Tapas is one of my favorite theme menus to serve when hosting a cocktail party.  Compliment delicious small bites with a big batch of sangria.  Several items on a tapas menu – such as olives, nuts, cheese, bread and cured meat – don’t require any cooking.   Here’s a menu to get your tapas party started.

Tapas Menu

Marcona Almonds
Gazpacho “Shots” (served in tall shot glasses)
Spanish Cured Olives or any mixed olives
Spanish Tortilla Bites
(link to recipe below)
Patatas Bravas (fried spicy potatoes)
Gambas Al Ajillo (shrimp in garlic sauce)
Spanish Green Bean Salad with Pimientos
Garbanzo Bean Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette
Spanish Cheese Platter: include Manchego (sheep’s milk cheese), Calabraza (Spanish blue cheese), Iberico (cow, sheep and goat’s milk cheese), Tetilla (soft cow’s milk cheese), Membrillo (quince paste – link to post about Membrillo below) and paper thin slices of Serrano Ham wrapped around store-bought breadsticks
Country-style Bread or Sourdough, sliced thin

Mini Delce de Leche Brownies (link to recipe below)
Caramel Flan

Sangria (link to recipe below)
Spanish red wine, such as Rioja, Garnacha or Tempranillo
Cava (Spanish sparkling white wine, similar to Champagne)
Spanish Cervesa (Beer), such as Mahou, Voll Damm and Mahou Negra

Spanish Tortilla Recipe
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/spanish-tortilla-recipe/index.html

Membrillo
http://hiphostess.wordpress.com/2008/05/31/membrillo-quince-paste/

Dulce de Leche Brownie Recipe
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2006/06/dulce_de_leche.html

Sangria Recipe
http://hiphostess.wordpress.com/2008/02/28/hip-twist-on-traditional-sangria/

The Lady gets a lot of requests for cheeses that meet specific dietary needs. After goat cheese (ych…) the next two most requested cheese categories are “Vegetarian Suitable” and cheeses made from raw milk for those following the raw food lifestyle.

The Lady decided to build a chart to help these two lifestyle enthusiasts enjoy cheese more.

This list is comprised primarily of the cheeses The Lady sells in her kiosk and while not yet complete (it will be updated as more information is found), it’s a start to help all those cheeselovers who are vegetarians and/or raw foodies…

Istara's P'Tit Basqu

Made From Raw Milk

 Istara’s P’Tit Basque is a new addition to The Lady’s cheese kiosk and her customers love it!!

As the name suggests, this is a small-sized cheese weighing about one and a quarter pounds and standing about three inches high. It has the basket weave rind similar to Manchego and Iberico (the basket weave comes from the impressions left by the baskets used to drain the curds of these cheeses). This is about all it shares in common with those cheeses other than all three are also made from sheep milk.

This cheese may be small in stature, but it’s a terrific cheese. It is sweet and salty and pleasant on the tongue. As it melts it leaves a nice after taste. P’tit Basque is aged only about seventy days. It has a more yellow paste and lacks the complexity of its older, more mature “cousins”. It might be thought of as a “gateway” cheese…to introduce you to sheep cheese before graduating to the more flavorful and sheepy Manchego or Iberico.

Before shipping it is coated with a thin plastic film to keep the moisture in the cheese. Due to its size, it would dry out more rapidly than its larger cousins. The Lady has mentioned that wheels she uses for display become lighter in weight over time…her guess is that a bit of moisture is lost. As a result of this discovery, she rotates her display wheels more frequently than she did in the past.

The farmers that make this cheese enjoy serving it with a black cherry preserve. The Lady loves cherries and enjoys most anything served with black cherry preserves. This cheese is no exception.

Bit of trivia: Because of the mountainous terrain of the Basque country, bikes are the preferred mode of transportation. As a result, the Basque area has become famous for the Orbea bike which is a favored bicycle in the Tour de France competition…who knew…who cares???

I give P’tit Basque 3 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving suggestions: Try this cheese with a pate of suricata Suricata suricatta schmeared on top and add some of those black cheery preserves…yummy…ok, I don’t really care about the cherries and suricata Suricata suricatta can be schmeared on just about anything this feline foodie eats…

Wine Pairings: Bordeaux, Amontillado, Chateauneuf de Pape

Beer Pairings: Amber ales, Pilsner

Source: Sheep’s Milk

Istara's Ossau-Iraty

Legend has it that Aristee, the sheep herder son of Apollo created this cheese.

