Sunday, March 30, 2008

"Cheese, Please"

Last night for supper we had cheese and crackers, gourmet style...what we do is visit our favorite gourmet store (which is actually the only gourmet store in a 40-mile radius), head to the rather imposing cheese counter, and buy up any little odd packages of cheese -- tag ends, other customers' mistakes, and so forth. We've found that the less research we engage in beforehand, the more interesting the result. This is a great way to buy fancy-pants cheese for not much money.

Our grab bag Saturday included a small chunk of Mimolette, a rich orange-colored French cousin of Edam; a small wedge of Petit Basque, a mild white cheese; a half-mini-wheel of Fleur des Alpes, a Brie-like soft cheese with a white rind; and a bit of Carr Valley Menage, a white cheese from Wisconsin that's made from a mixture of cow's, goat's and sheep's milks. (This is all information we learned after the fact.)

We baked the Fleur des Alpes with some butter, almonds and maple syrup and ate it on wedges of Granny Smith apple, but ate the other cheeses alone or on crackers. Not a bad one in the bunch. We did take a particular liking to the Menage, which was smooth and nutty.

If "Living well is the best revenge" and "Retail is for suckers" are in a perpetual duel in your brain, this is a great way to have a little fun with food, for not so much money.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have you ever tried gjetost? Norwegian goat cheese? Mmmmmm. Caramelly, salty, silky goodness. If you ever come up with a block, slice it thin and let it melt on your tongue.

LutheranChik said...

No, I haven't...but I understand it's good with a nice Riesling.