The Cookery and American Meltdown to Host “Artisan Cheese Fest”

No matter what happens next month, it's sure to be cheesy - and for area foodies, that's a very, very good thing.

Triangle residents will be able to sample a variety of cheeses, charcuterie, bread, wine, and even cheesecakes at The Cookery Saturday, June 29th from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm.  The event, which is promoted as “for the fromagaholic in all of us,” will take place in the Front Room, The Cookery’s event space on West Chapel Hill Street.

“We at American Meltdown are, of course, pretty passionate about cheese,” said Paul Inserra, who owns the American Meltdown food truck with his wife, Alycia Inserra.  “I’m confident everyone will leave this fest with new flavor knowledge and a discovery about selecting cheese.”

Participating businesses for this free event include event co-organizer American Meltdown, which will be serving gourmet melts out of it’s food truck on the patio, Chapel Hill Creamery, Cultured Cow Creamery, Elodie Farms, Hillsborough Cheese Company, Holly Grove Farms, La Farm Bakery, Southern Season, Whole Foods, and Cookery members Milk and Honey Bakery, and This Little Piggie Charcuterie.  In addition, a “Dueling Ricottas” demonstration will be hosted by Billy Cotter of Toast and Matthew Daniels of Triangle Raw Foods, and wine tastings by Wine Authorities will take place upstairs on the mezzanine.  The Front Room bar will also be open, offering local draught beers, wine, and hand crafted cocktails.

“When we opened the Front Room, we set out to serve as a space to celebrate local culinary talent with the community,” said Rochelle Johnson, who co-owns The Cookery with her husband, Nick Hawthorne-Johnson.  “We get especially excited when we can open our doors to the public and revel in fabulous food, like the cheeses available right here in our area.”

For more information on great events in Durham, visit the Durham Event Calendar, and remember that since Durham is The Tastiest Town in the South, to use the hashtag #DurhamIsTastiest! when sharing news of Durham's food scene on social media.

Fall Finds at Durham Farmers' Market

Market Finds
This week Durham Farmers' Market-goers will begin seeing the season's first fresh ginger!  Fresh ginger looks a little different than ginger you see in the grocery store.  It has a very thin, edible skin and has little pink nubs on it.  Fresh ginger is less fibrous than other ginger and it has a somewhat milder taste.

Shoppers will also find locally grown peanuts and the first popcorn of the season. Popping corn is a different variety of corn from the type that you eat on the cob, in fact, it is a very ancient type of corn.  The varieties of corn that are good for popping have strong hulls that are impervious to water.  The kernels contain a certain amount of moisture and oils that make it good for popping.

Results from The 2011 Chef Challenge
In case you missed it last week, the Chef Challenge was very exciting.  And the secret ingredient, according to all of the chefs, was a real challenge... Okra! All the chefs put together amazing dishes that featured okra.  For an in depth coverage of the Challenge, read Bryan Christopher's (one of the judges) post on his blog Searching for Sicily. 

Chef Billy Cotter of TOAST defended his 2010 Chef Challenge Champ title and became the 2011 Champ! Thanks to Chefs Andy Magowan of Geer Street Garden and Josh DeCarolis from Dos Perros for competing.  Also, a big thank you to the judges, Johanna Kramer, Bryan Christopher, Heather Greer Klein and Ross Grady.  Thanks for Frank Stasio for serving as our emcee, Tom Dawson for creating the trophy and WXDU for the use of their sound system.


Fresh this Week
Fruit:  Apples, Pears, Scuppernong Grapes, Watermelon, Peaches 
Vegetables:  Peanuts, Ginger, Popcorn, Asian Greens, Arugula, Beans, Longbeans, Beets, Butterbeans, Cherry Tomatoes, Corn, Collards,  Cucumbers,  Dandelion Greens, Eggplant, Garlic, Gourds, Herbs,  Mustard Greens, Kale, Lambs Quarter,  Lettuce,  Okra, Onions, Pea Shoots, Peppers, Potatoes, Purple Hull Peas, Pumpkins, Salad Mix, Shiitake Mushrooms, Sweet Potatoes, Swiss Chard,  Summer Squash,   Tomatoes,  Winter Squash, Zucchini
Flowers:   Asiatic Lillies, Celosia, Dahlia, Gomphrena, Gladiolus, Lisianthus, Sunflowers, Tuber Rose, Zinnia
Meats: Beef, Bison, Chicken, Duck, Goat/Chevon, Lamb, Rabbit, Pork
And: Fall Vegetable Seedlings, Honey, Chicken and Duck Eggs, Flour, Yellow & White Cornmeal, Grits, Pecans, Wines, Fresh and Aged Goats and Cows Milk Cheeses, Baked Goods, Pasta, Beer, Wine, Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Preserves, Wool, Landscaping Plants
Crafts: Hand-dyed Clothes, Jewelery, Baskets, Pottery, Stained Glass Art, Woodwork, Photographs, Soaps

Eat Pie and Be Merry!

The 3rd Annual SEEDS Pie Social is this Sunday April 10th from 2-6 pm at the SEEDS Garden, 706 Gilbert St in Durham. Suggested donation of $10 comes with up to four slices of pie.  Proceeds benefit the Durham Inner-city Gardeners (DIG) program at SEEDS.

DIG is a youth-driven, urban farming leadership development program that empowers young people by teaching organic gardening and healthy life skills while providing them with meaningful employment and job skills. Pies are being generously donated by local Triangle restaurants and bakers including Toast, Watts Grocery, Scratch Bakery, Foster’s, Durham Catering, Daisy Cakes and more.