Today the best version of this cheese is produced by the Benedictine Monks of the Belloc Abbey in the Western Pyrenees. You may recall my thoughts about why Monks produce the best cheeses, wines and liqueurs and based on this cheese, the defense rests…

This French semi-firm cheese is probably the least known of the AOC designated cheeses, a designation it received in 1980. As of the late 1990s there were only about 2000 farmers producing the milk for this exquisite cheese. This is a creamy and nutty cheese with a gentle richness that is quite pleasing. Its rind is edible with a slightly tart aftertaste. The cheese is a soft, light ivory color with the fragrance of toasted hazelnuts. To develop the nutty flavor and fragrance, it should be aged for at least ninety days.

This cheese is so pleasing to the palate that it can be served before or after dinner; actually it can be served before and after dinner.

The Lady’s friend, John, claims this as his favorite cheese. John has very good taste in this feline foodie’s humble opinion…and I’m not blowing smoke…well, maybe a little…

A bit of trivia: In Pays Basque and Bearn, the nickname of Ossau Iraty is “farmer’s dessert”.

I give Istara’s Ossau Iraty 4 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving suggestions: Excellent as a table cheese with a marmalade or fig spread such as Ficoco or Dalmatia Fig-Orange Spread. It also goes well with proscuitto and a baguette…of course, what doesn’t go well with proscuitto and baguettes…nothing in this feline foodie’s book of “what goes well with…”.

Wine pairings: Margaux or a smoky Pouilly-Fume

Fat content: 50%

Awards: 2006 World Cheese Award

Source: Raw Sheep’s’ Milk; primarily the milk of the Manech naiser ewes

Up next: Istara’s P’tit Basque

Copyright ficoco 2009

In most of my reviews, I include pairings of wine, beer and other foods that go well with cheese. Today I thought I would explore spreads that also add to the enjoyment of cheese.

I have noticed that The Lady, from time-to-time, gets something she calls “samples” which loosely interpreted means “free stuff” to try and hopefully like. That wonderful Abondance was a sample and this week she brought home a small jar of a spread called Ficoco. Holy smokes what a divine creation.

Humankind thinks that the superior (my opinion, not humankinds) feline should not eat certain foods. Thank goodness The Lady pretty much lets me make my own culinary decisions and that has resulted, in my own culture, of me being known as a superior feline foodie… just ask The Brain. Well, you can try, but seldom does he speak to the lowly humankinds… but I digress.

Ficoco is a sweet, trans fat-free spread made from Dalmatian figs and cocoa and pure cane sugar. Now I ask you…what’s not to like about something with cocoa and sugar…oh right…and don’t forget, figs???

The Lady bought at her Kiosk a wedge of Brie de Nangis to accompany the Ficoco which she and The Man had a snack while they watched this silly television show called American Idol where humankinds, who think they can sing, sound pitchy and are forced to suffer through the ridicule of a Brit named Simon Cowell…who, in this feline’s humble opinion, is mostly spot-on…oh right, I was discussing cheese and Ficoco…back on track…

The Man, not your biggest Brie fan, loved the Nangis with the Ficoco spread; but quite frankly I think you could spread Ficoco on most anything and he’d like it (use your imagination). Not to insult Nangis, this is The Lady’s Number One choice in Brie; but my money says it was the Ficoco that caught The Man’s attention. And I have research to back this up (after all I am on earth to observe and observe is what I do best…). In the past, The Lady has brought home Dalmatia Fig Spread and Dalmatia Fig Spread with Orange. Both have a nice portion of cane sugar. The Man liked the cheeses The Lady paired with those two spreads as well…see where I’m going? Common ingredient in all three spreads is cane sugar (well, figs, but that’s not where my money goes…). The Man does have a thing called a “sweet tooth” – and the sweeter the food; the sweeter the tooth…

The Lady paired the Dalmatia Fig Spread with Queso Iberico and that pairing was the feline’s meow. With the Dalmatia Fig with Orange Spread she chose Idiazabal; again another excellent pairing. The Lady knows her pairings…

Here are a few other suggestions for pairing these three spreads:

• Proscuitto and Walnuts

• Pears and Blue Cheese

• Bread and Kerrygold Butter

• Yogurt

• Glaze for Chicken, Varanus komodoensis and Pork

• Ice Cream

Dalmatia Fig Spread with Orange won the prestigious 2004 NASFT Gold Medal.

