December 11th, 2009

The Trinity

Ok, maybe not the Trinity of Christmastime…but right up there? Grab a gorgeous wood board, a few accoutrements, and the perfect trio: a blue, brie, and a goat, and you’re ready to entertain. We are, unlike Madonna & Gwyneth, unabashed dairy doers. In light of the holiday season and all things cocktail hour, we thought we’d highlight a few of our favorite must-haves when designing a gourmet cheese table.

Foundation: a classic board or tray

Antique French bread board

A French antique bread board (we collect them for our clients!)

Roost Cheese Board

An edgy little board by Roost, buy it here …

Accompanied by: tools of the trade

Horn spreaders

Horn spreaders from Jayson Home & Garden.

Cheese markers and spreaders

Little ceramic markers and spreaders that are always “in”, from Pottery Barn.

Accessorized with: great wine glasses and cocktail naps

Riedel Stemless Wine Glasses

Riedel’s stemless vino glasses, buy them here.

Crate & Barrel Vino Carafe and glasses

Crate & Barrel’s Vino Carafe and Wine Glasses.

Designer chair cocktail napkins

Designer chair napkins? Heart the Lucite Philippe Starck-ish one.

Topped off with: the Trinity + a few necessities

Boucheron

Boucheron (aka disc of heaven) is a briefly aged goat’s milk cheese from France’s Loire Valley with an accommodatingly mild flavor and interesting texture. It belongs to the family of “soft-ripened” or “bloomy-rind” cheeses, along with more well known Brie, Munster, Livarot, etc. Accordingly, Boucheron has that “Brie-like” rind and the paste (the interior of the cheese) near the rind is similar to Brie in appearance and flavor. Because a soft-ripened cheese ages from the outside towards the center, the middle of a disk of Boucheron is much firmer and drier than the edges and more closely resembles a fresh chèvre. Chef Nico Romo from Patrick Properties introduced it to us; we’ve never been the same.

Humboldt Fog

Humboldt Fog is a bit edgier than Boucheron. Cypress Grove’s signature offering is an elegant, soft, surface ripened cheese. The texture is creamy and luscious with a subtle tangy flavor. Each handcrafted wheel features a ribbon of edible vegetable ash along its center and a coating of ash under its exterior to give it a distinctive, cake-like appearance.

Bleu d'Auvergne

Bleu d’Auvergne is made in the Massif Central,in France… mainly in the areas of Puy-de-Dôme and Cantal. This cheese was first made in 1850 when a peasant farmer in the area of Laqueuille seeded his milk curds with rye-bread moulds and stabbed the cheese with a needle – it is believed that he was trying to copy the famous Roquefort cheese. The result was very successful and soon its popularity spread throughout the region. Smaller farms enjoy making Bleu d’Auvernge since each cheese requires much less milk than the huge Cantal cheese from the same area.

Champignon Truffled Brie

Brie is perhaps the best known French cheese, and is aptly nicknamed “The Queen Of Cheeses”. In order to fully enjoy the experience, Brie should be served at room temperature. Our favorite is the Champignon Truffled Brie seen above, but we will also fight you for a sliver of the mushroom Champignon as well.

Soppressata Calabrese

Soppressata Calabrese (order it “hot”- if you can take it!) is the perfect match for the Trinity…but order it carpaccio (sliced paper-thin) for the best presentation.

Dean & Deluca olive oil

You can’t go wrong with a lovely olive oil- the greener the better…always opt for extra virgin cold press and add a little cracked black pepper to your plate for that “oomph” factor.

Housemade crackers