Lately, I've been on a quest for the perfect desk cheese. That's right, a cheese I can eat at work when I'm lunching with email -- a cheese that goes with apples and pretzels or whatever's handy, a cheese that won't stink up the mini-fridge but that isn't bland. Lord knows, every desk lunch needs a shining centerpiece.
Well, here's my star: Carr Valley's Menage, the perfect cheese for the lonely office worker. It's not only fun to say, it's fun to taste because it's made from three milks, a blend of cow, goat and sheep. This makes it exquisitely interesting, because you can actually taste each flavor.
If you're at your desk, close your eyes. Imagine a mild white cheddar mixed with Manchego. You can smell the sheepiness, but it's not overpowering, and there's very little goaty tang. Still, it's well balanced. Alongside an apple, it's quite nice, especially as the breeze coming through the office window rumples your hair, oh…where was I?
If you find Menage too distracting at work, serve it at home. Sid Cook over at Carr Valley outside of LaValle, Wis., recommends serving it with Guinness (or a Shiraz) , which sounds like one more indecent thing to dream about.
One last suggestion, as long as we're talking about desk lunches. Check out the cool waste-free lunch kits put out by Kids Konserve, a company specializing in eco-friendly sandwich cozys and reusable containers. Its insulated totes and nontoxic, sweat-free ice packs make it easy to store cheese at work if you don't have, say, a wine fridge hidden under your printer cart.
Tenaya Darlington blogs at Madame Fromage.