I give Fig Spread and Fig Spread with Orange 3 out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got) and I give Ficoco 4 out of 4 Paws (again, cause that’s all I’ve got).

Concluding the blue cheese kick that the last week or so has brought, let’s discuss one that gets overlooked when compared to its British and Italian competitors.

Meet Valdeon. Spain’s answer to Blue Stilton and Gorgonzola. Valdeon is my favorite blue cheese because of the salty nuance that the goat milk gives to it. Whereas most blue cheeses are pungent and assault your sinuses once they enter your mouth, the Valdeon has a slightly salty overtone that kicks the “blueness” back just enough.

Recommended to people who don’t even like blue cheese.

According to wikipedia.org, “blue cheese” is a “general classification of cow’s milk, sheep’s milk or goat’s milk cheeses that have had Penicillium cultures added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue, blue-gray or blue-green mold and carries a distinct smell.”

As I mentioned when I reviewed the Rogue Creamery Blue Cheeses, these cheeses don’t do much for this feline foodie but The Lady and The Man are big fans and The Lady suggested I review a few for you. I have agreed but will not give any of the cheeses my signature “Paw” designation…similar to the AOC, PDO, DOP designations given to European cheeses…but better, of course…

First a brief history of blue cheese.

It is believed that “blue” cheese was discovered by accident (as was cheese in general). Cheese was aged in caves, which were temperature and moisture controlled. The moisture, in particular, was conducive to the growth of many molds and “blue” most likely was one that grew well in that environment. The earliest known blue cheese was Gorgonzola in the 9^th century AD; followed by Roquefort in the 12^th century. Stilton is a “late-comer”; having come along in the 18^th century.

Gorgonzola, Roquefort and Stilton are blue cheeses, which like wine and other agricultural products carry the “PDO” (protected designation of origin) stamp of the EU. Additionally, France protects Roquefort; Italy protects Gorgonzola and England protects Stilton. As I have discussed elsewhere in this blog, protected cheeses can only bear the name if they are made in a particular region or a country following strict guidelines for production.

An interesting bit of trivia: The bacterium brevibacterium linens which gives blue cheese its pungent smell is the same bacteria that causes human foot odor…who knew??? Every once in a while The Lady says that customers make the comment that certain cheeses smell like dirty socks…now you know why…

In alphabetical order, here are many of the blues that The Lady sells at the Cheese Kiosk:

Bleu d’Auvergne.

Copyright dotgourmet.com 2009

Well-respected French Cheesemaker, Antoine Roussel in the middle part of the 19th Century, created this cheese. Again, it was an “accident” that helped Roussel develop this cheese. He noticed that blue molds on his curds created a pleasant taste. He began experimenting with methods to give his cheese blue veins. After several failures, he discovered that rye bread mold did the trick and when he pricked the curd with a needle, the mold entered the cheese and grew successfully.

This cheese boasts the French AOC protection.

Today it is pricked using mechanical needles and is aged in wet, cool caves for between four to eight weeks.

The Man likes this blue better than The Lady as it is stronger than she prefers.

Source: Cow’s Milk

Black River Gorgonzola.

Vegetarian – Suitable

Winner: 2009 Feline Foodie Awards: Best Everyday Blue/Gorgonzola

Award-winning Black River Gorgonzola

An Award-Winning Gorgonzola from Wisconsin. The North Hendren Co-op Dairy that manufactures this cheese uses fresh milk and is certified rBGH free.

This is the most affordable blue cheese offered at the Kiosk and The Lady will crumble it for customers for $1.00 more per pound. As previously discussed on this blog, even with the “surcharge”, buying the crumbled cheese from the Kiosk is cheaper than the pre-packaged product offered elsewhere in the store.

This is a wonderful cheese; especially for the price. It is a medium flavor and The Lady likes this one more than the stronger blues.

Source: Cow’s Milk

Fourme d’Ambert.

Copyright frenchcheese.co.uk 2009

This cheese dates from Roman times and is presented in a tall cylindrical shape. Penicillium roqueforti is injected into this cheese and aged for at least 28 days. Also, during the aging process, the cheese is injected weekly with Vouvray moelleux, a sweet, white wine. This cheese has the AOC protection.

A bit of trivia about Fourme d’Ambert. A likeness of this cheese is sculpted above the entrance to the medieval chapel Chaulme.

