Best. Cheese. Ever--Day 3

A few years ago, the H and I started subscribing to a funny little newsletter written by David Rosengarten, he of Food Network and cookbook fame. He's a good writer, opinionated beyond belief, and like us, appreciates decadence in moderation. Cocktails? Check. Animal products? Double check. Arcane ethnic cuisines from low to high? Triple check. So when he started offering a "cheese of the month" type subscription, we were giddy. It's stupidly expensive, but his picks are often divine, the tasting notes are obsessive and funny, and hey, we love cheese, so a package of it showing up on our doorstep every few weeks is as close to a miracle as we get. This month's package didn't really get me swooning, though it included a lovely aged crottin and a delicious, stinky Pont L'Eveque. But I discovered, just now, that one of the cheeses had gotten buried in the back of the refrigerator drawer, and had gone untasted. That cheese, bianco sardo di moliterno, a sheep cheese from Puglia, may just have redefined hard cheese for me.

I ate it for lunch, just now, with leftovers from the other night. This recipe is adapted from one created by Giada deLaurentiis. Fragrant herbed vegetables (served at room temperature, not reheated--no need) with slices of this cheese? A divine lunch that would only have been better with a glass of crispy, cold, flinty white wine. Ah...


Roasted Fall Vegetables

2 bulbs fennel, sliced into 3/8" wide pieces
1 pound dutch gold potatoes (the little ones), cut in half the long way
2 cups baby carrots (the cheating kind they sell at the supermarket--no peeling or chopping involved)
1 cup brussel sprouts, halved
4 T olive oil, give or take
2 T Maldon salt
1 t freshly ground pepper
1 T dried oregano
1 T dried rosemary
1 t dried basil
1 t dried thyme
1/4 t fennel seed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a shallow roasting pan, combine the vegetables, sprinkle the oil and all seasonings over, and toss to coat evenly.

Roast in the middle of the oven for 35-45 minutes, until the vegetables are just tender.

I served this for dinner on Tuesday with grilled chicken & turkey herb/garlic sausages (Gerhard's brand) from Trader Joe's. Delicious, and Dido ate some sausage and even a carrot (one of the two approved vegetables, further to yesterday's post.)