Great Minds....

After a delightful day off pre-Labor day, I staggered into Bay Cities Italian Deli still a little delirious from my facial, and in the daze of too many layers of moisturizer, I wandered over to the cheese counter, where I found a pre-sliced, plastic wrapped hunk of Tallegio. I grabbed it and proceeded to wander the store picking up ridiculous things like tubes of tomato paste and aloe vera juice and putting them back down again. When I was done, the only thing I still had from the beginning was the Tallegio.

Tallegio is a traditional Italian, washed rind cheese - ie: stinky. It was a good sign when I could smell it through the plastic wrap! I love the fact that this is traditionally a square cheese, rather than a round one. It stands out at the cheese counter. So I get home and show my finds to my sweet DH, only to find out that he had almost bought a hunk of the exact same cheese! How wild is that? And how sweet!

So, it warmed up, and we are enjoying it with a little Pinot Noir. It's a funny thing that just because a cheese smells crazy stinky because of the washed rind doesn't mean that it is hugely mushroomy and barn-yardy. This cheese is almost meaty, maybe even a little bread-y or yeasty. It isn't very gooey, it keeps its shape when you cut it, and it has an almost velvety "mouth feel." Very sophisticated. It knows its a great cheese, and doesn't need to shoot off any fireworks. I almost want to eat it with raspberry jam! Maybe a richer red wine might have done the trick. But it is still delicious, and makes me want to keep eating.

Unfortunately, I can't keep eating right now - we're out the door to the movies. Guaranteed, though, that if I fall asleep, I'll dream of sitting in an outdoor Italian cafe drinking a big red wine and eating on a giant hunk of Tallegio.