BON APPÉTIT
ANNE DESJARDINS
Wow your holiday guests with an artfully arranged selection of cheeses and complementary fruits and bread.
IRIDIO PHOTOGRAPHY
Winter is upon us. The air is becoming to family and friends to show them how
chilly, and the first snowflakes much you enjoy their company? Here are a
beckon us to organize traditional few simple tips to help you choose while
family dinners or parties with friends. The keeping in mind the number of guests.
holiday spirit is taking hold, prompting
thoughts of sharing delicious dishes and great The tray
moments. The platter must be large enough to hold
During the holiday season, why not pre- all the cheese and the accompanying bread
parerecipesmadewithcheese? and fruit. Use a marble-surfaced platter
Ah! Gourmet cheeses, (which keeps food at an ideal
such a variety to choose from! temperature), your favourite
I love them in the morning for plate with colourful or original
breakfast, during lunch, as a motifs, or a slab of solid or
snack, in a soup or salad, or at inlaid wood to give your din-
the end of a meal. I have ner some panache. Have a
always been partial to cheese, variety of rustic and typical
which is why I thought of shar- cheese cutters on hand. Your
ing a few ideas on this theme guests will most likely shower
to help you plan your gourmet you with compliments at the
dinners and receptions. mere sight of your cheese tray!
JEAN-FRANÇOIS BÉRUBÉ
Here is a relatively easy recipe that will complete an elegant wintertime meal in lieu of a dessert.
Poached Pears in Red Port Stuffed with Bleu Cheese
Ingredients:
8 firm Bosc type pears, not too ripe Port coulis (a slow-cooked wine sauce): 500 mL (2 cups) red port 200 mL (3/4 cup) sugar 200 mL (3/4 cup) water Lemon juice Cheese filling: 250 g ( 9 ounces) bleu cheese 120 mL (1/2 cup) 35% cream
Instructions:
Peel the pears. With a fork, or in a food processor, soften the cheese, adding cream. Set aside. Mix the red port, sugar and water and add lemon juice. Bring to a gentle boil. Add the peeled pears and cover with a cloth. Let simmer about 20 minutes. Prick the pears with the end of a knife to check if they are ready. Drain. Let the red port mixture reduce until it reaches a syrupy consistency. Set aside and keep warm. Let the pears cool and use a vegetable peeler to remove and widen the core. Stuff the pears with the creamy bleu cheese and baste with melted butter. Set on a buttered oven sheet or on parchment paper. Bake 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 190˚C (375˚F) before serving. Place the warm pear on a pretty plate, pouring the red port coulis on top and around. This dish can be served with slices of nut pound cake. Serves 8. Bon appétit!
Cheese is an ancient food, developed simultaneously, al-beit differently, in many The cheese offered, around 125 to 130 g ( 4 to 5 oz.) per cultures. The air, grass and earth of a region A selection of five types of cheese for a person. However, if the cheese board consti-all contribute to a cheese’s distinctive quality. small group and eight types for a group of 15 tutes the main course, allow about 60 g (2 oz.)
This explains why cheese is made differently people will allow your guests to appreciate per person per type of cheese, or about 300 g around the world, to the extent that it is sys- the cheeses’ delicacy. ( 10 oz.) of cheese per person. tematically associated with a country: Here are a few examples of cheese types: Providing an assortment of breads is a
Camembert with France, Parmigiano • Creamy cheese, mouldy rind (Brie, refined choice. For example, a baguette or rus-
Reggiano with Italy, Gouda with Holland, Camembert) tic round bread as well as nut or raisin bread.
Stilton with England, feta with Greece. • Soft cheese, washed rind (Le You can also choose an unconventional
In Canada, firm-bodied Cheddar-type Rebloch’art, Sir Laurier, Reblochon) style, such as a particularly exceptional cheese, cheeses produced according to methods used • Firm (aged white Cheddar, Gouda, and serve it with dried figs marinated in red in the monasteries laid the groundwork for Jarlsberg) port for 24 hours, along with roasted almonds. our cheese traditions. Since the 1980s, • Semi-soft cheese, washed rind (Oka, It’s a delicious and original alternative that will
Canada, and more specifically Québec, has Migneron, Trappiste) surprise and delight your guests. C developed an expertise in producing specialty • Marbled (Cambozola, Coeur de Bleu, cheeses from cow’s milk and, increasingly, Bleu l’Ermite, Roquefort) Anne Desjardins is the award-winning chef and from goat and sheep’s milk, emphasizing the • Goat or sheep’s cheese (such as aged owner of L’Eau à la Bouche, a hotel-restaurant soil’s diversity and the expert skills of our cheese log with a mouldy rind, Tomme) located in Sainte-Adèle, Québec. cheese producers and artisans. Allow about 25 grams (slightly less than
What could be more inviting than serving 1 ounce) per person per type of cheese. In an appetizing platter of ripe, creamy cheeses other words, by counting all the cheeses
References:
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