If you work in a restaurant kitchen, the last thing you want to do when you get home is slave over another stove. I discovered Carr Valley Bread Cheese when I last cooked in a restaurant, and it was a godsend. All the firm, mozzarella-like cheese needs is a quick pan fry—or 30 seconds in the microwave—and you have a warm, melty block that tastes like a homey grilled cheese sandwich.
The Wisconsin cheese is a twist on a Finnish product, juustoleipä. Carr Valley bakes its version, giving it a nutty brown surface that crisps nicely in a skillet. The mild, sweet-salty flavor takes well to a dab of apricot jam, a drizzle of honey, or a dunk in fresh marinara. Or you could go the post-restaurant-shift route: Unwrap, zap, and enjoy with a cold brew.
Carr Valley Bread Cheese, $8.40 a pound, is available at Whole Foods and at carrvalleycheese.com.
This article appears in the February 2012 issue of The Washingtonian.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
