And for my last act...

My cheese excursions come to a close with my final shipment from Cowgirl Creamery.


This months box had Montgomery's Cheddar from Manor Farm - North Cadbury, Somerset, England. A rich and full flavored farmhouse cheddar that would work equally well on a cheese board or in the middle of a grilled cheese sandwich on home made bread.

Next comes a Comte Reserve des Granges from France. This is my first comte and it's quite something. It reminded me of a gruyere but with less bite and less 'stink' (for lack of a better term). This is a smooth and delicate cheese; I think I would eat it as-is or with apples (something that won't lose the delicate creaminess of the cheese).

And finally, Sierra Mountain Tomme from La Clarine Farm in CA. This one poses the biggest conundrum. Almost before biting into it, it comes on like a baby-swiss. Then you get a hint of goat, then you find a nice dryness on the palate. The very center pate almost tastes of pure, soft milk. The pate closer to the edges brings on a wonderful grass/herby flavor. There is a lot going on with this cheese an I'd love to treat it right! If I come up with any additional uses aside from slicing and savoring, you know I'll post about it here.

If you have any advice for Tomme or Comte uses beyond the cheese board... I'm all ears!


Also included is the latest swag from my CSA. Carrots, Zuchs, Cucumber, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, leek. Not pictured: A purple cabbage and about a million ears of corn (read: 12. But that's a lot for two people). Last time was Silver Queen, this week it's Bi-Color (my favorite). For dinner last night we had corn and beer (we don't eat very heavy on the nights that we work out). The corn had a little home made roasted garlic butter. It's from the Weber Big Book of grilling and intended to adorn a steak. As such it has a lot of Worcestershire in it. But this allows you to just rub a little bit of butter on your grilled ear of corn and have flavor that doesn't over power or over butter.