Sep
27
Wine & Scrape
Didn’t feel like taking out my cheese board last night….And I’m this close to drinking wine out of solo cups (not like I haven’t done it before) but I’m scared I might offend some readers…
I have this cheese wheel that I’ve used before. It sits inside my fridge, wrapped in a garbage bag. Whenever I feel like eating cheese I just take it out, cut open the garbage bag, and I’m ready to go. And after some scrapes I put it back in the fridge. Hopefully next week I do the hot pasta thing again.
….But I was quite sad to read one of my commenters say that only Mitt Romney could afford such a luxury (serving cheese out of a full cheese wheel). I have zero interest in Politics but I do know that Mitt Romney is Rich, White, and Republican…. I guess the only thing that is shocking about that post is that it’s so much cheese in one shot. But just think about how much cheese you buy each and every month, then out of the year. And just think about the margin the grocer slaps on every time a slice of cheese is cut from their wheels..You know this already but it’s always cheaper to buy in bulk. I guess I tend to buy leather in bulk so it’s not so weird for me to apply this thinking to buying cheese. But once you try it you’ll realize how comfortable it is to shop this way. I didn’t get the real Parmesan wheels of course because it’s too big for my fridge and to be quite frank a little too expensive but this wheel is reasonable. $180 for a whole wheel
I think this is the greatest idea – when you first posted the cheese wheel/pasta concept, I thought, “I would save so much not buying little containers of cheese every other week!”
Do you have any tips for storing the cheese? I see the trash bag above, but do when you serve pasta in it…does it do anything to the cheese other than make the upper layers a little melty? I’ve considered investing in a smaller wheel for this, but I wasn’t sure how long it would last/how it would store.
don’t worry about what other people say. i like the idea of a cheese wheel (even though i have personally never purchased one, only little square blocks of cheese each time) and if you want to buy a cheese wheel, so be it! nobody should be making you feel like a sinner for buying it.
it is what it is. and i love it!
You tell’em girl! My family makes their own wine. It’s expensive, time consuming, and a whole lot of work. But guess what? We have delicious, unique (customized to our liking) wine for a year. Who’s laughing now?
wow! i can’t believe they compared you to Mitt Romney. haters! your ideas are always so unique and original. always such an inspiration.
Obama could afford that cheese too.
Mike
What a great post! I really enjoyed reading this. Thank you for sharing this valuable information with us. I have bookmarked this site and will be sure to check for updates. Keep up the good work!
Romney’s also Mormon, so he’d probably skip the wine.
But your point is dead on… Spending a little more initially for something that lasts much longer is quite frugal. There’s also time saved in avoiding all of those trips to the store for more cheese, and if your time is worth anything, that’s valuable too.
Part of my job is accounting, and if one does the math, it’s easy to see you’ve saved quite a bit by buying a whole wheel:
1 wheel of cheese = 12 lbs.
1 lb. of Piave Vecchio cheese from Murray’s Cheese = $18.99/lb.
12 lbs. of Piave Vecchio from Murray’s Cheese = $227.88 + tax
You paid ~$180.00 for 12 lbs.
You saved ~$47.88
You go girl.
Uh, yeah, but by the time you get through probably not even a quarter of that it will have gone moldy. So.. that’s still like $135 down the drain. Not really worth buying in bulk if the bulk is way more than you can realistically eat.
Of course if you throw a few parties that use this as food for it, you will easily go through it.
On the one hand I agree with you that it is extravagance, which I think is part of the allure of the blog, but on the other hand it’s surprisingly economical for how extravagant it is.
I’m so sorry you got this comment. This cheese wheel was a brilliant idea. (still is).
To be honest, I dont come to this blog to see you mowing down on velveeta…. so work it girl get that cheese wheel!
truer words have never been said.
your blog is a bit of escapism from the poor college world i live in, so please post as many pictures of cheese wheels and uni nuggets as you wish!
Couldn’t have said it better myself!
We have the same reasons why we visit this blog.
pffft, people who don’t want a cheese wheel!!! You are a brilliant balance between luxury and comfort … cleanliness and process and creativity. I like your approach to life and though it is different then mine I very much enjoy reading it and adding nice details to my own life and using your creativity as inspiration.
You are genius!!!! Thank you for sharing your widsom.
I think you misunderstood my comment! Or I wasn’t clear in what I wrote. I love the luxury of this site, I don’t come here thinking I’m going to get knock-off ideas, or quality. I just thought it was funny to suggest, via the title, that this was a kind of everyday, for regular people, dinner. Maybe putting it in political terms was too loaded. I just meant, let’s not kid ourselves that this is a meal for an average American. You sometimes have an amusing way of acting like you aren’t rich, but clearly you are. I’m sure you know richer people, and maybe feel like you’re not that high on the ladder, but you’re a lot higher then most.
I mean all this as a big admirer of your work. But, I think we should all be open to criticism and an open dialog.
was it you who left that comment? I actually thought it was funny and loved it.
