my gastronomic [mis]adventures: Pre-wedding/Pre-exam mini-party

For the past couple of weeks, it's been hard to drag me out of the house (people who know me should know why). Because of this, my good friends Ivan and Nathalie (plus Ivan's sister Rosette) visited me at home and ate/drank our way through the night.

They brought 2 kinds of wine (but still had a crate or so in the car, haha), cheese, crackers, fruit, chopping board and knives, and Jollibee spaghetti for Rosette.

Clockwise from bottom left: Magic Flakes crackers, Stilton cheese, pickled onions, pitted green olives, oranges, Manchego cheese, Parmigiano Riggiano cheese, sweet grape

I have been hearing rave reviews about Stilton cheese from my blue-savvy friend Thale, but haven't gotten around to tasting it myself. Hailing from England, Stilton has been around since the early 18th century, and has been made in the same way since then. Here's an excerpt from The Home of Stilton Cheese:

"Quintessentially English, Stilton has its own Certification Trade Mark and is an EU Protected Food Name. This means that:

- it can only be produced in the three Counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire
- it must be made from locally produced milk that has been pasteurised before use
- it can only be made in a cylindrical shape
- it must be allowed to form its own coat or crust
- it must never be pressed and
- it must have the magical blue veins radiating from the centre of the cheese."

The first crumbly bite was... utter heaven. A half centimeter cube was PACKED with the distinctive blue cheese flavor. That heady, robust aroma sneaking up from your mouth... yum.

How to serve it? Well, the simplest way is to just eat it right after opening your package from the deli. But here are some ways (again, from The Home of Stilton Cheese):

• Blue Stilton is a versatile and easy to use ingredient in a variety of starters and main courses - a little goes a long way.
• Like all good cheeses Blue Stilton is best served at room temperature (20 degrees C or 68 degrees F). Try to get your cheese out of the fridge an hour or so before eating so as to let the flavour of the cheese develop.
• Blue Stilton is a must for any cheese board - serve with crackers or traditional plum loaf
• Unlike most cheeses, Blue Stilton may be frozen. Wrap in several layers of cling film and a layer of foil and keep in freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and allow to reach room temperature before serving.
• Blue Stilton goes well with any wine -- simply experiment. (but they say that sweet wines -- like port or any dessert wines -- go best with Stilton)

While Stilton is all about potency of flavor, Manchego is subtle. Produced in wheels in Don Quixote's land of La Mancha, it is made only from the whole milk of Manchega sheep. It IS marvelous in its own way. Subtle, yes, but the creamy flavor sneaks up at you.

They say Manchego is great with Spanish crackers, salmon, or lamb. It is often eaten with dulce de membrillo, a firm paste made of quince (a fruit native to Southwest Asia). Manchego also goes rather well with a medium-bodied beer.

Some trivia about Parmigiano-Reggiano:
1. It CAN be eaten by itself (i.e. not just grated over pasta).
2. It has the highest glutamate content of all cheeses, which explains its umami flavor (like Ajino-Moto) and why Easterners love it.
3. According to legend, the Parmigiano was created in the 13th-14th century in the province of Reggio Emilia. Soon, its production spread to the Parma and Modena areas.
4. It is hard, fatty, salty, and granular, but nonetheless flavorful, heady, and delicious.
5. It is a cousin of Grana Padano (my favorite), which has less fat and is being produced in the town of Lodi.

A glass of 2008 Angove Butterfly Ridge Shiraz-Cab (from South Australia) compliments our mini-meal. Here's how i described it to Ivan (pardon the nerd talk, i'm studying!): its burst of sweetness is akin to the action potential of pacemaker cells.