Day 241 - Blue Stilton

Blue Stilton is a lovely cheese.  A strong cheese.  Ok, it is a cheese most people would call a STINKY or SMELLY cheese, but it is darn good!

And this Trader Joe’s version of Blue Stilton was GOOD.  So good, in fact, that after we shared our first one with other artists at the Indy Fringe over wine and I had to leave town for a couple of days, David went BACK to Trader Joe’s and stocked up on ANOTHER one.  Then, after we finished  that one and came back home to Virginia, last night at Trader Joe’s he bought ANOTHER ONE.  So that is 3 purchases of this lovely cheese in just 2 short weeks.  Ahhhh – stinky cheese rules!

  

Trader Joe's Blue Stilton - a right good stinky cheese

This cheese is good to put on a cracker and eat while sitting under the stars and sipping red wine. 

It is also good to eat in a salad while sitting in front of a television watching trash tv like “Naked and Afraid” and drinking San Pellegrino (which got a great review on day 94 of this blog)

http://traderjoes365.blogspot.com/2015/04/day-94-san-pellegrino-water.html  

I imagine it would also work well crumbled up and spread over a thin pasta.  Or in an omelet.  The sky is the limit.  J

From England - like lots of other good things

As you can see from the signage in the Indianapolis Trader Joe’s, this cheese is from England.  Lots of good things are from England!  Let’s think of a few:  the Beatles, Hobnob Digestive Biscuits, fish ‘n’ chips, my Aunt Shirley, and Amy Winehouse.  Now we can add this Blue Stilton to the list.

Aunt Shirley!!!  The best Aunt in England.

If you do not like smelly cheeses this is not the cheese for you.  But Greg, a hybrid musician from Boston who was in Indy with us, is a foodie and DOES like smelly cheeses and here is what he thought of this particular one when we shared it with him:  “This Stilton was a fine version of the cheese.  It is a little sharp and a little pungent.  It has a good flavor and balance of salinity.  It is a delightful snack at the end of the day.”

It is not cheap, but it is much cheaper than airfare to England to pick up the cheese there.  

David says:  “This cheese is DELIGHTFUL!  It is flavorful and pungent.  It has some structure to it, yet is nice and creamy as well.”

This cheese is a win for stinky cheese lovers.  

Price – $11.99/lb

Rating – 4.5

Day 234 - Triple Cream Brie with Mushrooms

This cheese is DECADENT!   It is the sort of cheese you would expect to find in a little case in some super fancy schmancy wine shop – only it is AT TRADER JOE’S!  And instead of being a bazillion dollars, it is $9.99 a pound.  That means our chunk which was plenty big (almost half a pound) came in for under $5. 

$9.99 per pound

Brie with MUSHROOMS?  I'm in.

Remember how I recently explained that we are in the middle of the Indianapolis Fringe Festival, and that traditionally Fringe artists eat crap the entire time of the Fringe?  Well we are mixing that up a bit this Fringe, and so we showed up at the beer tent with this cheese, a Stilton (to be reviewed soon), some crackers (also deserving of a review forthcoming), and a bottle of wine.  Trust me, this cheese was a change of pace from your “normal Fringe Festival food”. 

We shared with a few artists and later asked them to tell us what they thought of it.  Two performers from the Fourth Wall, a hybrid music group, replied.  Hilary said, “I’m terrible at describing food!  Greg will be better”.  Gee, thanks Hilary!  

Greg is playing accordian.  Oh - and that is Hilary playing upside-down flute...  You can learn more about their group at 

https://www.facebook.com/TheFourthWallEnsemble?fref=ts

But she was right, Greg was good.  Here is a foodie and here is what he had to say about this cheese, “The mushroom Brie had a nice mushroom flavor.  Good earthiness without being over powering like some truffle cheeses (see – I told you he was a foodie!  He has other truffle cheese in his head  to compare this to!).  The cheese itself was somewhat lacking in character, but its’ luxurious creaminess was an excellent backdrop for the savory mushrooms.”

Damn.  Drop the mic.  He needs to be a food critic, no?

This is a damn fine cheese

I would disagree with him slightly in that I do not think the cheese lacked in character, but hey, everyone has their own opinion.

I left this out on the counter for the evening to warm up.  It was lovely and spreadable.  It would be ah-frickin’-mazing on a fresh baguette.  The mushrooms are sooooo good in this! 

I am glad we discovered this one at the Trader Joe’s in Indianapolis.  We will certainly get it again – both for us to chow down on and to serve to guests. 

This cheese is a winner.

Price - $9.99 per pound

Rating – 4.75