A new cheese shop has opened in Edmonton. It was recommended to me by a friend in Vancouver and the grand opening was on Saturday. Located in Terwilliger, it is a little far away from our place...but to be honest, it only takes 10 - 15 minutes to get anywhere in Edmonton. Gone are the day of insane Vancouver traffic jams!
The shop is tastefully designed with bright cherry red walls. Remember to look up when you enter; the ceiling is pressed metal - very cool! They offer a wide number of cheesey items, like knives, boards etc. There is also a lovely selection of mustards, jams, quice pastes, oils, vinegars and crackers to suit any cheese meal. Chad was in dairy heaven...he didn't talk for the first 10 minutes because of all the samplings he was devouring.
We eventually made it to the cheese cabinet. It was heartily stocked and we gravitated to the King Island blue cheese from Australia. The tasting was ample, the cheese was soft, velvety-melt-in-your-mouth, but as we are going there soon, we thought we would be a little more adventurous. We asked for recommendations and here's what we bought:
Our choices...
Barely Buzzed: Utah
It is hand rubbed with a Turkish grind of the Beehive blend from Colorado Legacy Coffee Co. French Superior Lavender buds are also ground into the coffee, so the cheese has a unique lavender after taste. This was our favourite find of the day and it reminded us of Oguz, our dancing Turkish friend.
Le 1608: Laiterie Charlevois, QC
Made with raw Canadienne milk. Canadienne is the indigenous pedigree cow of Canada first bred by colonists in 1608. It is a lovely Oka-style cheese with a washed rind.
Queso Valedon: Spain Castilla Leon
A mix of goat and cows milk creates a smooth yet crumbly blue cheese.Wrapped in Sycamore leaves, this was my personal favourite. It is spicy, but not too strong. A sip of wine complements the taste beautifully.
Mimolette Extra-Vielle: France
Extra old, smoky and has a kick to it. It is like eating a curmudgeonly old man. Absolutely delicious when paired with a slice of Sopressata salami.
After the cheese shop, we hit up the Italian Centre for some cured meats. They had trays of figs on sale for $3.49, so I picked one up. We love the Italian Centre; the coffee is strong, the cakes are to die for and I always feel like the Godfather will walk in the door at any moment. Imagine the whole of Commercial Street in Vancouver within 3000 sq. ft. (minus the homeless) and you have The Italian Centre. It's the real deal.
Dinner:
I had more figs than I could poke a stick at and figured that if I didn't start cooking with them immediately, they would rot quickly. So, I got creative! I doused them in balsamic and roasted them for 20 minutes. I chopped up pecans and heated them in a pan with grape seed oil and honey. After I added the figs, I drizzled more balsamic and honey and let it simmer and reduce. I then peppered and salted chicken and pan seared it in the left-over fig juice on the baking tray. Meanwhile, I cut up strips of haloumi cheese and asparagus and cooked the two together in the cooked chicken juice. I roasted the butternut squash in the oven for 40 minutes. Below is the result. We began our meal with an appetizer of the yummy cheeses we purchased from Everything Cheese and sipped a simple glass of Rosemount Shiraz. Delicioso!
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| our appetizer of delectable cheeses...please excuse the football on the TV |
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| fig and honey balsamic pecan reduction |
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| chicken. self-explanatory, i guess. |
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| haloumi and asparagus |
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| a nice sunday meal |
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| FIGS! |
2 comments:
Oh that looks fantastic! Might have to make a date night to go and sample the new cheese shop!
Yes! It is a beautiful shop and the cheeses are d-lish.
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