[cheese|photos] The Paradise Lost cheese spread

So yesterday we had cheese. I opted for a wide range of samplers rather than concentrating on more quantity of a fewer selections. In truth, I probably went overboard. This spread fed twenty people for about $450, with a fair amount left over.


The full spread, staged and arranged by mrtact and Mary Robinette Kowal


The wine selection (we also had Mexican Coke, mmm mmm)


Olives along with spiced apricot preserves to accent the cheese


Sopressata Citerio — I always like a sopressata, the spiciness works well for me


Redondo Iglesias Serrano — These Spanish hams are overtaking even some of the Italian charcuterie in my affections


Creminelli Finnochiona — A very nice salami, essentially


Proscuitto di Parma


Roasted Bison — Mostly there for anyone who didn't care for pork


Taleggio — A good stand-by from the 'soft and stinky' end of the cheese case


Beemster XO — I've become increasingly fond of this line of Dutch cheeses, which are all buttery and flavorful


Sottocenere al Tartuffo — Still my favorite cheese in the history of ever


Oregonzola — Because these Texas cowboys needed a taste of my new home


Cowgirl Red Hawk — Hands down my favorite new-to-me-cheese of both this batch and of recent history, somewhat like my much beloved Epoisses but without the halitosis


Cheddar — Picked up this one for the traditionalists


Cowgirl Mt Tam — I've liked this triple creme cheese for a while, and every time I eat it, I like it more


Pierre Robert — Probably my favorite triple creme, and definitely a basic go-to when I'm putting together a cheese spread


Chimay — Another good one to have around for people who might be wary of unfamiliar cheeses


Affinois with Truffles — Had never seen this variety before, but I found the truffle flavor a bit too musky


Roquefort Papillon — A very nice, heavy blue that's in my long-term blue cheese rotation


Humboldt Fog — A terrific California cheese


Mimolette — I like the younger one better than the aged one, but they're both pretty nice and sharp


Affinois — Another good go-to triple creme


St. Andre — Yet another French triple creme I sometimes buy


San Simon — A new-to-me cheese I picked up because I liked the look of the pear-shaped wheel, unfortunately, it made very little impression on me


Pecorino in olive leaves — I wanted a sheep's cheese on the table


Shropshire — Always a fun cheese because it tweaks people's expectations


Mini Cabrie — Because what is life without a goat milk brie?


Purple Haze ‐ An herb-infused chevre that we tore through like locusts in a Kansas wheatfield

Also, various kinds of artisanal bread. It was a lovely spread. For some reason, I didn't get a photo of the Wensleydale.

Photos © 2013, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.



This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.