shar999

Found the Humboldt Fog and it was delicious. Today my order arrives from Capriole Cheese. Couldn't wait until after Christmas to order!

Boston, a great city! I envy you. The cheese person at Whole Foods here was very helpful and offered lots of samples and he was quite enthusiastic about his job. Next week I will return and check out some of the suggestions offered. My list is very long!! Have you ordered on line, if so, can you recommend a good source?

gariotin, I am located in central florida. The Whole Foods that I go to is in Winter Park. There will be a new open opening in the future and hopefully it will have more choices. Where are you looking at the Atlantic?

Thanks everyone for your information. Tried a brebis last night and really like it. The search continues for all the cheese you all wrote about. Unfortunately the Whole Foods in our area does not carry the Capriola Farm cheeses, so after Christmas I will order from them. I did see the Humbolt Fog cheese yesterday but didn't remember the name of the cheese co. that was recommended, but now have it written down and in my purse so I will pick that up next time. I will also search for a soft pecorino toscano.

Dave thank you for the tip on using a stronger red wine for the Fleur Du Marquis. Used a cabernet and it really made the cheese taste delicious. Thanks for tip on leaving the Brie out for 4 hours. It was slightly runny, but I will leave it out for at 4 hours next time. I will try the brebis can you recommend a brand? Your phots of the Pechegos make me drool! Linsay Ann, I have looked at the Capriola Farm website. The ones that interest me are the Wabash Cannonball, Banon, and Sophia. Can you tell me if you have them as a dessert cheese or a before dinner cheese? What do you mainly drink with these 3 cheeses?

Hummmm... A few comments to start. - did you let the cheeses come up to room temperature before the tasting? - My personal preference is to NOT have anything sweet, like fig spread, when eating highly herbed cheeses & drinking wine. - You choose a nice spread of cheeses. - Again, a personal preference, but I prefer a cabernet to a pinot with cheeses. Your cheeses: Fleur - From Corsica, pateurised sheeps milk, herb crusted (savory & rosemary). Needs a very hearty red wine. Corsican ideally, but a nice Zifandel should work & be easier to obtain. Brie - Make sure it has been out of the fridge for quite a while; it should be soft & slightly runny. This 70% MG brie will be very mild. Your chard should have worked so I suspect that the brie was too cold. Sotto - Italian, Pasteurised cows milk, lots of herbs in the crust & truffles in the cheese. I've never eaten this one so my advice in general in nature. I would try it with the chard or perhaps a savignon blanc. The blue - Raw cows milk. American attempt at Roquefort & a good one. I suggest you try it with a decent port. Failing that try a cabernet or zifandel. Question for you? What cheeses in addition to the sharp cheddars have you tried that you really like? Might give the real experts on this thread some ideas as to what you might want to try. Have fun with it! ← Yes, I let all the cheeses come to room temp. for over an hour. I had read cabernet should be paired with hard cheese, but we defintely will try it with the Fleur Du Marquis and see how they are together. The Brie was very bland tasting, maybe that is because of we are used to buying the less expensive brand which to me had more of a nutty flavor and thicker consistency.. Should I have warmed the brie in the oven? Will definitely try chardonney with the Sotto. I will go a buy a nice port for the blue when we get ready to taste that. What kind of cheeses do we like: cheddar, boursin,jarlsbirg. One interesting thing I have learned by going on line is the parmiganna reggiano, gruyere, and pecorinos can be using for table cheese. Do you recommend that? I have always used them just for cooking. Any other suggestions would be greating appreciated. We are willing to try different types and experiment. Have never had a goat cheese. Can you recommend one that I can buy here in the states. Thanks

After reading all the pages of this thread my husband, and I, would really love to get into tasting different cheeses. So tonight we jumped in. BUT, WE NEED HELP! Been doing a lot or reasearch on the web with wine and cheese pairing, but each site gives you different information. We are retired and are used to drinking the run of the mill Chardonneys and Cabernets, and mostly extra sharp cheddars, such as Cabots Hunter cheese, and cheap Brie's. So today I went to Whole Food and bought the following: Fleur Du Marquis, Belletoile Brie, Sottocenere, and Point Reyes Bleu. Along with the Fleur Du Marquis, and Sottocenere with had two different Pinot Noirs to taste. With the Brie with had a Chardonney. Along with them we had fresh pear, toasted baguette slices, and Adriactic Fig Spread, and olives. We weren't crazy about any of the cheeses. Did I pair them with the wrong wines or should I had tried different cheese. We never got to try the bleu cheese as we were too full. We could really use some good advice on how to start all over again. Thanks.

Dorie recommends parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet as stated on page 473: Lined undersheets are great levelers and transporters-they even out the heat that hits to bottom of your baking pan and give you a convenient safe way to slide your filled baking pans in and out of the oven-and they will catch anything that might bubble up and over the baking pan.

Egads another one to try! I have only had to book two weeks. Made the Double Apple Cake..very delicious; Applesauce Spice Bars x 2..very delicious; and the Orange Berry Muffins...very delicious. My list is so long of all the things to try. What a wonderful book!

I live in a humid area and can't figure out why, or how, a salt pig keeps my salt dry. Does anyone have the answer?

The Orange Berry Muffins are delicious. Made 6 regular size and 3 large size muffins. I liked that they weren't as sweet as most muffins that I have eaten, just perfect. Today I made the Double Apple Bundt cake. Smelled delicious. It is cooled, and hidden, ready to take to a Holiday party tomorrow night. Love this cookbook!!

Thank you so much for those great tips. I spent the entire afternoon and evening just going through this new cookbook and can't wait to start baking. But the first project this morning is off to Fresh Market and Whole Foods to buy pure vanilla, a good grade of baking cocoa, some good chocolate, and then to Wlliams-Sonoma for a good bundt pan. Can't wait to get started!!

This scared me at first too. I've made three tarts now thanks to the book (two lemon cream and one chocolate raspberry). Each time I've found a little place where a knife tip will nicely fit in a small gap between bottom and tart. Once I push a little, it makes the whole thing neatly pop off. All that butter certainly helps. Thanks to my non-cooking sister-in-law doing the shopping, I found out the hard way that chocolate chips are really not the way to go for the chocolate raspberry tart. But it showed great promise if you'd make it with better chocolate! ← Thank you so much. I shall be brave the next time and try to remove it. Sometimes it's nice to bring a tart somehwere and not have to worry if the bottom piece is returned!

After reading all the raving reviews, I to, had to run out and buy this cookbook. I am a very novice "baker" and have something to ask. When making a recipe in a tart pan, what is the trick for removing the circular bottom piece before placing on the serving plate? I have always been afraid to do this and just cut the tart right on the metal bottom. Is this what you do, or are you supposed to removed it?