gariotin

That's a great article, Lindsay - thanks for sharing. One of the only cheeses that I just do not like is Cabrales. I have had it in perfect condition, but generally the stuff that shows up over here can be past its prime. I love blues, but just think it is too aggressive - sometimes downright mean and nasty. I prefer Valdeon or La Peral as a Spanish blue. Otherwise, I just love Spanish cheeses - hard to pick a favorite.

I sat downstairs at Bofinger in October and had the prix fixe menu w/some oysters to start. It was pretty fabulous. Chez Paul on Rue de Charonne is fun - food can be really good. Have not been to Le Temps des Cerises b/c it is closed on weekends, but is supposed to be great.

No - we are still trying to nail down a date. I will keep you posted. Good luck w/your job interview, Sandy - and let us know about the Swedish cheeses. Did you use your lumpfish caviar yet?

LOVE the La Tur - also the one they make that is 100% goat milk, called Bruschetta. They are so soft and creamy, but sweetly complex. Burata is so yummy - I always feel like my Doctor is shaking her finger at me when I eat it - seems even more sinful than most cheese.

My Thai friend can't stand Korean food - can't even abide the smell of it.

Yes - good suggestion - I love that Robiola Bosina - 2 milks, I think. Lindsay - you know I love those stinkers too, but they are French. Anyone know of an Italian version of a washed rind smelly cheese? Guess I should break out my Slow Food book on Italian cheese tonite.

Yes, definitely tallegio - also real Fontina Val D'Aosta, which is a wonderful cheese.

After reading about the wonders of sardines on this thread, for lunch yesterday I took Wasa Bread and spread a very thin layer of cream cheese. Laid on thin sliced tomatos and sides of big Spanish sardines. Grated red onion on top. One was not enough - had to make another. Thanks for whetting the canned fish appetite - sardines had sort of fallen off my food choice radar and I am thrilled to have them back.

Wow - this thread is the quietest it's been in a long time! I've been asked to do a cheese class on Italian cheeses, featuring 6-8 to taste. I am curious to know which cheeses you all would consider should be in the list. Besides the obvious classics (parm, gorg, mozz, pecorino), I want to throw in a couple of unexpected ones. Ideas, please?

No native Portlander would ever buy lobstah at WF anyway! There are certainly some coops (where you can get 1-claws on the cheap) where people can buy more directly from the lobstermen. I live on the coast south of Boston and everyone know where to go to buy from the guy the boats sell to.

There is a Spanish brand called Matiz that is great - the fish are pretty big, but so good! (They also sell pulpo, pieces of grilled and marinated octopus, that are to die for.) When I was a poor student, I loved on canned sardines and kippers - they were cheap and yummy...and now we know good for you too! Fresh grilled sardines are one of the most delicious things ever - a squeeze of lemon, cracked pepper and sea salt - heaven! HA HA - I meant to say that I LIVED on canned fish when I was a student, but maybe they were to blame for my active love life back then!

Klary, I like your suggestion of thin shavings w/unsalted butter on good bread. I will give it a try!

The appetizer recipe is supposedly one that Martha Stewart came up with when she was just starting out as a caterer. I am not usually a fan of her food, but these are so simple and people love them. Take the smallest new potatos you can find, scrub them, and boil till tender. Cut in half. Put the cut side down as your base and use a melon scoop to make a bowl in the top. Fill with sour cream, or soft goat cheese, and sprinkle with roe and chopped dill. They are great at cocktail parties. Melissa, I am no cheesemaker, but it seems like most larger old cheeses can be plugged to test the quality and texture with no ill effect. These are long metal tubes - you push into the side of a cheese, twist, and pull out a core sample. You smell and taste the most centered part of the sample, break off the rinded end, and push that back into the wheel, smoothing with your fingers to create a seal. You just want to keep out the air. I know where to get these wholesale, but will look to see if there is a place to get these online. That is a very interesting experiment and I would love to hear about the results.

Sandy, tell us about the Swedish cheeses you bought at Ikea. I'd like to hear if the one washed in aquavit had an interesting flavor. Lindsay, I actually like lumpfish caviar - I love all salty fishy things like chovies, sardines, smoked mussels, etc. You just can't compare it to the real thing - it is what it is. It's fun for those little hollowed-out new potato appetizers w/sour cream - at $ 2.79, you can use liberally for color and salty tang.

Well,not to re-open the 10 yr gouda debate, but that's why I think it is impossible. The 3 yr vintage pictured here and the 5 yr vintage are a real challenge. I really can't imagine it would be possible to cut a 10 yr gouda. Just my humble opinion, and as I said, the opinion of my gouda importer. On the other hand, I have mixed feelings about these vintage goudas. The natural milk sugars get very concentrated as it ages, and the end product is often very sweet - butterscotchy, caramely flavors. They are fine for nibbling in small quantities w/fruit or nuts, but they are so so overpowering, I cant' imagine doing anything else with them. People love them or hate them. I prefer the 18 mo goudas like Amsterdam Reserve or Robusto - a little sweet overtone, but complex and nutty. I also love the medium aged goat goudas.

Good to see everyone resurfacing! While I have actually been limiting my cheese intake for a few weeks, I have just arrived in San Francisco for the annual Fancy Food Show - sure to be lots of good cheeses there. I'll let you know if I see anything new and interesting. Lindsay - I am with you about ditching food that you don't like - life is too short to eat mediocre food!

