By: Marilee Reyes | September 28 2010
Posted in Eugene - Cook It - Eugene

Photo: Marilee Reyes

We’ve all heard the tale about Little Miss Muffet sitting on a tuffet enjoying a nice bowl of curds and whey. If you remember, a nasty old spider sat down beside her and frightened Miss Muffet away.

It doesn’t take much to imagine that she probably spilled the whole bowl of yumminess in her hasty departure. What a shame. Had she taken a cheese-making workshop at Cook’s Pots and Tabletops in Eugene, she could have run home and concocted a new batch of curds and whey in her own kitchen. With only three ingredients she could have made a huge dish of queso blanco, more than enough for herself and visiting folk tale guests.

Modern day Ms./Mr. Muffets may want to know that about four times a year CP&T shop owners, Kathy Campbell and Chef Keith Ellis, host workshops with professional cheese makers.

Recently, one of the founders of the award-winning Vermont Butter and Cheese Company, Allison Hooper, gave a workshop in the store’s demonstration kitchen. More than a dozen people watched as she showed how to make queso blanco.

Photo: Marilee Reyes

After the milk was heated to the proper temperature, she added some vinegar, stirred it around for a few seconds…yes, seconds, and the curds started to form. Within two minutes she was adding a bit of salt and then pouring the mixture into cheesecloth to strain out the whey. The simplicity of it had those in attendance saying, “That’s all?”

Hooper did point out that it’s a very basic fresh cheese, and more complex cheeses require more ingredients and time, but this cheese is one that anyone can make in their own kitchen.

Rounding out the evening she showed how to make a savory goat cheese parfait, a grilled steak with bleu cheese and figs, and a fromage blanc tart with fresh raspberries.

Ellis is a chef and former restaurateur and caterer, but he grew up surrounded by cheese. His father was a cheese salesman, and eventually he became a cheese salesman. He has set up cheese shops on the retail level and just recently started his own cheese manufacturing business, Cheese Louise, in conjunction with the dairy facility at Oregon State University.

“I was working with cheese makers and it finally just evolved into doing it myself,” he said.

The class that Ellis teaches, Whey Fun, focuses on the fundamentals of making fresh cheeses: mozzarella, ricotta and mascarpone.

“The idea is to take the intimidation factor out of making cheese,” he says. “There is no better pizza than the one you will make with this fresh mozzarella and you’ll want to incorporate the fresh ricotta and mascarpone in all of your cooking or just enjoy them by themselves.” In addition to teaching the cheese-making class, the store also stocks a variety of cheese-making kits and supplies.

Photo: Marilee Reyes

For information: click on the CP&T website at: www.cookspots.com, or visit the store at 28^th and Oak Streets in Eugene.

 

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