Men Who Stare At Goat Cheeses

Fresh goat cheese has such a bright and tangy quality, it's utterly delightful... (yes, there was a sort of a pun in there). A little bit like cream cheese, but tangier... and not so creamy; it's really versatile and pairs perfectly with summer's (and fall's) bounty of fresh fruits and veggies. The next goat cheese I get will undoubtedly find its way into one of the following recipes...

• Goat Cheese, Caramelized Onion and Spinach Quesadilla at fitnessmagazine.com
• Toast with Kumquat Marmalade and Goat Cheese from Serious Eats
• A bunch of  delicious Marinated Goat Cheese ideas at The Kitchn
• Two fantastic looking recipes from the What Katie Ate blog: Cherry Tomato, Basil and Goats Cheese Canapés and a Candied Pancetta, Goats Cheese and Aged Balsamic Salad.*
• I love the rustic ease of a crostata (or galette if you prefer) at any time of year. Here is a Lemon Crostata with Plums and Goat Cheese (oprah.com) and individual Goat Cheese and Grape Galettes (thekitchn.com)

On a recent solo trip to the market, Hubs discovered an aged Gouda made from goat's milk. He discovered it by way of free samples. Not only did he tell me all about it when he got home, but he made a point of showing it to me the next time we were at that market together. That was him hinting. A lot.

Aged goat cheeses need to be treated a little differently than the fresh ones, as they lend themselves best to simpler preparations such as: breaking a piece off, placing in your mouth and chewing slowly. You can optionally choose to follow each bite with a sip of compatible wine. But only if you insist on over-complicating things.

* I just drooled on my keyboard. I hope nobody noticed...