A Cheese Done Well...Very Well

I love cheeses, sometimes when cooking, but more so, in and of itself, on some bread, a wonderful cracker or alone, aside some vegetables or fruit. Perhaps, with a wonderful glass of white wine. Some cheeses deserve a red. That's your call.

I was reheating a black bean and sausage soup today, for which I usually grate some cheddar and fresh onion to sprinkle on top. Upon looking where I usually keep the cheeses in the frig, I noticed I had no cheddar - medium, sharp or otherwise.

I usually keep a block of parmigiano reggiano (which I enjoy for so many other purposes). It is a hard cheese which will last indefinitely, for the most part. This is not the cheese I wanted to add to my soup.

Looking further, I recognized a minuscule, well wrapped and labeled cheese I was gifted during the holidays. It was a well-thought gift, yet I had never tasted it. My first thought was don't waste this cheese on my black bean and sausage soup, regardless of how tasty it may be. Wait.

Perhaps, I was waging this cheese's merit based upon its packaging (minimal), the wording of it claims (again, minimal), but more so, how it was gorgeous, looking delicious. Did I want to waste this wonderful looking cheese on, yes, a wonderful dish, when cheddar was easily the answer? No.

This cheese needed to be alone, with me, on a cracker or wafer. I unwrapped her, sliced (with the cheese slicers I grew up with - more later - most suck) a slither of her and placed her on a Triscuit thin wafer (There are much better.) and all the flavors of cheese I have had and those I haven't, came through. There is a taste of wine in this cheese - it's slight, but smooth.

So, what did I do? I had a few slices, realizing what I already said, "This cheese needs to be alone, with me, on a cracker or wafer." I saved her for later.

This cheese, which is RESERVE CHEESE MERLOT BELLAVITANO®., you may enjoy. Oh, they have other cheeses, by the way.

The world of cheeses and wines can sometimes seem mystical and full of hype - creative branding, marketing - nothing unlike, which occurs elsewhere. Sure, it happens everywhere.

I rarely have had a cheese which tells me to have it in its purest sense. This cheese is pleasant, not sharp, nor salty, but assertive, along with a mellow after-taste.

We, me and this wonderful cheese, will only have time together on a wonderful cracker, wafer or piece of bread. Or, with her, simply naked.

These are my opinions as best as I can convey them. Shoot me later.

I, in no way, have a relationship with the provider of this product. I simply enjoy passing on things you may enjoy.