Cheese for a Wednesday - pt. 30 Carre de Pitou

I love goat cheese.  Not only is their cheese delicious, smooth, tangy and complex, goats are just darn cute!  And if I can find a goat cheese that also falls into the category of "spreadable" as defined by Darling Husband as something gooey that won't break your cracker when you try to spread it, I buy a lot of it.  A few weeks ago, my friend Andrew - cheese monger extraordinare - gave me a taste of Carre de Poitou a soft, spreadable Loire Valley goat cheese that some might consider part of the second coming.  I try to have a little restraint when tasting cheeses at Andrew's, but in this case, I found myself licking the paste right off the paper so as to get every last little bit!  This rare square (carre is French for square) is the perfect cheese to get any party started.  It is both sweet and tangy, and it's bloomy rind makes it a great brie substitute for anyone with cow's milk allergies.  But don't tell your guests that it's a brie.  This cheese doesn't have the unctuous creaminess of brie nor the ivory paste.  This is a bright white goat's milk cheese with a soft, edible rind and an almost milky interior.  See how it's starting to run after 10 minutes?  Andrew actually sent it home with an ice pack.  That's how sensitive this lovely is.  

I'd love to have a picture of it at full "run," but DH had gobbled most of it before it was fully ready even though I told him he would be able to taste even more of the fresh grassy flavor if he waited.  There were (miraculously) a few leftovers, which he enjoyed as part of a very upscale grilled cheese a few days later.  Look how sad the dog is that he won't be getting any of that cheesy goodness literally sliding off the bread in it's melty quest for greatness.  I didn't get any of these cheesy canapes either, though DH was kind enough to let me take a photo before he snuck out to the "man cave" to inhale his snack while muttering like Golem about his precious cheese.  


If you are lucky enough to find this cheese at your local shop, buy enough to share and enjoy with a nice crisp bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and good friends.  

Cheese for a Wednesday - pt 28 Cheese for an Insane Student

Dear CheeseDreaming Fans,
I miss you!  I miss gorging on cheese and telling you about how fun it was!  I miss talking about artisinal cheeses in depth, using poetic turns of phrase to make you hungry even if you've just had a 12 course meal!  I miss starting conversations about organic and raw milk and cheese production!

But until April 17, I am just swamped!  Swamped I say, with homework, papers, case studies, Excel spread sheets and other things that are sooooo not as much fun as cheese.  After that, I'll have a piece of paper that says that I did a lot of work and learned the difference between a Balance Sheet and an Income Statement and how to calculate Net Present Value.  That said, whilst attempting to finish all of this, I'm still procrastinating on the World Wide Webs, and have been finding lots of wacky fun facts about cheese that aren't necessarily worthy of a full post, but make for a great Facebook update.

So, please join me on Facebook if you are missing me as much as I'm missing you!  Look for me at CheeseDreaming and join the fun!  I promise to be back to long form entertainment as soon as possible

Cheese for a Wednesday - pt 27 Fol Epi and the Return of the Cheese Ghost!

Another long week.  Lots going on at work and at school.  I am in need of a little comfort food!  And I need cheese.  Like, really NEED cheese.  And then I realize that there is a beautiful wedge of Fol Epi in the fridge, waiting patiently for me to make grilled cheese sandwiches!  It's been waiting patiently for over two weeks, which I realize is a bit blasphemous, but it was carefully wrapped by the cheesemonger, so I'm not too worried.  So I go to the grocery store on my way home and pick up some bread from the deli counter, and select the reddest tomato available in early March at the grocery store, and head home to unwrap my Loire Valley cow's milk "swiss" cheese.  Much to my surprise, my wedge of cheese has turned into a, well, a wedge with the end cut off!  (Geometry buffs, please help me out here.)  The Cheese Ghost is back!

Thankfully, the ghost had the forethought that if he ate all the cheese, he might get a severe lecture around dinnertime!  There was plenty of cheese left to grate up to make some pretty yummy grilled cheese.  Thick bottomed skillet on medium high heat, plenty of butter on the bread, a good 1/3 cup of shredded cheese, a few thin slices of tomato, and melt.  I like to shred my cheese for grilled cheese because I think it melts more evenly.  Everyone has their own method.  Deelicious any way you melt it, and perfect with tomato soup, but I don't have to tell you that.

