The Culinary Works

This past weekend we went to Petaluma and wandered around.  While there, we stopped by Spring Hill Cheese Company.  Initially I was surprised that the products were familiar as I hadn’t been there before, then I realized I had purchased them before at a farmers market in Sacramento!

The store is small but the young lady working the counter was very sweet.  They have a tasting station all set up to allow you to sample all of their products.  This is like heaven to me, I love love love cheese.  I also applaud them for encouraging people to taste so they can buy what they know they will like.   

They were all good, Sage Cheddar, Firehouse Cheddar, all the goat cheeses, but one in particular really surprised me.  The smoked cheddar was amazing!!  I have to confess that I am not a fan of smoked ‘stuff’.  Most of these products are artificially smoked so the taste is off or over smoked, so all I get is smoke taste, which isn’t the point.  But this cheese was really done well.  It was balanced with a nice cheddar flavor and a hint of mouthy smoke. 

We took some home, along with several others, a pile really, and the first thing I did was wrap a piece in Salami and wow, very nice.  The mild smoke knows how to marry with the rich salty meaty flavors.  A couple days later, I made a Quesadilla with it and it gave the roasted vegetables more substance and a boost to the flavor, something you wouldn’t normally expect.  The roasted tomato salsa I made was a nice compliment.  I am going to pile some on a BBQ Burger this weekend. It’s gotta happen!! 

I felt the need to share this with you because it’s so unusual for me to like a smoked product.  Check Spring Hill out at the following link, or look for them at your local farmers market:

http://www.springhillcheese.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SHCC&Category_Code=smoked

On another note, we also bought a tub of their Lemon Quark.  The following morning Mark made French toast with Rosemary Lemon bread.  I slathered it with the Lemon Quark and I’m telling you, it was a beautiful combination of sweet and savory, herby goodness.  Marks exact words were “That is crazy good” and I couldn’t have said it better myself!