Day One Eighty Nine - Results and a Recap

So who do you think won yesterday's Marriage Mondays???

It was Contestant Number Three!
But before we get to why, let me tell you about why contestants one and two were not the winners. Contestant Number One aka gorgonzola albeit a piquantly delish morsel would most certainly overwhelm the delicate flavors of the Nicoise olives. Gorgonzola calls for a bigger, more "present" olive, say for example one of the big green guys. Those are delish as well but can withstand the intensity of the gorgonzola. Contestant Number Two - Petit Basque is also such a fantastic cheese and would work in certain circumstances with the Nicoise olives like for example when the olives are chopped up on bread and then topped with Petit Basque as a nice form of a grilled cheese. The main issue I find when served at room temperature is that the texture of the cheese, semi firm will not work as successfully with the semi
soft texture of the olives -- however when heated the cheese looses it's semi firm texture which is what makes the grilled cheese perfect with the olives.

So then why do wethink Contestant Number Three has won -- the consistency of the cheese works perfectly with the olives and in turn is great when utilized as a "stuffing" for the olives. the creaminess of the cheese will be the perfect counterpart to the salty brininess of the olives and the herbal rub of the chevre will find its match in the herbaceous fresh flavors of the olives. Here is a case of freshness paired with freshness and each element finding its complement in the other.

I promise a nice bowl of these chevre stuffed olives with an aperitif on an early sunny summer evening will hit the spot.

Moving along I thought I'd give you all a little recap of last night's two goat cheeses -- the first was Picodon and the second was Saint Maure de la Tourraine. Picodon is a soft rippened goat cheese that is a small flat disk, about half the size of a hockey puck. It is one of those Loire Valley goats that simply is not found outside of France. Why you may ask? Well that's because the preservatives that need to go into the cheese to transport it transatlantically ruin the supreme delicate texture of the Picodon. The Saint Maure de la Tourraine is a log goat cheese that is ash rippened and aged on a little bamboo stick. It has a nice firm goaty tang with the piquant edge of the ashen exterior - a veritable melody of flavors designed to delight the palate.

That's all for now folks!
Check back tomorrow for burrata experiences and day one in Corsica.