Menage

Lately, I’ve been on a quest for the perfect desk cheese. That’s right, a cheese I can eat at work when I’m lunching avec email. It has to go with apples and pretzels, or whatever’s handy, and it can't be a cheese that stinks up the wine fridge under my printer cart. Mmmm, yes, I do have a wine fridge at work...for keeping cheese just the right temperature, of course.

So, here’s my star: Carr Valley’s Menage. It's a Spanish-style cheese that I think is, well, perfect for the office lunch. It’s not only fun to mention in passing ("yes, just having a little Menage at my desk"), but it’s fun to taste because you can actually taste all three milks: cow, goat, and sheep.

If you’re at your desk, close your eyes. Imagine a mild white cheddar mixed with Manchego. You can smell the sheepiness, but it’s not overpowering, and there’s very little goaty tang. Still, it’s well balanced. Alongside an apple, it’s quite nice, especially as the breeze coming through the office window rumples your hair, oh…where was I?

If you find Menage too distracting at work, serve it at home. Sid Cook over at Carr Valley in LaValle, WI recommends serving it with Guinness (or a Shiraz) – which sounds like one more indecent thing to dream about.

One last suggestion: as long as we’re talking about how to improve desk lunches, check out the cool, waste-free lunch kits put out by Kids Konserve, a company specializing in eco-friendly sandwich kozys. They're the latest thing I'm coveting. Note the insulated totes with non-toxic ice packs -- ideal for carrying cheese to work, non?