Saturday, June 14, 2014

"Say CHEESE!!!!!" Ballard Cheese



Ballard Cheese
MORE CHEESE PLEASE!!!!  .......these are the words that will be echoing throughout a room the second  a slice of delicious Ballard Cheese hits your taste buds!!!! 
In my travels, I was LUCKY enough to be served Ballard Cheese at a doTERRA Essential Oil Class I was teaching.  Needless to say.....I instantly knew I had to SHARE with you all!!!!  

Ballard Family Dairy and Cheese Factory not only makes the most delicious cheese I've ever tasted but they are also a small IDAHO family business!  Ballard's were kind enough to let me come visit and I am so excited to be able to share with you a glimpse!  

Arriving at Ballard's Cheese Factory,  I was met with a warm welcome from the matriarch of the family, Stacie Ballard.  Tuesdays are BUSY!!!!  Daughter, Jessica Brockman, was hard at it beside cow-workers, Jane and Rabecca.  Huge THANK YOU to the entire family for taking the time to visit with me!!!! 
LEARN more this FAMILY BUSINESS here:   http://ballardcheese.com/aboutus.html


That was the my 1st lesson....LOTS of hard work goes into making these handmade specialty cheese.  Mondays usually start at 3:45 AM to pull milk and start pasteurization process and go until 8pm.  While I was there they were packaging cheese curds. Click here to see How the Cheese is Made!  :http://ballardcheese.com/cheesemaking.html



The ladies shared a few BALLARD EMPLOYEE FAVORITES while we visited

  • Rabecca's favorite: Tomato Basil Cheese Curds (shown above) or Plain Curds warm out of the vats.  They are creamy, salty, and yum yum yum!!!!
  • Jessica's Favorite: Garlic Pepper Curds
  • Jane's Favorite: Ranch Curds
  • Stacie's Favorite.....She LOVES them all!  That is why she makes them!!!
    She did share a couple tasty recipes she likes! 
    * Homemade Mac & Cheese starring White Cheddar, Danish Pearl, and Pepper Cheddar
    * Garlic Curds with sausage for AMAZING Breakfast Burritos!
    Click here for more recipes to try: http://ballardcheese.com/recipes.html

HAPPY COWS at Ballard Cheese Factory
As good as this cheese is I was even more impressed with this IDAHO Business!!!  Not only do they strive to make a quality handmade Idaho product but they also BUY IDAHO!! They milk about 70 head of 100% Jersey cows.  Raise all their young stock. Ballard's also raise some of their own hay and buy locally for the rest.   They have been recognized for going above and beyond to with efficiency, sustainability, and green awards.  Cutting back water and propane use considerably! Learn more here :http://ballardcheese.com/news.html

Feeding, Raising, and Buying IDAHO HAY!!!
As I mentioned before...I'd tried Ballard Cheese before.  That is why I wanted to share with you all in the 1st place.  Well, It wasn't until the preparation for this little blog that I would fully appreciate the AMAZINGNESS that Ballard's Handmade Specialty Cheeses offers! 
Click here for CHEESE TIPS : http://ballardcheese.com/cheesetips.html
They were very helpful for me when serving and storing these delicious cheeses!

The TASTE TESTS.....Dining in head 1st with cheese tasting, trying, experimenting, savorying, and ENJOYING!!!!  Here are some of our favorites....but don't take my word for it....order a selection of these DELICIOUS Ballard Cheese's and TRY them for yourself!!!!!
Ballard Grilling Cheese
GRILLING CHEESE SALAD
GRILLING CHEESE Salad ~ Ballard Cheese's Grilling Cheese paired with fresh greens, juicy tomatoes, ripe strawberries, and drizzled with a Rasberry Vingerette & Green Chili dressing! Sweet & SPICY deliciousness!
Ballard Grilling Cheese was my favorite before I started this article and if I only could only have ONE cheese.....It would probably still be the grilling cheese. Seriously, look at it in the pan....it doesn't get much better than that.  Great on sandwiches, salads, and well.....everything I've tried!  It is so fabulous, versatile, and tasty!  Lucky for me, there are no cheese restrictions...and I can try any cheese I want! 

