It's bindy, sure, but that's what makes it tasty.

What did you do this weekend?

Well, among the many delightful activities I was part of this weekend, I had the privilege of meeting GrandeMocha [who needs to get her own snarktastic blog] for CHEESEFEST 2011 - The Cheesening.

GrandeMocha and I met at Zingerman's Deli, where we had an appointment with a cheesemonger to sample cheese.

[FULL DISCLOSURE - Zingerman's has no idea I'm a blogger and that I was going to write about this.  In all probability, they'll never see this post.]

Anyway, we went to Zingerman's and ate a metric ton of cheese samples.

Don't you kind of want to make out with all this cheese?  I do.

You can't see how PACKED this place was.  GrandeMocha and I were thinking about putting on aprons and helping out.

I see you turning green with envy.

You should.

It was a blast.

We were treated to samplings of so much delicious cheese that I actually hit a lactose-intolerance wall and had to drop out for a bit.  GrandeMocha kept going strong, and we both tried cheeses that were absolutely sublime.

It was like drunks at an open bar.

Except with less belligerence.

Paul, our cheesemonger, provided samples.

This is Paul, handing us cheese. If you look on the wall behind him, you'll see a caricature of Paul.  BECAUSE HE'S FAMOUS! Also, fun and flirty.

There were the giant 2 year old wheels of parmigiano reggiano

Nutty and gorgeous. I bought some, but probably won't share with the family. Did you know you don't have to store this in the fridge? BLEW MY MIND.

and little balls of fresh mozzarella

Who doesn't want to buy a goofy-faced ball of fresh mozzarella? The devil, that's who.

and ashy truncated pyramid shapes and blue cheese wrapped in grape leaves and soaked in pear brandy and smooth cheddars and a supercreamy goat cheese made by the creamery that I'm still kicking myself for not buying and a brick cheese full of green peppercorns that so burned my mouth I had to spit it out [which I guess is EXACTLY like drunks at an open bar].

And each cheese had a story.

The parmesan tastes nutty because it was made by Italians who were tired of waiting for the Swiss to bring them cheese.  Nice job, Italians.  Suck it, Swiss.

I could just start gnawing on this.

The fresh mozzarella was made by this nice woman at Zingerman's Creamery.

It's Katie the Creamery lady! She made my ball of cheese! And she was really sweet. I am NOT stalking her.  She knew I took her picture.

The ashy truncated pyramid - Valencay from Touraine - was from a recipe that went back to Napolean, who was pissed because a battle in Egypt went poorly and, when presented with a pyramid-shaped cheese, truncated it with his sword.


One of the blue cheeses was made by this guy who studied at Roquefort and was gifted with a strain of mold and who now makes this delectable cheese out on the west coast.

One of the cheddars was made in Vermont by a creamery where you have to place your order two years in advance.

We got A LOT of cheese.

You do dairy, right? You should.

And, of course, we got delicious bread to go with our cheese.

Which we had for dinner.

Some romaine, fresh mozzarella and homemade balsamic dressing and the achingly good baguette. Drool

It was an extravaganza for our tastebuds.  We'll do it again, for sure.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some snacking to do.