I picked up a package of Carr Valley Bread Cheese at my grocery store recently ($11.79/lb.). On the package it says it is good dipped in coffee or with jam. Really? I scratched my head at this but gave it a try, mostly because it’s pretty hard to find cheese I won’t eat.

The cheese comes in a slab, about 5 inches by 4 inches, roughly an inch thick. It is slightly browned on the outside. I warmed it in a pan before serving with some jam. It’s a very dense cheese that is very mild. I think it is the combo of the density and the mildness that has brought the comparison to bread. We tasted it plain and it was just ok. I put strawberry jam on it and it was fantastic. I can also definitely see that this would be good with coffee (which I don’t drink – but I can see it with tea or even hot chocolate).  I know, it sounds completely weird, but it was just really good! It was a great accompaniment to the light dinner we had of salad and scallops.

I picked up a package of Carr Valley Bread Cheese at my grocery store recently ($11.79/lb.). On the package it says it is good dipped in coffee or with jam. Really? I scratched my head at this but gave it a try, mostly because it’s pretty hard to find cheese I won’t eat. The cheese … Read more →

I’m very familiar with Martha Stewart – I unofficially “apprenticed” myself to her for a year on my blog MarthaAndMe – so I have tried many Martha recipes, projects, and products. Martha, have you been reading my blog? Your new Martha Wrap seems to indicate you may have. Martha Wrap is a new product that has parchment paper on one side and foil on the other. Martha touts it as perfect for covering food (she doesn’t believe foil should ever touch food, so she always covers it with parchment, then foil) and there are also recipes on the box for parchment paper packets. I was excited to give it a try.

Let’s get down to the specs first. Regular parchment is 15 inches wide and the roll has 32 feet. Martha Wrap is 12 inches wide and has 40 feet. I paid $6 for a roll on Amazon. Supposedly you can buy it at Safeway for $4.99. I buy parchment at the grocery store for $3.99 (you can get another brand that is longer for $2.99, but I like Wilton).

When I opened my package, the roll was taped shut. When I peeled the tape off, it ripped the paper, so I had to throw the first six inches away. Not an auspicious start. I used it like I use parchment, to make a packet. Because it is not as wide, I had a harder time fitting my food in it. It also meant I did not have have enough paper at the sides to make my usual twist. I like the twist because it completely seals in the juices. If you just fold up your sides, juices tend to run out of the seams in the folds. And that is exactly what happened here. A lot of my juices ran out, making a mess on my baking sheet. Ugh.

Other than that, the paper performed well. I’ll stick with regular parchment though because I just prefer the longer width. It would be possible to work with this to be able to twist the ends, but you have to reposition your food to fit the shorter paper and I think it just makes for an awkward packet.

There are some reviews up on Amazon complaining about the edges of the paper curling up if you use it to line a cookie sheet.  I haven’t tried using it in that way and probably never would, since I use silicone liners when baking cookies. I also probably would never use it in place of foil or plastic wrap.

I’m very familiar with Martha Stewart – I unofficially “apprenticed” myself to her for a year on my blog MarthaAndMe – so I have tried many Martha recipes, projects, and products. Martha, have you been reading my blog? Your new Martha Wrap seems to indicate you may have. Martha Wrap is a new product that … Read more →