Whose Big Basket in the Lake at the Cheese Factory?

We've had some crazy requests to do events on the Cheese Factory grounds through the years, although this past weekend was one of our more wacky ones. Lawrence Batterton from Woodacre emailed us to see if he could float test a giant Picnic Basket in the lake, which he is racing in the upcoming Kinetic Grand Championship," the Triathlon of the Art World." The race, which goes from Arcata to Ferndale, is 41 miles long and covers sand dunes, bridges and even the Humboldt Bay. It is quite an event, taking place Memorial Day Weekend. They arrived with a team of people and put the 14 feet long by 7 feet wide basket in the water. Success!!!

Triple Crème Brie, Fruit and Nut Delight

Serves 5

1 - 8 oz. Rouge et Noir Triple Crème Brie
2 – kiwi fruits
5 - strawberries
1 – small basket of blueberries
5 – glazed walnuts
5 – glazed pansies
Lavender or other honey – enough to lightly drizzle on top of Brie
Seasonal fresh fruit that is sweet and not too acidic (sour), may be substituted

• Cut Rouge et Noir Triple Crème Brie into 5 equal wedges and place on a dessert plate.

• Wash all fruit.

• Slice strawberries and kiwi into approximately 3/16” slices

• Arrange fruit around the Brie.

• Place walnut and flower in the center of the brie.

• Lightly drizzle honey on top of the Brie just prior to serving.

• Can be prepared up to 8 hours prior to serving if covered in plastic.

• Best served at room temperature. May be taken out of refrigeration up to 60 minutes prior to serving. Keep wrapped in plastic in order to prevent the fruit from drying out.

Serves 5

Sample Artisan Cheeses, Local Wines & Dance it Off @ Café Cocomo

Click on Image to inlarge flyer

Marin French Cheese Co. in association with Café Cocomo is beginning its summer series of monthly Sunday Salsa, Cheese & Wine on Sunday, May 2, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. We will spend the first two hours socializing in the outdoor patio; eating delicious handmade cheese from America’s oldest cheese producer, tasting fine local California wines. At about 3:00 pm, after everyone is a relaxed and comfortable, our professional salsa instructors will teach you the basics on how to properly move your body to the sexy rhythm of salsa. After this event the Sunday evening La Milonga (Tango) party begins at 7:00pm. The idea behind this program is to introduce the exciting rhythms of salsa music and the sexy dance to people who love wine and cheese but might be intimidated by the idea of stepping out onto the dance floor. Inversely we are introducing folks who would typically shy away from the pretentious world of fine wine and cheese to a new sense of appreciation and enjoyment. Café Cocomo is the ideal setting for such an event. The club is going on 15 years of weekly salsa dancing and an on going Sunday Milonga (Tango) evening. Café Cocomo has earned the following awards: USA TODAY: Voted 3rd best salsa club in the nation, SF Bay Guardian: Best Salsa Club - 2004-2009: City Best Night club - 2006-2009, SF Weekly: Best salsa club – 2007 and Zagat: rated Excellent. For more information, contact Maxx Sherman maxx@marinfrenchcheese.com (415) 317-5609

4th Annual Cheese Festival in Petaluma

Chefs Jason and Alicia from Jackson's Restaurant in Santa Rosa

Here we were again at the 4^th annual Artisan Cheese festival hosted by The Sheraton in Petaluma, Ca. We sampled seven of our cheese’s including the Petit Dejeuner, our most recent award winner. It was named “Best in The U.S’ at the World Cheese Awards! Another was our newest cheese, the Mélange Camembert, made with half goat and half cow’s milk – 2010 World Championship Cheese Competition Award Winner. We also sampled out our corporate chefs latest creation, a Schloss and ham spread to die for. The recipe is on our web site HERE. Everything was a BIG hit! Six hours later, the crowd of over 1,400 savored everything we brought and in the end, only a few wheels of cheese remained. Notable critics and authors, like Laura Werlin, were there for book signings. The weather turned out to be incredible, rendering the huge tents pointless and despite the huge crowd, everyone seemed to make their way through the event with ease. Of course, they were perfectly willing to wait in line to taste our Petit Dejeuner.

Thank you to the Sheraton and we hope to see all of you there next year.

San Francisco International Chocolate Salon

We had a sweet time at the 4^th annual San Francisco International Chocolate Salon, presented by Taste TV at Fort Mason. With over 50.000 sq ft of chocolate, wine and cheese, it was no wonder everyone was smiling. Right from the start, we had a line of more than 25 people eager for a sampling and it stayed that way for the entire event. Imagine, over 5,000 people were there to taste chocolate and we could barely keep up with the demand to sample our cheese! These discriminating chocoholics couldn’t resist our corporate chef’s delicious Triple Creme Brie and bittersweet chocolate Tartlet. And, the Mélange Brie and other award winning tastes were also a big hit. KCBS food critique, Narcie David stopped by to enjoy our award winning Artisan cheeses and was greatly intrigued with our chef’s amazing Schloss spread. Keep in mind, all of our recipes can be found HERE.

February wrap up and March upcoming events

February was a very busy month for Marin French Cheese. We served up our delicious cheese and Schloss Spread at the Make A Wish benefit, paired our cheeses with about 70 awesome Petit Syrahs at Dark & Delicious, served 3,000 people at the Chronicle Wine and Food event at Fort Mason and then off to Sonoma for the Sonoma Valley Cheese Conference.

This month in March we will be partying at the Amnesia Bar in San Francisco with Gordon Edgar, the author of "Cheese Monger" and mixing it up with Cheese and Chocolate at the S.F. Chocolate Salon in Fort Mason. And, then the Grandest of all cheese events begins on March 26th. The California Artisan Cheese Festival will begin with a Barn Dance and Cheesemaker Mixer at the Green String Farm in Petaluma .

To follow our upcoming events go to http://www.marinfrenchcheese.com or become our friend on Facebook HERE.

Chef Phillip's Marin French Blue Apple Tower

On Sunday, February 21, Marin French Cheese Company joined with many other cheese makers, cheese book authors and fine food producers for the Sonoma Valley Cheese Conference at MacArthur Place in Sonoma. Marin French was paired up with chef Phillip Kaufman of Sea Ranch Lodge in Mendocino.

Chef Phillip produced a delicious hors d'oeuvre called the "Marin French Blue Apple Tower." This very simple dishes pops with flavor in your mouth. The crisp apple if sour, compliments the creamy and sweet sensation of the Triple Creme Blue Cheese. In addition it is easy and fast to make.

Marin French Blue Apple Tower

1 wheel Marin French Blue cheese

or substitute with Le Petite Bleu

1 Fuji Apple or other sweet apple

1 bunch green grapes

Turbinado sugar (raw sugar)

1/2c fig balsamic vinegar

1/2c huckleberries

Start by placing fig balsamic vinegar and huckleberries in a saucepan.

Over med heat reduce mixture by half. Set aside.

Next using an apple corer start at stem end of apple and cut out three cylinders.

Slice each cylinder into half-inch circles.

Slice grapes in half

To assemble tower:

Start with an apple circle. Top it with a slice of cheese to cover.

Place a grape slice on plate and sprinkle with sugar.

Using a bakery torch caramelize the sugar.

Place caramelized grape half on top of cheese.

Drizzle reduction over towers.

Serve using toothpicks