Cheese

Need another reason to hit up Saturday's Grilled Cheese Invitational? Evan George and Alex Brown, the creative cooks, cheesemeisters and beloved indie-rock food writers behind the blog Hot Knives, are hosting a chef stage. The stage will feature several hours of cooking, including demonstrations by grilled cheese guru Mark Peel as well as the bizarre cocktail wizardry of Food2's Alie Ward and Georgia Hardstark, who will shake up their beloved "bloody bacon and cheese" cocktail. Los Angeles Center Studios, 1201 W. 5th St., L.A. 11 a.m. Sat. $15. Grilledcheeseinvitational.com.

Free samples and packages of Gouda cheese sold at Costco have been removed from store shelves after being linked to 25 cases of an E. coli outbreak in five Western states, according to health officials. Costco, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn consumers not to eat Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda that was sold in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada, an FDA news release says. As of Thursday, 25 people, including nine who were hospitalized, had been sickened by E. coli 0157:H7, which causes diarrhea and abdominal cramps.

THE plate with five different cheeses seems such an elegant thing. But leave it to restaurants and food photographers. At home, there is nothing better than one cheese in perfect condition served with just the right drink. The cheese course: The late British cheese monger Patrick Rance used to urge his customers to buy "little and often."

A basket of meats, cheese and other goodies from the grocery store cost 6.9% more in the first quarter of 2012 than it did a year earlier, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. A group of 16 items, including cheddar cheese, sirloin-tip roast, salad, orange juice and eggs, cost consumers $52.47 during the first three months of the year, the farm group said . During the same period last year, the price was $49.07. In the fourth quarter of 2011, it cost $49.23. The cost of meats such as sliced deli ham and bacon were up due to strong demand and tight supplies, said AFBF senior economist John Anderson in a statement.

  Total time: 2 hours, 20 minutes, plus chilling time for the dough Servings: 8 to 10 Note: Adapted from Quinn and Karen Hatfield. This recipe calls for a 3½- to 4-quart oven-safe pan or rondeau. Galette dough 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup water 1 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons (6 ounces) flour 1 teaspoon sugar 1. Cut the butter into thick pieces (about 2 tablespoons each)

A major supplier of cheese distributed mainly in the Los Angeles area has announced the recall of seven types of cheese products due to the discovery of a bacteria that can produce flu-like symptoms in healthy people. The Carson-based Azteca Cheese Co. said the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria was found during a routine cheese sampling.

A small California cheese maker is expanding a recall after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found some jack and cheddar varieties might be infected with bacteria. Sonoma Foods Inc. announced the voluntary recall Tuesday, one week after an initial recall of Teleme spreadable cheese. The latest recall applies to Sonoma Cheddar and Sonoma Jack cheeses cut in wheels and wedges, but does not include cheese shreds or slices.

A Carson firm has voluntarily recalled nine brands of Mexican-style cheese products after routine sampling by state food and agriculture inspectors detected the potentially dangerous Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, officials said Friday. Although there have been no illnesses linked to the products, state officials said all packages of Azteca Cheese Co. products marked with certain code dates should be discarded, state officials said. Officials with Azteca could not be reached for comment.

Blue Castello Danish Blue Cheese has been recalled by its importer after a hazardous bacterium showed up in samples, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday. The FDA said the bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes, can cause flu-like symptoms and can be life-threatening to pregnant women and their fetuses, frail elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. The cheese was made by Tholstrup Cheese, Copenhagen, Denmark, and imported by Tholstrup Cheese USA, Warren, N.J., the FDA said.

A Southern California company ordered a batch of its cheese removed from store shelves after federal investigators discovered a potentially deadly bacteria in samples of the product, state health authorities said Tuesday. The Cacique Cheese Co. of the City of Industry voluntarily recalled the product, identified as Cacique Ranchero Cheese, which has a "sell by" date of Dec. 5, 1991.