Venissimo!

You know what's awesome about San Diego? Venissimo Cheese.

Cheese Bar!

Finally! The kind of bar I can get behind! Murray's Cheese Bar in the village. Ugh! Why is everything cool in NYC!!!???

DIY Chalkboard Cheese Tray

Was this craft invented just for me?!?! I think so.

Cheese Cake

Brilliant.

At our 25th anniversary party, 23 years from now, we should totally have a cake of cheeses.

The Perfect Cheese Plate, according to Gwyneth

This is actually a great education in cheese, from Gwyneth Paltrow (of all people)...

And now I want cheese.

Cheese Heaven

{found here}

Cheese or Font?

Ha!!! This is an online game that gives you a name and you have to guess if it is the name of a cheese or the name of a font! Perfect to play with design geeks and cheese snobs alike.

 I'm a little bit of both and even I had to scratch my head a few times.

Pretty Cheese

Every time I make a cheese plate I want to take a picture. It's just so beautiful.

Am I taking this cheese snobbery thing too far?

Cheese & Cherries

On our ongoing pursuit of cheese snobbery, Husband and I have been scouring the greater Provo area in search of a decent cheese counter. Sunflower market was a bust, as was Smith's. There are no Trader Joe's or WholeFoods to be found.

And then we discovered Harmon's and we almost threw a party right there in the store. They have a cheese counter, like a real live wheels-of-cheese-cut-into-wedges-from-all-over-the-world cheese counter! They still wrap their cheese in plastic, bleh, but it was by far the best thing we've found yet. (Although I hear a rumor that there is a nice little cheese place in Midway? I'll be looking into it...) So we picked up a gouda, a brie and a bleu, and spent the remainder of the evening erupting into giggles and yelling out "Cheese!" to each other from across the apartment.

And today, this was my afternoon snack. It was delicious.

The cheeses are Rembradt Gouda and Brie Fromage Meaux Rouzaire. The gouda is a really nice, flavorful, aged gouda - not too sharp and not too flat. The brie is a really nice soft texture, and it starts with that soft buttery brie taste, but then it ends with a little bit of an edge to it. The fresh cherries were a really nice balance to the brie.

And our rampant cheese snobbery is back on track!

Honey toast with bleu cheese and bacon

Ooo. I gotta try this.

UrbanCheesecraft

Make my own cheese?! Um, YES.

Cheese Snob Heaven

Fancy Cheese

Husband and I are loving being cheese snobs. Loving.

Ferry Building Marketplace

Now, I'd just like to say that there was more to this vacation than food, but Northern California is the mecca of the artisan food world and it would just be a crime not to take advantage of that.

Therefore, our first stop in San Francisco was the Ferrry Building Marketplace. It was kind of like Oxbow, except bigger and louder. And with macarons.

Husband and I were very impressed with the amazing selection and service at Cowgirl Creamery. We made some significant additions to our cheese stash and went home very very happy.

The other highlight of the Marketplace was Miette. I finally tried macarons and I was blown away. Soft yet crispy little magical bits of deliciousness. We tried pistacchio, chocolate lavender, vanilla and hazelnut.

Oxbow Market

One of my favorite stops along along our trip was at Oxbow Market in Napa.

We were just looking for a great cheese shop and stumbled upon this amazing little market. It was a big open room with cafe's, fresh produce stands, olive oil sellers and yes, amazing cheese.

Everything was fresh and delicious looking. It felt like all the best parts of Napa Valley in one amazing little market.

I nominate that they build one of these in every town I will ever live in. Starting now.

Dear Universe, that means you have one month to put one in Provo. Ready, set, go.

John Raymond

This is John Raymond.

John is one of the world's leading experts in cheese and one of the gate keepers of the true art of cheese making.

During our trip we were fortunate enough to attend a tasting with John, and we learned a ton. If you are serious about cheese, this is the best place to start.

Cheese Snobs

Husband and I have recently decided to become cheese snobs. We want to know the difference between all of the fancy dance cheeses and where they come from and what they taste good with.

Just last night, Husband ordered what I am calling our "textbooks." Once we give them a whirl I'll let you know if they are helpful.

So considering our recent goal of cheese snobbery, we I checked up on Joanna this afternoon, I was surprised to see her post about cheese! And then I looked back and noticed her last cheese post that I totally missed.

Weird. Sometimes I wonder if becoming submersed in the blogging world is about sharing individual and unique ideas... Or whether its turning into blogging groupthink and we're all becoming homogenized.

At any rate, you should totally become a cheese snob too. Everybody's doing it.