Although this blue cheese is generally manufactured with pasteurized milk, an artisan version using raw milk is becoming more prevalent. There is also a rumor that a farm production of this milk is also being made; but I was unable to confirm the rumor.

Source: Cow’s Milk

Gorgonzola Dolce:

Copyright kirkfoods.com.uk 2009

A sweet, young Gorgonzola from Italy, this cheese has both the DOC and PDO protection designations. Gorgonzola is made in both the Piedmont and Lombardy regions of Italy from unskimmed milk. This version is sweet and buttery. It spreads easily and its veins are pale blue-green in color. The Lady particularly likes this cheese because it is milder and creamier that other blues she sells.

This cheese has metal rods inserted into it during the aging process, which creates channels for the mold spores to germinate and create the desired veining.

Most Gorgonzolas are wrapped in foil. Dolce is wrapped in a green foil.

Gorgonzola Picante:

Copyright idealcheese.com 2009

This blue is from the same manufacturer and is the same cheese except that is aged for a longer period of time, which makes it more crumbly and less creamy. It also has a stronger Taste. The Man prefers this cheese to the milder Dolce. The Picante version is wrapped in blue foil.

Source: Cow’s Milk

Kerrygold Blue.

New from this respected manufacturer of Irish cheeses, including Dubliner, a cheddar loved world-wide. Kerrygold Blue is a mild lemon-yellow cheddar with blue veining. It has been a wonderful addition to the Kiosk and The Lady likes to pair it with South African Peppadews from the Antipasti Bar.

Source: Cow’s Milk

Maytag Blue.

Vegetarian Suitable

Copyright roadfood.com 2009

By many, this is the “standard” by which all American Blue Cheeses are judged. The Lady disagrees. This cheese was developed in the early 1940s at the Maytag Dairy Farm near Newton, Iowa (home of the Maytag Corporation). Third and fourth generation members of the Maytag Family still own and run the Dairy Farm.

This cheese is made from homogenized milk, a process developed by two Iowa State University microbiologists in the late 1930s.

Source: Homogenized Cow’s Milk.

Roquefort.

Copyright eurogrocer.com 2009

This cheese, by many, is THE blue cheese. It is made from sheep’s milk and is cave-aged. It is the first cheese in France to receive the AOC protection in the 1920s.

This cheese is chalky white, crumbly and moist. The veins of mold are a unique green color and the characteristic odor and flavor are from the butyric acid. The flavor has many layers. It starts mild, becomes sweet, changes to smoky and ends with a salty finish. The Lady claims that fans of Roquefort will not consider buying any other blue cheese.

From wikipedia.org, the following are the AOC regulations that govern the production of Roquefort cheese:

1. All milk use must be delivered at least 20 days after lambing has taken place.
2. The addition of rennet must occur within 48 hours of milking.
3. The Penicillium roqueforti used in the production must be produced in France from the natural caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.
4. The salting process must be performed using dry salt.
5. The whole process of maturation, cutting, packaging and refrigeration of the cheese must take place in the commune of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.

Source: Raw Sheep’s Milk.

Shropshire Blue.

Copyright freewebs.com 2009

This cheese is made in England and is a cheddar cheese injected with blue mold. The Cheese Kiosk carries the version made by Long Clawson. This cheese was first made in the 1970s at the Castle Stuart Dairy in Inverness. It was originally called “Blue Stuart” but for some strange (and unknown) reason, it was marketed as “Shropshire Blue” despite the fact that is has no link, whatsoever, to the county of Shropshire.

The Man loves to melt this blue on his Angus Burgers rather than using the more standard faire of plain cheddar.

Source: Cow’s Milk

Saint Agur Blue.

Copyright thehouseofcheese.ca 2009

The cheese company Bongrain developed this cheese in 1988. In addition to the milk used to produce this cheese, it also is enriched with cream and contains about 60% butterfat. This qualifies it as a double cream cheese. This cheese is soft, creamy with a much more subtle and mild flavor than that of Roquefort. It also has olive green veins of mold. It also melts well in addition to being easily spreadable.

This cheese is a favorite of The Lady.

Source: Pasteurized Cow’s Milk.

Stilton Blue.

