Cheese Makes Everything Even Better!

It has been a whirlwind week.  My parents are in town for the holidays, and well, there were the holidays!  So much fun was had by all.  The highlight so far has been an overnight in Santa Barbara wine country.  We visited Firestone vinyard for a tour and tasting - a nice intro to the area for the parentals.  Turns out they were having a MASSIVE sale, and so Darling Dad will have a case of wine waiting for him upon his return home.  The next day, we went to the little tasting room for Coquelicot, and enjoyed many tastes in their lovely garden area (don't hate on the Cali girl for her lovely Xmas weather...).
**Please note - the pic here is of Darling Husband at a wine tasting over the summer -the weather here isn't THAT great.  Neither Darling Mom or Dad would consent to having their pics on the web.

Because I am the cheese head that I am, I packed a Camembert and a bit of Birkshire Blue into a bag for the trip with a ice pack and some crackers.  As we sat down at the table for the first of three Chardonnay tastings, a Sauvignon Blanc tasting, I cracked out the Camembert.  Perfect!  Rich creamy cheese with rich oaky whites.  We got distracted by the multitude of tastings, and were well into the reds, when Dad commented that he didn't really like a particular Cabernet.  Remembering that everyone's taste buds are different, I didn't get defensive, but realized that it might be time to break out the Birkshire Blue!  Nothing like a bit of tangy cheese to help you focus on the fruity flavors of a perhaps slightly tannic red (tannic wine is the stuff that makes your mouth feel like all the moisture has just been sucked out by a high speed hair drier - not particularly appetizing).  It worked!  Upon further reflection, Dad decided that he didn't mind the wine as much with the cheese.  It is possible that he was just being nice, or that we were on tasting #7, but I think that there is definitely something to be said for the magic that happens to your tastebuds when you mix a little wine and cheese together.

Be it a cube of grocery store cheddar at a cheap art opening or a wedge of Camembert  at a winery, or a left-over nugget of whatever cheese for a night at home with the hubby, it all tastes good!  Celebrate the holidays or any day with a bit of wine and cheese!  Two great tastes that taste great together.  (I'll let your brain puzzle out which old marketing campaign that phrase comes from...)

Holiday Cheese Planning!

Between work and being sick, my cheese life has been severely compromised.  It's been a hard few weeks!  But in my mind, I was planning what cheeses to share with my darling parents and slightly fussy mother-in-law over Christmas.

What to do?  I sort of feel like all the learning and tasting I've done over the last six months boils down to what and how I present to others.  I think that one of the most important things to be able to do as a cheese head is to figure out what works for others, as much as knowing what you love for you and your personal taste buds.  Perhaps Groundhog Day is a day to experiment with new, exotic, "weird" cheese, but I don't think that Christmas is necessarily the time or place to present challenging cheese to friends and family unless they are as cheesy as I am.  I know my parents both support me in my cheesy-ness, and even the mother-in-law likes talking about cheese with me from time to time.  That said, did I think they would really want to try that really tangy goat Bleu de Bocage?  Probably not.  This was the time for KISS cheese.  Keep it simple.

So, bring out the Camembert!  The challenge will be the Birkshire Blue (my current favorite blue - and I can tell a good story about it...).  And the cheese for the afternoon with the mother-in-law?  Brillat Savarin with Champagne!  I know, I know - we haven't yet discussed this triple creme, but stay tuned.

And if they are bored - which they won't be because all of these cheese are awesome - I'll just take them to Andrew's Cheese to pick out something new.

Happy happy everyone!  Enjoy family, good food and some tasty cheese!  Let me know how it goes!

Beautiful Berkshire Blue

As part of my Thanksgiving "Pilgrim's Progress" cheese spread, I needed a cheese from Massachusetts.  Trouble was, Andrew's Cheese Shop only had one cheese from MA in the case on Wednesday when I went in to procure my dairy delights.  It always makes me nervous when I don't have choices, but the one cheese they had sounded kind of interesting.  I took Berkshire Blue home untasted.  What choice did I have?  It was all about location, location, location for this tasting.

I wasn't disappointed!  This blue cheese (on the right - duh) is a great find for anyone who loves blues.  It might not be a great cheese for introducing your blue cheese phobic cheeses to your obsession with blue mold.  It is a bit on the tangy side.  That said, it also has a great earthy sweetness, with a great creamy texture.  It was great on a bit of cracker (I tried to eat it without carbs, but it stuck to my fingers!  Not a terrible problem to have, but it was slowing me down.) with a glass of port.

The website for this great artisinal cheese betrays their love for their Jersey cows.  I can't say I blame them.  Not only are they adorable, with their big brown eyes, but their milk has a higher butterfat content, and they are apparently smarter than your average cow.  Kind of fun.  And really, if you devote your life to turning someone's milk into cheese, wouldn't you prefer if they weren't just a bunch of great udders?  I digress.

If you can find this one, buy it!  You won't be sorry.  It's only available in a few shops around the country, but they'll ship it to you for special occasions if you ask nicely (and give them your credit card number).