Winter Warmers!

In Boston this morning it was -8C, the snow that fell two days previous blankets the ground and the wind chill bites at your face like an angry bite-y thing. With a large snow storm predicted for the weekend in New England there is only one thing for it; hunker down, eat some cheese and drink some ale!

    All that's left of new year's resolutions are broken promises, the hangover that you nursed in order to welcome 2016 has long been forgotten and those pounds you promised to shed will help you get through the winter anyway! Today you've managed to battle the elements, get to work on time, be relatively productive for a few hours and you even made your own lunch to take with you! Therefore once you reach the comfort of home you deserve some little treats. At least that's what I tell myself!

    There are lots of amazing combinations that you could choose from for a winter warming snackadoodle but you can't really beat a bit of English Cheshire Cheese with a bottle of Old Brown Dog Ale (or if you really want to push the boat out, Really Old Brown Dog Ale). Being an Englishman, before I moved to America all the Cheshire cheese I had eaten had been white cheese. Since I emigrated to America all the Cheshire cheese I have eaten has been orange cheese - dyed with Annatto. This being said, it doesn't really matter what colour it is; it still tastes fantastic.

    Cheshire has been produced for a long time. Providing I have my facts right, Cheshire (the county not the cheese!) was even mentioned in the Domesday Book which was written during the time of William the Conqueror in 1085! Cheshire used to be full of salt marshes and therefore the cattle who grazed there had a high content of salt in their milk. Apparently the salt caused the cheese to ripen slowly and gave it a crumbly texture.

    It's an absolutely cracking cheese. Whether you bake it, grill it, crumble it in soups or just eat it with an ale (or two) you can guarantee that it will leave your taste buds with a sense of satisfaction! Old Brown Dog Ale is an old style ale produced in New Hampshire by Smuttynose Brewing Company. It is really old brown goodness but beware it can also give you a really old brown hangover too!

Cheese-o-meter rating: 9/10
   

'Stilton? With Mango....and Ginger?!

'Stilton? With Mango...and Ginger?!' she said with a look somewhere between intrigue and revulsion. The pause between Mango and Ginger was perfectly timed, almost as though she could just about accept the Mango aspect but surely not the Ginger! I was immediately reminded of Peter Kay. An American, female version of Peter Kay. Anybody who has seen that famous sketch in which the comic describes how family members become increasingly exasperated at the combination of certain food products will know exactly what I am referring to.

Peter Kay. Cheese? and Cake?

     The lady had approached the cheese counter and asked for 'something different that was flavor infused.' After a short enthralling conversation in which we discussed the differences between the English and American spelling of flavor/flavour I told her to turn her attention to the Stilton, with Mango and Ginger. She then proceeded to do her best Peter Kay impression (even though I'm certain she had no idea who he was) before repeating it under her breath as if I had told her the cheese would somehow enable her to fly but was also made with poison. To her credit she was very entertaining and she picked up a piece of cheese for closer inspection. 'What does it taste like?' she exclaimed whilst poking the bits of Mango in the cheese as if to check that they were real. Apart from telling her that it was English cheese and therefore obviously good, I also said that it was a bit like cheese cake (Peter Kay) and that it has a unique creaminess and fruitiness that can only be attributed to the crazy combination of unusual flavors! She didn't look convinced so I allowed her to try some. I cut a slice off and handed it to her. She looked uneasy, beads of sweat were dripping down her forehead with worry as she guided the sample towards her. After initially pulling the face a baby pulls when you give him/her a piece of lemon for the first time, she relaxed and said she was pleasantly surprised with how it tasted. She said she could see herself eating it as a dessert cheese after a meal. I agreed!

A cheeky piece of Stilton

     Produced by Long Clawson Dairy in the UK, Stilton with Mango and Ginger is one of a number of British cheeses that have a long history of sweet or savoury infusion. Others varieties are more well known such as Cotswold with Chives, Lancashire with Garlic and Cheddar with Mustard. Mango, Ginger Stilton is one of the best sweeter options around. Despite conceding that she enjoyed it, the lady in question never did buy the piece that she sampled. Instead she opted for the 'safety' of....Wensleydale with Cranberries......

Cheese-o-meter rating: 8/10