P&C Gets Cheesy!
Thursday, July 19, 2007 at 8:56PM 
To help me celebrate the first full-year of being poetic and chic...I asked some friends to come over for a little get-together. In truth, this was a get-together with an assignment: bring cheese!
The whole thing started when I tried to put together a cheese class, but due to the price and the fact that everyone seems to be pulled in a thousand directions these days (myself included) we couldn't get enough people to fill all twenty spots needed. Not to be daunted, I used my friend Pam's idea to have a "cheese class at home" and presto-change-o-voila...we had a cheese party, chez moi. And honestly, what could be more in the spirit of the stylish-do-it-yourself-ness of Poetic & Chic?
Everyone was asked to bring a cheese, and in the buying of the cheese they were instructed to learn all they could about the cheese so they could then teach everyone about it...oh, and if they wanted to bring wine, they could do that too. I supplied the bread, crackers, fruit, some wine, and the venue...
At the Tuesday Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, I picked up some beautiful blooms, as well as organic grapes, figs, plumots (an apricot-plum hybrid that's heavenly!), and olives. The day of the party I also picked up my cheese at the Cowgirl Creamery and four types of bread at the Acme Bakery - one walnut loaf, one olive loaf, one sweet and one sour baguette. I then sliced them all thinly and toasted them for about 8 minutes in a 400-degree over to make them crisp enough to hold up to the cheese.
I dug out some old placecards and invited guests to make their own "cheese cards" for their offering, and I pulled out my copy of The Cheese Primer by Steven Jenkins - in case anyone wanted to look up their cheese and get some fun facts. Everyone had distinct opinions that their cheese was the best, but all were open to admitting that someone else's selection was just as worthwhile. As more and more people showed up, trays were rearranged, bottles were opened, and further admissions were made: "yours was my favorite until that one showed up..."
There also seemed to be an unwritten challenge to arrive with the most smelly cheese, with certain guests proclaiming theirs "STINKY!" or "The Most Stinky"...In fact someone said: "I asked the cheese person at Whole Foods to give me the most stinky cheese they had..."
There were other memorable quotes over the evening, (namely: "We should have smoked out before we started this." and "Oh yes, there will be triple cream...") and while I would have written them down for posterity, my hands and face were too busy with all the cheese. Every cheese tells a story, from the ash around a Humboldt Fog, to the degree of runny-ness in a St. Marcellin. They host a rainbow of flavors, which is truly remarkable since we're really only talking about milk and a bacterial process.
But a true cheese lover is a passionate fanatic; when I purchased my cheeses at the Cowgirl Creamery Stand at the Ferry Building, I told the person helping me that I was hosting a cheese party. The moment I said it, I noticed a number of ears perk up behind the counter..."where is this happening?" "how can we get invited?"...all of a sudden, I had an entirely-new cheese-based fan club.
My own friends were equally passionate. Guests were prompt, eager, and happy to chill out, have some cheese (and wine) and hang out for a good few hours. In fact, I'm now all in favor of a mid-week get-together at home. You can start and end early, and people are more apt to come rather than on the action-packed weekend. (The party professionals know that weekends are for amateurs.) but aside from logistics, they all had wonderful stories about their cheeses, how they selected them, who sold it to them... From the little French in Noe Valley, to the cheese mongers at Whole Foods who knew all about farmstead cheese...
So, since documenting the cheese inventory was paramount concern, I have put together a list:
Red Hawk from the Cowgirl Creamery... "captures the essence of West Marin with a triple-cream, washed ring, fully-flavored cheese made from organic cow's milk from the Straus Family Dairy." Certified organic.
Piattone Valtellina... Brie style aged 16 months from the Alpine Region of Italy.
Humboldt Fog... Goat cheese made by Cypress Grove featuring a layer of edible ash in the center. Pairs well with eathy flavors such as mushrooms, but also honey and pairs for desert.
Doddington... Described as "beefy", this cheese is made in the UK with flavors somewhere between cheddar and Leicester. Perfect for robust reds like Syrah.
Mt. Tam from the Cowgirl Creamery... Our second certified organic cheese from the Pt. Reyes creamery, also featuring cow's milk from the Straus Dairy. A triple-cream with a firm, buttery texture reminiscent of the mellow, earthiness of white mushrooms.
Brin D'Amour... This cheese is bright white with a grey-ish herb coating, and is made in Corsica. It's a sheep's milk cheese and coated in herbs indigenous to Corsica - lot's of rosemary!
Affine au Chablis... A French cheese that is truly stinky! Made in the Cablis region, it is also made with a hint of Chablis wine making it the perfect accompaniment for a glass of chardonnay.
Pleasant Ridge Reserve... A farmstead cheese made by the Uplands Cheese Company of Dodgeville, WI. This cow's milk cheese will also stand up to a robust red, but it will also go well with a riesling or pinot noir. (A farmstead cheese means that the cheese-makers also own their own dairy, as opposed to purchasing their milk from another dairy.)
St. Marcellin... An oldie, but a goodie...From the Dauphine region of France, an aged cow's milk cheese. The aging of a St. Marcellin has to do with the degree of it's runny-ness. Ours was at the perfect place between solid and liquid - we could even dip the bread in and get a gooey dose!
Thomasville Tomme... Made by the Sweet Grass Dairy of Atlanta, GA, this cow's milk cheese pairs well with riesling, sauvignon blanc, or pinot grigio - perfect for summer sipping!
I loved that everyone was able to get-together and enjoy a fun evening of new tastes and new friends. People talked, organized future bike-rides, and even filled in a few of my Proust questionnaires...Isn't that they way it should be? I highly recommend a make-your-own tasting party...it's simple, fun for everyone, and you'll learn something!
Reader Comments (3)
My Italian insegnante recommended that we do an Italian-themed cheese party. For next time!
Cheese, A connoisseur's guide to the world's best
by Max McCalman and David Gibbons
I love this book! It covers everything from the 7 degrees of ripeness of a cheese to individual reviews with strength and quality ratings as well as recommended wine pairings! Ever since I purchased it I have been on a quest to find the perfect cheese dome so that I can ripen my cheese to perfection before eating.