Happy Independence Day

Watched the fireworks from 902 Hart last night with Hemen, Anna, Sylvia and Tim. Hemen took some fantastic photos.

Quasi-Mediterranean Pasta

Defrosting my fridge tonight (every 3 or 4 months, it starts sounding like there's an idling moped in my kitchen) so wanted to use up some of the spoilables inside -- namely a tub of ricotta that I ordered from Peapod this weekend.

I wasn't in the mood for anything super fancy, so while I was boiling water for pasta, I threw into a small bowl:

• A small handful of Kalamata olives (pitted)
• A clove of garlic
• A tablespoon of olive oil
• A few shakes of lemon pepper
• About a quarter cup plus of the ricotta

I turned it all into a paste with a hand-held stick blender, and tossed it with some linguini, and topped it with some of the cherry tomatoes from my front yard. All in all, it took about 5 minutes of effort (not including the time to make the pasta). I'm pretty sure I'll be trying this again -- nice, simple and tasty.

Tim Russert

I was on a certain website this afternoon and noticed that someone had posted a link titled [RIP] Tim Russert.jpg and thought to myself "nah, it's gotta be a hoax". What a shock to discover that it was true. As long as I can remember following politics as an adult, he has been a constant presence -- especially this primary season, when most people I know and I have been glued to the television every election or caucus night. The randomness to the points of our own mortalities can sometimes feel very cruel, and this is one of them -- that he would not live to see the outcome of this election that he was so obviously very, very excited about.

While I often wished he would press the people in the current administration more closely, the fact remains that he did ask the questions, and that their answers or non-answers to those questions are now a matter of public record.

A great anchor, a great interviewer, and an affable and warm human being. I can't begin to imagine who will be able to replace him on our Sunday mornings. RIP.

Alton Brown's Macaroni and Cheese

Made this macaroni and cheese dish the other night. It turned out fantastically, even though I completely spaced and forgot to add the egg that the recipe asks for. I did, however add some sliced up turkey sausage that I first thoroughly browned in a skillet and then folded in before the casserole went in the oven. A+++ would eat again!

White Rabbits

OK, I suppose I should mention that this blog will also mention non-cheese related things, such as music.

Went to the Black Cat tonight, and saw White Rabbits. It was an incredibly good show -- if you're not familiar with them, just type the name of their band into Youtube to see some wonderful concert footage, including their appearance on Letterman (who knew?) They're a six-piece band, which includes two drummers and two lead singers, all alternating roles from song to song (and often in mid-song) and are right up my alley. I hope it's up your alley as well, since I'm going to be evangelizing about this band for quite some time.

White Rabbits played many songs from their debut album Fort Nightly, as well as new songs, and their encore - "Maggie's Farm". This Dylan cover seemed to pass as an original until the chorus, at which point the crowd cheered loudly upon recognition -- at which point the band seemed to grin as one, and buckle down to the task of bringing the song in to an un-ironic, loving groove. The band left the stage after this encore, and only rejoined the crowd behind their merchandise table, selling T-shirts and CDs themselves.

The Black Cat is always a great venue to see a show at, and tonight was no different. It was not a full house, but still very crowded, and we were able to watch the entire show with no obstruction or incredibly tall personages standing in front of us. All in all, a wonderful show from White Rabbits. I will post later about the bands that opened for them, and link to photos.

Our Colorado Correspondent

Corey writes: "Try Apricot Wensleydale (England) and Cambozola (Germany)..."

"The apricot one was crumbly, slightly salty offset by sweet -- surprisingly good. The other one was really creamy, kind of goaty."

Sounds good -- I'm going to try to track these down at Eastern Market.

Welcome!

What A Friend We Have In Cheeses is going to be just what you might guess from the title (which I nicked from Sara Silverman, I believe). Mainly a record of good cheeses I have either had in restaurants, or bought from cheese shops here in Washington, DC. I will be encouraging my Dad -- another fan of that most varied and mysterious of foodstuffs -- to chime in with his own posts.

There will be no actually cheesy content in this first post, so I'll link to a couple of great places to buy cheeses locally in DC:

• Cowgirl Creamery
• Bowers Fancy Dairy Products at Eastern Market

Cowgirl has another branch on the West Coast as well, I believe - and their downtown DC location is straight out of Northern CA; all blonde wood and glass, with an enormous cheese counter and stuff like wine and crackers and olives for sale as well.

Bowers is not a polar opposite, but still quite different. The counter is always manned by the mischievously cranky proprietor, and they only take cash. The small staff seems to hand out about as many free samples of different cheeses as they sell - it's a great way to discover new tastes.