CHEESE

Our first Michigan-made cheese, Detroit Street Brick hails from Ann Arbor’s Zingerman’s Creamery. The boxy, bloomy-rind goat’s milk cheese is studded with green peppercorns, lending a spicy, grassy flavor to the natural tanginess of the goat’s milk.

Bent River, from Minnesota’s young Alemar Farm, is now officially our favorite American cow’s milk camembert style cheese. Gooey and buttery, with a touch of funkiness, it’s ideal for a simple picnic with a baguette and some fresh fruit.

Meadow Creek Dairy’s Grayson and Appalachian are out of season until next month, but never fear, their Mountaineer is here! A large washed-rind wheel of cow’s milk cheese, Mountaineer is hearty, nutty, sweet, and meaty.

Burrata is back! After taking a seasonal break, it’s back for the summer. A fresh mozzarella ball filled with cream and shredded mozz, burrata is great on salads, pizza or pasta, or just served with a sprinkling of salt and olive oil.

BEERS

We’ve got some awesome beers on tap for growler fills this weekend. One that we’re especially psyched about is the Greenport Harbor Brewing Company Maibock. Maibock is a strong but refreshing German-style lager, traditionally brewed for springtime. The fantastic Greenport version tastes malty and biscuity at first, with a bitter, clean, hoppy finish. Other recently-tapped beers include Greenport Summer Ale, Empire IPA and Barrier Dubbel Down – all from New York State.

Another of our favorite NY brewers, Captain Lawrence, has just move into a larger new brewery and started bottling some of their great beers on a regular basis. We now have 6-packs of their Captain’s Kolsch, Liquid Gold (Belgian-style ale) and Freshchester Pale Ale.

If you’re planning to celebrate the fine weather we’re anticipating this weekend, you may want to pick up one of the summer beers we that are returning to the store, like Victory Summer Love (a blonde ale), Anderson Valley Summer Solstice (with hints of vanilla), or a 12-pack of Brooklyn Summer Ale (our current go-to BBQ beer).

OTHER GOODIES

We’ve gotten our hands on some excellent local cultured butter, from Goodale Farm in Aquebogue, on the North Fork of Long Island. It’s great for baking and cooking, but it’s completely irresistible melted on some good toast.

In the meat department, we’ve added new charcuterie from Charlito’s Cocina, which is based in NYC but currently producing in St. Louis. Their amazing traditional Italian style sausages include Campo Secco (simple, with salt and pepper), Chorizo (spicy and slightly soft, great for cooking) and Trufa Secca (absolutely loaded with black truffles).

More Italian-American treats include Nonna’s Spicy & Sweet Sauces. Their two jarred tomato sauces are a great solution for a quick meal – about 1000 times better than any supermarket tomato sauce – suitable for pasta, pizza, meat or vegetables. Nonna’s Red Pesto, made with sundried tomatoes and red peppers, adds extra spice to sandwiches or other recipes. We’ve served it on crackers with sharp provolone for tasty instant mini-pizzas.

Another returning product: My Friend’s Mustard is now in the refrigerated case! We have a limited supply of the whole-grain Spicy Brown Ale mustard, just enough to tide over you mustard-lovers until My Friend’s returns to full-scale production.

Combine excellent fresh asparagus with excellent fresh butter, and you don’t need much more….

2 tablespoons Goodale butter
1 bunch asparagus
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons Salvatore Ricotta
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Melt butter in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add asparagus, cover, and toss the asparagus occasionally until it is lightly browned and slightly limp, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and distribute to 2-4 plates. Top each serving with a dollop of ricotta and a sprinkling of lemon zest.

Radish and Boquerones Salad

This recipe is borrowed from Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Vegetables cookbook – a very handy book.

1 bunch radishes
4 stalks celery
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
1 package Ortiz Boquerones (mild, marinated white anchovies)

Slice radishes into thin rounds. Slice celery diagonally, also very thin. Separate parsley leaves from stems but keep the leaves whole. Toss vegetables and parsley leaves together. Distribute to 2-4 plates. Sprinkle each serving with lemon juice and a little salt. Top each salad with anchovy fillets and freshly-ground black pepper.

