Say Cheese!!

Today after work I attended a Cheese Education class regarding the perfect condiment pairings for various cheeses.

First off, let me just say: YUM!!! This was one of the most delicious experiences!

I wish I would have taken more photos of the spread when I originally arrived, but I was camera shy. In fact, all of these pictures are quick snap shots...

Each table was loaded with bread, water, pears, almonds and grapes. Our instructors handed out a worksheet and we started tasting 9 different cheese/condiment pairings.

Here's a blurry Mary (I turned the flash on after this) - scooping out some pistachio honey to accompany her Malvarosa cheese.

And me with the Guava Paste partnered with the Ossau Irraty. [We also tried it with Quince paste.]

After we reviewed each of the pairings on the worksheet, we continued to pass around the cheeses and various accoutrements for second and third tastings. This allowed us to add a bit of variation to the recommendations and create our own ideal coupling.

Here Mary and I are after the class; at this point we had been eating cheese for 1.5 hours [notice the St. Agur blue cheese directly in front of me - this was also one of my favorites].

As a result of this course, I have decided: I will be having a wine and cheese tasting party and soon. Double Yum!

Here is the complete list of pairings we sampled:
La Tur + Prosecco Jam [one of my favorites]
Malvarosa + Pistachio Honey [another fave]
Comte St. Antoine + Hazelnuts [and another]
Brie Chatelain + Pears
Ossau Irraty + Quince Paste [and another]
Vintage 5 year Gouda + Prosciutto [and another]
Saint Albray + Warm Truffle Honey
St. Agur + Chocolates [another]
Grafton 4 year + French Nugget [and again]