Ten Vermont Cheeses Worth Tasting

Along time ago, I promised to make a foodie friend a list of my favorite Vermont cheeses. There are certainly many more, but here are my top nine--with the addition of a tenth from a fellow VT cheese-lover.. Additional Vermont foods that pair well are also listed. Enjoy!

Ten Vermont Cheeses Worth Tasting 

Cabot Creamery Co-operative: Alpine Cheddar
Cabot cheddar is every day cheese to Vermonters, but this kicks it up a notch with a drier, nuttier flavor I find addictive. Yummy paired with
Vermont Smoke & Cure Summer Sausage.


Twig Farm: Goat Tomme
This was the first tomme I ever tried, and still my favorite years later. Also, I think the cheesemaker's wife practicing/teaching violin makes for happy goats. To come full circle...we often put Twig Farm cheese in out visiting artists' green room.


Maplebrook Farm: Hand Dipped Ricotta
I've been on a real ricotta binge lately, and the rich, fresh flavor of this versatile cheese just overshadows the other ricottas in the dairy aisle.


Blue Ledge Farm: Maple Chevre
You knew something maple had to make it to the list. It was not uncommon for me to have a package of Maple Chevre and Whitney's Castleton Crackers' Middlebury Maple (now Salted Maple) crackers in my office at all times.


Jasper Hill Farm: Bayley Hazen Blue
I bought this yummy blue to make homemade blue cheese dressing. It's so creamy, it covered the fact that I totally botched the recipe.


Plymouth Artisan Cheese: Garlic Peppercorn
I'm not usually partial to flavored cheddar cheese, but this makes a killer companion to a LaPlatte River Angus Farm burger.


Grafton Village Cheese Company: Shepsog
I first tasted this earthy sheep/cow cheese on a charcuterie platter at a post-concert reception in a barn in southern Vermont. Quite fitting!

Vermont Creamery: Herb Chevre
Spread this on grilled O Bread Bakery French Batard and add the slightest drizzle of Champlain Valley Apiaries Honey or Sidehill Farm's Damson Plum Jam.


Taylor Farm Cheese: Leyden Gouda
I fell in love with Leyden—with its cumin and/or caraway seed flavor—in the Netherlands. Taylor Farms doesn’t make it often, but their Maple-smoked Farmstead Gouda is another yummy choice if the Leyden isn’t available. And these Goudas pair nicely with
Jan's Farmhouse Crisps.


And lastly a recommendation from a friend: 

Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company: Lillé (Coulomierres)

Handmade in small batches, their Coulommiers-style cheese--thicker ancestor to Brie--has a northern French origin as does the name itself, Lillé.

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Walnut Serving Board and picture by J.K. Adams Co. in Dorset, VT

Dog Team Tavern Horseradish Cottage Cheese Dip

Anyone who had the pleasure of visiting the Dog Team Tavern may recall placing their order from the little blackboard at the front door, then waiting in the expansive, barn-like bar while waiting (sometimes over an hour) for a table. During that time, you would devour their infamous Horseradish Cottage Cheese Dip...served form a large bowl at the bar with wide-wale, ruffled potato chips. Rarely did one avoid stuffing oneself with chips and dip then sticky buns before the meal ever came. You can find over Dog Team recipes here>

Dog Team Tavern Horseradish Cottage Cheese Dip

Ingredients

• 16 ounces small-curd, whole-milk cottage cheese
• 1/8 cup minced horseradish root or 1/4 cup quality, jarred horseradish
• 1 tsp fresh chopped dill
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine ingredients gently but thoroughly. 
2. Let chill a few hours before serving for floors to blend. 
3. Best served with wide ruffled potato chips, pita or bagel chips, or crudités

Thanks to  bonappetit.com for posting the recipe, and mountainmamacooks.com for the picture.

Baked BBQ Chicken Wings

In the last year, our ten-year-old son's palette has finally started to expand, and this has included chicken wings. Looking for a healthier and cheaper alternative to take-out wings, we tried these wings, based on a recipe we found on Pinterest. Ingredients have been modified to utilize our favorite Vermont products where appropriate. 

Baked BBQ Chicken Wings 

Ingredients

Wings

• 3 lbs Chicken Wing pieces, tips removed
• 1 cup Gringo Jack's VT Maple Barbecue Sauce

Dry Rub

• 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 tsp Koshet Salt
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Mustard Powder
• 2 tsp Paprika
• 2 tsp VT Garlic Maple Pepper
• ½ tsp Cumin

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with non-stick spray.
3. Rinse wings then pat dry with a paper towel. Place wings in a gallon-size resealable bag.
4. Mix all dry rub ingredients together in small bowl then pour into the bag with wings, seal tightly. 
5. Shake bag to coat wings completely with dry rub.
6. Place wings onto baking sheet spaced evenly apart, discard leftover dry rub.
7. Bake 25-30 minutes, turning over once halfway through baking. 
8. Remove wings from oven and brush with barbecue sauce. Enjoy!

Recipe based on http://everydaydishes.com/simple-food-recipes/barbecue-baked-chicken-wings/

Red, White, and Blue Salsa

This is the other recipe I brought to the July 4th potluck. It was another Pinterest find, and I was so excited to make it since our local market just started carrying jicama.

I was pleasantly surprised by the nice crisp bite, and mix of sweet and slight heat, in this patriotic salsa. Credit for this festive recipe and the colorful photo belong to Two Peas and their Pod. I will certainly be exploring more of their site!

Red, White, and Blue Salsa

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh Blueberries
• 1 cup diced Strawberries
• 1 cup diced Jicama
• 1/3 cup chopped Cilantro
• 1/4 cup finely chopped Red Onion
• 2 TBSP finely chopped Jalapeno Pepper, stemmed and seeded
• Juice of 1 large Lime
• Salt, to taste
• Tortilla chips, for serving

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine blueberries, strawberries, jicama, cilantro, red onion, jalapeno, and lime juice. 
2. Stir until well combined. Season with salt, to taste. 
3. Serve with tortilla chips at room temperature or chilled. Best eaten the day it is made.

Artichoke Dip

This simple recipe is a weekend

favorite which we'll eat as dinner

instead of an appetizer. It is worth

noting that I do not use marinated

artichoke hearts in order to avoid

adding additional oil/fat to the

recipe.

Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

• 14 oz. can Artichoke Hearts
• 3 firm, plum tomatoes
• 1 cup mayonnaise***
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan/Romano cheese
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• Garlic Maple Pepper* to taste
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Drain and then chop artichoke hearts
3. Dice tomatoes
4. Combine artichokes, tomatoes, mayo, grated pram, garlic and maple pepper in a medium bowl.
5. Spread in an ungreased 1qt glass or stoneware casserole or pie plate (metal pan not recommended)
6. Lightly cover dip with shaved Parmesan
7. Bake uncovered 30 minutes
8. Cool 5 minutes before serving
9. Serve with crackers, tortilla or pita chips, veggies, or our new favorite "Masclun" bread**

*Maple Pepper by Highland Foods
**Masclun bread by Good Companion Bakery
***Update: My mother-in-law recommends doing a 1/2 cup mayo and a 1/2 cup sour cream.

cc image courtesy of stetted