Spinach and Bacon and Eggs

This is also adapted from Alice Waters, revamped to be a hearty all-in-one meal.

1 bunch scallions
2 tablespoons O Sherry Vinegar
2 slices Hartmann’s Double Hickory-Smoked Bacon
1 pound spinach
2 Feather Ridge Farm Eggs
salt and pepper
Parmigiano Reggiano

Chop scallions fine and combine with sherry vinegar; set aside. Chop bacon into skinny batons and cook over medium heat until browned. If you’re using full-grown spinach, chop roughly. If you’re using baby spinach, no chopping is required. Transfer browned bacon and 1 tablespoon of bacon fat to a large heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add spinach and the scallion-sherry mixture and cover. Cook, tossing the spinach occasionally, until it is wilted, about 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper.

In the bacon pan, remove all but 1 tablespoon of the remaining bacon fat and fry the eggs. Distribute the spinach mixture to 2 plates and top each one with an egg. Sprinkle with and a little more salt and pepper if you like.

Stir-Fried Bok Choy

Finally, here’s a recipe that doesn’t include any meat, cheese, or anything from Eastern District! Just because we love you and want you to be healthy!

1 bunch scallions
1 pound bok choy or baby bok choy
2 tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil
1 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons black vinegar or rice vinegar

Mince the white parts of the scallions, and chop the green parts into 2-inch pieces. If using full grown bok choy, chop and separate the mostly white parts from the mostly green parts. If using baby bok choy, no chopping is necessary. Heat the oil in a large heavy pan or wok over high heat. When sizzling, add the white parts of the scallions and the white parts of the bok choy (or all of the baby bok choy) and the crushed red chilis. Stir constantly while cooking. After a minute or two, when the white parts of the bok choy are starting to soften, add the rest of the ingredients. Keep stirring and frying until the vegetables are tender. Serve with more soy sauce and vinegar, if desired.

NEW CHEESES

March-April is kidding season, which means lots more goat’s milk and Lazy Lady goat’s milk cheeses coming our way soon! To tide you over in the meantime, we’ve brought in the tangy, creamy Baby Buche from Mackenzie Creamery in Hiram, Ohio. It’s a faithful rendition of a French Loire Valley goat’s milk classic, crumbly in the center, gooey towards the rind, with a mushroomy-tasting white exterior.

St. Pat is Cowgirl Creamery’s spring seasonal cheese, rich, mellow, milky and semi-soft. It’s made from rich organic Jersey cow’s milk and wrapped in nettle leaves, which lend a smoky, artichoke, “green” flavor.

Barick Obama is another seasonal, made from cow’s milk by Lazy Lady in the winter when goat’s milk is scarce. Semi-firm, smooth and a little sour from its brine-washed rind, it tastes a bit like a really good muenster – not the kind from the supermarket!

It’s not new, but it’s news: Meadow Creek Grayson fans need to know that we’re on our last wheel until mid-June! Grayson is only made from the most flavorful cow’s milk, produced when the cows are grazing on fresh grass, so the Meadow Creek cheesemakers will start preparing a new batch in the next week or two. If you can’t wait until June to taste it, come in today for your last chance at the 2011 Grayson!

NEW BEERS

Sierra Nevada Hoptimum is a double IPA made with a blend of whole-cone hop flowers. It yields delicious and intense fruity, floral and woodsy flavors – a must-try.

Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro is a roasty, chocolatey stout, carbonated in part by nitrogen as it’s bottled. The nitro creates tinier bubbles in the beer, and a more thick, creamy head (like a good Guinness on tap). It has a luxurious mouthfeel, something that rarely comes out of a bottle.

For sour fans, Goose Island Lolita is a Belgian style pale ale fermented with wild yeast and aged with raspberries in wine barrels. If you’ve ever enjoyed the mass-produced framboise beers or syrup-sweetened lambics, this is a great next step into the world of sours flavored with real fruit.

We’ve been lucky enough to receive another case of Hitachino Nest 3 Days, the tasty wild-fermented ale that was miraculously born from last year’s earthquakes in Japan. This will definitely be our last case, so don’t miss your chance to try it.

