Author Archives: cbanker

Queso Diego July Virtual Meeting Announcement

Members have been asking for a cheese and wine pairing and so, we will be lead through a worldly pairing by Rob from Venissimo for our July QD meeting (zoom info at the bottom). Rob leads the Academy of Cheese for Venissimo and is well versed in pairings and presentations. He will pair, mix-and-match, discuss flavors/texture, etc, and he always has some interesting history or background to share.

The meeting is on Tuesday, July 22nd via Zoom
6:30 – social hour
7:00 – pairing presentation

The following wines were selected for the cheese pairing:

Sauvignon Blanc
Pinot Noir (alternate would be a Merlot)

Note: If you don’t have these already at home or would prefer different styles of wine to try with the pairing…….there are no rules 😊

The following cheeses were selected to be paired:

Queso Leonora – goat – Spain – soft ripened bloomy rind goat cheese
Holey Cow – cow – California – Alpine
Rustic Red – cow – England – Cheddar
Roquefort – sheep – France – Blue

So, here’s how it will work:

Wine – members provide their own (see recommended wines above for the pairing with the selected cheeses)

Cheese – there are two options:

OPTION 1 – Order a cheese plate that will contain 4 of the 6 cheeses listed (I will have to get back to you on which 4 cheeses will be on the plate) and accouterments for the pairing. Cheese plates for members are $15, a 25% discount off the regular price (club is covering the other portion). Members will pick up the cheese plate at Venissimo; we are working on a pickup for the Del Mar store on the weekend (no promises) and at Mission Hills on Monday and Tuesday (the days these stores are open)……stay tuned. So, keep some time open on these days to pickup your cheese plate. I will send deadlines tomorrow for ordering but the following will be how it works

Step 1) Send Marci an email, mjrhjm@hotmail.com, stating how many cheese plates you want by the deadline of 5pm on Friday 7/17. Please specify whether you want to pick up at Del Mar (Sat/Sun) or Mission Hills (Mon/Tues)

Step 2) I will send a response with the pickup time and location. If I do not respond, that means I did not get your email.

Step 3) Pick-up your cheese
Members can pickup at Venissimo in Del Mar, Sat or Sunday 10-3
Members can pickup at Venissimo in Mission Hills, Monday or Tuesday 10-3

Step 4) Save the cheese for the meeting.

I have had some of the cheese plates from Venissimo and they come with a nice volume of cheese and accouterments.

OPTION 2 –

Take the list of cheeses to your favorite local cheese shop and purchase the ones you want.

OR

Buy styles of cheese, as listed above, where you shop. For example, perhaps you can not find the “Rustic Red” but you could purchase a different English cheddar.

……….again, there are no rules, except to eat cheese; So, however, you obtain your cheese is perfectly fine.

I apologize that all the details are not included but we wanted to get the info out to the members for planning. Look for another email, tomorrow.

Zoom meeting link and password were sent out to the members email list.

Queso Diego June Virtual Meeting Announcement

Pão de Queijo - cheese bread

So, we can’t physically travel right now BUT our taste buds can! Let’s go to BRAZIL, virtually, with Livia as our guide. She will present some history and take us through some tastings of BRAZILIAN CHEESE. This is a presentation not to be missed! Livia will be sending out an email with the types of cheeses and where to get them; I believe most, if not all, will be available at Brazil by the Bay Market (brazilbythebaymarket.com). This place is very unique and with low traffic volume easy to get to for obtaining the cheese BECAUSE presentations are always better with CHEESE.

Zoom meeting details were sent out to the club email list.

See you next Tuesday,
Marci

Queso Diego May Virtual Meeting Announcement

We miss being together to enjoy cheese, as it is a communal food. So let’s meet and share what we’ve been doing with cheese. This will be a casual but interactive meeting so bring one or more of the following to enjoy while we show, share (visually), and discuss:

  • A dish made with cheese (e.g., quiche, casserole, dessert)
  • Cheese pairing (e.g., cheese & beverage; cheese & song; cheese & meat; cheese and outfit….you pick the pair)
  • Cheese board – make one and show it, you’ll make us all jealous

You’re free to tell us as much or as little about what you bring.

Meeting connection info was sent out to the club email list. If you didn’t receive it, please contact the officers.

No Regular February Meeting – Anniversary Event

Bubbly and Cheese

In place of the regular February meeting, we are holding our annual “Bubbly and Cheese” anniversary pairing event to celebrate 9 years as a club. This special members-only multi-course pairing event is sold out, so if you missed your chance to buy tickets, make sure to purchase your tickets early next year. This event is held at a different location that is better suited for a sit-down pairing, so we will not be at AleSmith.

We will resume regular meetings next month with our March 17th meeting at AleSmith. Check back for additional details.

Queso Diego January Meeting Announcement

Our January meeting will be about Low & Non-fat Cheeses presented by Natalie Onstott, CCP, Cheesemonger

Meeting
Tuesday, January 21st @ 6:30PM
AleSmith Brewery
9990 AleSmith Court
San Diego, CA 92126

We will be in the barrel room area that can be accessed by going down the hallway to the left of the main bar in the tasting room. You may want to bring a coat, as our meeting room can be chilly this time of year

If you are participating in the Potluck, it will begin at 6:30pm. It’s a lot of fun to share a cheese you’ve made, new cheese you’ve discovered, or a dish made with cheese, after all we are a cheese club. Equally welcome are any dishes, salads, desserts, breads, etc. We look forward to the membership food share. The meeting will start at 7pm.

We are permitted to bring homemade alcoholic beverages, but AleSmith’s license does not permit outside commercial alcohol.

Please RSVP using this form as soon as possible so that we can get an accurate head count and plan logistics.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdERLD8upfChAkSdmVB8MUQpborA_57C3DpLrIK0gVZr9MOCA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Queso Diego November Meeting Announcement

Petit-livarot

This month our own cheese monger, Natalie Onstott, will be telling us about her adventure to Belgium and introducing us to washed rind cheeses. Washed rind cheeses are among the most complex and divisive cheeses. We’ll have the opportunity to try some real interesting cheeses. This will be a funky presentation and you don’t want to miss it.

Jenny will back with Jenny’s corner. We’ll have to see what’s in her cheese wheel.

In January we want to do a topic about “Low and non-fat Cheeses”. We’re looking for someone who would like to prepare this presentation. It’s not that difficult and we’ll help out if needed. Please let me know if you want to take this on.

This is also our last General meeting of the year. December will be our annual holiday party. There will be more information on this later.

November is when we elect the board slate.
As of today we have:

President: Marci Richards
VP: (Open)
Treasurer: Chuck West
IT: Chris Banker
Membership: Mark Bendixen
Events: (Open)
Logistics: Lisa Chamberlain
Secretary: Joanne West
Newsletter: Liz Sears
Social Media: Livia Cournoyer
Education: Don Rutherford

We are still looking for a vice president and events lead. You don’t have to be a prior board member for either of these positions. It’s a great way to support the club and become involved.
If you are interested in either of these positions, or any position, please let Larry know before or at the meeting.

The meeting is on November 19th. As is our custom, the social time and potluck will start at 6:30PM. You all have been awesome with the sampling of cheese and food to try. Please feel free to bring something if you’d like. At 7PM we’ll have our normal business and then start our featured presentation.

Bring a chair, a coat, and a friend. We’ll be meeting in the Barrel Room.