Now if you don't know what white tea is then you can look here for details.  But essentially it’s a light, often slightly sweet, tea that has the least processing of all tea types.  It is also characterized by having a large portion of buds mixed with the tea leaves because it is picked just before sprouting. 

White tea is currently one of my personal favorites.  Prior to my current white tea cravings, however, I was a devoted black Assam tea drinker.  Black Assam tea is a heavy tea with a somewhat malty flavor.  It’s great for holding milk and I used to drink it with a good amount of milk and some honey.  White tea and milk don't mix - the milk would overpower the tea and you don't need honey because white tea is somewhat naturally sweet.  Given these vast differences I'm still amazed that you can get white Assam tea.  In fact, I was so amazed that I had to try some first hand and recently purchased a white, green, and black Assam tea for comparison.   I was surprised at just how unique each of these tea were given they are all Assam tea.  I haven't decided which my favorite is since the white and green Assam’s are different compared to the more traditional Chinese white and green teas I'm used to but I have definitely added more tea varietals to my stash of tea to enjoy! 

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Seriously though, most people at some point or another have had decided on foods they don't want to eat.  Some people have many foods they won't eat, some people have less, and yes some people will literally eat anything.  What is it that hinders our food diversity?  Is it a bad experience with particular food when we were young?  Or being forced to eat things at some point or another?  Food poisoning?  Fear of the unknown? Or simply dislike of specific tastes? For me and Brussels Sprouts, it was mostly bad experience (no offense mom!) which had led me to believing I disliked them.  I'm not sure how we can over come these notions but I'm very glad I tried the Brusells Sprouts recipe; turns out I really like them. 

In this particular recipe, the Brusells Sprouts themselves are roasted with some oil, garlic and salt.  Roasting enhances nearly all vegetables and with Brusells Sprouts the charred outer leaves are so good you could eat them like candy.  Combined with the roasted Brusells Sprouts was a mixture of sautéed wild mushrooms and crispy fried shallots.  The flavors went together wonderfully and although I can't believe I'm saying it I really liked the Brusells Sprouts and will make it again.

So as we enter a new year, I will strive to learn from the Brusells Sprouts experience and try more things I "think" I don't like!

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What common indulgence can both protect your teeth against cavities and reduce the risk of heart attacks?  Well, if you've read the title of this article you're probably guessing chocolate - and you would be right! It’s really kind of amazing that such a delicious thing can be beneficial to your health.  In fact it's almost unbelievable, healthy things are generally things that we don't crave.    But do these benefits of chocolate mean we no longer need to feel guilty when we eat chocolate?

Perhaps a few more details are needed to be convincing...   It seems that during a recent study at John Hopkins University on the effects of aspirin and heart disease, they accidentally discovered that a bit of chocolate everyday can reduce the risk of a heart attack. Chocolate, apparently, effects how platelets cause blood to clot.  The effect is similar to the benefits of an aspirin a day but, unfortunately, nowhere near as great as an aspirin a day. 

As for protecting your teeth against cavities, a study by researchers at Osaka University in Japan found that part of the cocoa bean combats mouth bacteria which in turn fights tooth decay.  In fact, this protection is so convincing that at a recent dental visit my dentist stated that small dark chocolate treats were a great way to tame sweet cravings!  But wouldn't it really be neat if we could have chocolate flavored toothpaste?

Sounds great to me, we can have some chocolate everyday.  The chocolate will protect our teeth against cavities and reduce our risk for heart attacks.  What's the catch?  Well, I don't know about you but for me the question is can I simply have one piece of chocolate a day?  I'm not sure; chocolate is a bit addictive to me.  I have a little and then I want a lot! But if you can stop at one piece then it looks like yes chocolate can be guilt free.

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I've found a great way to try out different cheeses is to serve a cheese-course as an appetizer at dinner parties.  This has many advantages.  It’s a nice way to try out 4 or 5 different cheeses and because my guests will also be trying them out we can all learn from what each other thinks.  Another advantage is it prevents me from eating too much cheese because my guests will be eating it too!  I've found using several different types of cheese works best for my parties. While I'd like to also have a party with a focus on a specific type of cheese I find this harder to do because not everyone likes every kind of cheese.   Some people will go for the goat or other soft cheeses, others will go for the washed-rind cheeses, others will go for the blues, and so forth.

In my cheese tasting and entertaining quest I'm using the book "Cheese: A Connoisseur’s Guide to the World’s Best", by Max McCalman as a basis for the cheese I serve.  This is restricted, of course, by availability at my cheesemonger.  Some cheeses seem to be all around favorites such as Petite Basque and aged Gouda.  The goat and blue cheeses seem to be the most limited with some guests only liking one or the other. Recently, our favorite goat cheeses have been St. Maure and Cypress Grove Mad River whereas our favorite blue cheeses are Valdeon, Social Roquefort, and Bleu d'Auvergne.  But with so many other choices out there we try not to repeat any cheese more than once. 

In terms of cooking, my most recent favorite cheese is Piave.  Piave is a hard cheese that resembles a young Parmigiano Reggiano both in terms of texture and taste.  While I love Parmigiano Reggiano, the problem with it is that it comes in very large wheels.  This means that most stores can not buy a whole wheel and must order a partial one.  So, by the time the Parmigiano Reggiano gets to us at a store it has most likely been cut and stored wrapped in plastic for some time.  End result - unless you shop at an extremely high volume cheese shop it will not be very fresh at the time of purchase.  Piave on the other hand is produced in much smaller wheels that can be cut to order by a cheese shop and sold quickly enough that it will be very fresh when purchased.  I've found side-by-side comparisons of Parmigiano Reggiano and Piave very enlightening.  The flavors are similar but, to me, Piave seems so much more alive.  Piave is also, at least where I shop, less expensive than Parmigiano Reggiano.  These days I almost always use Piave in place of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Now that I have been trying all of these wonderful gourmet cheeses, I'm quickly becoming accustomed to eating magnificent cheeses.  While I still buy some cheeses at the local grocer I can really tell the difference between them and the ones I get from the cheese store.  So what I once thought was good is now only ok.  And when it comes to bulk produced generic yellow or white cheeses I simply stay away.  Hmmm and I've only tried a fraction of the cheese varietals available! So this holiday season my motto for all of those parties is -  Bring on the Cheese! :)

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