Back-in-the-day, when The Man and I lived in California (when California was still California), we would often visit The Man’s father and step-mom in San Clemente. The Man spent part of his childhood in San Clemente (when San Clemente was still San Clemente) in a house on a cliff over-looking the Pacific Ocean. Other than being married to me, it was the favorite time of his life.
Mama Jean, as we called The Man’s step-mom, had a “go-to” snack she always served: block cheddar cheese (the kind with lots of annatto) sliced green peppers and good-old saltine crackers. The snack never varied and it was the first time I had ever had cheese paired with bell peppers. And I loved it. Mama Jean died in the 90s and over time, I forgot about this pairing.
My cheese fridge contains several cheddars, waiting patiently to be eaten. Thanksgiving seemed the perfect time to honor Mama Jean and serve her go-to snack for the first course of the day. Of course, the cheeses I served are a little more artisan than what Mama Jean served and the bell peppers from my greenhouse which included green, yellow and orange varieties.
The plate included the following artisan cheeses:
Flagship from Beecher’s Handmade Cheese in Seattle. I fell in love with Flagship early in my cheese career while living in the Pacific Northwest. Flagship is crumbly with sweet and nutty notes. It’s a perfect cheese for snacking and cooking. Along with whichever Alpine-style cheese I have in the fridge, Flagship is ideal for making “The World’s Best Mac n Cheese” using the recipe in Pure Flavor by Kurt Dammeier.
Another Beecher’s Cheddar on the platter was Sheep Sheep, made with 100% sheep milk. When people ask me to 
name my favorite cheese (usually the last one I tasted) I instead reply my favorite style is aged Sheep’s Milk. This was my first time tasting Sheep Sheep and it didn’t disappoint. Traditionally clothbound and aged in open air, Sheep Sheep has that earthy tang that the best of sheep’s milk cheeses have. This one finished with a butterscotch finish and that ever-so-slight lanolin taste common with sheep’s milk.
The third cheese on the platter was a 3-year Naturally Aged Cheddar from Cabot Cooperative in Vermont. Crumbly and tart (what us regular people call “sharp”) with a pleasant bitter finish, this Cheddar was my favorite pairing with the yellow bell peppers. I loved the balance of the flavors from the tartness of the cheese and the sweetness of the peppers.
2010 was a good year at Tillamook and our block of Maker’s Reserve Cheddar proved that. WOW!! what a cheddar. The age created crumbling and a tartness that to quote our dear friend Gavin (RIP) “takes the back of your head off”. This cheese made The Man swoon, especially paired with the green bell peppers which he felt “stood up” to the cheese.
Not exactly a Cheddar, I added a left-over piece of Sartori’s Merlot BellaVitano to the plate. Since this American Original is made using cheddar cultures (along with parm cultures and other secrets), I decided it wasn’t cheating to include it. As I have said on numerous occasions, it easy to create a part in your mouth with BellaVitano included.
Later in the day, we had a traditional turkey dinner which I cooked from scratch (well, I didn’t kill and feather the turkey) but all the dishes were from scratch… we never got to dessert… there’s always today and tomorrow…
Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to all my family and friends. 2020 has, at best, sucked, on so many levels… but family, good friends and good food make it all tolerable… well, mostly tolerable…
In addition to being a member of the Internationale Guilde des Fromagers (Jura and Garde) and an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.
This post may contain affiliate links from which I receive a small commission from any purchases you make through those links. I thank you for patronizing my amazon infuencer store front.
I sample specialty artisan cheeses most Fridays and Saturdays at both Blue Haven Bee and Sweet Combs of Honey: Check out my “Grab n Go” page at Facebook for more information.
The Man, aka Peter M. Wright, has written his first novel: Gold Fever, available at amazon.com as a kindle book for only $2.99.
Written in the flavor of one of our favorite movies, Romancing the Stone, Gold Fever is a romantic adventure that 
brings together an archeologist looking to establish his name in his field and a rock star on the verge of burn-out.
In GOLD FEVER an Archeologist motivated by a newly discovered clue, searches for a fabled Native American Legend – the long ago lost Seven Golden Cities of Cibola. While the Archeologist seeks to prove the legend is actually true, he is constantly under attack by a second group seeking the treasure for themselves.
You must be logged in to post a comment.