CHEESE (with a little Wine and Beer thrown in)

[timshatz]

Adler gave me a nudge to start a thread about one of my favorite topics, namely CHEESE! 'Course, I've always been the kid, who, when nudged, would go off and do something stupid like toss a firecracker at the cop car just to add a little excitement to the day (note to readers of this thread, don't throw firecrackers at Cop Cars, they are much faster than they look and Cops tend to call other Cops when they are pissed. Dodging them is a real chore). And Cheese is one of my favorite foods. Toss in a little wine and you are golden, at least for a little while.

The problem with an American starting a thread on cheese is it's a little like a Virgin starting a thread on Sex. Americans, and I fully understand that I am denegrating my own nation on this but what the hell, know next to nothing about Cheese. We grow up thinking there are 3 types of cheese, American, Swiss and Cheedar. The odd kid who's ancestors came from Italy may know about Provolone but they generally keep it to themselves to avoid being considered a freak. I don't count Cheese Whiz as cheese. It's not. It may be useful as intestinal lubricant or artery clogging materials but it's as close to cheese Saccarine is close to Sugar. Kinda, sorta but not really.

So off we go on Cheese. I'll start the ball rolling with the first Cheese (outside of the above three) that I really got the Jones for. Fontina D'Aosta. Great cheese to cook or munch on. Though the link says a Chardonnay is good for it (not bad to tell the truth), I'm not a chardonnay drinker. More along the lines of a Sauvingon Blanc. Not perfect, but good. As for beer, have to be something on the lager end of the scale, lighter brew.

Fontina Val d'Aosta Cheese

 

[rochie]

you should try Wenslydale cheese with thin slices of apple in a sandwich made with a good brown bread and real butter !!!!!

 

[Matt308]

Gruyere please. Sam Adams.

Point Reyes Blue Chz over ripe pear slices, drizzled with olive oil and fresh cracked pepper. Rodney Strong Merlot.

Manchego with Sherry.

 

[Matt308]

you should try Wenslydale cheese with thin slices of apple in a sandwich made with a good brown bread and real butter !!!!!

Goddamn I'm salivating. I hate you Rochie!

 

[rochie]

Goddamn I'm salivating. I hate you Rochie!

if i could get a picture off my monile phone onto the work computer i'd make said sarnie and post a pic of it Matt
on second thoughts might earn me a trip to the beach eh ? !!!

 

[Matt308]

More likely earn me a trip to the kitchen.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I too am a die hard cheese fan, whether it be French, German, Dutch or Italian (hell from anywhere!). I love it just as a snack and I love it with a good wine.

I will contribute to this thread here in a little bit. First I must go outside and enjoy a beer with the neighbor while the sun is still up.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Adler gave me a nudge to start a thread about one of my favorite topics, namely CHEESE! 'Course, I've always been the kid, who, when nudged, would go off and do something stupid like toss a firecracker at the cop car just to add a little excitement to the day (note to readers of this thread, don't throw firecrackers at Cop Cars, they are much faster than they look and Cops tend to call other Cops when they are pissed. Dodging them is a real chore). And Cheese is one of my favorite foods. Toss in a little wine and you are golden, at least for a little while.

The problem with an American starting a thread on cheese is it's a little like a Virgin starting a thread on Sex. Americans, and I fully understand that I am denegrating my own nation on this but what the hell, know next to nothing about Cheese. We grow up thinking there are 3 types of cheese, American, Swiss and Cheedar. The odd kid who's ancestors came from Italy may know about Provolone but they generally keep it to themselves to avoid being considered a freak. I don't count Cheese Whiz as cheese. It's not. It may be useful as intestinal lubricant or artery clogging materials but it's as close to cheese Saccarine is close to Sugar. Kinda, sorta but not really.

So off we go on Cheese. I'll start the ball rolling with the first Cheese (outside of the above three) that I really got the Jones for. Fontina D'Aosta. Great cheese to cook or munch on. Though the link says a Chardonnay is good for it (not bad to tell the truth), I'm not a chardonnay drinker. More along the lines of a Sauvingon Blanc. Not perfect, but good. As for beer, have to be something on the lager end of the scale, lighter brew.

Fontina Val d'Aosta Cheese

The funny thing is that what Americans call Swiss Cheese or Mozerella Cheese is not even Swiss or Mozerella. Mozerlla needs to come in a bag filled with Buffalo's milk...

