More Fun Playing Slowly with Baricelli Cheese

Saturday December 13, the Northern Ohio Convivium of Slow Food hosted its Second Annual Wine and Cheese Tasting at The Baricelli Inn in Cleveland's Little Italy. Chef Paul Minillo treated us to an amazing buffet of 18 cheeses!

We began with a choice of red or white wine; I actually preferred the white with the cheeses.





I went through and photographed the cheeses before we started, which is why several of them are still whole.

We began with an introduction from one of our Slow Food directors, Kari Moore.



Then, Chef Paul explained the delights we were about to sample, and offered some tasting suggestions.




Crackers and Breads from On The Rise Bakery

Our first two cheeses were sourced from Lake Erie Creamery.



Unfortunately, the Goat Cheese sign is obscuring the rounds of Blooma. The goat cheese is creamy and delicious.





The Burrata is a rare and special cheese - Chef Paul kept it under wraps until the very moment of service, then plated it himself. Burrata - which means "buttered" in Italian - can be thought of as mozzerella on steroids (steroids made of cream).


Chef Extracts the Burrata From the Packaging


Chef Was Not Expecting a Leafy Wrapping - is it a Leek? Asphodel?




Chef begins to portion out the Burrata




Condiments for the Burrata Plate

A cheese this special deserves some special treatment!











Oh yes, there were several other USA-made cheeses on the right side of the room for us to taste!






Meadow Creek Dairy Appalachian

I know the sign says Greyson - but the next photo is the Greyson. These were our two favorites after the Burrata; we took home some of the Appalachian.


Meadow Creek Dairy Greyson








Accompaniments Galore!


My USA Cheese Tasting Plate

The Lake Erie Blooma is at 11 o'clock.

The left side of the room featured two tables of cheeses. First, four Italian cheeses, then six French cheeses.


The Italians











Next came the French cheeses - most of which were just too strong for my palate (my loss). But those among us who love French cheeses confirmed that they were top notch.





I was really surprised that I couldn't get myself to like the muenster - but it was just too strong for me.







We hit the Camembert at the perfect moment of ripeness. I enjoyed the creamy center on the beautiful On the Rise bread.







I really liked the flesh of the Brin D'Amour - which had an herbaceous nose and taste. I even liked the moldy rind - a very small dab of it.

Chef Paul really outdid himself this year - I don't know how he could possibly top this tasting! Still - he's got a lot of great cheesy secrets in his cheese cooler! Baricelli sells these fantastic cheeses at retail all week long. So - if you want to have some fun playing with "slow" cheeses that are lovingly procured and cared for - Baricelli Inn is your place.

Fun Playing with Slow Food for a Great Cause

Last night, Slow Food Northern Ohio filled Bar Cento to capacity with folks supporting Slow Food Northern Ohio’s 2008 Terra Madre delegates and programs. A star-studded cast of Cleveland Chefs contributed their talents (and more important - their comestibles) to a groaning board of a buffet.

While people waited on line, we asked them to consider purchasing raffle tickets to further support sending our Northeast Ohio Convivium's team to Turin this year. Tickets are still available for the Terra Madre Raffle. Grand Prize: Trip for two to Turin, Italy for the Slow Food Salone del Gusto, October 2008. Other fabulous prizes will include: cooking class by Iron Chef, Michael Symon, dinners by Terra Madre chefs, and more! There are still raffle tickets available (up to a maximum of 200) at $125 each. Contact Linda Griffith at hotcookLG@roadrunner.com to purchase raffle tickets. The drawing will be conducted at Lolita Restaurant on August 11, 2008, but you do not have to be present to win.

There was so much food, it was impossible to photograph (or sample) it all. My only complaint was that there was no way to know who made what, unless you happened to be standing in the right place when a Chef brought a plate out. So, while I have done my best, I implore any of the participants who read this to add Comments attributing ingredients and/or Chefs to the various dishes.


Yes - Chaty Matty (Chef Matt Harlan) of Lolita was in the house and roasting pig!


The Chefs and their assistants do the conga in the kitchen


Chilled Sweet Pea Soup Begins the Tasting, Jonathon Sawyer, Bar Cento


Assorted Salumi, Cheeses and Accompaniments, Cheeses by the Baricelli Inn







This brie was my favorite cheese - I could have eaten a big hunk of this with On the Rise Bread and a glass of wine, and been a happy girl!




Pate, David Uecke, Anthe’s on the Lake

Gravlox, David Uecke, Anthe's

Which I did not get to taste and I am bummed by that. It looked fabulous.


Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad, David Uecke, Anthe's


Second Beet Salad

Tasted as good as it looks! I didn't get any of the first one, unfortunately.


Costini Topped with Terrine (I'm not sure what kind of meat)

Don't remember if I tasted this or not.


Croquets



I believe these fried morsels contained fish. Whatever it was - I loved them! I am told that Bar Cento made them! Now that I have a menu - I think these were made from Salt Cod.



This was a cold salad - I'm not sure what the protein was.


Pizza with Goat Cheese and Duck Fat

The kitchen just kept churning these out.



This crostinti was topped with turkey and sour cherry sauce - one of the dishes I did not get to taste.

Breads from On The Rise Bakery, Adam & Jennifer Gidlow


Roasted Goat Roulade with Quail Eggs and Goat Sausage


Papperdelle with Duck and Fresh Berries, Paul Minillo, Baricelli Inn

At least for this dish, I was in the right place at the right time to get all the scoop! This was one of my favorites - I'm a sucker for fresh pasta and duck!


Roast Pig with Diced Peaches, Matt Harlan, Lolita

I asked Chaty where the corn came from this early in the season. He laughed and said these kernel shaped morsels were fresh peaches (with a nod to his French Laundry days). So they were - and most delicious!


Poached Pears with Creme Fresche

I did not get a taste of this lovely baked fruit. I did get to taste the other dessert:




Lemon Tarragon Ice Topped With Fresh Berries and Brown Sugar Crumble, Steve Schimoler, Crop Bistro

A refreshing dessert after this amazing dinner.

There were other items I did not get to photograph - most notable, a bouillabaisse with monkfish, clam and mussel that was divine. There was also a loaf of head cheese (which I tasted, and I have to agree with George Carlin on this one - it is a food that sounds too funny to eat - I just couldn't like it). And I know that I tasted foie gras on a crostini that I don't see in my photos - that dish was a Foie Gas Torchon.

That is part of the fun of an event like this - a plate is emptied, and perhaps refilled with something different. Since it is all wonderful, it matters not whether one gets to taste every single thing.

The goat came from Lucky Penny Farm, Turkey from Goatfeather's Point Farm, Katadhin Lamb and Chicken from Miller Livestock.

Chef Rocco Whelan of Fahrenheit did one or more of the salads, including a fabulous panzanella , built on a a variety of heirloom grape tomatoes, with cheese, croutons and olive oil dressing. Even after we were stuffed, Bob kept sneaking bites of tomato! I'm sorry that I didn't get a photo of it.

Please - help me fill in the gaps so that everyone who contributed gets the credit they so deserve for helping make this dinner happen. A grand time was had by all, playing with food (and wine) for a great cause.