Vegetarian Suitable

Copyright grantgoodmorrow.com 2009

This cheese is a EU PDO cheese. It is only manufactured in three counties of England and according to a very strict code. Only eight dairies are currently producing the cheese. The Cheese Kiosk carries the Stilton made by The Thomas Hoe Stevenson Dairy, which is a part of the Long Clawson Dairy Co-op.

According to wikipedia.org, in 1936 the Stilton Cheesemakers’ Association was formed to lobby for regulations to protect the quality and origin of the cheese, and in 1966 Stilton was granted legal protection via a certification trademark, the only British cheese to have received this status.

Bit of trivia about Stilton cheese. This cheese cannot legally be produced in the village of Stilton.

Source: Cow’s Milk.

Tholstrup’s Blue Castello.

Copyright igourmet.com 2009

This is a triple cream cheese from Denmark that was developed in the 1960’s. It has a fat content of 70% and its smooth, rich texture is similar to Brie, and other Triple-Cremes, especially Cambozola. The rind is washed like Brie and hosts various molds that add to the mild, spicy flavor.

Source: Cow’s Milk

Valdeon Blue.

Copyright hotpaella.com 2009

This is a Spanish Blue Cheese that The Lady does not like; but The Man is a big fan. And the reason is quite simple; it contains some goat’s milk and The Lady just doesn’t like it because…yep…you guessed it…”It’s too goaty!!”

Source: Cow’s, Sheep’s and Goat’s Milks

Serving Suggestions for Blues: The creamier blues spread well on bread, especially French Baguettes. Blues go well with fruit, especially pears. You can melt it; you can crumble it on salads; you can add it to salad dressings; you can cook with it.

Wine Suggestions: Blues stand up well with more robust wines and ports.

ingredients for a storecupboard dinner

A storecupboard meal to save you.  On realising that I am 2 ounces short of enough risotto rice to make the planned (and I might add for a number of days…plenty of time to check the jar of risotto rice and buy more) Pea, Mint and Mascarpone Risotto, I had a mild panic and was then saved by a couple of items that have been lounging in the fridge since Christmas.  I like nights like these, when plans go to pot, but in turn make way for a creative meal to be cobbled together. 

Tonight’s meal has been cobbled from: potatoes (delicious golden fleshed potatoes, ashamedly I admit from the supermarket, but grown in Hertfordshire), an onion, chorizo sausage (the cooking type, not the salami), green olives (remnants of the edible Christmas gifts), and a lump of hard Spanish cheese (brought back from Madrid by my dad).

Chop up the potatoes and parboil.  Slice the onion and fry in an ovenproof dish on a medium heat.  Add some sliced chorizo.  And some finely chopped garlic.  A sprinkle of dried herbs.  Ground black pepper.

Add the drained potatoes.  Stir well.  Add half a tin of tomatoes and 200ml of chicken stock (from a cube).  Bung in the oven (180°C).

20 minutes later, remove from the oven.  Sprinkle over the green olives.  Grate on some cheese.  Bung it back in the oven for a further 5-10 minutes until the cheese is all gooey and golden.  Yum.

time to lay the table

This is not a cheese rating list but just a perosnal opinion. Any and all comments are welcome and feel free to add any of your favoites or complie your own cheese list and post it here.

1) France: Bleu du Bocage is a great goal milk blue cheese with explosive flavor and aroma.

2) Italy:Vento D’Estate is an aged cow mlik cheese that must be tasted to be believed.

3) Holland: Goat Gouda, try this and you will not believe your taste buds, it is excellent.

4) Spain: Idiazabal is a wonderful raw sheep milk cheese with a great smoky buttery taste.

5) England: Appleby’s Cheshire is a raw cow milk cheese that is not as sharp as many other  Cheshires .

6) Portugal: Dom Vilas is a pasteurized cow milk cheese made the old traditinal way .

7) Germany: Hirtenkase  is a cow milk Mountain type cheese. Great for Oktoberfest !

8 )Switzerland: Tete de Moine is a masterpiece as are most things form this country.   

9) United States: Kunik is  great goat cheese from  New York state.  Very creamy  !  

10) Australia: Roaring Forties Blue this is obvious but it is truly a great cheese.

So there you have my cheese list. Happy eating!!

Cheese is an everyday part of the Spanish Diet and each region of the country has their own distinctive cheeses with twelve of them boasting the DO designation.