And Fol Epi is a great cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches.  This is a high protein cow's milk cheese is aged for three months, and has a very creamy, rich, nutty flavor.  It tastes a lot like a good Emmenthaler (swiss) cheese, but sweeter and with a little something special that I didn't figure out until I went searching for info on the web.  The rind of this cheese is really grainy, which really threw me as I started grating it.  It turns out that the rind is dusted with toasted wheat flour, adding "that something special" to the flavor of the cheese, and helps it stand out from the crowd. In fact, "Fol Epi" can be translated in French as "wild wheat stalk."    I'm not sure how much extra flavor comes from this coating, but I think it definitely has some effect.

As an aside, I always check out Wikipedia for basic info on all my tasty finds, but I didn't find a single entry for Fol Epi in English, though the Europeans are all over it in French and German!  Hmm.  Anyone up for the challenge?

I sure hope the Cheese Ghost hasn't eaten up all the leftovers before I get home tonight!  Sweet cheese dreams!

Cheese for a Wednesday - pt 25 The Mysterious Disappearing Cheese

There is a ghost in our house.  A cheese eating ghost.  We're not calling in Ghostbusters (though Fanboy Wife could probably hook us up...).  We're just going to have to get a more realistic about portion control.    See, Darling Husband fell in love with the La Florette cheese at the tasting we went to a while back, and under the influence of lots of Loire Valley wine we ended up with a quarter pound of this goat's milk "brie style" cheese (Easily identified by the cute goat on the label.)

Now, this tasting was kind of belated birthday present for DH, and as such, he decided that he was going to buy some cheese, and not let me eat any of it.  Rude, yes, but you've got to appreciate his passion. I, being a good wife, let him be the boss of this cheese.  Plus, I was at the tasting, so I wasn't completely denied.  DH is a big fan of sandwiches, and as a High School teacher, he enjoys freaking out his students with exotic cheese sandwiches, some with incredible "nose."  I love the fact that he doesn't treat his cheese with kid gloves.  It isn't precious to him.  It's food.  Food that is amazingly tasty, rich, and joy providing, but just food.  So, he made himself a LaFlorette cheese sandwich with some sliced ham.  I'm assuming that he slathered on the cheese pretty thick.  (It has a very soft, spreadable paste.)   He said it was an excellent sandwich, and effectively freaked out his students.  Mission accomplished.  

Unfortunately, two days later, when he went to make another sandwich with the La Florette, he accused me of eating some!  (I hadn't.  Sometimes, a promise is a promise)  His proof?  It was almost all gone!  Had it shrunk?  Impossible!  Had he simply forgotten how much he used on his uber-sandwich?  Ridiculous!  I protested my innocence, blamed it on the dog, and we finally decided that it would just remain a mystery.  So, if you pick up some La Florette, be forewarned!  It has a tendency to disappear.

It is quite a spectacular cheese, so I don't blame it for having a tendency to vanish.  See the sample at twelve o'clock?  With the waterfall of butterfat oozing out of the middle?  That's our cheese!  It's called a brie-style cheese because of it's gently flavored bloomy rind and soft, creamy paste.  It is a goat cheese, so it does have a little more tang - my tasting notes say "barnyard lite."  I would never try this cheese out on Man Who Sneers at Goats (Cheese), but it had a really lovely, delicate, complex grassy flavor that reminded me that spring was coming (eventually).  

We may have to get more La Florette soon.  Not only is a perfect, spreadable cheese for DH's lunchtime sandwiches, but it is great with a nice Chenin Blanc and good conversation too (when it isn't sneaking out of the fridge and disappearing all on its own!)

Cheese for a Wednesday - pt 24 Breakfast Cheese!

It's been quite a week.  As nice as my dentist and periodontist are, I'm still terrified of the dentist's chair.    Lucky for you, this blog is about cheese and not about excruciating dental work that includes extractions and implants.  Sadly, however, my tender gums haven't been up for anything other than soup and soft, soft, soft food that can be easily chewed on one side of the mouth only.  I haven't really been eating cheese since last Tuesday's Loire Valley cheese orgy.  That has probably been more torturous than the healing process!

Anyway, I finally got bored enough to dive back in to the wonderful world of cheese, and decided to start with breakfast.  Why not?  It's the most important meal of the day!

That adorable little white hockey puck (above) is actually an incredibly soft, delicious French goat cheese from the Midi Pyrennes called Cabecou.  I know that Man Who Sneers at Goats (Cheese) won't like it no matter what I say, but this little cheese is so mild, sweet and spreadable that I knew it would be perfect for a woman sporting a bit more exposed gum than usual.  The goats who help make this cheese nibble on hawthorne, mulberry and juniper leaves, making delicious, complex milk and a cheese perfect on english muffin with a little honey and an espresso.  The flavor is subtle, and there isn't any of the "tang" that MWSAG(C) hates so much in goat cheese.

