Cheese

Never eat an American cheese sandwich in front of a hungry member of the Sons of Malcolm X. Mark Poli learned this lesson April 10. Poli, it seems, had the misfortune of holding an American cheese sandwich inside his 15th District jail cell in Philadelphia - where he was being held on a robbery charge - when he was introduced to his new cellmate at 12:45 p.m. Into the cell walked Jose "Slick" Perez, an alleged killer and a reputed member...

Danny DiBruno, 74, a cheese merchant in the Italian Market who believed you should never buy a provolone without tasting it first, died Wednesday at St. Agnes Medical Center. "What does it cost to take out a hunk of cheese and give a taste to a customer?" he once told a food writer. "You might make a customer forever. " Mr. DiBruno, a short, plump man with gray, slicked-back hair, held court six and seven days a week at the DiBruno Brothers cheese shop in the 900 block of South Ninth Street.

Ricotta is having its moment. Until recently, it was that bland, one-note, workhorse cheese, bought in supermarkets by the tub, mostly used as the paste that held together layers of lasagna. But that was before it got the fresh-local-artisan makeover. Now, ricotta - along with that other fresh Italian cheese, mozzarella - is stealing the spotlight from its more complex, aged curds-and-whey cousins at restaurants around the city. And for good reason. When made by hand, with premier ingredients, the airy textures and delicate flavors can stand on their own. Cheese this good needs only a pinch of flaked sea salt and a slice of oiled toast to make for a memorable bite.

Rising expenses ended 82 years of family operation at M. Maggio Co. Inc. The last shipment of ricotta and mozzarella cheese left the South Philadelphia company on Thursday - the sixth anniversary of the death of Peter J. Maggio, who died in 1992 after running the company for 33 years. The sale papers were signed Monday, the anniversary of his burial. "He was with us until the end," said Peter V. Maggio, Peter J.'s son and director of the company. The anniversary dates were chosen in memory of his father, Peter V. said.

Dina Cheney has the perfect solution for a would-be party host who doesn't cook and can't afford to cater: throw a tasting party. But she's not just talking wine and cheese in her new book, Tasting Club (DK Publishing). She suggests a whole new world of possibilities - tastings of tea, honey, apples, cured meats - and, of course, chocolate. It may sound hokey, but if you had been a fly on the wall in my apartment the other night, you would have seen my friends sampling chocolate with as much interest and intensity as if it were vintage wine or artisanal cheese: "I'd say that I found it complex, but not overpowering," one friend said as he jotted down a few notes on a piece of paper.

Confession Hello, my name is Craig and I am a mozzarella-holic. Mozzarella is one of the loveliest things I know, especially on a warm summer day when I cut a tender ball of that pure white cheese into slices so thick that I can sink my teeth right in. Usually I stack them with luscious rounds of ripe tomato, fragrant basil leaves, and an indulgent drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. But I've also been known to ravage a ball of it...

What was meant as a cheesy prank last October now has a Medford man facing up to five years in prison. Roberto Gittens, 34, a former courier for Airborne Express, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to sending packages with what turned out to be moldy grated cheese during the height of the anthrax scare last fall. He sent two packages with canisters of cheese, one labeled "anthrax" and another "smallpox," to the home of a high school friend in Massachusetts from the Airborne Express facility in Absecon, where he then worked.

This quiche remake reduces the butter and cheese and eliminates the crust entirely. This dish can easily be prepared a day in advance. Reheat uncovered in a 350-degree oven.   Spinach and Mushroom Torte 10 to 12 servings 1 tablespoon mild olive oil 1 tablespoon butter 1/2 cup finely diced onion 12 ounces white mush- rooms, cleaned, stem- med, and thinly sliced Kosher salt Ground black pepper 8 large eggs, beaten 11/2 cups low-fat milk (2 percent)

Germany, probably more than any other country on the planet, is hellbent on quality. This ranges from cars to cutlery to even the spartan yet satisfying sandwiches served at both breakfast and lunch. Take heavy, dark rye bread, some cold cuts and maybe a slice of cheese or a dab of mustard, and you've got the classic German sandwich. Don't even think about mayonnaise or butter, says Walter Rieker, co-owner of Rieker's Prime Meats, 7979 Oxford Ave. (215-745-3114) in Fox Chase, where nearly all the meat cold cuts and sausages are made and smoked on the premises.

Valley Shepherd's Eran Wajswol has blasted out the side of a North Jersey hilltop with dynamite in his quest to make the ultimate cave-aged cheese. So how hard can it be to bring a steady milk supply into the Reading Terminal Market, where he plans to begin making cheese this summer? "It's a nightmare," he says, the remnants of his Israeli-Belgian accent lilting with enough drama to make clear he's also thrilled by the challenge. "To do this in a 120-year-old building, to drill a 15-foot double pipeline through the wall into our milk tank in the basement — it's like making the Holland Tunnel.