to cheese products made from its milk only started to appear at the beginning of the twelfth century. Mozzarella became widespread throughout the south of Italy from the second half of the eighteenth century, before which it had only been produced in small quantities. A fresh, stringy textured cheese with porcelain-white coulor, it has an extremely thin rind and delicate taste. When cut, it produces a white watery fluid with the aroma of milk enzymes. Apart from its typical round shape, it is also produced in small bite-sized shapes and plaits. The peculiarity of this cheese is entirely due to the technology used in its traditional preparation. It is produced exclusively from whole buffalo milk and, after drawing and moulding, may also be smoked, but only using natural, traditional procedures.Buffalo milk is not for drinking and is used exclusively for making mozzarella. Indeed, it is so nutritious and so rich in fat and cassein that it would be indigestible over the breakfast table, whereas it is the best for the cheese industry. Cow's-milk mozzarella is a ball of fresh cheese swimming in brine, pleasant as ice cream but absolutely tasteless. Made out of buffalo milk, instead, it becomes an altogether different matter. By visiting one of the many small dairies scattered over the district between Caserta and Salerno, you can see the way mozzarella is made, which is a very fast process. The milk is brought in, curdled, then drained to eliminate the whey. After this the curd is cut into small pieces, then ground up in a sort of primitive mill. At this point, reduced to crumbles, the curd is put into a mold and immersed in hot water, where it is stirred until it takes on a rubbery texture. The cheesemaker kneads it with his hands, like a baker making bread, until he obtains a smooth, shiny paste, a strand of which he pulls out and lops off, forming the individual mozzarella ("mozzare" in Italian in fact means to lop off). These in turn are put into cold water and then to soak in brine. The cheese absorbs as much salt as is necessary and has to take on consistency. In the end, it must not be soft and mushy when cut but fibrous and elastic, so that if poked it springs back to its original shape. Mozzarella, prepared in the evening is ready the next morning, oozing with freshness and richly flavored. (from www.mozzarelladibufala.org) You can purchase Buff Mozz in many italian specialty shops AND at WEGMANS of course. Look for this brand when shopping.

Mustache of the day

Holy shit, I met this guy out at a bar the other night who was sportin THE MOST glorious mustache. I mean it was perfect from tip to tip! When I saw him from way across the room I swear there was a choir of angels. Not only was the mustache to die for but this fella was sexy as hell and his style was on point.

He was kind enough to pop a picture with me let me chat his ear off. Im inspired.

Love Song

So, I have Adele's new CD and it is incredible. She, like myself, has a very deep voice, so singing along with her in my auto is pure heaven. Track #10 of her new album is a remake of The Cure's "Lovesong," which is one of my favorite songs EVER!! Its so haunting, for lack of a better word. Adele's version is very slow and soulful and I soak in it. Because Im passionate ie: obsessive about things I love, I give to you both The Cure and 311's version of the song. I do love 311's version very much, and the guys are way more enjoyable to look at. You know thats right.