Double Flee A

In the old days when I was young, when excitement was behind every corner and I thought my libido was going to shake me to pieces, if you had told me that one day the pursuit of excellent blue cheeses was going to be a source of great pleasure, I'd have ignored you, gotten drunk, and found an attractive young woman with whom to flirt vigorously.

Today I had a "big woods" blue from Minnesota. At anywhere from 18.50 to 20$ a pound, it's a treat cheese. As far as blues go, this one is dry (but not dry and squeaky like St. Pete's select) and astonishingly creamy. Its acidity is a sophisticated counterpoint to the rush of creaminess, so the finish is clean and memorable. I rank it above St. Pete's mainly because of the texture (I'd have to place them side by side for a flavor comparison), which was somehow reminiscent of a certain swiss cave-aged gruyere's (all hail the king of the gruyere) crystallized lactose. There was a lot going on with this cheese, and every bit of what was going on was excellent.

I recommend not eating it as I did in the form of a wedge (although it's a pleasure to walk past the McMurderburger and look in at people who paid more for total shit as you munch awesome cheese), but cutting it up and mixing up the little pieces. You don't want to wind up at the rind, which was moderate in size. It's heartbreaking. When I have this cheese again next pay period, I want to be unsure when the greatest bite will arrive. Eating a hunk of cheese in wedge form is hedonism; the first bite is the best bite, it's a specialized form of living like there's no five minutes from now, and I'd prefer a really great piece of cheese at this point to what I once would have in the event of imminent apocalypse, which of course involved many, many naked women, frantically seeking my boner.

Sorry, but I just had to use the word boner. I haven't grown out of certain peurile mannerisms yet. In time, and with enough great cheese, maybe I can whip that adolescent tendency.

posted by dale @ 3:02 PM