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Queso Diego November Meeting Announcement – Fondue!

FONDUE NIGHT is coming up next Tuesday, November 19, at AleSmith at 6:30! The Barrel Room is in use, and we are working on finalizing the exact space we will be meeting in with the AleSmith folks, and will send a follow up email as soon as it’s finalized.

AleSmith Brewing Co.
9990 AleSmith Ct
San Diego, CA
Tues, Nov 19, 6:30pm
Specific gathering location will be updated when finalized

This meeting is a BRING/MAKE/SHARE meeting! Here is the spreadsheet where people have started putting who is bringing what: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/192wmsxgAqWl-_PJ-2QbsRzuEkteSywHUNzx8UkKU8zs/edit?gid=0#gid=0.

You’re welcome to create a team, join an existing team, or bring a Fondue-friendly accompaniment. If there is a team that doesn’t have a Fondue Pot, Cindy C has one or two she can lend if you reach out…

Fondue Meeting (Nov 19) Schedule:

6:30 – Arrive and setup your equipment, but don’t start cooking yet.

7:00 – Brief meeting… to include 2025 officer elections, Epic Cheese Competition winner awards and a couple announcements (including our Holiday Party in December). This meeting part will be brief, then it’s time to FONDUE!

2025 Club Membership and February 18th Anniversary Party:

You are welcome to pay dues for 2025 at this meeting, which will remain the same as 2024 ($20 for an individual or $30 for household). And for anyone who joins at the November meeting, your dues will also cover 2025 as well. In addition, our Anniversary Party will be Tuesday, February 18, 2025. We celebrate Queso Diego’s anniversary with a FABULOUS cheese and beverage pairing, and this event will sell out again. If you would like to lock in (and avoid paying by PayPal), you can also pay for the Anniversary Party as well. This Anniversary Party price remains the same at $25 for Members.

Holiday Party:

In December, Queso Diego does our annual Holiday Party, which will be Tuesday, December 17 at 6:30pm. This event will be offsite (NOT at AleSmith), and an email with details will go out to all paid 2024 clubmembers, as this event is open to clubmembers only. For now, mark your calendar!

Elections for 2025 Officers:

We have nominations for 2025 officers, and at the meeting, there will be an opportunity to add nominations and we will hold the election. We have a couple open positions… please consider (and email me at president@quesodiego.org) if you are interested in these open position and I can share more details and answer questions.

Membership Chair
Secretary
Event Coordinator

Queso Diego October Meeting Announcement

Join us at our October Meeting this Tuesday, October 15 at 6:30pm at AleSmith (9990 AleSmith Ct, San Diego, Ca 92126)! We will be meeting in the MEZZANINE (upstairs). Further meeting logistics are at the end of this email.

MAIN PRESENTATION

We’re excited to to have Jenny Eastwood, owner of Smallgoods Cheese Shop & Cafe and a Certified Cheese Professional, give a presentation on cheese tasting accompanied by a cheese flight of her choosing.

MEETING LOGISTICS

We’re meeting in the MEZZANINE area (walk in the main entrance, past the main bar and gift shop, towards the Barrel Room. Before the Barrel Room, use the stairs or elevator to go UPSTAIRS to the Mezzanine). There is seating in the Mezzanine.
Upon arrival, please check-in at the check-in table
Please set up your potluck item ON THE TABLES. Any beverages you bring can be set up on the top of the Bar (and we have labels and label stands, grab a sharpie and label what you bought).
Members are encouraged to bring homemade cheese or a potluck item or beverage. If alcohol, only homemade alcohol is allowed (NO COMMERICAL ALCOHOL). Better yet, enjoy some of the tasty AleSmith beverages!
Potluck/socializing beginning at 6:30pm, and the meeting at 7:00pm.
A quick note about bringing a LAWN OR CAMP CHAIR: We always need chairs when we meet in the Barrel Room. The Mezzanine has seating, BUT please a bring a lawn or camp chair anyway. That way, if there is ever a last minute change from the Mezzanine to the Barrel Room, we’ll be prepared. (I leave my camp chair in my car.)
Finally, if you need anything from the Library of Cheesemaking, please email your request to QD-Library-Request@googlegroups.com. Due to travel, there may be a delay in response, but you can arrange to pick up your requests at the November meeting (or perhaps before).

