Cheeses (and other things) w/ Funny Honeys

[goumandette]

I have four interesting honeys that I want to serve at a cocktail in a few weeks. I'm thinking cheese would be a good choice to pair, but could use some advice from more honey-savvy hounds than myself. It seems like everyone suggesets Parmigiano Reggiano, which is a fine and dandy choice...but it would be nice to have some variety, even bordering on the subversive.

I haven't tasted them myself yet (just ordered them), but trying to plan ahead. Wouldn't mind serving some dark/bitter chocolates, meats, etc. with the honey as well. I'm planning on serving a prosecco/cava. Any other wine suggestions appreciated as well!

Here's the honey line-up:

Lunardi Truffle Honey -- described as "rich and earthy...sweetness masks the depth of the flavor in the first instant [...] but melts into a gorgeous, deep, earthy truffle favor."

Rustichella D'Abruzzo Acacia Honey - intense sweetness, high production honey (I'm assuming that means rather simple)

R. D'A. Chestnut Honey -- descriibed as "grainy and delicious" as well as "unusually dark, with a spicy, almost savory quality and heady perfume."

R. D'A. Corbezzelo Honey -- "Intensely bitter and deep, dark brown, this honey is not for tea and scones. Imagine a smoky, unsweetened, bitter honey with barely a whisper of sweetness."

Thanks!

[mimosa]

try a bucheron (French goat) with honey very lightly drizzled over it...fantastic!

[orangewasabi]

honey with a creamy young goats' cheese or a blue cheese is awesome too -- hard to know the matches until you taste the honeys though, some are so uniquely and strongly flavoured.

Another fun wine to add might be a Rivesaltes Marcel Vila, 1978 - a phenomenal dessert wine that is brilliant with dark chocolate though I don't know if that particular vineyard is availabe in the US. If you can find any Rivesalte type dessert wine from the 1970s (should be under $40) you should be good though.

[goumandette]

It's so true, I'm waiting with bated breath for the shipment to arrive so I can run down to the cheese store and have a mini-tasting. Thanks for the wine suggestion!

[Rubee]

I've served truffle honey over burrata, it's a delicious combination with the mild creaminess of the cheese.

[goumandette]

Thanks, this sounds great....I'll try it out.

[Katie Nell]

Ooh... all of those honeys sound really good, where did you order them from? We had a soft honey goat cheese (with the honey already in it) the other day from Dean & Deluca and it was excellent, so I think a goat cheese would go nicely with one of them... maybe the acacia one?

[goumandette]

I ordered them from Market Hall Foods (markethallfoods.com)....they have lots of exotic goodies. I think the goat cheese with acacia sounds great. When I was living in France, dessert was often fromage frais with honey (flower varietys like lavender being most popular) and sometimes with chestnut puree. YUM.

[JMF]

I've also had very good honeys drizzled over fresh farmer style cheeses like ricotta, and over yogurt.

[Bride of the Juggler]

In Italy, I was served a truffled honey with a young, medium, and aged versions of the same kind of sheep's milk cheese. Unfortunately, I can't remember what kind of cheese it was, but it was neat to taste the different ages next to each other.
In France, I had interesting honey drizzled over a fresh brebis as a dessert. Thank you.

[pamalamb]

I'd go one better than the Parmigiano and use Pecorino Romano. It has a little more kick, and it's traditionally served with honey. Throw in a little arugula to balance it out, and it'll be fantastic.