Cheeselog

Ah…. the sloth of a Sunday afternoon. Except Not. Today I prepared for a private cheese class for the Northwestern University Alumni Association. While researching Northwestern I learned that their mascot is a Wildcat named Willie. However, their original mascot was Furpaw, a bear cub. Obviously, someone realized that a bear cub was not in fact very ferocious and pushed for a new mascot to be adopted. Cause really - when you want to intimidate your opponent, the last thing you want to be is a bear cub, whose only tactics are to: A) snuggle; or B) sic my momma on you. So, go Wildcats! Certainly better than my school’s mascot (what the heck is a Maroon anyway?!?!?!)

After prepping for the cheese class, I attended my first ever preschool open house. I’ve waited in lines for Metallica tickets that were more touchy feely. I sure hope we get into this school because it’s the only place I want to send my daughter. And I can’t go to another open house. Please.

So, back to tonight’s cheese class. It’s always fun to prepare for one of these because even though the basic topic is one I have taught many times, the cheeses and wines always change. It’s fun to select them and then pray that they taste good together. In general, there are rules for pairing wines and cheeses, but once in a while, you happen upon a really unpleasant combination. When that happens in a class, you have to pretend like to did it on purpose in order to illustrate the importance of careful pairing. Remember: every mistake we make is totally on purpose.

Tomorrow night is the last session of our Evening in Uruguay Wine event. 8 Wines. 6 Cheeses. A bit different from tonight, where we are tasting 11 cheeses ranging from Buffalo Mozzarella to Beemster 4-year Gouda to Honey Goat. For wines, we have a wonderful Kabinett Riesling from Germany and a yummy Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara. The best part of my job is that I get to drink as I teach (it’s only responsible to experience the class with the students).

So, bring it on, Wildcats! Cheesetique is ready to rumble!