593Give the Gift of Serving Cheese
posted on October 28th, 2009
Who doesn’t love cheese? Everyone loves this dairy delight (well, except the lactose intolerant who probably would totally worship cheese if they could actually eat it). Anyway, on any given day you can open my fridge and find a minimum of ten different cheeses. For the kids, there are the comforting American slices (sort of cheese) and the “it’s okay to play with your food today” mozzarella cheese sticks. For me, you’ll always find Swiss for my soup and sandwiches, cheddar, pepper jack, and Manchego for my Mexican food habit; and fresh Parmesan Reggiano, Feta, blue and Cotija for sprinkling on anything and everything from salads and pasta to crackers. Yep, that’s ten cheeses and I didn’t even mention cream cheese for my morning bagel.
There is probably a 10-step program for a cheese addiction somewhere, but I have decided to embrace it (and exercise and watch my cholesterol like crazy!). One of my most recent favorite sensory overload memories happened while visiting Murray’s Cheese Shop in NYC. I’m not kidding you; this place is the queen mother of all cheese emporiums, elevating the humble act of coagulating milk into a true organoleptic experience in appearance, aroma, taste and texture. Literally, hundreds of cheeses, from Brie to whey cheese and everything in between, pack the walls of this bustling Greenwich Village shop.
Since my visit to NYC and discovery of their “Cheese of the Month” club (expensive!), I have decided to give personalized gifts for the holidays and other special occasions that I put together myself. To create my “cheesy” personalized gifts, I start with a wooden cutting board that can be monogrammed with the recipient’s initials - this alone makes well-received personalized gifts. But, I take these personalized gifts further into the cheese experience by adding a selection of artisinal cheeses. Tucked along with an embroidered dish towel, a bottle of wine and a box of gourmet crackers, these personalized gifts are like a little party waiting to happen. I’ll blame it on my cheese habit and not just poor manners, but when I deliver these personalized gifts, I always wait around for the unwrapping and the polite “oh, should we try some now”!
