How To Set Up A French Cheese Breakfast Plate

Yes we are providing a French cheese assortment for a breakfast cheese plate. The Europeans never set a clock for good food so live the good life and have a cheese entree as your morning wake up call or for a light brunch. The cheeses listed below are all easy to find and will make you smile with their flavors and aromas.




Ossau-Iraty or Petit Basque: Both are sheep cheeses from the Pyrenees Mountains with wonderful buttery flavors with an aroma of hazelnuts. Cut either in small but thick wedges.

Crottin Frais: This fresh goat cheese is from the Loire Valley and has a natural rind  a soft creamy inner paste and a light nutty flavor.

Fleur Du Maquis/ Brindamour: Is a soft, mild and aromatic sheep milk cheese from Corsica. The outer rind is encrusted with dried savory and rosemary. Cut in small wedges

Comte (aged):  This is a cow milk cheese is from the Nor-Pas de Calais. Try to find a cheese that is aged for at least 18 months so the nutty flavor is fully developed. Cut into thin wedges or small cubes

Blue d'Auvergne: Is a rindless pasteurized cow's milk blue cheese. This is a mild flavored blue so it will work nicely on our breakfast cheese plate, cut it into small wedges.

French Chees sampler  at Amazon

Arrange the cheese on a tray or plate that is big enough to hold all four cheeses so they do not run into each other. Place sweet berries  (strawberries, blackberries and blueberries) around the cheeses to seperate them. Sweet fruits like honeydew or cantelope will work nicely also. Serve with mini toasts, crackers or crusty bread and hot herb tea.

A Summer Salad With Goat Cheese, Orange and Fennel

This is an easy to prepare salad that is perfect for light lunchs during the spring and summer months. Orange and fennel work well together and the introduction of an aged goat cheese enhances the flavor of both.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 large oranges

1 medium head of fennel

1 medium sized red onion

3oz of mixed. spinach, arugula and watercress

5oz aged goat cheese (Capablanca, Garrotxa or Goat Gouda)

Salad Dressing

1/2oz. of pitted black olives

1 tbsp.of fresh parsley

2 tbsp.of extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp. of orange juice

1 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar

salt and black pepper to taste

Preparation

1 Peel the oranges, sperate them in to segments then cut the into mouths sized pieces over a bowl and save the run off orange juice it and put it aside.

2 Discard the tough outer layer of the fennel and then finely slice it.

3 Chop the red onion and cut the goat cheese into small cubes.

4 Combine and mix the spinach, arugula and watercress.

5 Place all of these items into the bowl with the oranges and the juice.

6 Place all of the dressing ingredients into a cruet and shake well.

When ready to serve pour the dressing over the salad and serve with a crusty bread and a small dish of pepperd extra virgin olive oil for dipping.

Kunik An American Goat Cheese Masterpiece

Our latest poll alerted me that a greater exposure to domestic cheeses is needed. American farmers and dairy co-ops are producing exceptional cheeses that are winning awards and are able to challenge their European cousins. This is my first blog review of an American farmstead cheese and I hope that it will shed a bright light on the wonderful tastes and aromas that can be found with of our home grown domestic cheeses. On the next visit to your local cheese shop ask about the local cheeses that they carry and try one or two to see what you have been missing.

Kunik is a bloomy rind goat cheese produced by the Nettle Meadow Farm located in Thurman New York. This southern Adirondack farm has 100 lovingly cared for goats that provide the milk for cheese production and the motto there is "happy goats produce great milk". We are told that the name "Kunik" comes from an Eskimo word that translates into English as "snowball" and after you see this cheese for the first time the name will prove to be entirely appropriate.


Details:  Kunik is made by combining 75% goat milk and 25 % Jersey cow cream that is provided by other local dairies. The varied and wholesome diet of the goats along with the traditional farmstead production methods have yielded a unique and intoxicating cheese. It is a small lightly aged, triple cream, cylindrical, Camembert style cheese that has an edible bloomy white rind. The cow cream provides a rich buttery taste and texture that is wonderfully offset by the clean tangy goat milk.  

Tasting:The bloomy rind provides a layer of complexity to the flavor and an aroma of aged wood and mushrooms that is readily obvious . As Kunik ages its flavor profile becomes more assertive. Kunik is available as "buttons" weighing between 7oz and 9oz and mini wheels that are + or - 14oz.

The versatile Kunik can be served as an hors d’ouerve drizzled with Lavender Honey and plain crackers or on a dessert platter with fruits and nuts and also as a wonderful breakfast treat spread on a heated croissant. It is also provides a elegant flair when added to baked potatoes or brown rice dishes.

Wine Parings: When young the most elegant is Champagne, however it pairs equally well with crisp whites from New York State. An aged cheese should be paired with big Whites, from New York State