Queso Diego September Meeting Announcement

Join us at our September Meeting next Tuesday, September 17 at 6:30pm at AleSmith (9990 AleSmith Ct, San Diego, Ca 92126)! We will be meeting in the MEZZANINE (upstairs). Meeting logistics are at the bottom of this email. Always bring a lawn chair to meetings, but in this case, leave your lawn chair in your car as we expect to be in the Mezzanine which does have seating.

MAIN PRESENTATION

Making YOGURT follows the same basic steps as making cheese, and is surprisingly easy to make! Don will take us on a journey of Yogurt and Yogurt Cheeses! And yes, we’ll also have samples to try along the way!

EPIC CHEESE COMPETITION

Enrolling in the Cheese Competition has closed, and we officially have 15 cheese entries! Cheese entries and $10 entry fee per cheese (by cash or check payable to Anvil of Hope) will be collected at the meeting. Cheese entries will be stored in AleSmith’s coldbox until judging. Proceeds from this are going to support Peter and Vicky’s charity, Anvil of Hope (https://anvilofhope.org/), with the vision of breaking the cycle of poverty to ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive. In addition to the competition, if anyone wishes to contribute to Anvil of Hope, you are welcome to bring your donation to the meeting.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PAPER PLATES, NAPKINS OR PLASTICWARE?

Do you have any paper plates, napkins or plasticware at your place? If you have extra that’s just sitting around taking up space, you’re welcome to bring to the meeting and donate it to Queso Diego, we’ll put it to good use! We’ll be placing an order soon for those supplies, but figured we’d ask the club in case anyone has supplies they’d like to donate.

POTLUCK SETUP

Going forward, we will set up our potluck items on the tables, rather than on the top of the bar. This will allow people to queue up on both sides of the table, shortening the potluck line and the time it takes. Any homemade (non-commercial) alcohol can be set up on the top of the bar.

MEETING LOGISTICS

We’re meeting in the MEZZANINE area (walk in the main entrance, past the main bar and gift shop towards the Barrel Room. Before the Barrel Room, use the stairs or elevator to go UPSTAIRS to the Mezzanine). There is seating in the Mezzanine.
Upon arrival, please check-in at the check-in table, and we’ll be collecting cheese entries for the competition.
Please set up your potluck item ON THE TABLES, and any beverages you bring can be set up on the top of the Bar (and we have labels and label stands, grab a sharpie and label what you bought).
Members are encouraged to bring homemade cheese or potluck item or beverage. If alcohol, only homemade alcohol is allowed (NO COMMERICAL ALCOHOL). Better yet, enjoy some of the tasty AleSmith beverages!
Potluck/socializing beginning at 6:30pm, and the meeting at 7:00pm.

A quick note about bringing a LAWN CHAIR… We always need to bring a lawn chair if we meet in the Barrel Room. But the Mezzanine does have seating, so no lawn chair is needed if we meet there. HOWEVER, I would ask everyone to always bring a lawn chair… that way, if there is ever a last minute change with the Mezzanine, we won’t be stuck without chairs. I don’t expect it, but never hurts to be prepared. In this case, I will leave my lawn chair in my car, as we are expecting the Mezzanine, and there is seating there.

Look forward to seeing everyone next week on Tuesday!

Queso Diego August Meeting Announcement

Join us at our August Meeting next Tuesday, August 20 at 6:30pm at AleSmith (9990 AleSmith Ct, San Diego, Ca 92126)! We will be meeting in the MEZZANINE (upstairs). Meeting logistics are at the bottom of this email. Always bring a lawn chair to meetings, but in this case, leave your lawn chair in your car as we expect to be in the Mezzanine which does have seating.

MAIN PRESENTATION

Curt will be presenting on Alpine Cheeses: From Switzerland to Italy and Beyond! Alpine Cheeses comprise a wide variety of styles that share an origin in the mountains of Central Europe. We will discuss and sample several styles of those “mountain cheeses” from within and outside the region. We will look at recipes for some of the classic styles and discuss what makes them unique. As a special treat, we will sample a cheese imported from Switzerland by one of our club members! In November, our meeting will be making and sharing FONDUE, so this meeting is ideal to get your Alpine Cheese inspiration!

