This was our meal yesterday, celebrating with champagne.It was perfect. We didn't have to do anything but pop, cut, plate and eat.
And surprisingly, that cheese resembling a Stilton went suavely with the bubbly. Didn't expect that, but we dared to try, and it worked.
The cheese, which doesn't even have a name yet as far as I can tell, is designed to resemble a Stilton, but the cheese lady told Cranky, "We're not allowed to call it Stilton."
Because it's made in Marin County, zillions of miles from Stiltonshire. Appellation contrôlée and all.
It comes from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, from whom we have been buying a wonderful blue cheese for a good few years now. It's clear they know their mold inoculation.
This, um, let's call it "Stilter" (anyone reminded of a Monty Python skit?), is new for them. It is yellow, buttery, mildly tart. Yummy texture; a little soft but it definitely slices. Less in-your-face than an English Stilton. The wheels are smaller (and you can see in the picture that it has been cut in half horizontally).
Verdict: So damn yeah. I hope they continue making this cheese; I suspect they showed up at our farmers market (for the first time!) to get a general reaction from the public on their latest experiment.
I wish I could tell you how to find some; their website hasn't been updated since January, it looks like.
Oh, the rest of the plate. White peaches with some fanciful name like Pink Tutu. Bing cherries as big as beef hearts. Mouth toys, basically. Good with the cheese and champers (which, because it was made in California and not Champagneshire, we must call "sparkling wine," eek).
A good, good day.
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21 comments:
OBAMA: THE DOMA IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL, BUT STATES MUST CHOOSE FOR THEMSELVES ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. DOES NOT COMPUTE.
Congrats you silly young kids!
Revel in your Stiltonish cheese. Darned hard to make at home (though one tries). What a delightful lunch!
Fantastic, all of it. I'm looking forward to this cheese. I'll be visiting the PR cowgirls in a few weeks. Maybe they'll have some of this experimental no-name cheese. Hope so.
Fast: Thank you, blush.
It's so fantastic to find an artisan producer branching out into something new, and hard! And to get it right. I'm impressed.
Denise: You'd think the girls would carry it. I hope you find some, and I hope it wasn't a one-time fluke.
So much more than lunch! Passion on a plate.Yes indeed.
Greg: Hah, sweet. This is now my favorite way to eat. I'll go back to the stews and braises when the rain comes back. Wait! It's raining TODAY.
This is one of my very favorite blue cheeses - as you say, not so "in your face." Lovely stuff. And with fruit? Home run!
Zoomie: You might have misunderstood. This is not the Original Blue, but a new attempt at a Stilton-like cheese. OR -- if you didn't misunderstand, where the heck are you getting it? ;)
A perfect anniversary meal. I mean, the last thing you want at a romantic time is too much stodge and heft on your plates. Hope you fed the cherries to each other.
That glass brings back memories (all of them good).
I'm in official pursuit of the faux Stilton.
Yeah, it rained all day here too, but with a meal like that who cares what the weather is doing! I support fancy cheese and nice wine for dinner more often than a special occasion. Sometimes just making it through the week is occasion enough!
Kudzu: If you find the cheese, I hope you like it a little. I hate raving about something and then finding out I'm wrong. OTOH, I bragged about the Original Blue to a gaggle of food writers some years ago, and they unanimously, simultaneously, intoned "It's too acidic." like they were all quoting some "expert" they'd read.
Yeah. And stodge food would also require too much kitchen time. Xx
Pots: Ya grab yer pleasure where ya can, nome sane?
I did misunderstand so I don't know where to find it. Good luck. I like the original blue, too, no matter what the food writers say. :-)
Zoomie: I hope it goes mainstream, like the blue. I'll let you know if they continue to vend at the Civic Center!
On the naming of things. I once went to a lunch that had a byo policy "champagne excepted". Someone had brought a bottle of fizz and they said we had to buy there's as they did not allow byo Champagne. "It's not champagne," said I, "it's Australian sparkling white wine". I did not win that round :)
Mouse: They were wrong, of course, and still they won. It's always about money.
Damn, Cranky is one stilton, peach, cherry, cookiecrumb eating fool. That cheese and fruit makes Nor-Cal great. See you at the market soon!!!!
Chilebrown: How naughty and nice are you!
I do hope to see you soon. Working on the hair...
Mmm. Champagne and good cheese is all you need. Fruit's alright too. Sounds like a great anniversary.
I will have to check our Farmer's Markets for the non-French, non- Stilton Blue. Your lunch sounds delicious!
As for the same-sex marriage deniers - may they eat eat really rancid moldy kind. 'Cause you can't have your cheese and eat it too.
Or something like that...
Yo, Dawg: Thanks, dearie! You gotta get a little fruit in there too, it's miracle food. Well, tastes good, anyway.
Nancy: We're making progress. It's been astronomical, these past few years.
Hope you find the cheese!
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