Cheese - as a dessert...

From what I understand it is not very common here in the United States to have a selection of cheeses for dessert. It’s time to open your mind and embrace this easy-to-make dessert inspired by the French cuisine – and all it takes is 5 minutes to prepare and can be done ahead of time. After a very stimulating conversation with my local Kroger's cheese deli we decided to try a form of working together on how to promote this.

Go to your local cheese section and start looking for special cheeses. There should be a variety of European cheeses; Emmentahler from Germany, Brie or Camembert from France, Port Salut from Portugal, are all mild cheeses. If you dare, go stronger. What you want is cheeses that has a little more pungent flavor and have aged a little. Have the person help you taste your way through of what kind of cheeses you think is complimentary to the fruits below. The cheese itself does not make it a dessert – flavor combination does. Explain to the cheese person what you’re trying to do.

For a cheese (like aged Emmentahler, dry and sharp in the taste)
Take a small bowl and put in the amount of prunes you expect to use. Pour port wine in the bowl so it covers the prunes and let them soak in the port over night.

For a cheese (like aged Port Salut or Brie, creamy with a touch of bitterness)
Like above soak whole walnuts in light syrup over night.

For a cheese (smoked cheeses, pungent and sharp tasting)
Cranberries or blackberries from marmalade (whole berries) or caramelized orange peel.

The Easy approach:Finely cut orange peel (without the white) in match stick sizes. Put squeezed orange juice and a sugar in a casserole. Let the sugar melt completely. Add the match stick orange peels. Let them simmer and caramelize for 5 minutes. Arrange the peels on top of the cheese dices and serve.

The experienced approach:If you want to get creative, buy the berries fresh, put them in a small casserole and add a ½ cup of water and sugar to your liking. Heat up so the sugar melts completely. If you want to you can also add finely grated orange peel, lemon or lime peel and juices from the fruit. If your cheese is very pungent perhaps even add a pinch of chili powder or cinnamon depending on your cheese and flavor preference. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. If you want to thicken the fruit coulis add corn starch (mix water and corn starch and whisk it so no lumps are to be seen) and add it slowly to the simmering berries.

When you have selected three cheeses you are ready to go. Cut the cheese in bite size cubes and put them on a plate – three of each kind of cheese in a row starting with the mildest cheese first. If you have square plates it’s a good way of presenting it. If not, place the cheese cubes in a circle on a round plate with the mildest cheese first.

On each cube matching your choice of cheese place a fruit on each dice. With cranberries and alike you can use 2-3. Since Red wine goes well with cheese you don’t have to worry about having dessert wine in the house.

DESSERT – by Dad is served