SUGAR RUSH

One of the amazing perks of our job is that the most awesome food makers from all around Brooklyn like to stop in and seduce us with samples of their wares. This month there are three sweets-makers who we just couldn’t resist – and you’ll love them too.

Emily’s Homemade cookies are baked right around the corner here in Greenpoint, but they taste like they just came out of Grandma’s oven – assuming Grandma has a very sophisticated palate. Our favorite is the plush ginger cookie, but the peanut butter chocolate chip and sea salt chocolate chip are winners as well.

Salty Road salt water taffy also comes in an impressive range of flavors: from vanilla and salty peanut to bergamot and raspberry rose. Research has shown that Salty Road is exactly 3000 percent more delicious than boardwalk taffy.

Last but not least, Sucre Mort pralines will absolutely whet your sweet tooth. Handmade in Brooklyn from the recipe of a New Orleans grandmother, they’re rich with buttery sweetness. Choose the original pecan praline, or almond with coconut or sea salt.

• Effie’s Corncakes and Oatcakes
• SchoolHouse Kitchen Jams and Chutneys
• Fee Brothers Grenadine
• Fat Toad Farm Goat’s Milk Caramel (Cajeta)
• Oro Liquido Marcona Almond Butter
• Raaka Chocolates
• Sol Smokin’ Hot Sauce

Eastern District is excited to partner with Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative (LFFC) to bring a new CSA option to North Greenpoint. Subscribe now and you’ll receive 25 weeks of fresh vegetables delivered directly from small Pennsylvania farms. Half-shares are available, as well as shares of fruit, flowers, eggs, and even medicinal herbs. Pickups will be every Wednesday at Eastern District.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs are designed to help small farmers with the challenging, expensive task of bringing their goods to market. By subscribing in advance, you allow the farmers to invest in their crops each spring, knowing that their harvest will be sold.

LFFC is a non-profit cooperative of 80+ farmers in Lancaster County, PA. Most of the farms produce certified organic produce – all of them follow sustainable farming practices. Each week’s share includes 7-12 different kinds of fresh produce, picked that day or the day before. LFFC has a track record of delivering high quality produce: last summer they serviced some of our favorite Brooklyn restaurants.

For more details, and to sign up for a CSA share, visit http://www.lancasterfarmfresh.com/csa/default

UPDATE:

A few people had questions about the CSA signup site: here are the answers:

1) If you do not want to choose a second choice pick-up location, just choose Greenpoint as your first and second choice.

2) If you want to purchase a half-share, do not be confused by the “partial” share option. That is for people who want to sign up for the whole year at once.

We need to commit to 30 full shares to guarantee that LFFC will deliver to Greenpoint – so far we have 25 committed. So we’re looking good. You have until April 20 to sign up. Thanks all!

Thursday, March 15 is National Egg Cream Day, and we’re teaming up with P&H Soda Co. to celebrate. Drop by Eastern District on Thursday evening between 5:30-7:30 PM for a classic chocolate egg cream (made with cocoa hulls from the Mast Brothers Chocolate factory) or one of P&H’s original flavors. As a volunteer taste tester for P&H, I can assure you they are scrumptious!

A few of our Valentine’s gift options. From left: Mast Brothers Chocolate bars, Whimsy & Spice marshmallows, Nunu Chocolates Beer Box, Ovenly Spicy Bacon Caramel Corn, Liddabit Sweets candy bars, Raaka chocolate bars.

Have you been looking for an excuse to order an Eastern District party platter? How about Super Bowl Sunday? Order ahead and we’ll customize a cheese tray just for you.

If you’re a Giants fan, we can put together a selection of New York state cheeses including some of these (pictured above):

• NYC’s own fresh and lemony Salvatore Ricotta
• Creamy, savory Nettle Meadow Kunik
• Nutty, smoky Frere Fumant from 3-Corner Field Farm
• Rustic, sharp Sprout Creek Madeline
• Spicy, sweet Ewe’s Blue from Old Chatham Sheepherding Company

For Patriots fans, we can compile some of the greatest hits of New England cheesemaking:

• Springy, mild, fresh mozzarella from Rhode Island’s Narragansett Creamery
• Sweet, gooey, woodsy Harbison from Vermont’s Jasper Hill Farm
• New Hampshire’s tangy, slightly sharp Landaff from Landaff Creamery
• Consider Bardwell’s hearty, beefy Rupert, from Vermont
• Westfield Classic Blue Log, a goat cheese touched with blue, from Massachusetts

Better yet, let us put together a combination of New York and New England cheeses and you can choose the champs yourself!

