Tag Archives: cheese

Queso Diego November Virtual Meeting Announcement

November Queso Diego Meeting – Tuesday, November 17th (6:30pm social, 7pm meeting)

What do Cheese and Turkey have in Common???………… answer: Thanksgiving

Join us Tuesday to find out:
The role cheese has played in Thanksgiving
The lore of Cheesy Thanksgiving tales
Wacky cheese facts around Thanksgiving
What came first the Turkey or the Cheese?……and more.

What better way to learn about cheese and turkey than with Trivia (with cheesy prizes, too 😉). Perhaps you’ll get some different ideas for your Thanksgiving 2020 or at least have some fun trivia to share during your Thanksgiving meal.

Zoom link will be sent out on the members email list. Contact us if you want to attend as a guest.

Queso Diego October Virtual Meeting Announcement

Back by popular demand, we are having another pairing (Whoo Hoo!); this time we’ve expanded it to include meat. Our tour guides for this pairing event will be no other than Jenny and Mike Eastwood of Smallgoods during the October QD meeting (zoom info at the bottom). As many of you know, Jenny is a Certified Cheese Professional and together, Jenny and Mike are the cheesemonger and meatmonger (is that a real word?) of Smallgoods (and owners). They are well versed in pairings and pre-COVID were doing pairings around town at the different wine and beer establishments. Check out some of the pairing plates that they prepare weekly on facebook, https://www.facebook.com/smallgoodsUSA. They will discuss the individual cheeses and meats and how they pair together and with your beverage of choice(s). You will hear about the textures, aromas, flavor profiles, etc. and some interesting tidbits about their sources.

The plan is to have four cheeses and two cured meats. Below are the cheeses and suggested pairings. Most of the pairings will probably go more with beers but a few alternate options have been included for those that may prefer a different beverage. As before, we will each find our own beverage (places to look are in your frig, “cellar,” local wine, beer, spirit store). There are no rules, so if your beverage of choice is not listed, bring your favorite beverage(s).

Cheeses and Suggested Beverages :

– Ashed Chevre – Rose? something bubbly?
– Aged raw goat milk tomme (dry & crumbly) – Cider & Ale’s
– Aged raw cow milk Gouda (crunchy & butterscotch) – Stouts & Porters
– Aged cow milk Cheddar (big, rich, nutty) – Ciders & IPA’s

Oh, can it be Tuesday, yet? I can almost taste the cheese……………

So, where’s the meat?? The meats are a surprise but will play well with beers & ciders (and the cheeses) – Fear not! It’s not mystery meat; the meats will be revealed during the meeting though you can look at them and guess when you pick up your plates 😉.

So, here’s how it will work:

Beverages – members provide their own (see recommended beverages above for the selected cheeses)

Cheese and Meat Plates –

Cheese and Meat plates for members are $15, a 25% discount off the regular price (club is covering the other portion).
Members will pick up PRE-ORDERED (see below) cheese/meat plates at Smallgoods (7524 La Jolla Boulevard La Jolla, CA 92037) on Saturday (10am – 5pm), Sunday (10am – 2pm [CLOSES AT 2pm]), or Tuesday (10am – 5pm). *
It is super easy to get to their shop; on the weekends quickest to go into La Jolla by around 10:30am and on Tuesday between 10 – 11:30am and 2-3pm.
DIRECTIONS: From I-5 or 52, take La Jolla Parkway; keep straight on to Torrey Pines Road; Left on Girard Avenue; Right on Pearl Street; and Right on La Jolla Boulevard

** Pre-Orders are now closed **

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

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 March Meeting Announcement

Fine Microplane Grating Hard Cheese

Our March general meeting of the year will be on Tuesday, March 19th, 6:30 PM at AleSmith Brewing Company. The meeting will be in the barrel room, which can be accessed through the doors down the hallway to the left of the main bar, just past the restrooms.

The featured presentation will be Hard Cheeses by the club’s founder, Chris Banker. He will be discussing hard (firm) cheeses and how to make and age them. We will also have an introduction to grilled cheese to provide details and ideas for our April grilled cheese meeting.

As always, the meeting will start at 6:30 PM with social time and our amazing potluck filled with cheese and cheesy things brought by all of you to share. Feel free to bring something. We can have homebrew but no commercial beer or wine.

PLEASE, no sharing of food until the table cloths are on the tables at 6:30 PM. At 7:00 PM we will start the formal meeting.

Remember, the weather is a bit cool and the brewery can be chilly so bring a wrap or jacket. Also, bring a chair for maximum comfort. We don’t have access to chairs at the brewery.

We look forward to seeing you there.