I tend to only think about cheese after dark, or in an elaborate omlette at Sunday brunch.  The closest to a simple cheese breakfast I usually get is a tub of cream cheese and a bagel.  If I could afford to have a refrigerator full of Cabecou, every morning would be as delightful as this one was!

How/when do you eat cheese for breakfast?  Let's start a revolution!

Cheese for a Wednesday - pt 22.5 Johnny Cash edition

As promised - video!!!  I believe that even people who don't like country music can't help but start tapping their feet when they hear Johnny Cash and the Carter sisters.  Feel free to disagree.  Did you know that the Carter Family were the first to sing Wabash Cannonball back in 1929?  Did you know that Capriole Dairy's Wabash Cannonball goat cheese was one of the first prize winning American cheeses back in 1995 - practically the dark ages in American cheese years?

Anyway, I've been waiting to share the Wabash Cannonball with you ever since New Year's eve when this was the "sympathy cheese" for my lactose intolerant friend who couldn't partake of the orgy of Emmenthaler, but whose delicate system is fine with goat cheese.  I was immediately chagrined by the fact I had promised to let him eat the whole thing and took back my promise - helping myself to two crackers worth for myself.

This little cheese is a perfect single serving cheese.  I would absolutely serve one per person (or perhaps one per couple) at an elegant dinner party.  At approximately 3 ounces, it's a little bigger than a golf ball.  If you are familiar with antique firearms, you might also see the similarity to a Civil War era small cannon ball due to its coating of vegetable ash.  But far from being a sad reminder of the War Between the States, this Wabash Cannonball is rich, tangy and crumbly, with just a hint of lemon.  The cheese makers at Capriole Dairy in Southern Indiana suggest it for dessert, served with figs or a simple syrup infused with lavender and vanilla bean.  It sounds like an elegant juxtaposition of tangy and sweet - a complex explosion of flavor.  I think a nice espresso or mint tea might really complete a final course.  Unfortunately, I read that suggestion well after having scarfed it down dry with crackers.  I always seem to forget the accompaniments.  Next time!

The legend behind Capriole Dairy is wonderful as well.  In an attempt to get back to the land and live a more sustainable life, the cheesemakers ended up buying property in S. Indiana that had belonged to the husband's great great grandfather many years before.  They built their home on the same spot where the original log cabin had been.  A really lovely story, I think.  A fine pairing for a lovely cheese.

Sweet cheese dreams all!  (and for those sticklers out there - please note that I'm posting at 11:06 PST on Wednesday, so I still haven't officially missed a Wednesday cheese!  Wish me luck on Friday for another exciting dentist encounter....

Cheese for a Wednesday - pt. 21 Appeasement Cheese

I don't know how it works around your house, but if I bring treats (cheese, cupcakes, cookies, etc) into the house with the intent of serving them at a party or taking them to a friend's house, there will be some loss due to the Husband Tax.  Instead of 24 cookies, there will mysteriously be 23.  Instead of 1/4 pound of cheese, there will be 1/5 of a pound (very cleanly cut and put back into the wrapper...).  I don't mind really.  In fact, I've stopped worrying about it all together.  I just bring home a little extra something for us to enjoy together right away (I have impulse control issues too...)

So, last Friday, when I went shopping for cheese to take to meet our friends' new baby, I knew I needed something to take home and eat immediately.  When I explained my dilemma to Andrew, he laughed and called it the "appeasement cheese."  And that's just what it was.  In fact, the Brie from the Ferme de Jouvence in France could appease the most cranky troll.  A hungry husband wasn't even a challenge!

One rule about Brie:  make sure that it has warmed up to room temperature before serving, or you won't be able to taste all the complex flavors inside the bloomy rind.  (Actually, this is true for all cheese.)  The other problem with a cold Brie is that it doesn't have the requisite "gooey-ness" that my husband, and I'm sure legions of others, loves so much about cheese.  I know it's hard to wait (impulse control issues...), but it's really worth it.  In fact, do a little taste test.  Since you won't be able to wait, have a little bit right after you take it from the fridge.  See?  Meh.  Now, wait 30 minutes and try again...fireworks, right?  Told you.

