The ol' post-dinner post

Meet the Cheesemaker Dinner
June 23, 2011
Tayst Restaurant, Nashville

This past Thursday Tayst Restaurant and The Bloomy Rind hosted an evening of cheese, cheese, and more cheese. Five glorious courses of it, in fact.

We were incredibly fortunate to be joined by cheesemakers from three Tennessee creameries: Nathan and Padgett Arnold of Sequatchie Cove Creamery, Dustin Noble of Noble Springs Dairy, and Adam Spannaus of Locust Grove Farm. They each chatted about their farms, how they came into cheesemaking, and answered many a cheese query. Cheesemakers and dairy farmers are busy folks, to say the least, so I'm extra special grateful they were able to make time to be with us.

Cheesemaker introductions
(l to r: Nathan, Padgett, Adam, Dustin)

Chef Barlow and his crew created five stunners that let each cheese shine...

Noble Springs Chevre

corn coulis, roasted beets, basil oil

Sequatchie Cove Cumberland Pie

fingerling potatoes, fresh herbs, honey

Sequatchie Cove Coppinger

summer vegetable fricassee, tomato water

Locust Grove La Mancha Reserve

lamb leg, greens, red wine reduction

Locust Grove Clinch River

Cheesecake, smoked peaches, berries(hopefully), basil puree

Big thanks to everyone who attended! I received a couple of super sweet notes today about the dinner:

"We LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the cheesemakers dinner... I swear the whole evening was divine - the food, the company, the information, the wine, and the goodie bag. We are so glad we got to come." - Amy and Erin

"I just wanted to say again how much John and I enjoyed the cheesemaker’s dinner last week. The food was, as usual, fabulous including the cheeses and I am so heartened to see this kind of interest and activity in Nashville." - Beth

So there ya have it, a brief recap of the evening. Again, many thanks to everyone involved. Look for some more curd-centric events in the coming months.

Awesome new cheeses this week

Consider Bardwell Farm Rupert: 29 lbs o' heaven

Heyheyhey,

I've got some new cheeses in this week that I'm pretty darn excited about. The first two are from Consider Bardwell Farm in Vermont, where I took a cheesemaking class about a year and a half ago. What a beautiful place to learn about cheese, eh? On hand this weekend are Dorset, a buttery, pungent washed rind cheese, and Rupert, an aged Alpine style cheese that I recall adoring and can't wait to cut into today. **Update: I cut into both of them, and they are mighty tasty!**

Twig Farm Washed Rind

Twig Farm Washed Rind cheese is another new one for me. I've tasted some of their other cheeses, but this is my first encounter with this rustic cow and goat milk beauty. It's super creamy inside, so it will be interesting how I manage to portion it out. Hmmm...

Jasper Hill Farm Constant Bliss

And from one of our favorite cheesemakers, Jasper Hill Farm, I just received Moses Sleeper and Constant Bliss, two of their lovely softer cheeses that are new to the 'Rind. As a fun surprise, I got some late in the season Winnimere in all its bacon-y, creamy, slightly stinky delightfulness. When this Winnimere is gone, it's gone 'til next year!

A little closer to home, Ellington and Chocolate Lab from Looking Glass Creamery are back in stock, along with plenty o' sheeps milk goodies from Knoxville's Locust Grove Farm.

And soooo much more!

The week's schedule for the cheese stand...
Saturday: Nashville Farmers Market (10a-2p)
Tuesday: NFM's Centennial Park Market (3-6p, under the event shelter near the airplane)
Wednesday: East Nashville Farmers Market (3:30-6:30p)
And everyday at Provence in Hillsboro Village

As always, please drop me a note if you'd like me to hold something for you or if you have any special requests. kathleen(at)thebloomyrind(dot)com

Cheers,
Kathleen

Cheese stand schedule this week

Lots of chances to get your cheese fix this week! The 'Rind will be at the following spots this week...

Monday > Long Hungry Creek Farm CSA pickup
Tuesday > NFM's Centennial Park Market (3-6p, under the event shelter)
Wednesday > East Nashville Farmers Market (3:30-6:30p)
Saturday > Nashville Farmers Market (10a-2p)
And everyday at Provence in Hillsboro Village!

As always, feel free to drop me a note if you have any special requests or you'd like me to hold something for you. kathleen(at)thebloomyrind(dot)com

Cheers,
Kathleen