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October 31, 2005
Le Lingot du Quercy
Oh, my. It was bound to happen... on Halloween, nonetheless. I've met a cheese I do not like. There. I said it.
This was an unfortunate one... it was recommended by someone who shall remain nameless. When I remarked that Humboldt Fog was a personal favorite, they suggested I try this one. I've decided they don't like me.
Le Lingot du Quercy would be a raw goat's milk cheese, but because it is younger than the 60 day aging requirement imposed by the FDA, it's gotta be pasteurized. Damn them! Maybe. Perhaps, just perhaps, the pasteurization process is so offensive to this cheese that it injects the distinct taste of... hmmm.... ass? which so offends me.
The cheese does resemble an ingot. Whoo. That's about as close to gold as it gets. It's a pungent, tangy cheese with a flavor that might have reminded me of Camembert were it not for the overpowering tones of, well, ass. It's a runny cheese, nearly liquid, in fact, you could almost eat it with a spoon. Yum! Spoonfuls of ass!
Okay, I'm just going to stop now. I did not like this cheese.
Posted by Dave! Permalink | Comments (4)
October 30, 2005
Neal's Yard Spenwood
It's time once again for a raw ewe's milk cheese! Today's offering comes from a UK dairy, Neal's Yard and the selection is their Spenwood.
This is a hard, semi-dry cheese, made from unpasteurized ewe's milk. The folks at Neal's describe it as a "nutty, sweet cheese with a translucent appearance and a smooth texture." I'd agree, for the most part. It does have a hint on a nutty taste to it, but I wouldn't quite call it smooth... it's harder, like a Parmigiano-Reggiano, but not as crumbly. It does have a pretty good "melt in your mouth" factor to it, probably as a result of a higher fat content. The flavor is very nice, mild, but with just an ever-so-tiny nod to cheddar that it makes a fine snackin' cheese. Jolly good!
Posted by Dave! Permalink
October 16, 2005
Castelo Branco
Today's cheese was a Castelo Branco, which is another raw ewe's milk cheese, this time from the Beiras region in Portugal. It's a semi-soft cheese, light yellow in color, pocked with small holes throughout. Some reports I read indicated that it's sometimes made with a mix of ewe and goat milk, although my cheese monger indicated this sample was ewe's milk. The flavor is mild, but with a tweak of an acidic sourness, not quite citrus-like, and reminiscent of a goat's milk cheese (with a much higher fat content). Definitely worth a try although not my favorite of the ewe's milk cheeses I've tried so far.
Posted by Dave! Permalink | Comments (1)
October 5, 2005
Integrity
It's nice to see some in the music business:
"People lost their virginity to this music, got high for the first time to this music," Densmore said. "I've had people say kids died in Vietnam listening to this music, other people say they know someone who didn't commit suicide because of this music�. On stage, when we played these songs, they felt mysterious and magic. That's not for rent."
That's Doors drummer John Densmore on his refusal to license "Break on Through (to the Other Side)" to Cadillac, even though they offered the Doors $15M for the song. Rock 'n roll, man, rock 'n roll.
[Via Boing Boing]
Posted by Dave! Permalink
October 4, 2005
Harriet Miers
Blah blah blah Harriet Miers blah blah blah.
Let's do the numbers:
| SCOTUS Judicial Experience1 | ||
| Experience | Number of Justices | Percentage |
| None2 | 26 | 23.85% |
| Political3 | 24 | 22.02% |
| Solicitor General | 3 | 2.75% |
| Attorney General | 9 | 8.26% |
| Governor | 4 | 3.67% |
| Senator | 7 | 6.42% |
| President | 1 | 0.92% |
| State Court Judges | 42 | 38.53% |
| Federal District Judges | 7 | 6.42% |
| Federal Appeals Court Judges | 27 | 24.77% |
| Judical Experience Total | 76 | 69.72% |
1All data from the Oyez Project
2No significant political experience as defined by the category breakout following
3Total based on the category breakout
I have a complete breakdown by Justice in this spreadsheet for the geeky amoung you.
Posted by Dave! Permalink | Comments (1)
October 2, 2005
Ossau-Iraty
Tonight's cheese was Ossau-Iraty, which is a French ewe's milk cheese. Wow, it's good, good stuff. I'm surprised they let it out of France, they usually horde the best stuff. Ossau-Iraty is actually an AOC cheese (that's Appellation d�Origine Contr�l�e) which means that it's regionally produced under strict quality guidelines. The Ossau-Iraty is one of only 3 AOC cheeses made from ewe's milk. (Another favorite of mine is Roquefort.)
This is only the third ewe's milk cheese I've had, the second being this Swaledale Ewes Cheese in England. I have to say, I'm a big fan.
Like the Swaledale, the Ossau-Iraty has a heavier or thicker feel in your mouth than a cow or goat's milk cheese. It has a mild, but distinct flavor, almost nutty, and I thought kind of like a very mild, much softer Parmesan. Another keeper of a cheese.
Posted by Dave! Permalink
October 1, 2005
Zapatista
There's a new Mexican restaurant in our neighborhood, called
Zapatista so my wife (who loves Mexican food) and I decided to try it out tonight.
The head chef is from the less-than-stellar Adobo Grill and there are several touches that give that away... like the guacamole made fresh table side. Only in our case, it was made fresh 15 feet away at the bar and brought to us, I don't know why. We ordered it "hot" (as we are wont to do) and it was anything but. Seriously, I've had hotter oatmeal. But that doesn't mean it wasn't good--the ingredients were all fresh and it was quite tasty. But not hot.
My wife had the chilies rellenos which were decent, but nothing special. One was cheese, the other stuffed with chicken, and while good quality, they just weren't very flavorful. The same, however, could not be said of my fajitas, which were incredible (with one flaw I'll get to in a minute). The meat was stewed along with cheese and onions in this stone?iron? pot and the flavors were really outstanding. However, their tortillas bite. I mean, they suck. Seriously, how can you have bad tortillas at a Mexican restaurant?! I don't know, but they do. Awful.
In the end, it was a decent meal (despite my tortillas). A little pricey for the inconsistent quality; however, I might return in a few months after they are more settled-in to see if the minor inconsistencies have been worked out.
Posted by Dave! Permalink