The Lady’s Kiosk offers six different Spanish Cheeses and claims that all are quite popular. In no particular order they are:

Manchego

Manchego

This DO cheese comes from the Castilla-La Mancha region and is probably the most famous of the Spanish cheeses. By regulation, it can only be made from the milk of the Manchego Sheep, Entrefino breed, thus its name. It has a piquant, buttery and nutty taste. It is soft and crumbly in texture. The wild herbs that are a staple of the sheeps’ diet, contribute to its aromatic taste.

One variety is infused with rosemary, although The Lady does not sell it. This cheese is usually aged for a minimum of one year.

It has a creamy, nutty taste and the sheep milk taste is quite pleasant and not over-powering the way goat milk can be.

Food Network Uber-Chef, Rachel Ray, uses this cheese in many of her recipes, which increases sales according to The Lady. According to the local lore, it was also the favorite cheese of Don Quixote.

I give this cheese 3 out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: A wonderful table cheese; it can also be used in cooking.

Wine and Beer Pairings:

Wine Pairings: Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Meritage

Beer Pairings:

Source: Manchego Sheep, Entrefino Breed

Queso Iberico

Queso Iberico

The label on this cheese boasts that it is the Number 1 cheese in Spain. It looks a lot like Manchego both inside and out; it has a similar rind to Manchego. The flavor is smooth but aromatic and has an oily feel; it is considered a hard cheese and is usually aged up to six months. The brand sold by The Lady is a combination of cow and sheep milk; however, it can also be made using goat milk with cow milk or a combination of all three.

I give this cheese 3 out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: Cured meats, Jamon Serrano and Chorizo pair well with this cheese. It is a table cheese but can also be used in cooking.

Wine and Beer Pairings:

Wine Pairings: Malbec, Spanish Red

Beer Pairings:

Source: Cow and Sheep milk blend

Fat Content: 45%

Idiazabal

Idiazabal

This smoky hard cheese from the Basque region of Spain is an excellent grating cheese. Originally it got its smoky flavor because the cheese makers often aged it in their chimneys. It was the flavor acquired from being in the chimneys that helped make it a favorite in Spain and now throughout the world. It has a buttery taste that The Lady compares to young Parmesan. It is a wonderful cheese and I especially enjoy it with a little smoked Salmonidae.

I give this cheese 3 out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: Great for grilling and grating; it also pairs well with pears. It is also excellent with quince paste.

Wine and Beer Pairings:

Wine Pairings: Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon

Beer Pairings:

Source: Sheep Milk

Fat Content: Minimum of 6%

Mahon

Mahon

This is one of the few Cow Milk cheeses from Spain and this semi-hard cheese comes from the Island of Menorca. It has a certain sharp and lemony taste that is also on the salty side. Its inedible rind is often colored with paprika to give it a bright orange color. The wheels that The Lady sells are more square than round.

This is a creamy cheese with a mild, almost lemony after taste. It is yummy on the palette especially if you pair it with a slice of Aphelocoma coerulescens pate.

I give this cheese 3 out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: Jamon Serrano and Olives are excellent with this cheese.

Wine and Beer Pairings:

Wine Pairings: It pairs well with Rioja, Tempranillo and Madeira.

Beer Pairings:

Source: Cow Milk

Winey Goat

Winey Goat

A semi-soft, goat milk cheese that gets its name from the red wine in which it is soaked for 1 to 3 days. The wine gives it a distinctive violet-colored rind. Mild, fruity and sweet in flavor and less “goaty” taste than many goat cheeses, this is a goat cheese that The Lady kind of likes. (She’s not a big fan of goat cheese; in fact, most of them she just doesn’t like at all…)

Even though The Lady doesn’t care for goat cheese, I find it quite enjoyable; it reminds me of the “tastes” I encountered scavenging for morsels when I was homeless and wandering the streets of Burbank.

I give this cheese 3 out of 4 Paws (because that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: Olive-Orange Salsa and Smoked Chorizo go well with this cheese.

Wine and Beer Pairings:

Wine Pairings: Rioja, Cabernet, Grenache-Shiraz Rose

Beer Pairings:

Source: Goat Milk

Valdeon

Valdeon Blue

This blue cheese is strong in flavor, perhaps enhanced by the goat milk element, and is wrapped in either maple or oak leaves and then aged in caves. It is drier than most blues that The Lady sells.

For a blue cheese, this really is the cat’s meow; it’s got a real blue taste that jumps out at you. The Lady likes to pair it (and other blues) with Peppadews; a small South African pepper that is both sweet and spicy.

