Wine and Cheese (and a plug for the Big Shoe, too)

The wife and I count brie or camembert on plain water crackers with a dry or semi-dry white as one of our favorites for a Saturday evening. We tend to lean toward a nice Burgundy, pinot grigio, or a drier riesling. There is also a Wisconsin wine we like by Wollersheim Winery called Prarie Fume.

Do you need a secret handshake to get the best of a particular cheese, (Stuart)?

Well, you've seen me in action...

What do you picture when someone says "there will be wine and cheese"?

Depends upon who is saying it. Too often, it means bad cheese, bad wine, and a bunch of people looking for an excuse to get drunk.

Do you serve a cheese course, and if so, at what point in the meal? Do you ever have cheese instead of dessert?

If it's a formal meal, I like to serve a cheese course after the main course, but before something sweet. I almost always end my everyday meals with fruit, a bit of cheese, and some nuts. That serves as my dessert.

Where do you buy your cheese?

I have a few good sources locally. It's remarkable how much the selection has improved over the last five years or so. When I first moved here in the 80s, it was a cheesey wasteland. Now, I can get pretty much anything I want. I also mule back large hunks of Parm and Romano from NY every other month or so - it's so much cheaper there than here, and we use quite a bit of it.

I can't imagine life without cheese. I was at an industry seminar a while back, and one of the speakers was a representative from the Wisconsin Cheese Board. He handed out tee shirts which proclaimed "Eat Cheese or Die."

I think that sums up my view perfectly.

[Robin Garr]

secret handshake

Well, you've seen me in action...

"Here, kid, pull my finger"?

[Robin Garr]

We'll have the usual suspects and some new ones I hope gathering around the table starting at around 10 AM PDT, 1PM EDT and 7PM in Western Europe.

This is one of the few food-related TalkShoes we've done, and I really hope we can gather in some new participants today. Of course folks can always download and listen to the Shoe later, but having folks around to make it interactive really puts the icing on the cake. Uh, the rind on the Brie. Whatever!

Calling in may seem complicated, but it really isn't. Call in, dial 11888# to get to the WineLovers "Shoe," then just dial 1# to connect, if you don't want to bother to sign up for your own PIN. It's a toll call in the US, but we're talking Saturday charges (or free weekend minutes) here ... c'mon, gang! Talk to us!

Timing for Talkshoe is a little prohibitive for me...

All time fave ? St Agur blue plus really good honey plus vintage porto.

Will often serve a cheese platter with red wines (usually Coonawarra or Margaret River or Bordeaux cabernet or cab blends), which includes a Dutch Wheel Goat cheese, a King Island Surprise Bay Cheddar, a Tylden Ridge (Jarlsberg style), and a couple of soft cheeses.

Our local Italian cheese shop (yeah, I'm showing off, I know :)) makes the most delicious soft cheese mix they call a Marscarpone Reale, which is slices of gorgonzola layered with marscarpone, and then topped with walnut halves. This is perfect with almost any wine, at any time.

We also marinate our own feta - Bulgarian brined feta is surprisingly cheap and has a long fridge life, so usually keep some tucked away. When we want to use it, we rinse the feta, then soak it in water for half a day. Then we drain it, cut it up, and marinate it in a mix of EVOO and grapeseed oil (just to stop the oil hardening in the fridge), sliced garlic and cracked pepper. Keeps for quite a while in the fridge if you keep it covered in oil.

Hmmm....I've just realised, we eat a lot of cheese. :)

Oh, and out of the "better" cheeses (ie. discounting all the obvious crap out there), the one I don't like is edam.

[Jenise]

So Randy, who showed up?

[Robin Garr]

So Randy, who showed up?

Not very many people.

I know Saturday isn't the best time for a lot of people. Frankly, it's a bit of a pain for me not to be able to make plans for Saturday afternoon until later on.

But I wish folks would at least communicate with us? The TalkShoe is doing great, but we put out these calls for participation and folks seem to just kind of discreetly avert their eyes and move on. I wish more of you would offer suggestions and constructive criticism. It's okay to decide it's not for you, but it would be a big help to us if we could get some feedback beyond silence.

(This is a sermon to the entire choir, Jenise, not aimed at you. You've been a frequent participant even in a time zone situation that's three hours worse for you than it is for me.

I only show up when I feel I have something to contribute on the topic.

