S e e k i n g W o rdS of C h e e S e d o m … L e t i t B r i e By Brandon Goldstein and Gillian Kaye ANYONE CAN GO TO THEIR LOCAL supermarket and pick up a standard cheese platter. You’ll have your Cheddar, Jarlsberg, Havarti, Provolone, and if you’re lucky, they’ll even throw in a few cubes of Muenster. But if you want to impress your guests, this cheese tray just won’t suffice. We went to Whole Foods in Paramus to get the lowdown on The Perfect Cheese Platter. “THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A PERFECT CHEESE PLATTER!” That is the first thing Erica, a Whole Foods Cheesemonger yelled at us. For about 30 minutes, Erica talked us through a cheese tasting so that we could serve our guests our perfect cheese plate. Here were the winners: Melkbus 14 9 Truf f l e - NeThe rl a Nd s Prior to its ten-week aging process, Italian black truffle is added to the curd of Melkbus’ rawmilk Farmer Cheese. Ten weeks later, and you have delicious semi-soft Gouda. Cheese and black truffle: can you go wrong? r ed W iTch – sW iTze rl a Nd This semi-hard, raw cow’s milk cheese is fabled to have been created as the perfect cheese for Carnevale – a pre-Lent celebration that takes place only in New Orleans in the U.S., but in many more locales overseas. Now, it’s a perfect party cheese any time. On the milder side, Red Witch still packs quite a flavorful punch. druN keN GoaT – spai N Though not typically fans of goat cheese, it was important for us to present our guests a wellrounded platter of cheese offerings. This Spanish cheese’s name quickly got my attention. A milder goat cheese, it still had that signature goat cheese
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tang, but not quite as strong. In its place were hints of Mourvèdre, a red wine that the cheese is washed in before a sixty-day aging process. Drunken Goat + drunken guests = great party all around! p ’T i T b as q u e – f r aN c e Creamier and sweeter than expected, this sheep’s milk cheese is aged for 70 days to bring out a perfect, semi-soft level of firmness. Although Erica warned us that the cheese might be the most pungent on our platter, it was truly delectable. P’tit Basque went perfectly with grapes. i s i GN y sT e . M è r e – f r a N c e Brie had to be on our platter. Omitting it was not an option. Isigny Ste. Mère is produced exclusively for Whole Foods, and much like Whole Foods, the company wholeheartedly believes in conservation, converting their facility to run on biomass renewable energy. Of course, their Brie is incredible. It is soft and gooey, perfect for spreading on a cracker, but without too pungent of an odor. Once the Brie was chosen, it was time to begin our party. While creating our cheese platter, we recognized that we were more mild-mannered cheese lovers. Although we appreciate the boldness of the more robust smelling cheeses—the stinky ones—they simply weren’t for us. Instead, we looked to give our guests a well-rounded plate of textures, milk types, and tastes. Let’s just say they are already looking forward to our next Wine and Cheese night!
The PerfecT Brie reciPe: iNGredieNTs: One wheel Isigny Ste. Mère Brie 2 ½ tablespoons apricot jam One puff pastry sheet, thawed Two tablespoons milk direcTioNs: 1 Apply apricot jam to the top of the Brie, enough to coat the top. 2 Wrap puff pastry around entire Brie. 3 Cut small slit, or heart shape, in top for ventilation. 4 Place on greased baking sheet. 5 Place in oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, brush top with milk. 6 Place back in oven for five minutes, or until golden brown.