378202 Tue Mar 06 17:31:48 -0800 2007 16 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 2359769 I'm a newbie around here, but desperately need advice from the cheese connoisseurs out there... I'm hosting a dessert party later in the spring for 40-60 and wanted to serve a cheese tray to balance out all the sweetness...my question is, what cheeses would "go" with all the desserts? Our crowd isn't too pretentious, but I'd like something a little more special than the cheddar I've got in my fridge! I'm thinking desserts along these lines: Oreo Rum Balls (I got that recipe from you guys!) Strawberry Shortcake Trifle Cheesecake Tarts with assorted toppings Lemon Squares Something else Chocolate/Peanut Butter Fruit tray Assorted nuts Beverages will be coffee/ espresso bar Ideas? Suggestions? Tue Mar 06 17:31:48 -0800 2007 80471 caffeinejunkie 1 2360332 anything French (dare I say it?) but French cheeses are pretty much the best, brie, chaumes, port salut, ambassadeur, chevre, mourbier. If you don't want French, English cheeses good too, Somerset brie, cheddar (the real stuff from Cheddar), stilton, sage derby, cheshire, wensleydale, caerphilly (ok that one is Welsh). Tue Mar 06 20:55:50 -0800 2007 2359769 22559 smartie 1 2360443 don't worry about your cheeses "complimenting" the desserts. if it was a sit-down dinner, cheese would be a separate course. most supermarkets don't carry much outside of heavily pasteurized neutral-tasting cheeses. do you have a decent cheese store in your area? or a whole foods? at minimum, a traditional cheese plate would have a hard cow milk cheese, a softer goat milk cheese, a triple creme (swoon) and a bleu. i love sheep milk cheeses so gravitate to those. a helpful link: http://www.igourmet.com/ST/encyclopedia.asp skip the nut tray, and incorporate that with your cheeses. dried apricots and cherries, fresh apples and pears, almonds, walnuts and a few types of bread are good accompaniments. talk to your cheese guy. there are 1000s of varieties and some can be very pricey. with such a large group, i'm assuming you have a budget! also, as an aside regarding the desserts, the trifle, the cheesecake tarts and the lemon squares are all very unctiously textured. you might want to consider something crispy, like shortbreads, sandies or gingersnaps. chocolate-covered pretzels or meringues might also work. Tue Mar 06 21:53:09 -0800 2007 2359769 30273 hotoynoodle 1 2360532 I love cheese for dessert. A platter with cheese, honey, fruit, and nuts would be a great addition to any dessert buffet. My favorite French restaurant serves a cheese plate that has a blue cheese (look for any crumbly, creamy blue cheese), a goat cheese drizzled with lavender honey, and a triple-cream cow's cheese (in their case, St. Siméon, but substitute a Pierre Robert or other triple creme brie). Their cheese plate is acompanied by dried fruit and toasted cranberry-nut bread. Delicious! Go to a store with lots of fancy cheeses and ask for tastes and advice. I'm sure you'll be able to put together a great cheese platter. Anne Tue Mar 06 22:48:27 -0800 2007 2359769 12541 AnneInMpls 1 2360997 Wow...thanks you guys. Unfortunately I don't think we have a great cheese store in my area (Middle Georgia--unless someone else knows of one??), although I could make a trip to Atlanta to a Whole Foods. At least now I can narrow down some of the varieties I'm looking for! Thanks, hotoynoodle, for your menu suggestions. I hadn't noticed how many of my textures were so similar (I guess it's obvious what I like, huh?). I was looking for a few ideas to round it out, and had thought of chocolate covered pretzels, but I'm concerned I'm getting too chocalate-y. I've never made meringues before...how complicated are they, and far in advance can they be made? Wed Mar 07 06:53:08 -0800 2007 2359769 80471 caffeinejunkie 2 2361028 my Georgia geography is pretty limited. But if you can find it, here's a local Georgia cheese that is getting nice reviews. www.sweetgrassdairy.com Whole Foods will totally set you up just fine with excellent, interesting cheeses. But if you have to depend on typical supermarket cheeses go for a mix of textures: hard: swiss/emmenthal/gryrere, a goat's cheese, and softer: havarti or a camembert, and an older chedder. Or, consider a fondue instead. Wed Mar 07 07:05:57 -0800 2007 2360997 45908 orangewasabi 3 2365604 In a fabulous coincidence, this dairy is in my hometown! As several guests will be coming from this area, all I have to do is figure out what I want and have someone pick it up. Are there any rules of thumb to how much cheese to plan per person? Thu Mar 08 10:11:06 -0800 2007 2361028 80471 caffeinejunkie 2 2361645 here's a link to a restaurant/shop in nyc. they have one of the country's best cheese selctions and are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. they will ship. http://www.artisanalcheese.com meringues are dead easy and will keep about a week if sealed tightly (they don't like