Tuesday, April 21, 2009

A Cheesy Post


Cheese and I? We're BFFs. Despite the fact that I am mildly lactose intolerant I make a point of including this delightful dairy bomb in every meal. I've always thought of myself as the sort of person who could never get enough cheese. I was wrong, I was beaten by a formidable foe known simply as "The Cheese Party".*
My husband travels often and the timing of his last trip couldn't have been more fortuitous, he landed at 4pm on the day of the notorious event, his suitcase packed with french cheese. The overhead bin on a transcontinental flight is not the ideal way to store perishable food so by the time we hit the party we were rocking some interesting odors. Fortunately, our friends are blessed with adventurous palates and the cheese was sampled by nearly everyone. I just couldn't do it. I love trying new things but when massive amounts of bacteria may be involved I have a really tough time forcing myself to dive in. Fortunately there were plenty of other cheese temptresses to distract me from that foul odored fare. In fact, by party's end I could not eat another piece. I even skipped my usual midnight quesadilla! I was not about to let our friendship die so first thing next AM I reunited with my favored friend, fromage. It was a rough road back, but we are besties again.

The recipe that I made for the cheese party, Baked Goat Cheese with Caramelized Onions, Garlic, and Mission Figs can be found here. I served from a crock pot so the goat cheese stayed warm and soft throughout the party. (As soon as the goat cheese cools it can be difficult to spread.) The addition of the caramelized onions and figs transform each bite with a delightful mix of salty, tangy, and sweet flavors. And at the end of a lazy Sunday, the leftovers make a lovely light dinner served with a green salad.

*Brought to you by the makers of The Potato Party

2 comments:

stormy said...

Can't get past the figs, but Gramps would love the goat cheese. Your description of smelly cheese reminded me of the breakfast setups in Norway. Very odorous assortments of cheese.

Anonymous said...

Cheese is our friend as well. Baked goat cheese and figs is great! A nice party app.