Cheese Please

Andy and I had fancy cheeses at our reception, but really got hooked on cheese tasting on our honeymoon. We stopped in Carmel and ended up in a tiny wine and cheese shop. They told us as long as we were there, they'd keep feeding us cheese. We were there for half and hour.

We miss you, Carmel!

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when we stopped at Harmon's to visit their fantastic cheese counter. The cheese monger (who also did our reception cheeses), suggested that we attend the 2015 Chocolate and Cheese Festival at the Natural History Museum of Utah.

Of course we had to go!

We attended with Andy's parents and participated in one of their workshops--Chocolate and Cheese pairings. That's right. Chocolate. With cheese! I never would have thought it would be good! The pairings they chose were actually better together!

I also never knew chocolate was so complex! If they smoke the cacao beans to dry them, the chocolate takes on a smokey flavor. It was like chocolate jerky! Also, did you know cacao beans grown in different areas take on different flavors? We bought some chocolate where the beans were from the Dominican Republic and it tasted fruity! The only ingredients were cacao and honey for sweetness.

Fantastic Cheeses by our friends at Heber Valley Artisan Cheese

If you have never gone cheese tasting, I highly suggest you go. It's so much more exciting than you would think (yes, there are more cheeses than cheddar, parmesan, and mozzarella!). If you're feeling truly adventurous and want to expand your culinary horizon, try pairing chocolate with cheese. I found a wonderful quick guide here, and Cuisine magazine published an issue entirely on cheese that is also fantastic.

Happy Tasting!