I'm not sure if it's just in my blood / genetic, or just my love for a semi-hard, buttery cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk that draws me to my favorite cheese {to date} of all time....St. George Cheese. My Dad is from Portugal, Sao Jorge Island in the Azores to be precise, so our family has grown up eating this cheese probably from the time we could walk, on up. It's eaten for breakfast, lunch and sometimes set out at dinner time as well in the Portuguese tradition.
Lucky for me, Joe Matos Cheese Factory is located just a few towns to the north of us, in Sebastopol. We grew up going to Portuguese Festas with the Matos family and they've run a family dairy and made St. George cheese for as long as I can remember. Yesterday, I picked up my Mom and Dad and headed over for a cheese purchasing trip.
If you decide to take a field trip to Matos' Cheese Factory yourself, don't let the exterior of the farm scare you away. Driving up the lane, deciphering the barely readable signage, past the herd of Holstein and Jersey cows, the farm itself looks as though it hasn't been touched in 50 years. Once you arrive at the small store front, upon opening the door a buzzer sounds alerting the employee someone has arrived. You are then able to taste some cheese and purchase cheese by the pound.
I went for the entire round. Eight pounds.
An eight pound round should last me through the holiday season, I'm hoping. Sunday I'll be attending my end of class party for Portuguese language class. The party will happen at a fellow class member's home in Tiburon and I thought what better to bring than a hunk of St. George cheese to go along with Portuguese wine and port tasting as well as some Brazilian Cheese Bread goodies I will attempt to make.
So, if we happen to run into each other at the same holiday party this season, you'll know what I'll be bringing....
pão e queijo
Cheers!
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Lucky for me, Joe Matos Cheese Factory is located just a few towns to the north of us, in Sebastopol. We grew up going to Portuguese Festas with the Matos family and they've run a family dairy and made St. George cheese for as long as I can remember. Yesterday, I picked up my Mom and Dad and headed over for a cheese purchasing trip.
If you decide to take a field trip to Matos' Cheese Factory yourself, don't let the exterior of the farm scare you away. Driving up the lane, deciphering the barely readable signage, past the herd of Holstein and Jersey cows, the farm itself looks as though it hasn't been touched in 50 years. Once you arrive at the small store front, upon opening the door a buzzer sounds alerting the employee someone has arrived. You are then able to taste some cheese and purchase cheese by the pound.
I went for the entire round. Eight pounds.
An eight pound round should last me through the holiday season, I'm hoping. Sunday I'll be attending my end of class party for Portuguese language class. The party will happen at a fellow class member's home in Tiburon and I thought what better to bring than a hunk of St. George cheese to go along with Portuguese wine and port tasting as well as some Brazilian Cheese Bread goodies I will attempt to make.
So, if we happen to run into each other at the same holiday party this season, you'll know what I'll be bringing....
pão e queijo
Cheers!
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