As a follow up to my cheese tribute in yesterday’s post, I felt compelled to plug a favorite book of mine. When I started to become more knowledgeable and interested in the complexity of wine, I grew curious about the pairing of wine and cheese. Being that I am from the dairy state, my love for cheese is undoubtedly innate. So when I graduated from beer kegs to wine bottles, I was happy to learn that a new love and old friend were actually soul mates. And as both are equally complex and endless in their developmental techniques, I searched for a book to help bridge the gap.

It was one of those topics that you figured would have loads of options, but when I started looking I found few books that zoned in on exactly that pairing. There are books about wine, books about pairing wine with foods, books about cheese, books about cooking with cheese, but not much on cheese and wine alone. Then one day, while browsing the shelves at Williams Sonoma, I picked up ‘Cheese & Wine: A Guide to Selecting, Pairing, and Enjoying’ by Janet Fletcher and it has become one of my go-to references for throwing parties.

It dedicates a page to each of the selected cheeses, many with pictures (which I love), and discusses origin, characteristics, how to select, how to serve, and of course what wines work. This book is so efficient in it’s presentation. You get exactly the information that you need and want without over-complication or gaps. I love it. So whenever I know that I will be visiting the cheese counter I bring this handy reference with me. The cheese experts (I’m sure there’s a name for this specialty) are so knowledgeable and have often helped me pick out the perfect cheeses and topping for an event, but I stand my ground and politely decline their assistance so I can reference my book and select the cheese myself. I figure it might be slightly embarrassing, but that’s the only way I’ll learn right? So if you love to entertain, this book is a must have and a perfect gift. Happy entertaining!

I just have to say, that one of my favorite places is the cheese section of Whole Foods (or any specialty market really). I should know by now that every time I head to the counter to pick up a little wedge and some bread to accompany my dinner that I will inevitably be detoured for at least 15 minutes as I browse the selection, examining the many varieties and origins. And of course I cannot part with just one. So I add one or two new explorations to an old favorite. I rarely leave without a wedge of Brillat or Camembert (Nancy’s, I prefer Tom’s but they no longer carry that one). I usually pick up a hard cheese like Gruyere to balance it out. And anything with truffles, I can’t pass up. Thus tonight’s new selection Truffle Tremor. It’s goat cheese infused with black truffles. Can you imagine a better union? Now I recently tried the Brillat with truffles, but the richness of both seemed a bit too heavy. The tangy flavor of the goat cheese completely compliments the truffles. So yummy!

Now that I have pulled myself (and checkbook) away from the cheese counter, I am faced with a whole new challenge - choosing something for dinner. Oh did I not mention that I started at the cheeses? This is where I really run into problems. I mean it’s like they have everything and nothing at the same time. It’s impossible but absolutely true. I wander around the prepared food section at least three times looking for the perfect combination of items. I usually end up with some random selections that totally do not go together. Like tonight for example, I couldn’t decide what I wanted from the case and of course was not ready when he asked me so I ummed and uhhhhed a few times and finally decided on some roasted winter vegetables with sage and spaghetti squash with hazelnuts - and of course the cheese.

Good! Dinner? done. Grab a french baguette on the way out and ohhhhhh the dessert section. Right. Gets me every time. I try not to do desserts during the week but since it’s December and I had five cookies for lunch - yes that’s right, just like last year - I figure what the hell. So now I begin to inspect each prepackaged dessert - almond crumb cake, tiramisu cake, chocolate explosion, egg nog cheese cake (oh that one’s good), pecan pie, and the list goes on, all in single servings. But as usual I end up at the case of mini delights! What could be better than choosing three or four little temptations so you don’t have to decide on just one? I’m not good at choosing just one thing. I never want to pick the wrong one and then be disappointed. One mini key lime tart, pecan tart, two eclairs (for the husband), a cookie cream sandwich, and a fruit tart. Sadly there were no mini pumpkin pies or cannoli, but I guess I got enough for us to fight over.

So 45 minutes and a small fortune later I finally make it back to my car with the perfect dinner to accompany the perfect night of prime time TV. You know it’s Tuesday!