A Night of Cheese - Sixth Course

The final course for the Night of Cheese was the simplest course to assemble. A play on a classic dessert offering, Seaver Brook Blue (from Bonnieview Farm, South Albany VT) was plated next to a dollop of buckwheat honey. Traditionally, chestnut honey would accompany this style of cheese, but chestnut honey can be tough to come by here in the States. Buckwheat honey is a comparable alternative and is just as tasty.  It's gentle earthiness and rich flavor help to balance the pungency of the blue cheese. The sweetness of the honey compliments the sweetness in the cheese.

The Churchill's 10 Year Tawny Port was paired alongside the Seaver Brook Blue. The port's rich and complex taste is typical of a tawny port, but it's unique brightness balanced the other heavy textures of the cheese and honey.

No recipe here. It was all about simple, delicious ingredients and easy assembly.

A very special thank you to Eric Paul, The Cheese Traveler, for his expertise. Without him, this night would not have happened! Be sure to follow him on Facebook. Bonnieview Farm cheese can be purchased through The Cheese Traveler, online, or at regional farmers markets.

Hip Girls Party

I attended the most wonderful party on Friday night, hosted by From Scratch Club. It was part dessert potluck, part food swap, part book signing, and entirely awesome!

My orange biscotti is in the giant mason jar in the top-left of this picture

The dessert potluck part highlighted many gluten-free and dairy-free offerings. I made gluten-free biscotti, then dipped them in chocolate (which probably wasn't gluten-free, oh well). To be honest, I'm not very familiar with cooking or baking with special dietary needs in mind, and I'm very lucky I don't have to typically be conscious of such things. I love milk and wheat too much.

"The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking," by Kate Payne

The book signing portion of the evening was to celebrate the release of Kate Payne's "The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking." I had the chance to speak at length with Kate and learn about her writing process and why she chose to pen this how-to. She is one of the most genuinely sweet, nice people I've met, and still seems so grounded despite all her success!

The food-swap was the brainchild of From Scratch Club (who also hosted this soiree). I brought homemade sweet and sour salad dressing, and received macaroni and cheese, hummus, spinach tarts and paneer palak. Yum!

For more info on the wonderful party, please head over to Christine's amazing blog, Unspeakable Visions. All pictures are courtesy of this lovely lady!