I give this cheese 3 out of 4 Paws (because that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: Goes well with smoked meats and melted on a steak. It also pairs well with Peppadew Peppers from South Africa.

Wine and Beer Pairings:

Wine Pairings: Wines made from the Gamay Grapes such as Beaujolais cru and Muscat.

Beer Pairings:

Source: Cow and Goat Milk

In preparation for having some friends over, I went to Surdyk’s Wine and Cheese store to get their recommendations for cheese pairings for the wine I planned to serve.   The staff at Surdyk’s really know their stuff and I’m always impressed with they go out of their way to be helpful.

The first wine I wanted to match was La Crema Chardonnay 2006.  This is one of my favorite Chardonnays – it has kind of a peachiness to it.  The guys at Surdyk’s recommended a French triple crème goat cheese coated in cracked mustard seeds – Delice de Pommard from Burgundy (far left in cheese board photo).  It was incredible –so creamy, and the mustard flavor was very mild.  This cheese is soft and easily spreadable, so great to put on baguette slices or crackers.  This was definitely a winner.

The second wine I wanted to match was Herederos del Marques de Riscal Rioja Reserva 2004.  My friends at Surdyk’s recommended a cow’s milk cheese from Spain called Mahon.  This is a hard cheese, light colored with an orange rind, and it comes from Menorca.  It’s slightly salty and the flavor reminds me a little of white cheddar, though not quite as intense.  The Mahon cheese (far right in cheese board photo) did complement the Rioja well, but faded into the background a little more than the Delice de Pommard.

J’attendais ce moment avec impatience…je suis enfin diplômée! Le seul soucis c’est qu’en Angleterre, ça ne suffit pas d’avoir le diplôme, il faut aussi savoir parler anglais et ça c’est pas encore gagné! J’ai donc décidé pour diverses raisons de chercher un petit boulot pour payer mon loyer et me donner le temps de trouver quelques choses en agence de communication ou dans une Web agency!

J’ai enfin trouvé un boulot à Londres…je vends des chorizos au Borought Market dans la boutique Brindisa, spécialisée dans les produits from Spain! Je conseille les amateurs de fromages espagnols, d’huile d’olives et vinaigres en tout genre de venir faire un tour car les produits sont de qualité et le service aussi!

Je recommande surtout leur jambon…même si il reste un peu cher (jusqu’à £19,95 les 100gr), l’investissement en vaut le détour! Vous vous ferez surtout servir par un professionnel du découpage de jambon qui se fera un grand plaisir de vous faire tester ses produits!

Quince paste, or membrillo in Spanish, is a fantastic accompaniment to a Spanish cheese board at a tapas party.  Membrillo is traditionally served with Manchego (sheep’s milk) cheese and the sweet-salty combination is intoxicating!  Membrillo is sweet like a jam but it has a really interesting floral taste that makes it a very unique and special treat.  It is also delicious with goat cheese or any other soft, tangy cheese. 

My favorite way to serve membrillo is with a good aged Manchego, crusty sourdough corn bread and paper-thin slices of sorrano (dry-cured Spanish ham that is similar to Italian prosciutto).   

You can find membrillo at Whole Foods, Fairway or most grocery stores with a gourmet cheese section.  There are also on-line sources, such as the Gourmet Food Store, which sells a 10.6oz package of homemade membrillo for $8.50 (plus shipping)
http://www.gourmetfoodstore.com/gourmetchocolate/gourmet-chocolate-details-7149.asp

If you like making jam you should have no problem making your own membrillo.  Epicurious has a straight-forward recipe that is quite good if you reduce the amount of sugar to about 2 cups.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/QUINCE-PASTE-14630

I stumbled upon a luscious honey the other day at Lazy Acres by the Valley Produce Company (located in Australia). The Aussies have infused their Australian red gum and clover honey with black truffles and white truffle oil. Drizzled over a cracker with a spread of blue cheese (try it with a touch of Cabrales, a cheese made in Northern Spain), it is simply heavenly. The combination of flavors — the earthy truffles, the sharp, spicy blue cheese, the sweet honey — is divine. The umami synergizes in your mouth, creating a taste that bursts with unctuous earthiness.

I know they ship around Australia, but I’m not sure if they ship elsewhere. If you don’t see it at your local gourmet store, ask that they care it. Your mouth will thank you deeply.