Cheese course! I don't know whether I've ever posted one of those, except bad pictures as part of dinner party posts. I love me some cheese, but I rarely bother composing cheese courses. And that's unfortunate, because I do love them.

I first heard of Andante Dairy because I read somewhere that they make the butter for The French Laundry. In Thomas Keller's most recent book, Under Pressure, he has a composed cheese course with this cheese, Andante's Acappella, compressed strawberries, and a pistachio sable. I had seen that and wondered what the cheese was like. Then Andante started showing up at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market on Saturdays. I always ask whether they have butter, but they haven't yet. They said they have a contract with TFL for 20 pounds of butter a week. Can't they spare five or ten for me?

Anyway, I bought this cheese without having tasted it first. The guy asked me whether I wanted a more ripe one, or a less ripe one. Jeanette was out of town, so I got a less ripe one. No word on when it would become ripe. I guessed, and broke into it this Wednesday (a week and a half after buying it). It was awesome! Served room temperature, it was so creamy and delicious, like just the creamy part of Humbolt Fog (my favorite cheese). I will be getting this cheese whenever I feel like splurging.

For the accompaniments, I was inspired by a Cosentino video where he cooks a vegetarian dish for some guy. A warm salad with grapes and almonds and stuff. Seared grapes sounded great to me, and after tasting the cheese, I decided they'd go very well with it. This was awesome.

• Andante Dairy Acappella, ashed rind. Serve it ripe and at room temperature.
• Red grapes - I am a red grape snob. You must use very firm, very plump, spherical red grapes. Oblong and soft grapes will not do. The tart tannins of the more firm, slightly less ripe ones are essential here. Heat up a pan over high heat until it is very, very hot. Toss grapes in olive oil and then toss them into the pan. Turn off the heat. Do not move the grapes in the pan for about fifteen seconds. It'll smoke like crazy. Then toss the grapes and again let them sit for twenty seconds or so. Repeat this process until the grapes are blistered all around, with some caramelized brown spots, about 2 minutes total, and the pan is cool enough to deglaze without sending steamed grease everywhere. Deglaze with wine wine and toss for a few seconds to glaze the grapes.
• Pistachio powder - Nothing fancy, just roasted, salted pistachios ground in a spice grinder.
• Radish sprouts - Just for a sharp, bright, clean kick, as well as for color.

Posted by Barzelay on 2009/02/19 @ 0:07 | Comments (0) | Veggies, Fruit, Grain, Cheese

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