Eat Globally; Obsess Locally...
Sheena had another cheese world changing moment last week.
Had the charcuterie & cheese plate at Harrod's for late lunch/early dinner today and the Spanish chef behind the counter mixed up some pungent old bleu, some creamy brie and another nutty something I'm not sure of with some carpaccio and uber salty proscuitto with nuts and grapes and.............. quince jelly (extra firm, in slices).
OMFG. apparently the quince jelly is a traditional spanish cheese accompaniment for desserts. If I don't find some of this locally I will kill myself. I have not slept since returning home, obsessing about this. I could have bought a big chunk at the deli, but it is delicate and needed refrigeration and would not have survived unrefrigerated until Saturday night home arrival.
Sometimes it is the unexpected simple pleasures that make Sheena swoon and smile.
posted by Sheena @ 11:05 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Had it today, as in brought it home? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Somebody call Customs...
Years ago when I was an overseas F/O, I flew with a captain who was approached by the sniffer dog in Customs. The little beagle sat down beside his flight bag, wagging his tail as the handler gave him a pat on the head.
The Customs officers tore that flight bag apart, looking for cheese. Then they tore his suitcase apart. Then they took him aside and patted him down.
Somewhat bewildered, the handler shrugged and said "Usually he's pretty good, I dunno what happened today..."
A half hour later, getting back into the airplane for a domestic flight leg, the captain opened his book of approach plates.
There, crushed into the ring of the binder, was one of those baby bel cheeses, one that must have fallen in accidentally during the prior week... Sniffy knew what he was doing, afterall. ;-)
haha... no.
I started writing this blog post last week and only published with the picture last night so forgot to edit.
pedant.
One of my daughters has always been a dairy princess - milk, cheese, yogurt (she takes after her Dad, who is also a dairy princess - as well as The Princess in The Princess and the Pea, but I won't go into that here). A few weeks ago, I gave her some creamy French camembert on a buttery cracker topped off with a little organic apricot jam.
It reminded me of the first time my son had a slice of rare roast beef.
The look on their faces. It's a combination of betrayal (that this goodness has been kept from them to date) and innocence lost.
I love cheese so much, I think everybody had better come up with a different adjective to describe Celine Dion.
What would one drink with this?
A Sauterne, perhaps?
I had the house brut. Was great fit with the salty cured meats.
you can go here for some quince jelly:
http://www.torontoplus.ca/shopping_services/gryfe_bakery/1056760
hey sheena-
not sure if it's as good as Harrods, but I remember seeing quince paste like this in Kensington market.
I can't remember the name of the shop, but it's a few doors west of Tom's Place.
I usually buy my dried apricots and pistachios there.
I recall getting some years ago.
good luck
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