Old friends

Last night at Bar Centrale, the cheese : wine ratio was definitely in favour of the wine. No matter, we still managed to squeeze in a few morsels of Comte, Garrotxa, Pierre Robert and my old friend, Blue d'Auvergne.

Ah, Blue d'Auvergne. You old standby. Discovered in the mid-1850s by cheesemaker Antoine Roussel, who realized that rye bread mold created the blue veining, which prickled the cow's milk cheese curd and improved aeration. Today, Blue d'Auvergne is aged for approximately four weeks in cool, wet cellars, a relatively short period for blue cheeses.

Blue d'Auvergne is a regular feature on my cheeseplates, especially when I'm in Toronto. We've been together a long time, B d'A and I. Which is funny and touching, considering that my friend Kate made her own Blue d'Auvergne discovery last night. I've only known Kate for 4 years but, like B d'A, I feel like I've known her forever.

Top of the morning to you

One of my all time favourite cheeses is the great Irish blue cheese, Cashel Blue, and it's hard to imagine celebrating St. Patrick's Day without a big slice. But today, instead, I'm dedicating my coloric quota to the office Irish Soda Bread festival and legendary Kerry Gold Irish Butter.

For the history of Irish Soda Bread: http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/holidays/stpatricks/sodabread

Sunday night special

After gorging on two hard cheeses and cherry jam gently sprinkled with rare French glass shards, GG wowed us with coq au vin and rosemary potatoes. Jamie Oliver may have contributed the recipe, but GG took it to a whole new level.

We concluded the evening with two of life's great treats: Bananagrams and Mini Eggs from England.

Desperately Seeking Vlaskaas

Fifty percent of this cheese duo is in love with Vlaskaas, which is a Dutch hard cheese known for its sweet and creamy taste. The other fifty percent is on high alert for when it's available at Fairway, having learned the hard way yesterday that it's a rare commodity.

Historically, Vlaskaas was made only during the Dutch flax harvest. Only in 2004 did cheesemakers discover the exact way to recreate the recipe for Vlaskaas, and Vlaskaas was once again discovered.

In lieu of Vlaskaas we subsituted Uniekass Gouda (cow's milk; aged 18 months) and Comte (cow's milk; hard yet flexible with a strong but sweet taste). Two-thirds preferred the Comte but the Vlaskaas lover was pleasantly surprised with the substituting gouda.

To top things off, our cheese plate included Anne Rozes' famed confiture de cerises noires (black cherry jam), and 100% of cheese lovers rejoiced.

Stinky Cheese Festival / NYC

Third Annual Stinky Cheese Festival
3/3/2010 - Culinary Tour de France
Join us for our Third Annual Stinky Cheese Festival. This year our chefs will be creating Stinky Cheese appetizers, entrees and desserts in addition to our regular menu from March 3, 2010 to March 12th, 2010.

Particpating Restaurants Include*:

Cafe D'Alsace: www.cafedalsace.com

1695 2nd Avenue (at 88th Street); 212.722.5133

French Roast Uptown: www.frenchroastny.com/

2340 Broadway (at 85th Street); 212.799.1533;

French Roast Downtown: www.frenchroastny.com

78 West 11th Street (at 6th Avenue); 212.533.2233

Le Monde: www.lemondenyc.com/

2885 Broadway (btw 112th & 113th Street); 212.531.3939

L'Express: www.lexpressnyc.com/

249 Park Avenue (at 20th Street); 212. 254.5858

Maison: www.maisonnyc.com/

1700 Broadway ( at 53rd Street); 212.757.2233

Marseille: www.marseillenyc.com/

630 9th Avenue (at 44th Street); 212.333.2323

Nice Matin: www.nicematinnyc.com/

201 West 79th Street (at Amsterdam); 212.873.6423

Pigalle: www.pigallenyc.com/

790 8th Avenue (at 48th Street); 212.489.2233

*Individual restaurant sites host Stinky Cheese Menus unique to the region of France the restaurant celebrates.