Summer is here, and it’s time to get grilling! Castello® is hitting the road with the Char-Broil Live Mobile Grill Tour, bringing our signature cheeses to great events across the country. Nothing goes better with a juicy grilled burger than creamy, salty blue cheese–now you can taste it for yourself!

The current list of our tour stops is below – visit the Char-Broil Tour Site and the Castello® facebook page for updates. And stay tuned for a re-cap when the Char-Broil tour rolls into New York City in June!

1. Soft cheeses (like Castello Soft Blue, or Brie): don’t wrap these cheeses, since it’ll make a big mess. Just leave them in an airtight container, but with one corner popped open so that the cheeses can breathe and age.

2. Semi-firm and hard cheeses (like Castello-Rosenborg Traditional Blue): wrap in parchment paper (which you can find at any grocery store or cheese shop) and then in plastic wrap. If you buy the type of Castello-Rosenborg Blue that is sold in an airtight tablepack, keep the Blue cheese right in the package to store it!

Another general tip: Always keep cheeses in a drawer in your fridge. Cheese needs to stay in a more humid (enclosed) environment.

Here’s what we learned about bread and baking – the food, which as a storied history back through biblical times, is really all about the quality of flour. The ingredients in bread are simple: flour (preferably unbleached), salt, water, and yeast. The yeast will make the dough rise as the cells release carbon dioxide as they reproduce via budding (a form of cell division, aka mitosis). So of course, like we know here at the House of Castello, the ingredients matter a lot.

We also learned how to make pizza – one of the most quotidian foods for the masses – into a gourmet and elegant meal. Some tips: 1) Do not over-top your pizza. Too much cheese or sauce will cause the dough to get soggy and heavy. Employ a less-is-more mentality. 2) Do not add “dry” ingredients until the pizza is out of the oven. We’re talking about basil, sundried tomatoes… don’t add these toppings until the end. 3) No olive oil until the pizza is out of the oven. 4) Hot oven is key: the hotter, the better – bake the pizza for about 8 minutes only. You want that crispy crust that can only be achieved in a hot, dutch oven.

Freeze your Blue Cheese for a Cool Summer Salad

Do you want to enjoy the big flavor of Castello Blue cheese on your salads while still watching your calories and fat intake? Chef Billy Strynkowski, the executive chef of Cooking Light magazine, has come up with a trick that you’re going to love.

1. Freeze a piece of Castello Danish Blue.

2. When you’re ready for your salad, grate some of the cheese with a Microplane or on a fine grater.

3. You’ll create “Blue Ice” – and get all the flavor of Blue cheese without all the calories! Also, the cheese will coat the entire salad, so you get more flavor in every bite.

1.    Buy a good cut and quality of beef.
2.    Bring the meat to room temperature before cooking.
3.    Pat the meat dry and brush with oil.
4.    Season well with salt.
5.    Start cooking over the hottest part of the grill, searing the outside of the meat, then move it to a cooler part of the grill and finish cooking to your preferred doneness.
6.    After removing the meat from the grill, top with Castello Blue Cheese and let it sit for 5 minutes so the juices reabsorb before serving.

Top Chef: The Tour Stops in Red Bank, NJ

The House of Castello was on the scene at this Top Chef: The Tour stop last week in Red Bank, New Jersey. This was just one of the 22 stops the Tour will be making this year. Facing off in a quick-fire challenge, we had Chef Kevin Sbraga and Chef Jen Carroll. Local fans were able to sign on to the Top Chef website to vote for the main ingredient in the cook-off — and this was the only stop that chose chicken! Classy, New Jersey! But the chefs pulled out all of the stops as they whipped up chicken thigh with a curry sauce (Kevin) and chicken breast with spring pea puree and balsamic reduction (Jen). Members of the local restaurant scene voted — and Jen was the winner! Though, it might have been due to the day’s hot temperature that her decidedly light and springy dish was the crowd favorite. After the cook-off, guests could sample Castello Soft Blue on water crackers — it’s the gentler, milder Blue that everyone loves, and it’s creamier and more spreadable on crackers. The chefs — and the crowds — agreed that the day was filled with great eats.

A Royal Blue Evening with Castello®

In four different cities nationwide, Castello® presents Cooking Light magazine’s Executive Chef Billy Strynkowski. Chef Billy cooked an exclusive multi-course menu using Castello® Danish Blue cheese, teaching guests along the way how to make the same dishes at home. Chef Billy’s menu? Tomato and Bean Bruschetta, Pear and Walnut Salad with Blue cheese, Sautéed Halibut, Blue Cheese and Parsley Mashed Potatoes, and Banana Split Ice Cream Pie.

The “Toast our Crowning Achievement” Sweeps

Look for our nationwide sweepstakes in stores as we celebrate the launch of the new Castello-Rosenborg® packaging! To toast our achievement, we are giving away the brand-new iPad 2® to 5 grand prize winners, and a pair of beautiful Orrefors® crystal glasses to 10 first prize winners. Click here to enter: www.RosenborgUSA.com/Castello

Top Chef: The Tour Comes to a City Near You

As the cheftestants from Bravo’s hit TV show Top Chef take to the road on a nationwide tour, Castello® joins them as a proud sponsor of culinary innovation. Look for our sampling tables as your favorite chefs compete in live Quick Fire challenges in 21 cities. Click here for dates and locations: www.bravotv.com/thetour.

Golf Tournaments with Castello®

This summer and fall, our Blue takes to the Green with charity golf classics in four cities. Nothing goes better with the luxurious taste of our Traditional Blue than a nice afternoon on the golf course, relaxing with a leisurely game with friends – and all for a good cause. Visit our Facebook page for photos and to see how our Castello® teams fare on the fairway.