Cherries and Cheese

Now that it's cherry season, we can do the unthinkable. As you can see, I have gone off my rocker by adding blue cheese and cherries to home-made chocolate pudding. This combination isn't for everyone, but if you love these three flavors, the tastes go together surprisingly well. Sweet, tart, and salty -- my best friends.

If you spot these Corvette-red sour cherries at the farm stand, don't walk away from a great potential cheese pairing. Cook the cherries down into a compote, and keep them in the fridge to garnish Bries and blues. They also come in handy when you want to make a cracking good Manhattan. The recipe below is glorious, and you don't need any Red #5.

Last night, I tucked some of these cherries into blintzes with a bit of farmer's cheese, and oh didn't we all cry our eyes out from joy? Let me tell you, one jar of tart cherries has turned our hot, hot house into a pleasure dome. Every time I open the fridge, the red glow of the cherry jar motivates me to cook -- or at least to rustle up a snack plate.

Try this cherry compote with a cream bomb, like Delice de Bourgogne, or a feisty blue, like Roaring Forties.

Cherry Compote

Adapted from epicurious

• 1.5 pounds of sour cherries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons corn starch
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 drops rose water (optional)

1. Remove cherry stones by hand. To do this, simply split cherries in half and dig your thumb under the pit. It pops right out. Then put the pitted cherries in a sauce pan with water, sugar, and corn starch and bring to a boil.

2. After 5 minutes, strain the cherries, reserving the liquid. Put the cooked cherries in a tall, clean mason jar and return the liquid to the stove.

3. Reduce the cherry liquid for about 10 minutes, so that the mixture is syrupy. Add rose water, if desired. Then pour the syrup over the cherries and seal the jar. Let cool, then refrigerate.

A July 4 Cheese Plate with Friends

You might think it would be impossible to put together a red, white, and blue cheese board without getting corny. Think again. There are some very fine cheeses that come in multicolored wax. And if you think of "red" in loose terms -- a pimento-studded Basque-aroo, say -- you can pull off a spicy snack plate that fits the star-spangled theme.

For a party in Media, PA, hosted by a pair of world travelers now home-bound with tikes, I plundered the cheese worlds of France, Spain, and Australia for a luxe cheese plate that, lo, even the kids gobbled.

Get ready. Here's the sequence. Truly, this is one of the best little combos ever. Once July 4 is over, I will happily serve it again.

Red

Ossau Iraty with Pimento: This classic sheep's milk cheese is smooth and nutty. With a touch of dried pimento (Piment d'Espelette), which is native to the region, this gorgeous hunk turns into a beautiful Dorito. Sounds slanderous, I know, but I am using the term "Dorito" as a term of endearment. I owe the description to cheesemonger Ezekial Ferguson of Di Bruno Bros. 

As you can see from the photo, the red is subtle. If you only buy one nice cheese this summer, make it this one. It's absolutely delicious -- so creamy, so complex with its nutty-sweet tones, and just faintly kicky.

White

Pave D'Affinois: I couldn't resist a cheese cube, something contained and easy to tote. Kara of Almanac Market introduced me to this little Brie-like number. It's soft and simple, a good foil for cherries. Interestingly, the children of our party took to it immediately and begged for slice upon slice.  

Blue

Roaring Forties Blue: This Australian blue is creamy and fruity, a favorite at every party. I'm always drawn to its blue wax casing. It's made by King Island Dairy, just south of Melbourne.

And now...to the party. To the cheese-eating children.

There he is, the Blue Cheese Brit. Notice the gleam in his eye.