Happy Valatines Day!

I just wanted to wish you all a very happy valentine’s day – ladies – thanks so much for all the cards this year.  You have all really surpassed yourselves.  As charity is always close to my heart I have decided to recycle them once I have finished with them, and will send the cheque from the waste paper company (who pay a good rate for tonnage these days) to the charity that was obviously in your mind when you were writing my card – “Help the Aged”.

Seriously, I was hoping to be with you all tonight, but a rather bad cold and blocked passage has rendered me bed-bound.  I have however taken a bottle of wine home with me from stock to drink, as a mark of respect to the evening to you all this evening.

Hope you have a fab night in the reliable hands of Jade, Claire, Meryl & Natasha.

If I do not see you before, see you all at the Easter Dance on Saturday 11 April.  Tickets are on sale from the staff!

Phil

P S If you fancy a laugh, I shall be on-air for the next fortnight (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 2 – 4 pm plus NEXT Sunday breakfast 6 – 9 am) on BBC Essex 103.5 & 95.3 FM.  If you would like a mention, give me a call on 01245 49 50 50.  Local star Lee Mead (and Denise VanOuten) will be my special guest this Thursday, and you can call in and speak to him as well!

AND ON THE MENU TONIGHT………………………

Gouda

One of the world’s greatest cheeses Gouda [pronounced Goo-dah or the Dutch Khow-dah] is a traditional, creamery, semi-soft cheese that accounts for more than 60% of the cheese produced in Holland. The cheese is characteristically round and smooth, with a pale yellow interior dotted with a few tiny holes.

Dutch Edam with Chillies

This is a pressed, semi-hard to hard cheese, made from cow's milk. It comes in a shape of ball covered with distinctive red wax. Edam is produced from skimmed or semi-skimmed milk. It is usually consumed young, when the texture is elastic and supple and the flavour is smooth, sweet and nutty. Black-wax coating means that Edam has been matured for at least 17 weeks.  Add Chillies, and arm yourself with a cooling drink!

Smoked Saxon Cross

The most widely purchased and eaten cheese in the world. Cheddar cheeses were originally made in England, however today they are manufactured in many countries all over the world. Fully cured Cheddar is a hard, natural cheese. It is shaped like a drum, 15 inches in diameter, with natural rind bound in cloth. Normally, the colour of Cheddar ranges from white to pale yellow. Some Cheddars, however, have a colour added, giving the cheese a yellow-orange colour. Cheddar is always made from cow's milk and has a slightly crumbly texture if properly cured. If the cheese is too young, the texture is smooth. Cheddar gets a sharper taste the longer it matures. It is generally matured between 9 and 24 months. The important thing in purchasing Cheddar is to consider the age of the cheese. Milk is heated to 86 degrees F and inoculated with a lactic starter culture. After an hour rennet is added. When the curd is firm, it is ground down to marble-sized bits which are heated to 100 degrees F. The whey is discarded and it is sliced into slabs. The curd is pressed overnight and stands for 4 days in a cool atmosphere. Unlike other well known cheeses, Cheddar's name is not protected so it has been used and abused by many producers around the world.  Today’s “Smoked Saxon Cross” is a regular CDC favourite!

Double Gloucester with Onions & Chives

As above, with the addition of Onions and Chives.  Fabulous!

Mature Blue Stilton

Historically referred to as "The King of Cheeses" Stilton is a blue-mould cheese with a rich and mellow flavour and a piquant aftertaste. It has narrow, blue-green veins and a wrinkled rind which is not edible. Stilton is milder than Roquefort or Gorgonzola, and is equally excellent for crumbling over salads or as a dessert cheese, served with a Port Wine. There are two types of Stilton: Blue and White Stilton. Rennet is added to milk at 86 degrees F and after an hour curd forms. The curd is drained and moulded. One week passes and then Stiltons are allowed to mature for 6 to 8 months.

Sage Derby

Sage Derby is a vegetarian cheese made from cow's milk. In the seventeenth century, the custom of adding sage (a herb valued at the time for its health-giving properties) to Derby cheese was begun.

Wenslydale with Cranberries

Traditional, hard cheese made from cow's milk. It has a shape of cylinder with natural rind. Wensleydale can be used as table cheese and is very tasty with apple pie. This cheese is based on the recipe that can be traced back to the Cistercian monks who came over with William the Conqueror in the 11 century. There are two types of the British classic Wensleydale: White, a flat disc that is highly-pressed and has a honey flavour to it and Blue or Yorkshire, which has blue veins, double cream and is a cousin of Stilton - the blue variety comes in large drums. Good Wensleydale has a supple, crumbly, moist texture and resembles a young Caerphilly. The flavour suggests wild honey balanced with a fresh acidity. It matures in two to four months.

Mature Cheddar

The most widely purchased and eaten cheese in the world. Cheddar cheeses were originally made in England, however today they are manufactured in many countries all over the world. Fully cured Cheddar is a hard, natural cheese. It is shaped like a drum, 15 inches in diameter, with natural rind bound in cloth. Normally, the colour of Cheddar ranges from white to pale yellow. Some Cheddars, however, have a colour added, giving the cheese a yellow-orange colour. Cheddar is always made from cow's milk and has a slightly crumbly texture if properly cured. If the cheese is too young, the texture is smooth. Cheddar gets a sharper taste the longer it matures. It is generally matured between 9 and 24 months. The important thing in purchasing Cheddar, is to consider the age of the cheese. Milk is heated to 86 degrees F and inoculated with a lactic starter culture. After an hour rennet is added. When the curd is firm, it is ground down to marble-sized bits which are heated to 100 degrees F. The whey is discarded and it is sliced into slabs. The curd is pressed overnight and stands for 4 days in a cool atmosphere. Unlike other well known cheeses, Cheddar's name is not protected so it has been used and abused by many producers around the world.

Double Gloucester

It is a traditional, unpasteurized, semi-hard cheese which has been made in Gloucestershire since the sixteenth century. Records show, however, that Gloucester was known as early as the 8th century. The hard, natural rind has some grey-blue moulds and bears the marks of the cloth in which it is matured. Cheese merchant payed attention to rind's robustness. They used to jump on it with both feet to test it. If the rind didn't crack, the cheese was safe to travel. The full-cream, two milking sessions milk in Double Gloucester gives it characteristic, rich, buttery taste and flaky texture. It is firm and bitable, like hard chocolate. The colour is pale tangerine. The cheese has a flavour of cheese and onions. Not as firm as Cheddar, it has a mellow, nutty character with an orange-zest tang.

Brie

Brie is the best known French cheese and has a nickname "The Queen of Cheeses". Several hundred years ago, Brie was one of the tributes which had to be paid to the French kings. In France, Brie is very different from the cheese exported. "Real" French Brie is unstabilized and the flavour is complex when the surface turns slightly brown. When the cheese is still pure-white, it is not matured. If the cheese is cut before the maturing process is finished, it will never develop properly. Exported Brie, however, is stabilized and never matures. Stabilized Brie has a much longer shelf life and is not susceptible to bacteriological infections. Brie, one of the great dessert cheeses, comes as either a 1 or 2 kilogram wheel and is packed in a wooden box. In order to enjoy the taste fully, Brie must be served at room temperature.

AND TONIGHTS WINE ………………………………..

Just some old cheep plonk we picked up at the local corner shop!