Week 9 (part 2) – Oscar’s party! Hosted by the Carmicles

Since we left Carlotta’s car at Reina’s Saturday night, we decided I’d drive us back in the morning and we could do Sunday brunch and try our hand again at waffles (or Waffles: Redux). With our powers combined (meant to be read in your best Captain Planet voice) our waffles actually came out really good this time. The trick, and I didn’t know this, is to separate and beat the egg whites and then fold them back into your batter. Our result was fluffy, golden brown deliciousness. We also had sort of a build-your-own-waffle bar going on, throwing chocolate, blueberries, Reese’s Pieces into the batter. I went balls to the wall with a Reese’s Pieces waffle and it was damn good.

Oscar Party!

In between balancing a full time job and being a new mother, Jessie found time to host her annual Oscar’s party. For many years running (and long before I came onto the scene) we’ve gotten together to vote on the categories (everyone puts a dollar in the pot, whoever guesses the most correct wins), play Oscar bingo (also with a dollar pot, with squares like “Winner makes a political statement”, “Host flubs a line”, “Winner trips accepting award”. Since JLaw didn’t win anything this year, that square went unfilled), and do our own version of the Fashion Police. And of course, I used this as another opportunity for a cheese night. I swear these days I’m either: talking about cheese, planning a cheese night, or straight up eating cheese. It’s 90% of what my conversations revolve around. By now, the Oscar’s are old news so I won’t spend time talking about it, the two things I will say is that Chris Rock did a really great job hosting, and I would have done waaay better if I knew Mad Max: Fury Road was going to win every fucking category they were nominated for. I guess now I have to see that movie. Anyway, I digress. Jessie’s party was fiesta themed, so I wanted to bring a cheese that fit the theme. I had picked out a Queso Cotija cheese, but after speaking with the nice woman at New Seasons she let me know that cheese was not really a stand-alone cheese, but meant to be crumbled on top of tacos, or enchiladas, etc. "It's for an Oscar's party?" she asked "Can I make a suggestion?" as she lead me to the Oscar Wilde Irish Cheddar. Adoring the word play I was sold.

Oscar Wilde Irish Cheddar: This natural white cheddar, aged for two years, hails from County Cork, Ireland, where their dairly cows are pature fed over 300 days of the year. It's a crumbly, sharp, creamy, sweet, cheddar. While great on its own (IMO it's hard to beat a good sharp cheddar), I found pairing it with fig jam, to bring out the cheeses sweetness, and salami, and to balance the sweet, was the winning combination.

"The only way to get ride of tempation is to yield to it"

Amen brother.

Cambozola: Heather also brought a lovely cheese plate, with Triscuts, salami, and Cambozola cheese. Cambozola began production in the 1900's in Allgäu, Germany by the Champignon company. Champignon still produces the cheese to this day. It's a soft, very creamy, cows cheese, similar to a brie and is sometimes marketed as a bleu brie in America. Cambozola gets is moniker from Camembert and Gorgonzola, and while not necessarily being a combination of the two cheeses, it has a similar production process with each.

Cambozola comes from a combination of Penicillium camemberti and Penicillium roqueforti blue mold found in Gorgonzola and Roquefort cheeses. The creamy, rich consistency of Cambozola comes from extra cream being added to the milk, the consistency and rind being similar to that of a Camembert cheese.

I have a stigma about bleu cheese that I really need to get over, I know they taste good, and not at all harmful, but when it starts to look like something I pulled out of my fridge when I've left it in there for too long I am given pause. That being said, this cheese was really great. It's a milder flavor than a Gorgonzola but the creaminess of the cheese is out of control. I think this is a good cheese to introduce someone to the world of bleu cheese, with its pockets of bleu sprinkled throughout.

I didn't take too many photos at Oscar's night, so here's an old photo of myself being terrified to hold a much tinier and more fragile Sloane.