Festive Cheese ideas

Its nearly Christmas! Here is your Christmas Cheese survival guide.


Classic Christmas Cheese


You cant go wrong with one of these.
Stilton
Brie
Camembert
Cheddar
Black Sticks Blue


Why not spice up one of these classic cheeses with festive condiment on the side


Spice Apple Chutney (no cooking involved takes 15 mins)

BUT if you want to try something a bit more unusual and christmasy;

 A new cheese with all the flavours and memories of 90's Christmas! A wonderful balance of citrus, cranberries, orange and the rich warming orange liqueur - Cointreau. Finished in a striking orange wax finish this cheese makes a stunning addition to your Christmas cheese board YAY!

Its a pretty fit looking cheese...


Follow this link to purchase it from the Cheshire cheese company
OR


Christmas cake cheese - hmmmmm... really!!??

The South Caernarfon Creameries, based in North Wales, claim their new product - that combines brandy, mixed fruit, spices and cheese - tastes surprisingly good and has received a slew of orders from curious consumers. I'm not convinced, mainly because it sounds very weird BUT would be willing to try it and i think it would make a great novelty Christmas stocking filler. one cheese you would not expect on you're board!

If you are pushed for time as we all are at Christmas and don't have time to browse at you're leisure just dash out and buy one of Marks and Spencer's always sell a nice selection of cheeses

Serves 15-20. An impressive collection of cheeses: Farmhouse Red Leicester (150g); Gould's Farmhouse Cheddar (150g); Creamy Lancashire(100g); Blacksticks Blue (150g); Cornish Brie (200g); and Goosnargh Goat's Cheese (130g). Comes with Sweet Tomato and Chilli Chutney (290g) plus oatcakes (300g).



What about a cheese making kit as a present for a Cheese loving friend?


http://www.cheesemaking.co.uk/cgi-bin/web_store.cgi?product=Cheese Making Kits&cart_id=9864764_9653


Christmas Cheese leftovers


An idea to use up left over cheese and booze after Christmas day;

At Christmas you quite often end up with the odd scraps of cheese (and booze) the best way to use them up is to make the unbelievably indulgent French cheese spread called fromage fort which simply involves whizzing up cheese in a food processor with a little white wine, a dash of brandy or grappa and a good grind of black pepper and voilà - a cheese paté you can use to spread on crostini.


YUM!

Merry Cheesy Christmas Everyone!

xxx

A cheese lovers dream - Barcelona and London

You dont have to go far to sample such delights - I would like to share my recent cheese experiences in Barcelona.

BARCELONA

CHEESE ME

There was restaurant I passed in old town that caught my eye called "cheese me" I didnt have time to sample it first hand but i took a snap and also can say that I discovered a friend of mine had actually been recently and said it was fab.

Click on on Cheese me link to go straight to their website and below for a sample of their menu.

The restaurant offers cheese-based tapas, soups, salads and homemade cheese trays of European and Spanish origin. The menu even features desserts and ice creams made with cheese. And for those who are not so addicted (UM WHY WOULDNT YOU BE!? - get off my blog!), CheeseMe offers a selection of anti-cheese dishes.

The Menu

Iberic ham platter and Manchego cheese wiht rubbed olive oil and tomato bread	23€
(Optional: Iberic ham platter with rubbed olive oil and tomato bread without Manchego cheese) 18€
Spanish Cheese Tray	20€
10 varieties of Spanish cheese (approximately 200-220g varieties change according to market): Vidiago, Idiazabal, Ronkal, Tetilla Gallega, Torta del Casar, Afuega'l Pitu, Cabrales, Manchego, Patamulo, Mahon... Among others
French Cheese tray	20€
5 artisan cheese varieties (approx. 200-220 gr.): Roquefort, Camembert, Munster fermier, Reblochon, Goat séchons, among others
Artisan European Cheese tray	20€
10 varieties of artisan cheese (approximately 200-220g) Camembert, Roquefort, Parmigiano Reggiano, Sainte Maure de Touraine Goat Cheese, aged Gouda, fresh pineapple Cheese, Munster Fermier, Reblochon, Perail of Brebis, Séchons of Goat... Among others

