For the next installment of our Food Blogger Spotlight, I’d like to introduce you to one of my favorite people, Kirstin Jackson of It’s Not You, It’s Brie. As a cheese goddess of the highest order, Kirstin is one of the most knowledgeable people I’ve ever met on the topic. She teaches wine and cheese pairing classes at Solano Cellars, a local wine shop in Berkeley, and she’s also a regular teacher at the Cheese School of San Francisco. You can also catch her as a regular writer on NPR’s Kitchen Window.
Since she makes her living exploring the nuances of dairy magic, Kirstin is keenly aware of all the love and energy that goes into making cheese. Her blog is a great place for beginners and seasoned cheese-zealots alike, and you’ll learn all about the cheese world and what you should expect out of it. Kirstin’s wit and charm are second only to her cheese knowledge, and I know you will love her as much as I do.
Please welcome Kirstin, and feel free to ask cheese questions in the comments!
We all have staples that we couldn’t live without. What three ingredients do you *always* have in your kitchen and why? I’m not talking snacks like chips and hummus, but rather ingredients you use all the time in your cooking.
Since I normally consume what I’ve estimated is 51 pounds of cheese and close to a case of wine a week at work, I try to eat lighter foods when I’m at home. I’m always making grain or bean-based salads, so I keep a lot of fresh herbs around to dress the grains up, my favorite being tarragon. Then I add either bulgarian feta to the salads, because I’m really aiming for 53 pounds of cheese a week, and I love what the lively bulgarian feta does to whole grains. I also keep massive amounts of lemons at home. I either use them in salad dressing, greens, in pasta, or just look at them fondly and think about lemon bars.
Imagine you moved to the smallest apartment possible – a shoebox, really – and you only had room for a single cookbook. Of all your cookbooks, which one would you keep? Why do you love it so?
My favorite cookbook is Saveur Cooks Italian. Even though I own most Saveur magazines since 1998 or so, I still like to have my recipes bound in one book. Pork loin crusted with rock salt? It’s in here. Bechamel lasagne? That too. Plus, whenever someone asks me for a cookbook recommendation that will help them how to learn the basics, I hand them this book. Not all the recipes are basic, but once one learns how to master the dishes in here, they will have amazing range in a kitchen.
When you’re looking for new recipes (or creating one of your own), what is your number one priority? What makes you pick one recipe over another?
Because I am pretty well-versed in basic cooking techniques, the recipes that inspire me are the ones that confound me. For example, how the hell did people figure out that the components of a curry or a molé would work together – bananas, bread, tomatoes, chocolate and pork? Amazing. I know many of those ingredients were just hanging around in the same area, but still, wow. Those are the types of recipes that I return to over and over again for inspiration.
Blogs have the potential to be so many things, from personal journals to outrageous adventure reports. What is the most important thing you put into your blog, and what is the most important thing you get out of it?
I am a tad bit obsessive about writing for anything, so I’d have to say the two most important things that I put into my blog are my heart and my time. The most important thing that I get out of my blog is knowing that I am engaging the cheese lovers out there. Cheese and the folks who devote their lives to it deserve all the attention they can get. Also important is that through my blog and twitter, I have met amazing people in this fantastic, dynamic industry and beyond that I may have never otherwise met. I feel very lucky in this area. I have meet many gorgeous people and tasted some very inspired cheeses.
Click here for more Food Bloggers Spotlight interviews.
Some of my favorite posts from It’s Not You, It’s Brie:
- Queso Fresco and Tomato Salad with Duck Confit
- American Cheese for Independence Day
- Tia Keenan: An Artist in an Artisan Cheese Revolution
- Gouda- The Shining Dutch Dairy Star
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I love the name of her blog! (And I love dairy. Seriously, I’ve never met a cheese I didn’t like.) Great interview.
Check out Susan Johnston´s last blog post: Guest Post: The $100,000 “Well-Fed” Writing Career, Part 2
Great interview! I’ll have to take one of your cheese courses, sounds like a lot of fun. Plus, I usually offer a cheese plate as dessert after my artisan beef, pork, and lamb tastings, it would be great to learn more about the art of cheese making.
Check out Carrie Oliver´s last blog post: #MeatCamp – Cooking Head To Tail
That sounds like the right amount of cheese to me!
Kristin, what’s the best way to learn about cheese aside from reading and eating? What did you do specifically? I saw the courses at the SF cheese school but living in Sacramento, that’s just not plausible for me.
Check out Garrett´s last blog post: The Queen of Hearts and Chocolate Caramel Tarts
Yes, a terrific name for a blog! I’m not quite the cheese lover (or consumer) your guest is, but I enjoyed your interview.
Check out The Writer’s [Inner] Journey´s last blog post: The 5-Question [Author] Interview: June Sobel
Garrett- Is there a place where I should be teaching in Sac? I’m from the area and would happily make a trip up. Of course I’d make you take me to the best cheese counter in the city while I’m there
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I attribute all I know about cheese (and wine for that matter) to tasting, reading, and talking to the people who make and sell it. It doesn’t hurt that I learn every time I teach either.
Thanks for this interview Steph, and thanks to everyone else for reading & commenting.
“the recipes that inspire me are the ones that confound me…” definitey a doorway to adventure. thanks for the interview, Kirstin and Steph.
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