murray's cheese.

My better half is not a fan of presents.  Actually, I think if we eliminated giving and receiving gifts he would be a much happier person.  It would eliminate the stress he gets over what to buy me (even though I think I am a rather easy person to buy gift’s for – shinny and gold are always crowd pleasers).  It would also eliminate the stress I get over what to get him (because he doesn’t like presents and impractical items which is rather silly because impractical gifts are the world’s best gifts).  Unfortunately, for him, my love affair with wrapped objects is not going to abide anytime soon (nor will my eagerness to rip open all presents the second they enter into our home). He’s going to have to suck it up a little and I’m going to have to get creative, which is how we ended up at an Italian Wine and Cheese class at Murray’s Cheese last night.  Tyler had mentioned a few times about how he wished he knew a little more about wine and I figured a class that combined wine and cheese would give us a chance to learn a little bit more about them both. 

I realized last night, that that was the first time I’ve really made a conscious effort to taste cheese and not just eat cheese.  I never really noticed the slight nuances but, when you allow a piece of cheese to really melt on your tongue, you begin to discover all the different flavors.  When you then pair cheese with wine the flavors evolve even more and the two begin to play off each other.  The ways the acidity in certain wines play beautifully with certain rich cheeses is kind of magical – each component tastes better with the addition of the other one.  We tried six cheese and six wines last night, and while I loved all the cheeses, three of them really made us swoon (so much in fact that we bought a piece of each).  I’m now envisioning a simple meal of salad and another cheese tasting to see how we feel about them the second time around (hopefully it continues to be a love affair).  Below are the names and a little description of our favorites.  All of them can be found at Murrays (and I imagine other reputable cheese shops)! 

-At 12 o'clock - Quadrello di Bufula: A cheese made from the milk of the water buffalo!  Rich and creamy, similar in texture to a Taleggio but not quite as pungent.  

-At 2 o'clock - Gorganzola Cremifcato - If you thought you hated blue cheese this is the blue cheese for you (Tyler who despises blue cheese will eat this).  Super creamy (I think runny would be appropriate here), rich and sweet, it's perfect spread on bread or used in pasta sauces (which is how I am using it tonight!). 

- At 7 o'clock - Castelrosso - This is a cheese that smells like cheese (really it smells like cheese nips!), it's the firmest of the other two, with a texture similar to cheddar.  It has a subtle gradient where you find the center tastes different then the rind.  Buttery and mild it's kind of the perfect snacking cheese!