There were various small markets in the Gothic Quarter that sold some cheeses

Manchego and spanish meats are a staple on every menu Barcelona whether you are just popping out for a drink and some tapas or a full blown meal. God manchego is good. If you are not a massively adventurous cheese person i.e. you eat cheddar only mild or medium. Manchego is a great place to start. Its made from sheeps cheese and is therefore mild and slightly buttery best served with crusty hot bread, some olives and cured spanish meats.

Totes amaze! (do I sound like a tool or what!!?)

Colleague at work with a plate of Manchego and spanish meats straight from Mallorca last week

All in All Barcelona is a fabulous place to try out some foreign cheese (its also just a fabulous place!) A lot of  your local supermarket stock popular spanish cheeses but hey you can't beat the atmosphere of a spanish bar and a caraf of red wine.

FYI (not so much cheese related)

•  The restaurant Agua down by the beach in barcelona - seriously good cocktails and beautiful fish dishes. £££
• The restaurant 7 Portes offers traditional spanish food a seriously reasonable price - Best Paella I have ever had - ££

BOOKING FOR BOTH IS ESSENTIAL

The back breakingly strong cocktails at Agua

****
LONDON

L'ART DU FROMAGE

 If you dont fancy going as far as Barcelona you can head to "L'Art du Fromage", in Chelsea, South London. 



Kunal Dutta from the The Independent reviewed the cheesy restaurant back in 2010 and said;

"For turophobics, it is a new and rather pongy circle of hell. In fact, even for those without the (admittedly rare) fear of cheese, the smorgasbord of nearly 100 fromages, sourced in Lyon and shipped weekly, is the stuff of nightmares."

Every dish on the menu involves cheese in some sort of way just like the menu on "cheese me" it is simply a cheese lovers dream. See Below;


From the menu: L'Art Du Fromage


*Fondue Savoyarde – combining Emmental, Comté and Beautfort fondue flambéed in Kirsch.


*Triolet de glaces au frontage – Assortment of home-made cheese ice creams and sorbet.


*Munster pané – Munster cheese coated with breadcrumbs, served with Bayonne ham and walnut and baby leaves.


*Plateaux de Fromage L'Epicurien – board allowing the taster to discover the seven cheese families.


*L'Assiette de l'Etable – an Assortment of three cheeses on toast, served with lettuce and cooked sliced ham.


*Cloche à Fromage – Cheeseboard served in a cheese bell with jams, fresh and dry fruits.




I am going next week so will keep you up to date on what it is like...personally i think im going to go for the Cloch a Fromage but im so not sharing it - I reckon i will be doing star jumps by monday - CANNOT wait!

*****

Christmas is fast approaching - if you have a cheese lover to buy for consider this a present...

Bargainess! http://redmolotov.com/catalogue/tshirts/all/blessed-are-the-cheesemakers-tshirt.html

Look out for my review of L'Art du Fromage next week and a Xmas cheese themed post coming soon!

xxx

Cheese Birthday Party - 7th Nov 2011

As promised i said i would blog about the cheese party and how it went.

The idea was for me to take lots of pictures of the fabulous cheese and the fabulous friends who brought it.

The party was going to be sophisticated with cheese laid out by type. Little flags indicating the flavour and wine laid out to accompany each cheese.

A bit like this..oooh sophisticated!

What happened was this..ehhhhhh.. mess!

This was only a mere 30% of the cheese!

It is not quite as pretty as I imagined but it meant new cheeses to try and as a result feature below;

NEW FAVOURITE CHEESES OF THE MONTH 

Mexicana Cheese - Available at Asda, Sainsburys, Tescos and Morrisons at the cheese counters. Extreme Mexicana is also available. I'm unsure of which it was that we had at the party but it blew my top off! DELICIOUS! click on the link above for info and leftovers photo for an image below.