 

[vikingBerserker]

This is no cheese better IMHO then freshly made Mozzarella

 

[Geedee]

Gotta be Halloumi for me. Its a traditional Cypriot cheese normally made by a group of women in the village, from a mixture of sheep's and goats' milks. Every few days, once sufficient milk has been collected, it is heated in a large cauldron, and then rennet is added to start the curdling process. Once the curds are set into a soft cheese they are cut and removed from the whey and pressed. The halloumi is then re-cooked, which results in its firm, almost rubbery texture. Whilst still warm the cheeses are sprinkled with a mixture of salt and dried mint and folded and stored in brine. This folding process gives the cheese its distinctive shape.

You can eat it raw, fried, grilled, grated on pasta or with a big variety of fresh fruits. My fave way to eat is to drop a chunk of butter in a frying pan and chop the cheese into slices about the size of domino's and then lightly grill until just turning golden brown all over...then eat from the pan with a cold tinnie of F*st*ers.

Its also without doubt absolutely bl**dy fantastic when you stick it on the barbie and have it flame cooked......mmmmmmm.

 

[Matt308]

with a ripe heirloom tomato, fresh basil leaves, some sea salt and cracked pepper with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. I hate this thread.

 

[Colin1]

Any of the blue-veined gear
Had some today while I was out, it was an English brand and if I'd known I was going to be discussing it this evening, I'd have damn well remembered its name.

Did you know the Foreign Legion always finish a meal with cheese and coffee - it facilitates a more complete digestion of the entire meal (allegedly).

 

[vikingBerserker]

Dammit............me too.

Now I have to go out and buy a ripe heirloom tomato, fresh basil leaves, some sea salt and cracked pepper with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

Looks like I'm making Mozzarella tonight.

 

[Njaco]

Thanks Tim! I love cheese but never know which is good or what and usually end up buying processed crap. Keep it coming guys. I'm making a list.

Oh and Tim being from Philly you forgot one - Cream Cheese!!

 

[timshatz]

with a ripe heirloom tomato, fresh basil leaves, some sea salt and cracked pepper with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. I hate this thread.

Oh yeah, that's deadly! I'm oiff to dinner in about 20 minutes. That's my appetizer. Good call Matt!

Called Tomato Salad over here in Pa. Not sure about your neck of the woods.

 

[timshatz]

\

Oh and Tim being from Philly you forgot one - Cream Cheese!!

Njaco, do you remember during the "Sally Star" show when they had that 6 second commercial for "Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese"? I started to loathe that commercial so much that I can't stand Cream Cheese anymore. My inlaws and family love it.

Guess it's inverse marketing. Nothing like pissing off a 6 year old and having him carry it for the rest of his life!

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

That's it, you clowns have got me salivating all over my keyboard. I'm off to get some cheese.

 

[timshatz]

Just got back from the Cheese Store (Njaco, it's Downtown Cheese in the Readng Terminal Market, great cheeses there). All this talk got me going. Picked up the following:

Affinios- French cheese much like butter but more creamy. Really good on bread with a Pinot Grigio.
Petit Muenster- Stinks to high heaven but it is soooooo good. Another bread/cracker cheese but you can mix it with a very hearty beer or wine. This stuff has heart, you can drink 2 buck chuck with it and even that crappy wine will be ok.
Swiss Raclette- Not the French variety, although it's good, this stuff is the Swiss which is a tad more in the bite perspective. Goes well melted over just about anything. If you have some left over beef or steak, cut it down into strips, put a slice of Raclette on it, put it on a cracker and give it a brief, 15 second nuke. Just until the cheese is semi to all the way melted. Serve with a Merlot or similar, maybe even a mild Cabernet. Outstanding! And, it has the guy advantage of being something you can eat standing up by the sink (fewer dishes to wash that way).
Taleggio- Semisoft and not as agressive as the Muenster, but good on bread. Once it gets to room temp, it has a good flavor. Go with a white (but this is the Wife's cheese and she's more of fan of it than I- I'm over my Taleggio phase, like listening to "The Knack", it worked when I was younger but now- dunno, just not into it anymore).
And my old standby- Fontina D'Aosta- Goes with everything. Cooks like Raclette. Good on sandwiches. I think of it almost like the American Cheese of the Alps. It just works well with everything. Not too strong, but it is a sharp cheese. Red, White, Beer, whatever, Fontina (in the words of "The Dude" from "The Big Labowski"), "Fontina abides"!

 

[timshatz]

Here's a pic of the Muenster as there are a ton of Muensters out there.

WARNING! This cheese will assault your offactory senses at room temperature. Send the kids to bed, lock up the wife and toss the dog in the basement. This stuff is great!

Sorry about the size guys, have to post in a hurry.

Wife won't eat this stuff, IT STINKS TOO MUCH FOR HER (a true manly cheese).

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Man, timshatz, your only making this worse.