It doesn't necessarily show in a forum or chat setting, but I am an extremely shy person. The level of expertise among a lot of contributors both here and on the TalkShoe can be a bit intimidating for me. I feel out of my depth, so only call in when I feel confident I have something of value to share.

And to head off the next thing you might say.... I don't feel that suggesting topics is something I am very good at either.

One of our favorite cheese for wine is an herb & garlic Boursin.

Sometimes, an evening meal will be a good bottle of red…can be chianti, bordeaux or a domestic cab…with a round of boursin, some shaved roast beef, a handful of cherry tomatoes, another handful of good olives. Add water crackers, candlelight and good conversation. The cheese matches well with all reds carrying some tannins and acididty.

Richard

[James Roscoe]

I only show up when I feel I have something to contribute on the topic.

It doesn't necessarily show in a forum or chat setting, but I am an extremely shy person. The level of expertise among a lot of contributors both here and on the TalkShoe can be a bit intimidating for me. I feel out of my depth, so only call in when I feel confident I have something of value to share.

And to head off the next thing you might say.... I don't feel that suggesting topics is something I am very good at either.

If you are shy the moon is made out of cheese.

[Jenise]

I was definitely sorry to miss it--this is a topic I looked forward to chatting about but I was so blissed out on the codeine I took for the migraine I was afraid of sounding stoned.

If you are shy the moon is made out of cheese.

Gouda or Stilton?

Vintage Port and Stilton, after the meal as dessert. A match made in heaven.

-Paul W.

If you are shy the moon is made out of cheese.

Gouda or Stilton?

As every Wallace and Gromit fan knows, probably out of Wensleydale.

-Paul W.

Wow, those were a lot of questions. To put it briefly, we like cheese as part of many courses. Definitely but not always, with the aperitif wines like Champagne, where a nice ripened goat cheese can be perfect. As part of a salad course, where I like to place a single small slice of aged soft blue cheese next to a simple butter lettuce salad with lemon vinaigrette. In this case, maybe no wine at all, or a bit of the strong red wine that was served with the beef. And of course, as a separate course, with a plateau de fromage following the salad course and before dessert. With this there would be some acidic semi sweet white wines.
There are too many wonderful cheeses...so there should be some cheese in every great meal.
Ines

[James Roscoe]

If you are shy the moon is made out of cheese.

Gouda or Stilton?

I was hoping for different varieties.

I was definitely sorry to miss it--this is a topic I looked forward to chatting about but I was so blissed out on the codeine I took for the migraine I was afraid of sounding stoned.

....but isn't that your last name anyway?????

[Chianti with some saltines and Velveeta?

Must you pair Velveeta with Chianti??????

I miss the weekday time - I was usually a little more available than on a Saturday! Life's been rocky schedule-wise! I'll show up soon!

[James Roscoe]

There is a wine and cheese seminar at the French Embassy coming up next week. Jon Paterson has posted on it in the travel forum. I would love Randy's take on the pairings.

Must you pair Velveeta with Chianti??????

The only wines appropriate with Velveeta (which I refuse to call a real cheese) are Ripple, Mad Dog 20/20, and Night Train.

-Paul W.

P.S.: I'm reminded of a comment from a gourmet friend, concerning Velveeta and its ilk: "The label says 'pasteurized process cheese food.' Well, I left it in my refrigerator, and the cheese won't touch it."

In defense of Velveeta. My dog loves the stuff. I use as a treat and to supplement with fat his otherwise vegetarian diet (thanks to severe pancreatitis).

But…once..while at the grocery, I figured..he being a dog…would never know the difference between an american cheese food product and Velveeta. I subbed the cheese food slices for his normal treat. The next morning, I handed a quarter piece to him.

He slurped it up and…promptly “spit” it out. Then looked up at me like…”Dad…what is this crap…and how could you (hangdog) / lets make Pop feel guilty” look that works every time.

So…even a dog knows real velveeta from the fake stuff.

Richard

Very funny story, Richard!!!

I wish more of you would offer suggestions and constructive criticism. It's okay to decide it's not for you, but it would be a big help to us if we could get some feedback beyond silence.

Fair enough. My schedule is bizarre and uncertain, so there's strike one. I don't have audio on my lab computer which I use the majority of the time, strike two. My voice is annoying, strike three. And just to make sure the batter is fully out, the fourth strike is my need for the time composing a post to self-censor. I can't get that in live, public, extemporaneous situations, and please trust me: it's not "if," it's "when" and "how horribly?"