My Lord - I haven't seen the Lipton Onion Soup Dip mentioned anywhere - 50s party staple w/ruffled chips. Rachel's jello mold is a thing of beauty!

Widmer's Cheese makes some damn fine cheeses, including cheddars. Check out their site on www.widmercheeses.com.

Thanks for all the great pix! Your selection looks great - I am not surprised your guests demolished the La Serena - it is a spectacular cheese. A sheeps milk from Spain, it's rennet comes from a local thistle - it gives it a herbaceous flavor along w/the sheep tanginess. Sometimes it is so soft that you can spoon it out like you would a real vacherin. They eliminated one of the five counties????? Which one?????

I know, I know - I am one of those people who always waits to adopt any kind of new technology. Not exactly a Luddite, but by the time I get around to buying things, they are usually much cheaper. I also want to post pix on the kitchen reno thread - I just turned the most hideous 1950s dark hellhole into a bright thing of beauty. I am in love! I forgot one of the most interesting cheeses we had on Xmas eve - Rogue River Blue. This is part of a wonderful production from Rogue River Creamery in Washington (I think) - they make very delicious blues - including a lightly smoked one. If you see them in your local shop, but one! Yum!

We are offering some artisinal British cheeses - Lord of the Hundreds, Sharpham Rustic w/chive & garlic, Cornish Blue, as well as aged raw milk manchego, La Tur, Valdeon, and Buche des Causses. Serving w/fresh apple slices, hazelnuts in honey that I bought in Budapest farmer's market, and date cake from Spain. Also got a block of foie gras that I will scatter pomagranate seeds over and serve w/mini toasts. And some good champagne. Who needs dinner after that? Life is good - Merry Christmas where appropriate. Thanks, everyone, for the great photos. I plan on breaking down and getting a dig camera this year, so can contribute too.

I once had an incredble appetizer of monkfish liver at the wonderful little restaurant Prune in NYC. It was quick seared, like foie gras, and had a full, rich flavor - not liver-ish. It was very delicious.

I agree w/you Lindsay - with all the interesting cheeses that Capriole has, the Fromage a Trois is not the most interesting. Yes, you are right, Dave - the fall against the pound has been more dramatic lately. In general, importers here do not raise prices during the 4th quarter, which is their biggest sales period of the year. So they have been "eating" higher costs for several months. There will definitely be some higher prices over here after the first of the year.

Lindsay, great photos. I love the crate of Wabash Cannonballs - looks so good. Shar - I LOVE the Mt. St. Francis - let us know what you think. It is a wash rind and very delicious and unique. The fig cake sounds weird - is it from Spain? Dave - according to her old sales brochure, Fromage a Trois is a torta that layers chevre, basil pesto, and sun dried tomatos. It started out as a joint creation between Judy and Mary Keehn of Cypress Grove. (American cheesemakers are a very friendly group.) I actually do love roquefort - I know what you mean about the saltiness, but the tangy sheepiness is just so good. I think I do know the blue wensleydale you mean - is it from Hawe's Dairy in North Yorkshire? It is very unique - I have a hard enough time over here trying to sell folks on real authentic plain wensleydale. Maybe I should consider the blue - but it is pretty expensive by the time it gets here. Actually, Americans should expect to see rising prices on all imported cheeses just after the holidays. The tanking dollar means that anything bought in euros or pounds will be going up. More good reason to enjoy a nice cheese plate over the holidays!

I so associate Dave w/the cheese thread, that I posted this on this interesting walnut oil topic. It is obviously so cheese related! Found out that he lives close to the town of Roquefort... So if you are so close to Roquefot, what brand do you prefer? I am a Carles girl, myself, but I am appreciating a new one from Gabriel Coulet called "Le Petit Cave" - I think it is a "special" aging for the US, which means it is the same old stuff. I hear the village itself is quite small? I would love to go someday - your link was VERY interesting! That is a sad, but unfortunately worldwide, story of vanishing farms. Here in New England, they are folding like cardtables. While some of us want to get closer the the food source, it is truly harder and harder to do. Am planning a nice cheese course for Xmas dinner, which will be butterflied leg of lamb w/herbs, garlic & lemon in the center, potato gratin provencale w/olives, tomatos, chevre, and quick sauteed broccoli rabe w/fruity olive oil and garlic. Sophie (daughter who works at Whole Foods cheese dept) will bring a soft-ripened, goat, and blue of her choice. I will augment w/the Lincolnshire Poacher I got from Zingermans and some leftover samples from the Fine Cheese Co in Bath, England. Anyone on this thread know them? One of the most beautiful cheesemongers I have ever visited - they buy small, artisinal production much like Neal's Yard. One is called "Lord of the Hundreds" - it is a cheddar - another is Sharpham Rustic, a beautiful cow's milk, formed in a basket. Comes plain (cow's milke) or with herb and garlic. This came about by accident - cows were grazing and eating wild garlic. Milk was full of it and cheesemaker was dumping. Had an Eureka moment - aha, why not make garlic-flavored cheese? The rest is history.... Last one is Cornish Blue - a VERY nice, award-winning blue...obviously from Cornwall. So is Christmas dinner... It is the holiday season, so I hope you and Rupert will forgive me. Look forward to more cheese discussions in '07. Oops, wrong thread! Thought I was supposed to rhapsodize about cheese! Lindsay, gfron, Chufi, Dorine, Lori, et al...any interesting cheese plans for the holidays?