Epoisse - Salty, creamy and smelly - nuff' said! Available at all good delis and all large chain supermarkets of course! £4.15 per round

Old Cave cheddar - Taste the Difference Wookey Hole Cave Aged Cheddar is available from Sainsbury's stores now, priced at £2.75 for 200g.

Berkswell - A personal favourite first tried out on Lambing Live the first series. see picture below. It is a delicious creamy sheep's milk cheese that used to be quite hard to get hold of. Now you can buy it in Harrods at the cheese counter and all Neal Yards shops and stalls.

 THE LEFTOVERS



Cheese dinners for a week! seriously though.. you can also see the mexicana cheese in the middle of the board


I want to to say a BIG thank you to my friends who came - so much thought was put into the cheeses that were brought it really was amazing!



Sorry this is a short post but wanted to keep it short and sweet - I would really appreciate any feedback on cheese i should try or cheese and wine places you think i should review. Email me at cheeselondon@gmail.com

xxx



Cheese Parties need Cheese Accessories

In honour of my coming of age I have decided to host my very own BYOB (Bring your own bottle) and BYOC (bring your own cheese) party. Now I say its to celebrate my birthday but actually its to celebrate cheese. Any old excuse to eat copious amounts of the stuff! The concept it pretty straight forward;

 Bring some cheese, bring some wine. DONE


The exciting part for me is what cheese will people bring? Will they bring one that is their favourite or one that is my favourite or just a classic cheese that will go down well with crowd?


Lets face it though it doesnt really matter




Various yummy cheeses that could be considered

This is the easy part covered - behind a cheese party there are the perfect cheese accessories, so here is my essential guide to chosing the right accessories to make your cheese party go smoothly -  along with some added extras of course!

Cheese Accessories - essential for any cheese related party

The Fondue Set

Something i want to introduce is my beloved fondue set that I havent even opened yet mainly because it is just plain beautful in all its apres ski chic way. See picture below. I can still rememeber the moment i saw it - my heart literally skipped a beat - i knew i had to have it.



swiss chic fondue


Now who doesnt like melted cheese!? As the Winter nights close in fondue is a perfect choice to warm the cockles.




Classic ski chic Fondue

Click the link below for a reccomended (by a good cheese loving friend) melted cheese experience in London. I intend to visit it in the next month so look out for my review soon.

St Moritz

OR to save the pennys if you are hosting your own cheese fest follow the recipe below;

Classic Cheese Fondue Recipe

Traditionally, fondue is made with a blend of Swiss Emmental and Gruyere cheeses.

Emmental is very mild and Gruyere, especially well-aged Gruyere, is very pungent. A half and half mixture is pleasing to most, but feel free to adjust the proportions to your liking.2 tablespoons cornstarch or potato flour
1/4 cup kirsch (cherry brandy)
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 cups dry, white wine
12 ounces shredded Emmental cheese
12 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine the cornstarch and kirsch. Set aside.

Slice the garlic in half lengthwise and rub the cut side over the inside of a medium, heavy saucepan. Discard the garlic. Pour the wine into the saucepan and bring it to a boil over a medium-high heat. Immediately reduce the heat to low. Add the cheese to the wine by handfuls and stir slowly until the cheese is just melted. (Stirring in a figure-8 or zigzag motion prevents the cheese from clumping.)
Stir in the cornstarch mixture, pepper, and nutmeg. Simmer for two or three minutes until it begins to thicken, but do not let it boil. Transfer to a warmed ceramic fondue pot and serve immediately. Keep warm over a very low flame.

The Cheese Slicer

Aahh the cheese slicer - a essential and cheap cheese accessory. The fondue set could be considered a luxury cheese accessory - this on the other hand is a staple to any cheese eating household. 

My very first cheese slicer was given to me by my parents, a present they brought back from Scandinavia. I use it every day - and it will sit proudly on my cheese board at the party.

