"Frosty" Peach and Prosciutto Bruschetta

Mystic Cheese Company makes amazing cheese. Chris and I first tried their cheese while talking to company founder and cheesemaker Brian Civitello on a tour of Graywall Farm, a dairy farm in Lebanon, Connecticut. While we went crazy over that cheese, a satiny, buttery, wonderfully meltable concoction known as Melville, Brian was explaining that he makes all of Mystic Cheese's cheese in two "cheese pods," shipping containers that he has set up on the farm. It is a fascinating and innovative idea and if you want to read more about it, this article or Mystic's own website both do a better job than I ever could.

Anyway, we fell in love with their cheese that day and when we found out they recently came out with a new cheese, we bought it as soon as we found it (at the Coventry Farmers' Market). It's called "Frost," and it has the texture of spreadable fudge, it stinks to high heaven, and it is very, very earthy. I could barely eat it straight, so I knew any recipe I used it in needed to be well-balanced.

I thought on it for about a week and then it came to me, just in time for Chris's birthday. The recipe calls for a nice mix of basic ingredients - bread, meat, cheese and fruit - and only takes about 5 or 6 minutes to make. And look how pretty and fancy they are!

"Frosty" Peach and Prosciutto Bruschetta

(makes 12)

Ingredients:

1 medium sized baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices

1 package Mystic Cheese Co.'s Frost

6 slices prosciutto, torn in half

1 large peach, cut into thin slices

olive oil

balsamic glaze

Place the baguette slices on a cookie sheet and put under a high broiler to toast; remove from broiler when toasted to your liking. Spread each piece with a thin layer of Frost. Place 1/2 a slice of prosciutto on top of the cheese. Grill the peach slices on each side, just long enough to warm through and get grill marks, about 4 minutes total. Set the peach slices on top of the prosciutto. Drizzle the bruschetta with olive oil and balsamic glaze, and serve immediately.  

Local Food and Drink Takeover of Krust Pizza Bar, Middletown

What a great night! We just got home from a fantastic dinner at Krust Woodfired Pizza and Bourbon Bar in Middletown, CT. But it wasn't just a regular night at the wildly popular pizza joint. Rather, it was a celebration of Connecticut 2014. A virtual who's who of the creators and makers of the hottest products coming out of CT right now: Jason and Brian of Mystic Cheese Company, artisans of the "guest of honor," Melville Cheese; Adam and Pete (and company) of Onyx Moonshine, the local spirit of the evening; JD of Ripe Bar Juice, the best mixer around; Carrie (the creative cupcake lady) from NoRA Cupcake Company; and Winter, the main Market Master of Coventry Regional Farmers Market, there, like us, to enjoy it all. 

Yes, these local movers and shakers took over Krust, and Krust welcomed them with open arms and did them justice, creating pie after luscious pie topped not with plain ole' mozzarella, but Mystic's Melville - a smooth, satiny, blubbery, melty, gorgeous cheese that lately, we can't get enough of. We mingled while we awaited our table, enjoying a few Onyx cocktails and the company of our local food heroes. 

When we finally sat, we were starving. First, the Melville antipasti - a wedge of the soft-ripened cheese with roasted red peppers, olives and croutons topped with just the right amount of olive oil. Next, the meat pizza - chunky San Marzano tomatoes, Melville instead of mozz, pancetta, pepperoni, and salami, touched with a sprinkle of oregano, crushed red pepper and sea salt, and drizzled with olive oil. The blend of tender bits of herbacious pork with the stretchy globs of cheese atop the flaky crisp crackly charred crust? Let's just say, it's a good time to be from the Constitution State.

We split a "Cheese Board" cupcake for dessert, and there's no better way to describe this savory confection. The cake had a light almond flavor with a fig preserve filling, and the "frosting" was Melville cheese topped with a mixture of toasted pecans, peanuts, and almonds. Everything you would want in a cheese board but in the form of a cupcake. Masterful.

What a great celebration of the current CT food scene. We can only hope for similar "takeovers" to come. When they do, we will be there!