Chris Pirillo » cheese

I’m staying at the Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco this week. On their room service menu, there’s an “American Farmstead Cheese Selection.” I could have ordered each one individually, but opted for the full-on cheese tasting platter. Who could resist?! Sure, maybe the lactose intolerant…

Still(ton), I enjoyed:

Humbolt Fog, Cypress Grove / Arcata, CA – Elegant soft ripened goat’s milk cheese. It has a creamy, luscious texture with a subtle tangy flavor. Each wheel contains a ribbon of edible vegetable ash along its center.
Tamula Tomme, Juniper Grove / Redmond, OR – Raw goat’s milk cheese with a washed rind that has been aged 2 to 4 months. Semi-firm texture, creamy interior, and a slightly nutty flavor.
Great Hill Blue, Great Hill / Marion, MA – Blue cheese made from raw cow’s milk. This cheese is aged 6 months (as opposed to the 2 or 3 month aging period of other blue cheeses), creating a round, robust flavor without the intense acidic finish of other blues.
Green Hill, Sweet Grass Dairy / Thomasville, GA – Jersey cow’s milk cheese with a buttery taste and soft, creamy texture. Jersey cows are grass fed and developed just for Sweet Grass Dairy, causing the color of the cow’s milk to be bright yellow from the higher butterfat composition and pleasantly acidic with a very sleek finish.

How to Make a Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Chris — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:27:42 +0000

How to Make a Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich is a post from Chris Pirillo

This is Thomas Tomeo’s submission for the HP Magic Giveaway. Feel free to leave comments for this article as you see fit – your feedback is certainly welcomed! If you’d like to submit your own how-to, what-is, or top-five list, you can send it to me. Views and opinions of this writer are not necessarily my own:

Let’s start with the ingredients! The bread is pivotal for the success of your sandwich. White bread has the best butter-soaking abilities of any bread I have tested, though you can substitute it for a healthier alternative. The same goes for butter; nothing beats the taste of buttery toast – but if you’re trying to keep a healthier diet, buttery spreads can often rival in taste. You will need the following to make a single sandwich:

two (2) slices of bread
two (2) teaspoonfuls of butter
two to three (2-3) slices of your favorite sliced cheese
two (2) slices of tomato
butter knife
small pan
pan cover
spatula
sharp knife

First, lay out your two slices of bread onto a plate. Next, cover one slice of the bread with a single layer of cheese making sure that the cheese does not break the boundaries of the bread. Doing this will prevent cheese overflow while it is grilling.

Following the cheese layout, it’s time to slice that tomato! Make sure the cuts are thin. This helps combat the tomato-cheese slide effect while moving the sandwich in the pan. Following the tomato, lay your remaining cheese on top of the previously sliced tomato. Again, take caution not to break the bread boundaries, the smell of burnt cheese isn’t very appetizing!

Now that you have your sandwich built, it is time to prepare the pan. Oven temperature varies, and is hard to pinpoint the optimal heat setting. A good rule of thumb is to have the flame rise (if using a gas oven) about a centimeter away from the pan. Let the pan heat up for about 15 seconds, then apply the butter. Try to spread it around quickly, and place the sandwich on top before the butter bubbles. Glide the sandwich over the butter to make sure it absorbs it evenly.

Next, place the pan cover over the pan. Doing this helps evenly distribute the heat to the sandwich for optimum melting. Typically, grilling the first side of your grilled cheese should only take about six minutes, give or take. Always make sure you’re standing by in case severe bread burning should occur, you can quickly take steps to minimize the damage!

After the first side turns a golden brown, remove it from the pan using your spatula and place it back on your plate. Take the remaining amount of your butter, and spread it into the pan. Quickly put the sandwich back into the pan and return the cover on top.

The second side grills much faster than the first, typically 1 – 2 minutes. So we really need to stand guard this time to reduce the chances of having a cheese tragedy! After the second side is crisp and golden, remove it from the pan and place it back on your plate. Make sure to turn off your oven, or else you may grill your home!

And there you have it, the perfect grilled cheese. Enjoy! Also note that adding ham, or any other deli meat is possible to create a delicious grilled sandwich! Any other ideas?

How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

Get Your Own Web Site

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

Starting at just $3.99/month, web hosting from GoDaddy includes 99.9% uptime, 24/7 support and free access to GoDaddy Hosting Connection, THE place to install over 30 FREE applications sure to help you get the most from your hosting plan and Web site. Enter code CP2 at checkout, and save an additional 10% on any order.

Plus, as a friend of Chris Pirillo, enter code CHRIS7, that's C-H-R-I-S and the number 7, when you check out, and save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com.

VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.