Designer Cheese Slicer
This is a Ricci Argentieri cheese slicer - not that im trading in my old one but if my blog has inspired you to go out and buy your first cheese slicer consider this one as an option.






It is quite obvious that there are other cheese accessories, cheese boards and cheese knives. I will cover these later in the year. I dont want overload you reader!

I will be posting the results of my cheese party along with pictures of the cheeses brought and how the fondue turned out in the next couple of weeks. Wish me luck!

Stayed tuned my little cheese lovers!

xxx

Worst Cheese (and wine) experience

I think that it is rather appropriate to move from one of the BEST cheese experiences in London to maybe one of the WORST - it also sets up my next post well as what ever it is it will look seriously amazing.

After having finished a busy day at work I like nothing more than lashings of (not Ginger beer, we are not the famous five) red wine and full bodied cheese board.

2 colleagues and I having purchased a discount on a cheese and wine tasting on a website had chosen the date we would go and set off our bargain cheese and wine tasting. We were genuinely rubbing our hands with glee in the tube on the way there.

We arrived at a stunning location in London - offering panoramic views of the city as the sun was setting. Naturally we were late and floundered around outside the double doors where the cheese and wine tasting was happening.

Finally i pushed one of my colleagues through the doors and we stumbled through the doors together to our table muttering apologies for our lateness.

There were 10 large round tables full of suits and the like listening intently to the dullest man on earth droan on about the wine he was holding - suddenly we realised maybe this was not going to be the experience we had hoped for. And yes i know what your thinking, "well its a cheese and wine tasting what did i expect!?"  

Enough already just pour us the bloody wine!

After our thimble of wine was poured by our frankly rude and rather brash waiters, the cheese was brought out for us to sample along side the wine. Apparently they were meant to compliment each other.

Now Listen, I'm all for a bit of wine and cheese education but nothing prepared me for the monstrosity that ensued....brace yourselves...and take a peek at the picture below



seriously...

 Breath..reader..breath. Its going to be OK. Actually, do you know what? it was not OK! This is so not OK. If cheese police existed it would have been arrested.

As a result, we left early and went for dinner. Life sucks eh?!

I would like to end with a quote of a fellow cheese lover who is the quickest red wine drinker I have ever met.

I commend you.

"It was sh&t"

MORE CHEESY TALES COMING SOON

xxx

#1 Cheese and Wine Bar - London

It still is and always will be the Number 1 cheese and wine bar in London baby ~ GORDON'S WINE BAR that is..

Tucked away on the approach to Embankment Tube station it can easily be missed. Mainly because it looks more like a brothel entrance than a wine bar! (not that i have been to many brothel entrances in London and also who calls them brothels anymore, how very medieval of me)



A narrow and steep staircase is taken to the cellar, the <3 of the wine bar. Directly in front of you are giant blocks of all kinds of cheeses in a long refrigerator. Turn left and you find the bar with plenty of barrels of wine stocked behind it. If you turn right there are plenty of cozy candlelit tables. Gordon's is always packed and you will be lucky to get a table. However there is a great outdoor space that has plenty of tables too.

On to more import matters. THE CHEESE - ill tell you what cheese lovers this place delves out the biggest portions at the best prices. I highly recommend old favourites such as Brie, Camembert and a nice strong cheddar. Instead of biscuits you are give crusty hot baguettes with lashings of pickles, chutney, mini gherkins and cranberry sauce. Its just fanbloodytastic. AND its 7 quid! bargainess.

friends enjoying the atmosphere

Not the best of pics but its does show quite clearly the amount of cheese you get! yum


Gordon's is is great place to meet friends (done - got hammered) , go on a date (done - got hammered) or even take the folks (done - got hammered). I have ambled along with my dad before and had a whale of a time. My dad couldn't even finish the cheese for Christ sake! Appalling behaviour.

Click on the link below to go to there website

Gordons Wine Bar

More cheese installments coming soon!!

xxx