This cheese is so delicious!  It is sweet and mushroomy, with just a little tang from the rind (Please eat the rind of Brie!  Have you ever seen a Brie where all the paste has been scooped out leaving the sad little rind?  Give it a try.  Just once.  It really adds to the flavor of the cheese - transforming it from just rich and buttery to rich and buttery and a little sassy!)  This particular Brie also features the amazing flavor of spring garlic - fresh and light and not enough to make you need to brush your teeth.  So much so, in fact, that I thought for a moment that our baguette was a loaf of garlic bread.  So creamy and yummy.  And when at room temperature, so gooey and spreadable.  The perfect cheese.

One more thing - as I've been kind of obsessed with self-sufficient farming of late, I'd like to briefly add that according to Andrew, this farm is completely self sufficient in energy, including the use of anaerobic digestion (from the cow patties!!).  I've promised a post on how this works, but haven't yet gotten around to doing the research.  Stay tuned!

In the meantime, keep your eyes out for artisinal Brie, full of flavor and ready to appease anyone!

Cheese for a Wednesday, pt. 19 - A new sheep in the 'hood

Last week at Andrew's Cheese Shop, I spotted this ancient looking cheese sitting in the case.  "What is this," I wondered out loud.  Samples were proffered, and as per usual, stories were told and comparisons - both ridiculous and relevant were made.

While this cheese, Brebis du Lavort, may look like it's shape was designed by druids back in the 2nd century BC  it was actually created in the 1990s by cheese maker Patrick Beaumont in the Auvergne region of France.  I thought it was pretty clever of Mr. Beaumont to design a cheese that looked like it had been dug out of the ground, or stored in an ancient log  but was created during the Clinton adminstration, about the time that Shabby Chic was really hitting it's stride.  Andrew wasn't so sure that the good folk of the Auvergne are capable of that kind of marketing ploy.  It seems that this area of France is less modern than other areas.   Anyway...far be it from me to judge.  Especially when the cheese is good!

The design is modern, but the mold is borrowed  from a Spanish cheese called Tronchon (which Andrew also has - must get that one for a comparison.).  This mold is caked on thick.  The bark-like texture keeps the cheese nice and moist during the aging process, but I didn't even give it a taste.  Did I mention it's bark-like texture?  This cheese is aged in a in an old water tower, which is unique, I think.  Unfortunately, I learned about this before I tasted the cheese and so, in the back of my mind I was thinking "moldy water tower."  It was interesting how the shape of the cheese seemed to make a difference in each bite.  A bite taken from the top of the "volcano" reminded me of a nice sharp cheddar, while a bite taken from the bulge just made me think of a (tasty) old water pipe.  Very odd.  Andrew claims a definite flavor of hazelnuts.  Maybe I need to eat more hazlenuts.

I think this is one of those cheeses that tasted better in a sample at the store than in chunks.  The complexity of this cheese requires more than chunks and crackers.  Now that I'm full, and all the cheese is gone, I'm thinking that it would have been perfect on a baked potato.  The old water pipe flavor might have mellowed to an "earthy" flavor that would have rocked with some parsley and butter.  Next time.

Sweet dreams!

Cheese for a Wednesday, pt. 17 - Pyreneese Cheese

Imagine - you are walking along through the Pyrenees mountains on a beautiful late summer day.  It is cool enough to wear a light sweater.  The sky is bluer than you have ever seen, the air is crisp and smells of fresh grass and wild flowers.  The hills are alive with the sound of music....You stumble upon a darling little cave that seems to welcome you in.  There is even grass growing into the front of the cave.  A shaft of sunlight beckons you in.  A butterfly flits past.

Got it?  If you aren't completely nauseated by the pastoral vision I've created for you, keep reading because this is how Tome de Couserans smells.  And it is how I imagine the Ariege region of France smells.  Well, perhaps with a slight whiff of cow poop.

Tonight being the first Wednesday in 2010, I thought we should celebrate with a little something special.  Cheesemonger Andrew didn't disappoint!  Couserans is a very special cheese.  It is quite rare, coming from a very small region in France, where I'm sure the livestock out number the people three to one.  It is also a cow's milk cheese in a very sheepy region.  Beyond that, it is just an incredible cheese that melts onto the tongue, leaving it's musty sweetness behind to savor (as I did with a glass of red and a bowl of brussels sprouts).