Yes she took it the wrong way, yes to freedom of speech.. yes to broke people and yes to luxury blah blah. This isn’t about who’s right and who’s wrong, but i’m glad because of your comment Ji’s doing another food post on that fantastic wheel of cheese!
agree with both these comments all the way. the cheese is fantastic. misinterpretation happens all the time. i’m happy people here are civil.
This is exactly how I feel about this blog.
I say if you can afford to get it, then get it. If you eat something constantly I don’t see the harm in spending the extra money to buy it in bulk.
I come to your blog to be inspired and maybe one day be on your level.
Why all this concern about the wealth of others? The only thing that matters is whether the rich or poor is paying for something cruel or harmful to society. A cheese, for more expensive it is, contains no cruelty in its production. So it’s all right to pay a hundred or a thousand for a cheese wheel.
I think the same way. Totally agree.
@MGN, maybe it is because I am French, but spending 28 €/kg on cheese in OK for the average Frenchman. If you think practically you use maybe 150 to 200 g (5 to 7 oz it seems) per person, approx 4 €, or 4,5 $, then pasta, maybe you have à 12 $ food cost per person, it seems quite cheaper than the traditional middle class BBQ non ? unless meat is very cheap in the US, but a good for BBQ beef meat in France is minimum 20 $ par kg (approx 10 $ a pound).
Which lead us to choice and representations of wealth.
)
Not spending money on food is a choice, and spending some is by no mean being ultra rich (we d’on’t talk about caviar but about a 15/18 $ a pound food).
And representation, and maybe I am mistaken, but it seems to me that goog food is seen as social wealth status sign in the US, whereas in France, spending some money on good gourmet food is done by the working class. Not always, but it not seen as privilege.
But well, we are the one who can spend a whole dinner talking about food, and do it regularily
Also reminds me of a friend mocking my 7 $ pasta for a pound (Cipriani brand, just great), the one I cook with poutargue (some extraordinary mediterranean dried mullet eggs, mullet is a fish) and great olive oil. It makes a 3 stars meal for 10 $ cooked in 10 minutes : who can beat the deal ?
true that!
love this comment, so true! Americans don’t appreciate or understand food like the French!
Americans also don’t get the same quality of cheese as the French for the same amount of money. To get any sort of good cheese here, it has to be imported, which increases the price A LOT. If not wanting to spend an exorbitant amount on subpar cheese means I ‘don’t appreciate food’ then… sorry?
@M: THANK YOU!
Look at that cheese, wow, looks yum.
I believe in finer things, especially when it comes to food. I would rather be without an iPhone or a car ( I don’t NEED them), but nutrition is something my body needs. And the better the quality, the better the taste – the happier I am.
So, keep up the good work and yummy looking photos!
Haha, way to get ‘em back (and sink to their level) with your “shoe trend” comment…as if to imply that “haters” are just rubes who are lame enough to follow trends? The love just goes ’round and ’round over here.
Never mind the crass comments.
I come here for inspiration, for dreaming, and, yes, for a bit of an escape. You provide all of that and more. I would much rather buy delicious food than a 50″ flat screen or an iPhone. Someone else may have a different idea.To each his own.
And if you are rich? Well it looks to me as if you work damn hard for your money, girl, so if that has brought you financial reward I say fair play to you! You have nothing to be ashamed of.
PS: I would love it if you would post more about the cheese wheel. How long does it keep, for example? I just looked in my fridge at all the little, but expensive, morsels of cheese. I’m thinking there’s a false economy there. I might do better with a wheel.
hmm…i love your blog: the things you make, create, design, etc. but i’m surprised you reacted to that romney comment like this – you’ve got so many posts prominently featuring your expensive cars, luxury goods purchases, fine dining, etc. why the sudden embarrassment with your indulgences?
I love the idea of buying a whole cheese wheel because I hate foods smothered in cling-wrap – like the precut wedges from any grocery store. Cling wrap suffocates the air flow many foods require. It leaves a horrid taste. And I’m sick of eating petrochemical soaked food! /rant lol!!
Mmmmm. Cheese!
Perhaps the reader doesn’t really understands what LUXIRARE is. Its art, food, clothing, and LUXE. (Hence the name) This is where you come for great ideas. What is she supposed to do?- put out a hunk of grocery-store cheese, stick toothpicks in it, and expect us too oooh and ahh over it? Plus, she makes a great point that this is a better value. And, I do think this is something you could actually do pretty easily, which is the point she was making. The post was called “Weekday Entertaining” not “$10 Weeknight Dinners for One”. When she eats on the cheap, she goes to KFC and gets a bottle of champagne. Dah. You should really read her blog before you criticize. Just sayin!
i just dont get this. why the hell do people care about where she spends her own fucking money? im not trying to defend anyone really, but i just dont get it. she can go buy a tub of caviar just to slap it on her body for fuck sake, WHO CARES. i mean if the idea of someone spending their OWN money on something that interests them makes your dick soft, then just go to uporn not here.
Dude, your blog is luxirare, you like to “treat yourself” (to quote Parks and Rec), and s/he can choose from millions of blogs… I really don’t see the point of hate comments and unconstructive criticism.