Let the test testing begin!  I must give a shout out to my awesome neighbors who came over for a night of CHEESE, CHEESE, and More CHEESE!!!  They were great sports for trying anything I served and giving great feedback!  Just when we thought there was a favorite....it was blown out of the water by the next!

  • JP Picks ~ Baby Swiss, great taste and aged well.
    Idaho Jersey Dream, Creamy deliciouseness that melts in your mouth!
    Favorite Curds ~ Pepper and Garlic, squeaky and so good!!!
  • Houston Picks ~  I like it all!!!  Gouda and Green Apple, Feta, Pepper and Garlic Curds.
    ***Asparagus and Parmarono!!!
  • William Picks ~Parmarono.  Favorite Curds: Pepper and Garlic
 Danish Pearl Gouda paired with a Green Apple ...SURPRISINGLY DELIGHTFUL!  Light and spunky, the flavors complimented each other well!  New favorite appetizer!  (Easy, just the way I like it!)
Parmarono finely grated and melted to perfection over asparagus!  It was so good it went from side dish to appetizer because we couldn't wait to eat it!!
Creamy Tortellini Soup with Ballard Parmarono Cheese
 Creamy Sausage Tortelini Soup topped with PARMARONO grated over ......drooling just thinking about it!


 Ballard Cheese' Idaho Jersey Dream Feta is creamy & AMAZING paired with fresh greens, juicy tomatoes, ripe strawberries, and drizzled with a Rasberry Vingerette & Green Chili dressing! Sweet & SPICY deliciousness!
Ballard's Baby Swiss Melted over hot roast beef!   As you can see....with this fine cheese....the sky is the limit and they take good food and make it AMAZING!!!!!

I Double Dog Dare YOU to pick a FAVORITE Cheese!  Stacie is right.....they are all so amazing!!!  Just when you think that it can't get any better....you will perfectly pair a culinary creation with a Ballard Cheese....aww...SO YUMMY!!!  TRY them ALL
Full list of cheeses! :http://ballardcheese.com/products.html
"cheddar cheese products range from fresh out of the vat cheese curds to rich and
mellow aged cheddar cheese, we have our
Danish Pearl which is creamy melt in your
mouth, some new one are
Golden Greek (grillin' cheese) .New 2010 Award
Winning
 Truffle Cheddar!  Of course, we like to spice things up a bit for you with our
popular variety cheeses curds such as Garlic Herb, Garlic Pepper, Cool Ranch,
Tomato & Basil, Dill, Hot & Spicy Pepper and of course Plain.
" Ballard Cheese



BUY IDAHO ~ Get your BALLARD Cheese TODAY!!!! 
Click here for ordering : http://ballardcheese.com/baskets.html




BUY LOCAL: Here is a list of Retailers you can buy Ballard Cheese from in your town! :http://ballardcheese.com/retail.html

If you don't have a retailer locally caring the Ballard Cheese.......Ask your local grocer to carry it!!!! 
 THANK YOU for traveling the gypsy trail with me today!  Hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse at BALLARD CHEESE!!!!  Show them so LOVE!  Visit them on facebook and give them a LIKE!  Tell them Mindy sent ya ;) :  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ballard-Cheese/115591201823667 

Happy Trails, Mindy

UPDATE...
 OH MY GOODNESS.....Ballard Cheese Grilling Cheese is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Perfectly grilled with a steak & chop seasoning...aww....so delicious!!! I think it will be mind blowing with fajitas.....if you can stop yourself from eating them straight out of the pan!
New Favorite Ballard "GRILLED CHEESE" Boat!!!!

Sliced Turkey and  Ballard Grilling Cheese smothered  Cranberry Salsa all nestled Crispy Romaine Lettuce Leaf!!!!  It is a Lettuce Wrap of Grilled Delightfullness!!!!  
http://rodeotalesgypsytrails.blogspot.com/2015/02/ballard-grilled-cheese-boat.html


  • Rodeo Tales & Gypsy Trails
    is proudly brought to you by
    Lil' Red Roan
    Lil' Red Roan Lovely Lady Leg Knives available now!

    THANK YOU for shopping small! You, our loyal customers, are the driving force behind our small business. Thank you for your patronage and continued support. We are honored to be able to provide quality goods and look forward to serving you again in the future. ~ Mindy
    Visit us ONLINE!!





No comments:

Post a Comment