Cheese Please...

With the house to myself last Saturday night, I treated myself to a supper for the gods. Cheese. (Yes, just cheese.)

Last week, I discovered I had a soon to expire Groupon (worth checking out if you don't subscribe in your city) to a premier cheese purveyor here in Big D...Molto Formaggio.

Armed with the opportunity for $25 worth of "free" cheese, I did a little research on their website and had a couple of cheeses in mind. Ordered one of them and the great guy who was assisting me suggested another. We went back and forth, with me tasting all along, and ended up with a cheeseboard of five different cheeses that I unwrapped and let come to room temperature the other night. With a couple of flatbread crackers and a glass (or several) of wine, I was in bliss.

Here are tasting notes (and price per pound) on the cheeses I bought:

• Brillat Savarin: This is one I knew that I wanted going in. It's a wonderfully funky triple creme Brie-style cheese. The longer it sits out, the gooier it gets.... ($36)


• Bayley Hazen Blue: This is another one I had on my shopping list. Made by Vermont's Jasper Hill Farm, it is a delicious, not too sharp blue cheese almost with the texture of butter. Complex, it's nutty and grassy...and delicious. If you're a fan of blue cheese, it's definitely worth a try. ($24)


• Stichelton: This one was suggested by the cheesemonger after I asked for the Bayley Hazen Blue. It's also delicious. Similar to Stilton, it's made in Nottinghamshire with unpasteurized cows' milk. Rich and creamy (and even milder than the Bayley Hazen), it would be the perfect foil for a slice or two of crisp apple and...in British tradition...a snifter of Port. It might just be my new favorite blue...($30)


• Roccolo: This cheese was suggested when I said that I wanted something nutty...along the lines of Gruyere. It's delicious...less nutty than, but rivaling, my cheese fave Walserstoltz. A washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Italy, Roccolo starts mushroomy by the rind and gets softer and saltier toward the center. Check it out. ($21)


• Sotto Cenere al Tartufo: This one was the wild card. I asked the cheesemonger to give me a cheese I simply couldn't miss out on. He immediately asked me if I like truffles. I answered yes. (Who doesn't?) It's a semi-soft raw cow's milk cheese infused with slices of truffle. But the truffles aren't overwhelming...you get just a hint. It reminded me of sprinkling a good scrambled egg with truffle salt. Thanks, cheesemonger, for the suggestion. ($27)

Food/Wine Pairing: Of course, I was going to open a bottle of wine for this cheese feast. Serendipitously, it ended up being the varietal that the cheesemonger suggested. When he asked me what wine I would pair them with, I said "whatever red I run across in my cellar." He presciently said, "Maybe a Primitivo." Turns out that was the first wine I saw when I opened the mini-fridge. A rustic Primitivo from Viansa with just enough fruit to serve as a foil for the aggressiveness of some of the cheeses.

Treat yourself...or your dinner party guests...with a similar cheese board. And don't forget to trust your knowledgeable cheesemonger in making your purchase decisions.