Vacherin Mont D'Or

The Jura Mountains is a small mountain range that connects with France, Switzerland and Germany.  "Jura" means forest mountains and aptly describes the geography of the area - rich in lush grass meadows, high in the mountains.  In France, this is the province of Franche-Comté, renowned for it's cheeses, Comté being one of them.  On the other side of the mountains is the French-speaking area of Switzerland.  The traditions of both areas are quite similar and this is evidenced by the cheese above, in France it is called "Vacherin du Haut-Doubs" and in Switzerland "Vacherin Mont D'Or" (Do you hear the song "I say tomato, you say tomato" playing??).  No matter what you call it, this is a spectacular cheese only available at Christmas time after the cattle have returned to the barns from their summer meadows and are on hay.

This is another of the AOC protected cheeses which guarantees that the cheese has been made with the same time-honoured process that has always been followed and that the cheese making and processing is of the highest standards.

Vacherin Mont D'Or comes in a lovely pine box which is removed to expose the cheese which has a birch strip, called a sangle, encircling it.  The cheese is allowed to come to room temperature after which the rind (which is inedible) is removed.  Under the rather gnarly-looking rind is a creamy, rich, gooey, decadent cheese.  In Switzerland, the cheese is enjoyed along with fingerling potatoes.  In France they sometimes make a small hole in the rind and pour some champagne or white wine into the cheese.  And perhaps this was the original "baked brie" as the cheese is often warmed in the oven.  Here is a wonderful recipe:

• Leaving the cheese in the pine box, make a sleeve around the box of aluminium foil
• If you are serving the Vacherin Mont D'Or as an appetizer, you may want to prick the surface and insert some slivers of garlic.  The Vacherin is often served as a dessert cheese, so in this case, eliminate the garlic.
• You may pour a generous ounce of white wine or champagne over the surface which has been pricked
• Bake in a pre-heated 200 degree Celsius oven for about 25 minutes
• Now dig in and sigh contentedly and like Tiny Tim say "God Bless us everyone!"

Vacherin Mont D'Or is an increasingly difficult cheese to come by on this side of the pond, but I have managed to bring some in.  Not inexpensive, it is a treat at Christmas or New Year's or a special gift for that hard-to-buy for foodie in your life.  So come into C'est Cheese Please! soon and scoop up this delicacy!

Literally!

Bon Appétit!

Christmas at C'est Cheese Please!

There is nowhere that I would rather be at Christmas than at my home with my family enjoying the laughter around the table, pulling the Christmas crackers (and of course, wearing the stylish paper hats!). One of the traditions that we have is that a noon hour on Christmas Eve, everything that is going to get done is done and anything that is unfinished, well, that is the way that it will stay. Then we all go out to see a movie and come back to a nice meal. This year's Christmas Eve dinner will be, as they say, easy peasy - a chicken pot pie from Summerhill Market. See them? Third shelf down on the left, the steak and mushroom pot pie is on the right. These are as good as homemade - perhaps even better because you don't have to clean up the mess! Or if you are a traditionalist, there are fabulous tourtiéres from the Farmer's Daughter.

I have a few things on my Christmas Wish List and this reproduction of a French Tartine Stand is one of them. I can just see that on my pine harvest table with a changing display according to the season - sometimes fruit, in the fall gourds and, oh, yes my famous Lemon Meringue pie!

There is a fabulous selection of really unique cheese platters in the store for a really one-of-a-kind gift .  There are the wine barrel head platters and a new line from Urban Salvage.  This latter company salvages the trees that are cut down in the cities and re-purposes them into a variety of products including the handled platters.  They come in three sizes...

And I should mention the Gigha Fruits.  What a great gift - and I won't tell if it is going in your own stocking!  Promise!  These are fabulous.  They come from a cheese maker in Kintyre, Scotland (yes, the Mull made famous by Sir Paul is nearby).  They feature cheddar made from the milk of the Guernsey cow (see the blog entitled "Bursting With Pride" for some interesting information about Guernsey cows) which is blended with Pear Schnapps in the pear, Highland Liqueur in the apple and Orange Liqueur in the orange.  Also in stock at C'est Cheese Please! is Captain's Claret (mature cheddar blended with claret) and Highland Chief (mature cheddar blended with single malt whiskey).

Shown with the Gigha fruits are spectacular balsamics - a 12 year old balsamic blended with pomegranate, fig, truffle, blackberry.....also in stock, a 50 year and 100 year balsamic beautifully presented and sure to be appreciated!

If you are looking for brie bakers or something special to put some olive oil in or.....

a really beautiful cheese cloche, how about these beauties all hand-painted by a potter in Montrèal?

 If you are looking for something for the foodie in your life, there is the AMAZING olive oil from the Pingue family farm in Italy - ask for a sample, you will agree with me when I say that it is quite simply the best.

I should also mention that the store will be open the three Sunday's before Christmas, December 6th, 12th and 19th from 11 am until 4 pm.  My daughter, Brittany will be running the show so come in and say hello!

In the meantime,

Bon Appétit!