Artisanal's Summer Entertaining Guide

Chef Brennan's Tips for Summer

I always appreciate the chance to share a home cooked meal, and summer supplies all the perfect ingredients for a truly spectacular feast. Seasonal fresh fish and meat, dazzling arrays of colorful fruits, vegetables, and herbs flavor long days that fade into night. Best of all, there is time for family and friends to get together, kick back, and enjoy!

Whether cooking for my family or entertaining for a crowd, I love the ease and fun of making dinner on the grill. This season I have a penchant for fresh wild striped bass and juicy lamb chops -- they make for easy but decadent summer feasts. Or I simply marinate chicken in rosemary, lemon, and olive oil before tossing it on the grill.

Perfectly grilled dishes call for bright, refreshing accompaniments. July brings us inspired choices, like local heirloom tomatoes, crispy watermelon, and luscious peaches. An heirloom tomato salad makes for an excellent showcase for succulent seasonal produce. Or try my wonderful watermelon and arugula salad with feta and tapenade (featured below).

A zesty orzo and feta cheese salad is a classic foil for grilled dishes. It can be prepared ahead and popped in the refrigerator while guests enjoy drinks and conversation, ready to be served when the meat is off the grill.

Pour a glass of cool white wine to combat the heat, like an herbaceous Sauvignon Blanc, or fruity but dry Chablis. Rosé is one of my favorite summer beverages; a good bottle exhibits both the complexity one would find in a quality red wine and the refreshing crispness of a white. Even red wines are great a little cool -- chilling my pinot noir for an hour highlights its richness and brings out its fruity flavors.

I like to wrap up an already spectacular summer meal the same way I started it: on the grill. Grilling ripe peaches intensifies their sweetness and seals in their juices. I top them off with young farmer’s cheese, or for a younger crowd, vanilla ice cream. Either combination makes for the perfect summer dessert.

I hope these simple and delicious suggestions add to great summer evenings with friends and family, wherever you are.

Bon Appetit,

Terrance Brennan
Chef/Proprietor

Seasonal Recipe From Chef Terrance Brennan

Another exciting recipe--perfect for summer--excerpted from Chef Terrance Brennan's cookbook, Artisanal Cooking: a Chef Shares His Passion for Handcrafting Great Meals at Home.

Watermelon and Arugula Salad With Feta and Tapenade

Various versions of this salad, one of my personal favorites, have been turning up on New York restaurant menus over the past several years, enticing diners with the juxtaposition of salty cheese and sweet, crunchy watermelon. This version calls for less common goat or sheep cheese feta and gets extra texture and salinity from the olive tapenade.

If you love watermelon in the summertime, this is a surprising way to serve it at the table. It's especially appropriate for outdoor lunch and dinner parties.

See the full recipe

Artisanal Summer Fun Staff Suggestions

Bonnieview Farm's Award-winning Sheep's Milk Feta: Tangy and bright, citrusy and creamy - sure to delight. Drizzle with olive oil and broil it, or just sprinkle on salad. Sheep's Milk Feta $14.00 each Marinated Crottin: This goat's milk cheese is made in the heart of France in the verdant Loire Valley. When the Crottin is young, it is slightly moist and has a tangy goat's milk flavor. Marinated Crottin $20.00 each Willow Hill Sheep's Milk Yogurt: This yogurt is thick, tangy and rich with a pleasantly sour aftertaste that is fantastic on its own or with your favorite seasonal fruit. Willow Hill Sheep's Milk Yogurt $7.00 per pint

Take a Class at the Cheese Center

There is a fantastic and full lineup of fun, summer classes at the Cheese Center! We think you'll especially enjoy the three featured classes below, which are sure to enhance your summer entertaining skills.

Beer & Cheese of Summer with Dogfish Head

With special guest Elizabeth Lyons from award-winning Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

6:30pm-8:30pm; Thursday, August 3rd

Summer! What better time to relax and refresh with a cold, clean, crisp, artisanally-produced beer...paired with the perfect cheese, of course! Whether expert or novice, join us as we explore the wonders of artisanal cheese through the amber lens of refreshing, handcrafted beers.

Accompany Artisanal's Jon Lundbom and Elizabeth Lyons from Delaware's own award-winning Dogfish Head Craft Brewery as they indulge in the world's best cheese paired with Dogfish's finest.

Reserve your spot.

Cool White White Wines from Red Hot Spain

Max McCalman & Chandni Patel

6:30pm-8:30pm; Thursday, August 10

The versatile Spanish white wine Albariño is a chameleon; it has a singular ability to enhance the flavors of cheese partners, bringing out nuances which would otherwise be missed. Delicious and refreshing by themselves, Albariño pairs especially well with summer ripened cheeses. Join Maitre Fromager Max McCalman and industry expert Chandni Patel as they explore the magic of these lovely and bright summer specialties.

Sign up today.

Bourbon, Whiskey, & Artisanal Cheese

With special guest LeNell Smothers from LeNell's Wine & Spirit Boutique

6:30pm-8:30pm; Thursday, August 24th

What is Bourbon, really? How is it made? How do you taste it? Most importantly - how do you pair it with cheese? Join Artisanal's Jon Lundbom and Bourbon expert LeNell Smothers from LeNell's Wine & Spirit Boutique in Red Hook (home to New York City's largest Bourbon selection) for the answers to these questions and more!

Reserve your spot today.

Enroll in any of our many classes today!

Trivia from the Cheese Caves

Question: What are the guiding principles in creating a cheese plate? Are there certain cheeses that always belong on a cheese plate, and some that are never appropriate? How many cheeses should one include, and how much of each?

Find out in the next Artisanal e-newsletter, or find the answer on our website today!
- Aaron Foster, Assistant Cheese Buyer

Last Time We Asked: What is "fat in dry matter"? What does the abbreviation MG mean in relation to cheese? Which has more fat, ounce per ounce - Brie or Parmigiano-Reggiano?

Answer: Fat in Dry Matter (FDM) is a common way to explain fat content in cheese. Most cheeses are labelled according to the percentage of fat present in their solid materials (i.e. non-water or dry matter). The French counterpart for FDM is MG, which stands for matiére grasse.

According to Max McCalman, author of The Cheese Plate: "While much of the water in milk is extracted during cheesemaking, a significant amount is retained and determines the density of the cheese. The harder or denser a cheese, the less water it holds. A dense cheese with, say, 50 percent butterfat, could actually deliver more fat than a soft, runny one with 70 percent butterfat. This is because the softer one has a much higher water content and therefore less fat per total weight.

"An example: Parmesan, which has about 35 percent butterfat and is about 30 percent water, delivers 25 grams of fat per 100 grams of cheese; Brie, which has 49 percent butterfat but is 57 percent water, yields about 21 grams of fat per 100 grams of cheese - less than Parmesan!"

Try for yourself! Taste our Parmigiano Reggiano, Brie de Nangis, or Fromage de Meaux.