The natural rind looks like a perfectly baked whole-wheat dinner roll, textured but not wrinkly.  I did try eating this.  Not a great idea.  Better for smelling in this case.  The paste inside is an almost buttermilk cream color, with delicate little holes throughout which add to the tender tooth.  And the taste!  Summer butter, fresh green grass (from that cute butterfly ridden cave), just enough tang in the middle and end to hold your attention, and get you reaching for the cheese knife for another bite!  If I could find that cave, and eat this cheese in that cave, perhaps life would be complete.

Or maybe it's just another Wednesday night cheese dream!

Cheese for a Wednesday, pt. 15 - Phlegm edition

This is the first Wednesday in 15 weeks that I am not eating cheese.  Mostly because I've been cooped up in the house all day dealing with sinus pressure.  Boo!  Even if I'd made it to the store, I couldn't taste anything anyway.    I don't really believe the old wives tale that dairy produces more phlegm, so if I had cheese, and I could taste it, I'd be eating it...

I knew there wasn't necessarily anything to the argument that cheese and dairy were bad for you when you were sick.  Of course, like everything else, every body is different, and everyone reacts differently when sick so there's my disclaimer.  Most of the internet searches come up with people talking about how dairy produces histamines in the system.  I don't have dairy allergies (thank goodness!), but I suppose that if I had a cold and then had a dairy allergy I would be doubly uncomfortable.  Then, I checked with the Curd Nerd (an amazing cheese resource BTW) who had found a 1990 study  from the Royal Adelaide Hospital in S. Australia that that says that there is no statistical relationship between dairy intake and mucus production.  There was a statistically insignificant reaction between drinking milk and a loose cough.

So, there you go.  I just always go for spicy Asian and Latin flavors over creamy dairy flavors when I'm sick in an attempt to taste something.  Hopefully, I'll be back in cheese tasting form soon with some great more cheeses to share with you.  Be well!

Cheese for a Wednesday, pt. 14 - Just for Fun!

Dare you to give this a go!

Cheese for a Wednesday, pt. 13 I've got the Blues!

Unlucky #13!  Sigh.  It has been quite a week.  I have been eating cheese, and taking notes, but between team meetings for class, late nights at the office, and a Basset Hound puppy visiting for the weekend drooling on everything and amping up the energy, I just haven't been able to share.  I've missed you guys!  Hope the feeling has been mutual.

Anyway,  I have been meaning to share with you the joys of Blue Cheese (again!).  I picked up my favorite Roaring 40s from Australia, and decided to compare it with Bleu de Bocage from France.  This was a crazy "Pepsi Challenge!"  The Roaring 40s, as you know, is a sweet blue that comes in a pretty blue wax shell.  I don't have to go on about that one again, other than to bore you with my undying love for it.  Blah, blah, blah.

Bleu de Bocage, on the other hand, was not an immediate love.  In fact, if you are a fan of CheeseDreaming on FaceBook, you might have seen me comment on how I had finally found a cheese I didn't like.  Egads!  This cheese is really unique.  It is one of the few goat cheese blues out there.  Obviously Man Who Sneers at Goat (Cheese) wouldn't be a fan.  I didn't even ask him to try this one.  My first taste made me tear up.  It is really "assertive."  I put it down and ran!  Embarassed, I went back to try again.  And again.  And again. It really grew on me.  There was a really interesting crunch to it from the salt crystals (I think that was the source).  There was a complex minerally sweetness underneath that tang that made me cry.  This one is not for the faint of heart, but give it a try!

So, in the "practical application" department, I put some crumbled Roaring 40s on my steamed Brussels Sprouts last night with some fresh ground pepper.  Yum!  The Bleu de Bocage on a cracker went really well with a Cosmo made by Darling Husband this evening.

Don't be afraid!  Get the blues.  Sometimes its ok.

Cheese for a Wednesday, Nomad Edition (pt. 11)

Things got really interesting at the office around 5:00 tonight, and I didn't get out till after 8:00, so wasn't able to go to Andrew's Cheese Shop for my mid-week munchies.  Grr.  I haven't been to a cheese store in over a week!  Maybe tomorrow.

But in between spread sheet updates and manic printing jags, I was able to do a little research...and I found an awesome tidbit to share with you, my faithful cheeseheads.  Yes, on the edge of the Sahara in Mauritania lies Tiviski, a dairy that drives a milk collection truck around to find the nomadic herdsmen and bring their CAMEL MILK in to the dairy to be pasteurized and made in to CAMEL CHEESE.  OMG.  (Insert joke here if you are so inclined.  I am, but far be it from me to offend...)