moisture): http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Authentic-French-Meringues/Detail.aspx i mix unsweetened cocoa into this. Wed Mar 07 09:33:22 -0800 2007 2360997 30273 hotoynoodle 2 2363139 You can probably do quite well at a large grocery store. Try to get a variety of colors (orange, yellow, white, blue), textures (hard, soft, medium), and milk types (cow, sheep, goat). I'm particularly fond of soft blue cheese, like Saga Blue. It combines a brie-style creamy cheese with a blue cheese - and it goes wonderfully with fruit. And it seems to be widely available. http://www.amazon.com/Tholstrup-Saga-Blue-Cheese-oz/dp/B00032AC26 Or you could just get a whole brie - imported brie is better than domestic, and French is better than other imported brie (just my opinion, mind). Goat cheese (sometimes labeled "chevre") is getting easier to find - both the soft kind (cream cheese consistency) and hard cheese (if you see any Goat Gouda, it's wonderful). An aged cheddar would be good with apple slices. Some parmesan cheese would be nice on a cheese tray - imported Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano if you can get it, or an Argentinian parmesan if you can't. The Italian version is especially good when shaved into thin slices and drizzled with a bit of balsamic vinegar. (Tip: To make a supermarket balsamic vinegar taste like a fancy one, mix in a pinch or two of brown sugar.) Or go for some Pecorino Romano, which is a sheep-milk cheese (parmesan is usually made with cow's milk). If you do go to Atlanta for a Whole Foods, look for a Stilton with fruit - it's a perfect dessert cheese! The lemon version tastes like cheesecake with a zing. http://www.amazon.com/White-Stilton-Fruit-Pineapple-igourmet-com/dp/B0000TU8HG/ref=sr_1_5/104-6863296-9917508?ie=UTF8&s=gourmet-food&qid=1173307372&sr=1-5 But whatever you get, as long as there's variety, it'll be great! Have fun, Anne Wed Mar 07 14:52:59 -0800 2007 2360997 12541 AnneInMpls 1 2361834 Oh my gosh, a 2-ingredient recipe?! I think I can handle that! Now...does anyone have any recipes that need 4 egg yolks? :) Wed Mar 07 10:09:01 -0800 2007 2359769 80471 caffeinejunkie 2 2362555 lemon curd. ;) Wed Mar 07 12:26:56 -0800 2007 2361834 30273 hotoynoodle 1 2363395 I only browsed other responses quickly, so please ignore if this was already suggested: blue cheese drizzled with honey. It is absolutely sublime. I know you already have the sweet component covered, but I would still suggest adding a little jar of honey right next to your blue cheese. I recently tried some on a Whitestone Windsor Blue (if a Danish blue is at the strong end of the blue cheese spectrum, this one would be at the other) that I found at Bristol Farms and the combination was out of this world! Wed Mar 07 15:59:53 -0800 2007 2359769 16109 sweetTooth 2 2365625 I'll definitely have honey, too, as Anne suggested it with goat cheese and now you have suggested it with blue. I also like the idea of including dried fruit...I hadn't thought of that. Thu Mar 08 10:14:12 -0800 2007 2363395 80471 caffeinejunkie 3 2366018 While the honey-drizzled cheeses are a wonderful thing, you may want to skip it for your party. The purpose of the cheese tray will be to break the sweetness of the other desserts. So I would personally just stick to a cheese tray with some nuts and crackers/bread. This is what I did for my recent dessert party and the cheese tray was demolished. I served a sharp cheddar, a goats-milk brie, a blue and an edam (I think). My old report thread here for pics if you're interested: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/365492 Good luck and have fun! Thu Mar 08 11:29:33 -0800 2007 2365625 12124 TorontoJo 1 2366211 Do you have Costco in your town? The costco in NY has a pretty good selection of cheeses. Even in Georgia, they probably have some safe bets like Picorino Romano (or some other very aged Parmesan), manchego or gruyere, and goat cheese. Thu Mar 08 12:04:15 -0800 2007 2359769 12766 welle 1 2368529 If I were you, I'd call Murrays in NYC and have them ship. They are hands-down the best, most accessible cheese shop in the world. Cielo there is particularly helpful (though I've had great luck with the people in the mail-order shop). They aren't going to give you strong cheeses for the sake of being snobby about it, either, but will give you a range. As for how much to serve, cut the pieces yourself. Most people who haven't tasted cheese before tend to take big hunks, like they were slicing a piece of the kraft cheddar themselves. You taste cheese the same way you do wine, which is in small amounts, so it's up to you to show them the way . . .and one last thing, be sure and use a different knife for each cheese, as you don't want the stronger cheeses adulterating the more subtle ones. Oh, murrays website: www.murrayscheese.com Fri Mar 09 04:17:50 -0800 2007 2359769 73451 bebevonbernstein 1 2368555 I would make my strawberry shortcake using some whipped moscappone cheese. Fri Mar 09 04:45:41 -0800 2007 2359769 12606 MeffaBabe