EPIC CHEESE CONTEST

More details will be shared at the meeting, but here is a quick timeline:

NOW: If you plan to enter a cheese in the competition, please email president@quesodiego.org with your name and how many entries you plan to submit to the competition. This initial headcount is needed for competition judging planning purposes.
SEPT 6: All entry forms are due from those who are entering a cheese in the competition. This is the finalized list of entrants.
SEPT 17: Your cheese entry and $10 entry fee (by cash or check payable to Anvil of Hope) will be collected at our regular meeting on September 17. Your cheese will be stored in AleSmith’s coldbox until judging.
SEPT 21/22: The judging will happen! Sometime thereafter, the winner will be announced, and there may prizes for the overall winner and runners up! Feedback regarding your cheese entry from the judges will be given back to entrants. Peter will work with the winner on scheduling the making of the winning cheese recipe, which will be sometime this fall!

Proceeds from this are going to support Peter and Vicky’s charity, Anvil of Hope (https://anvilofhope.org/), with the vision of breaking the cycle of poverty to ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive. In addition to the competition, if anyone wishes to contribute, you are welcome to bring your donation to our September 17 meeting.

FETA CHEESEMAKING CLASS

Coming September 14, make and take home your Feta cheese! Information about the class and signing up is coming…

MEETING LOGISTICS

We’re meeting in the MEZZANINE area (walk in the main entrance, past the main bar and gift shop towards the Barrel Room. Before the Barrel Room, use the stairs or elevator to go UPSTAIRS to the Mezzanine). There is seating in the Mezzanine.
Upon arrival, please check-in at the check-in table
Please set up your potluck item (and we have labels and label stands, grab a sharpie and label what you bought)
Members are encouraged to bring homemade cheese or potluck item or beverage. If alcohol, only homemade alcohol is allowed (NO COMMERICAL ALCOHOL). Better yet, enjoy some of the tasty AleSmith beverages!
Potluck/socializing beginning at 6:30pm, and the meeting at 7:00pm

Queso Diego July Meeting Announcement

Join us at our July Meeting next Tuesday, July 16 at 6:30pm at AleSmith (9990 AleSmith Ct, San Diego, Ca 92126)! We will be meeting in the MEZZANINE (upstairs).

Chris and Susan will be presenting on Feta Cheese! While many people may be accustomed to just grabbing a tub of crumbled feta from the grocery store, there are many varieties of this popular cheese, which can be enjoyed on their own or used for their specific properties in various dishes. This presentation will cover the Feta cheese style and history, regional variations of Feta, why Feta is a “gateway hard cheese” for home cheesemakers, along with detailed instructions on making Feta cheese at home. Cheese samples will include a guided comparison of several regional fetas, along with homemade and flavored examples! … and there may be information about the next CHEESE CLASS that we will do.

Logistics:
We’re meeting in the MEZZANINE area (walk in the main entrance, past the main bar and gift shop towards the Barrel Room. Before the Barrel Room, use the stairs or elevator to go UPSTAIRS to the Mezzanine). There is seating in the Mezzanine.
Upon arrival, please check-in at the check-in table
Please set up your potluck item (and we have labels and label stands, grab a sharpie and label what you bought)
Members are encouraged to bring homemade cheese or potluck item or beverage. If alcohol, only homemade alcohol is allowed (NO COMMERICAL ALCOHOL). Better yet, enjoy some of the tasty AleSmith beverages!
Potluck/socializing beginning at 6:30pm, and the meeting at 7:00pm

Queso Diego Epic Cheesemaking Competition 2024

Queso Diego will be putting on the Epic Cheesemaking Competition, which will be judged at the September 17th meeting. This competition is open to all paid club members (and anyone who joins as a member prior to the competition). The Best of Show winner will have the unique opportunity to produce a full-scale production batch of their cheese at CheeseSmith, which will be sold to the public. Proceeds from the competition and sales of the winning cheese will go to the Anvil of Hope Foundation.

Full details are available here: Epic Cheese Competition 2024