Tag Archives: smallgoods

Queso Diego October Meeting Announcement

A cheese plate with five California cheeses, marcona almonds and crackers at Lake Sonoma Winery in Sonoma, California

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 June Virtual Meeting Announcement

Tuesday, June 15th at 6:30 PM sharp via Zoom

Jenny Eastwood of Smallgoods will interview Chris Gentine of Deer Creek Cheese located in Wisconsin. The early meeting time is required to accommodate Chris’ midwest location.
We will have social time and other club business after the presentation.

To accompany the interview, we will partake of a tasting platter of Deer Creek’s award winning Cheddar Cheeses (aged 3, 5, and 7 years) along with a variety of charcuterie curated by Mike Eastwood (we are so lucky to have these two in our club).

Smallgoods will also have available cuts of Deer Creek’s other cheeses: Moon Rabbit, The Robin, Imperial Buck, and Blue Jay, as well as the rest of their fantastic selection of American made cheese and charcuterie, for purchase when you visit the store to pick up your platter.

So, put in your order, and join us along with Jenny and Chris Gentine for in interesting and flavorful event. Don’t forget to pick up some beers and/or wines to round out your evening.

Cheese plate ordering information and Zoom link were sent out to the members email list.

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 June Meeting Announcement

Our June meeting will be on Tuesday, June 18th. Jenny Eastwood and Larry Stein will be presenting on Tasting and Classifying Cheese. It’s better than it sounds, with emphasis on the tasting part.

As always, our friendly potluck and social time will start at 6:30. Please consider bringing an item to share, the last few months have been wonderful.

Don’t forget your chair and a light coat in case it’s cold in the brewery.

Queso Diego July Meeting Announcement

Be sure to put next meeting on your calendar and plan to attend: Tuesday the 18th at AleSmith:
· Queso Diego had a very successful showing at the Del Mar Fair Cheese Contest, and we’ll hear from some of the winners about their experience.
· The lovely Jenny Eastwood will give a presentation on American Cheeses, and recommend some that we should all put on our bucket list.
· The club is kicking off a fun new participatory monthly event that will not only provide good cheese to share, but increase all our cheese making prowess.
· And, there will be an announcement about an exciting club program which will provide information, equipment, and ingredients for all members.

Don’t miss this mid-summer meeting; there’s a lot of exciting things going on.

RSVP here, and let us know what you may be sharing with us:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfdPq3F3lwaqq1kQSj9mgDUQjusnadz3QTQ5EJvc7aLdkibA/viewform