Apparently, camel milk is low in lactose, so it's great for those of us with digestive issues.  The low protein content also makes it challenging to turn camel milk into camel cheese because it doesn't curd up in the way as other millks do.  It took a French cheese expert to go to Africa to figure out how to make it work (enzymes!).  Of course, it is also challenging to make cheese in Africa because of the lack of nice cool caves for aging ....

The cheese has a bloomy rind, and a brie-like consistency, and owing to the desert diet (a few grasses, little dry shrubs, etc) it has a definite earthiness!  Probably one of the best things about this dairy is how it has improved the lives of the nomads by giving them the opportunity to sell their milk, allowing them to provide more for their families in a way that totally fits in with their way of life.

There were 100 pounds of this cheese in New York in March of 2008.  I don't know if anyone has anymore, or if there is some for sale somewhere other than New York City, but I' going to keep looking!


(camel photo courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Cheese for a Wednesday, pt. 10

Here we are again.  A Wednesday night - the least exciting day of the week - always in need of a little bit of a perk-up.  Tonight we are featuring aged sheep's milk cheese from Spain named Ombra.  The rind on this is hard as a rock, but such a warm brown color, that I had to bring it home.  And, did I mention that it smells amazing!  Rich, salty, nutty.  Yum!

Because this cheese is aged at least 4 months, it is beautifully crumbly (more time aging = more moisture loss = crumbles!) with little air holes throughout the paste.  But even dry, it sports the oily sheen of a good sheep cheese.  It is so light and delicious, though.  Not a bit oily on the tongue.  It isn't overly salty, and I swear I can taste the fresh spring grass that the sheep were grazing on in beautiful Catalonia.  I can't tell you how much I need to go there!

Anyway, this cheese is subtly complex.  There is a sweetness to it - butterscotch maybe?  And near the rind, I swear I could taste a little citrus - grapefruit?  Further research was necessary - a few more bites.  Yup, a definite sweetness at the end, and it smells of the meadows.  Sigh.  I really likes this cheese - just don't eat the rind.  To hard.

This cheese would be amazing on a cheese plate - a little cube of surprise to enjoy with a Zinfandel. (Which I did!)  I also ended up grating a huge amount of it to put on a dinner of ravioli, broccoli, peas and a little olive oil infused with garlic, salt, pepper and basil.  A great alternative to Parmesan. Yum!

I'm dreaming of a cheese trip to Spain!  How about you?

Cheese for a Wednesday, pt. 4

As promised, I am giving some love to sheep cheese, and no better day to give this love than a Wednesday, the day I have unofficially devoted to exciting new cheese. I managed to get out of the office and made it to Andrew's Cheese before it closed. I was looking in the case for labels with little sheep on them, and didn't find as many sheep icons as cow and goat ones, and realized that I needed to love sheep cheese for another reason - it's kind of the undersheep, as it were, in the cheese world, and I love an underdog!

I was going to get an Ossau-Iraty from France because my friend VG really enjoyed that cheese on vacation last month, but I got there and I saw a funny, almost flying saucer shaped cheese with a lumpy brown rind from Coventry, England called Berkswell with the sheep icon on the label. Hooray! Something totally new. And so delicious. Dry and crumbly, but not flaky. A sweet nutty-ness that went great with the chocolate almond crostini. Andrew says there's a pineapple finish. I don't know if I got that, but it was definitely amazing.

I asked him for another sheep cheese to serve as counterpoint to the Berkswell. Most sheep's milk cheese are hard cheeses, and I was hoping to find a nice soft sheep cheese. Apparently, that is because they have a higher protein content. The opposite is true of goat cheese, with it's lower protein content it is easier to make a soft cheese than a hard one. But I found a great semi-soft sheep cheese from Portugal called La Serena. It smelled like black olives at first whiff, and the first taste tastes just like it smells. The end is a little bit bitter, but in a good way. With all of these complex tastes and smells, it doesn't have any of that barnyard/ammonia smell that comes from a washed rind "stinky" cheese (because it isn't a washed rind cheese - duh!).

So, we had a delicious Wednesday dinner of sheep's milk cheese, chocolate almond crostini and Sangiovese. My skin is a little extra oily at the moment, but it's good for skin, right? We ended with a great over-the-fence chat with neighbors, an an evening of my favorite Fox television - Glee with a starter of So You Think You Can Dance. Nobody ever said I wasn't a little cheesy!

Sweet dreams everyone, and continue to count those happy little sheep!