Party platters cost $6 per person and can include bread, crackers, meats, olives, or other tasty accompaniments. We can deliver within Greenpoint. Orders require a minimum of 5 people and a lead time of two days. Place your order in person or via 718-349-1432 or info@easterndistrictny.com.

New Beers

Some very special beers have arrived recently….

Hitachino Nest 3 Days is one of the very rare happy accidents that occurred in the midst of last year’s Japanese earthquake. When the quake hit, the brewers needed to abandon a batch of witbier in mid-production. When they were able to return 3 days later, the beer had fermented naturally via the wild yeasts in the brewhouse, yielding a unique, funky farmhouse flavor. Only 8000 bottles of this brew exist.

Professor Fritz Briem Piwo Grodziskie combines two of our favorite beer flavors, smoke and sour, into one amazingly harmonious package. The wheat and barley ale is made from a historical recipe originating in the Polish/Prussian border regions.

Green Flash has created a Belgian-style version of their famous IPA and named it Rayon Vert. It tastes Belgian, and it has that hopped up IPA flavor, but it’s also somehow more than the sum of those two parts. A must-try.

Another innovative recipe from Stillwater, Premium “post-prohibition” style ale is brewed with Pilsner malt, corn and rice, a fermented with farmhouse ale yeast and the zesty brett yeast. Super drinkable and a creative take on an old familiar style.

Rochefort ales are centuries-old Belgian classics, but they’re new to our shelves this week. Brewed at the Trappist Abbey of St-Remy, the three different ales are all strong, full-bodied and complex.

New Cheeses

We’re trying out a few different goat’s milk cheeses this month:

Redwood Hill Farm Goat Milk Cheddar is a smooth, snackable cheddar with a touch of goat tanginess complementing the characteristic sharpness. It hails from a 53-year old, family-run dairy in Sonoma County.

Also from Redwood Hill, Camellia is a camembert-style goat cheese, buttery, creamy and mild. It’s perfect for a cheese plate with apples or pears.

The psychedelic beauty pictured above is Capriole’s Wabash Cannonball, named after the river in Indiana. This dense, creamy nugget is rolled in vegetable ash and very lightly aged for a milky, slightly citrusy and musty flavor.

However you’re spending these wintery weekends, we hope you’re having fun and eating and drinking well!

Culture

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade – We were lucky to catch this  on Monday.

Shops

The Charleston Beer Exchange – Excellent beer shop, where they introduced us to Charleston’s Westbrook, Coast and Holy City breweries.

goat.sheep.cow – Sweet cheese and wine shop, where we picked up some Battery Park cheese from Charleston Artisan Cheesehouse.

Heirloom Book Company – New and used food books and cookbooks.

Blue Bicycle Books – Great new and used bookstore in a deceptively skinny little house.

Savannah Bee Company – A beautiful shop filled with glowing jars of honey.

Restaurants

Husk – Amazingly delicious updated Southern food, accompanied by the tastiest grains ever: rice, grits, and even oats.

Hominy Grill – We had two fantastic Southern breakfasts here, and we wish we had time to come for lunch and dinner too.

Jestine’s Kitchen – Excellent, fresh Southern food, including the creamiest cheese grits ever.

Hank’s Seafood – We loved sitting at the bar with a couple Westbrooks and a plate of delicious local raw oysters.

Two Boroughs Larder – Creative American/international food, like rabbit tempura with brussels sprouts kimchi.

G&M Fast & French – Fresh pressed coffee and ham-and-cheese croissants.

Bars

The Gin Joint – Great cocktails in a cozy atmosphere. Our new favorite drink: rye with smoked maple syrup and black walnut bitters.

Closed for Business - Nice craft beer list.