Grilled Cheese Night II - Chaumes

You know you are in for it when the texts from Darling Husband begin at 4 pm and follow this basic trend:  "Cheese"  "I want cheese."  "Grilled cheese"  "Grilled cheese and us."  Awww!  Perhaps I've created a monster, but a sweet one, none the less!  

OK, sorry for the nauseating digression.  Anyway, when I got home, Darling Husband had the Italian bread sliced and the cheese was warming up on the counter.  I threw together a little tomato lentil soup while he broiled the bread, buttered it and layered it thick with Chaumes.  Stupendous!  I would have taken pictures of the finished product, but it went straight from the broiler to the stomach in about 60 seconds.  

Steve Jenkin's Cheese Primer kind of talks some smack about Chaumes (shohm).  While he does point out that it is a very popular cheese, he focuses on it's mass-produced-ness, and complains that it doesn't have the "power nor the rusticity of the true Munster."  While that is true, the slightly less agressive nature of Chaumes is what makes is great for a Tuesday night grilled cheese.  It also makes it a great intro to washed rind cheese for those afraid of the stank!  There isn't any barnyard here, which I didn't miss.  There is a nice garlic/spicy thing going on with this cheese.  Sticky goodness!


Because it is mass produced, it is a pasturized cheese, which is great for anyone worried about little critters in their cheese (but really, you shouldn't be that worried unless you are buying cheese on the side of the road ...).  It takes four gallons of milk to make a single 4.5 pound cheese, which ages for two to three weeks before being sent to the store. Peel off the thin plastic coating before eating, but be sure to taste the actual rind.  It really makes this cheese special.  


We probably could have eaten the entire wedge straight, but heaven forbid we put it together with some tasty carbs for a fabulous feast.  I'll be dreaming about this one tonight!