Tag Archives: cheese

Queso Diego November Meeting Announcement – Fondue!

Sign in front of a restaurant serving cheese fondue in Geneva (Switzerland)

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 September Meeting Announcement

File:Yogurt of the Bulgarija Pavilion of Expo 2005 Aichi Japan.jpg

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 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

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.

Queso Diego June Meeting Announcement

Join us at our June Meeting next Tuesday, June 18 at 6:30pm at AleSmith (9990 AleSmith Ct, San Diego, Ca 92126)!  We will be meeting in the BARREL ROOM (please bring a lawn chair).

Do you want a semi-soft or semi-firm cheese?  What goes good with Gouda?  What’s the best way to taste the cheese you’ve got in your hand?  At this Meeting, we will be Tasting and Classifying Cheese!  Come and join us, this presentation will be conducted by Larry, and will address how to approach cheese selection from a number of different angles, and we’ll have some tasty treats along the way!  You may have also seen an email from Larry recently about his retirement, we are happy to have him at this meeting and wish him well!

Logistics:

  • We’re meeting in the BARREL ROOM (walk in the main entrance, past the main bar and gift shop, which leads to the Barrel Room
  • 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
  • BRING A LAWN CHAIR (anytime we meet in the Barrel Room, don’t forget your lawn chair).  Optionally bring a jacket
  • 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
  • Finally, Members, if you need anything from the Library of Cheesemaking, please email your request by June 14, for delivery at the meeting on June 18.  Be sure to check the list of offerings and send an email to QD-Library-Request@googlegroups.com.

February Meeting – Special Ticketed Anniversary Event

10 cheeses come in

In lieu of our February meeting, we will be celebrating our 13th anniversary as a club with our popular Bubbly and Cheese Pairing. This is a ticketed event for members and their guests and will not be held at AleSmith. If you are member and didn’t receive an invitation, or if you aren’t a member yet and would like to join as a member and attend the event, please reach out to the officers.

We’ll resume regular meetings at AleSmith in March.

Queso Diego November Meeting Announcement – Special Venue


November 21st 2023 Queso Diego Meeting 6:30 PM

This month’s meeting will be at
CoLab Public House
2129 Industrial Ct, Vista

The meeting will be an informal get-together, being that Thanksgiving is that week.
We will not have our normal potluck because there is food on the premise to purchase along with beers, wines, seltzers, and more. We will have cheese from Jasper Hill Farms to serve (compliments of Zoe Brickley) and of course homemade cheese is always welcome. Please refrain from bringing other outside foods and enjoy the offerings from Baby’s Badass Burgers.

The meeting spot will be upstairs in the mezzanine. The following are some of the drink and food options. Beer, wine, seltzers, slushees, and cocktails from Barrel and Stave, Breakwater, Laguna Beach, and Propaganda Winery. There are also some soda and NA beer options. Baby’s Badass Burgers serves burgers, chicken sandwiches, pizzas, wings, salads, shareable sides, vegetarian and vegan options, and more.

There is a bingo event separate from ours that will be taking place downstairs, and it is sponsored by Deja Vu, which is a local lingerie and adult toy purveyor. The bingo event will be 7-9pm and is open to anyone who wants to partake.

Once again, board elections are in November, so if anyone is interested in serving on the board, let us know. The club has specific needs for Treasurer and Education.

Thank you to Chris Banker for arranging this event at CoLab. Hope to see you there!