A few weeks ago, overnight The Lady became a Francophile: Traditional French Music began to fill the air on her days off, interrupted periodically by Champagne FM Radio streaming live from Paris. When quiet finally comes, she begins her French lessons online… I gotta say, when The Lady does something, she never does it halfway…
All because she hopes to be in Paris on July 25th with several of her fellow cheesemongers…
Lactalis France is sponsoring a French Cheese Contest… or as The Lady prefers to call it… The “Send Marcella to France Contest”… my guess is everyone competing has a “similar” name for the contest… anyway, The Lady is determined to be a winner… God help The Man and me if she loses… living with her could get ugly… very ugly…
(Insert: as I write this The Lady is listening to a French Rapper on Champagne FM… cool, but The Lady doesn’t listen to American Rappers… sheesh…)
The first period of the contest features three exquisite French Bleus and I decided to re-visit these cheeses in tribute to The Lady:
All three of the bleus featured are from the Auvergne region of France which is Southeast of Paris. With the abundance of cows in the region, Auvergne is home to several of the world’s great cheeses: Roquefort, Fourme d’Ambert, Bleu d’Auvergne, Cantal and Saint Nectaire. It is also home to Michelin Tires; The Lady’s brother, Joel, worked for a subsidiary of Michelin and visited Auvergne several times.
Bleu d’Auvergne is the first bleu featured in period one of the French Cheese Contest… The Lady brought a small wedge home and a fresh baguette… French, of course… she schmeared the cheese on the baguette, The Man swooned and I rubbed her leg to make sure she knew I loved her best…
This is one tasty cheese; grassy with a hint of wildflowers. The rind is moist and sticky; the cheese weeps and the paste emits a strong odor… pleasant to some… for others… not so much… I love this cheese; I could eat it day in and day out… of course, I could eat most cheeses day in and day out… it’s my passion… that and chasing off the interloper that has taken to sleeping on the deck… the little tramp lets The Lady pet him and she feeds him… Houston, we have a problem… but I digress…
With the baguette, The Lady served slices of ripe pear and a few walnuts… the combination was divine…
I give Bleu d’Auvergne 3 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).
You can read my original thoughts on Bleu d’Auvergne by clicking here.
Serving Suggestion: Schmeared on a baguette makes quite a nice snack; throw in a few slices of pears and nuts and it’s a feast. This cheese is also terrific as a dressing for a wedge of lettuce.
Wine Pairing: Port or Sauternes.
Beer Pairing: Weissbier
Source: Cow’s Milk
Up next: Fourme d’Ambert…
And a word of advice to The Lady… if you start feeding cheese to that darn interloper… well… let’s just say… that would not be a wise thing to do…
Follow me on:
You must be logged in to post a comment.