I give thanks for cheese

While shopping for Thanksgiving dinner supplies at Atwater Market in Montreal, M. and I found free samples of cheeses and fell in love with "Époisses," a pungent unpasteurized cow's milk cheese. Even though it was $7.50 for what seemed like a tiny piece (half of a 10cm round), we couldn't not buy it - it had such lovely mouth feel and was by far the tastiest kind we tried.

I knew I'd heard the name Epoisses before and when I checked the cheese blog archives it turned out that D. had recommended it way back in January - "Epoisses, a stinky cheese par excellence," he e-mailed in response to my request for cheese suggestions.

Thanks to Wikipedia, I learned that:

• it's made (not surprisingly) in the village of Époisses, which is located between Dijon and Auxerre, in France.
  
• it's washed in Marc de Bourgogne, the local pomace brandy, which is why it has a distinctive soft red-orange colour
  
• it's best served with a good red Burgundy wine (or even Sauternes).

Also, Napoleon was a particular fan of the cheese, and the "famous epicure" Brillat-Savarin himself classed it as the "king of all cheeses."

(As an appetizer for our Thanksgiving meal, we also ate Camembert, caramelized onions, and sliced pears wrapped in puff pastry and baked - DELICIOUS.)


BONUS LINKS!

Read about a rockstar turned cheesemaker:
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/264784

Grilled cheese goes gourmet in Toronto:
http://www.tasteto.com/2007/10/07/grilled-cheese-goes-gourmet/#more-2044
(spoiler: Beemster Vlaskaas turns out to be the best)