Award-winning Chelmsford restaurant MOONSTONES will partner with the Massachusetts Cheese Guild Thursday, April 6 at 6:30PM to present a four-course craft beer and cheese-centric dinner entitled Spring Craft Beer and Artisan Cheese Dinner.Cost for the event is $65 per person, excluding tax and tip.
Moonstones chefs, working in collaboration with craft beer distributors, have created a menu showcasing Massachusetts-made cheeses.
Special guest will be artisan cheesemaker Luca Mignogna of Wolf Meadow Farm in Amesbury, who will share his “secret” Italian techniques for making small batch ricotta, mozzarella and more.
Three other artisan cheeses produced by Massachusetts Cheese Guild members will also be featured: Great Hill Farm, Westfield Farm, and Cricket Creek Farm.
Westfield Farm Smoked Capri
Cauliflower & Smoked Capri Soup, Grilled Cheese Croutons
Anchor Steam, Porter (San Francisco, CA)
Great Hill Blue
Crispy Pork Belly, Great Hill Blue Mac & Cheese, Bacon Onion Jam
Smuttynose, IPA (Portsmouth NH)
Cricket Creek Farm Maggie’s Round
Porter Braised Short Ribs, Maggie’s Round Potato Gratin
Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, Kentucky
Wolf Meadow Farm
Lemon Ricotta Tart, Raspberry Coulis, Merengue Crumble
Lindeman’s Framboise, Lambic, Belgium
Moonstones, a recognized culinary standard-bearer in the Merrimack Valley, believes that the story of cheesemaker Luca Mignogna complements the restaurant’s own philosophy: Think Global. Eat Local.
Cheesemaker Luca Mignogna has been in love with mozzarella “since I was a little kid. It’s kind of like my first girlfriend.” That passion is evident as he stirs cheese curds in a 100-gallon tank, dips and scoops them into a tub of water, then pulls and stretches the curds until they come together into a shiny, smooth round of mozzarella cheese. Mignogna’s company, Wolf Meadow Farm, makes cheeses he grew up within the Molise region of Italy—mozzarella, ricotta, primo sale, scamorza and caciocavallo. Wolf Meadow, however, couldn’t be more different from the humble barn in Campobasso where Mignogna used to watch his grandfather make cheese. Wolf Meadow’s retail shop and cheese-making facility is tucked into an industrial neighborhood of Amesbury. The name Wolf, says Mignogna, comes from his family nickname, and from the wild animal about which he is passionate.
Reservations are strongly suggested. Call Moonstones at 978-256-7777
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Diners will have the opportunity to the join the MA Cheese Guild, as Enthusiast members, during the event.
