Cheese and sausage at home

I'd been trying to get together with a couple of old friends for quite some time, but for one reason or another something always came up.  I was finally able to meet up with some of the ladies tonight, and they were my guests at home for the evening.

Preparations for this evening started a few weeks ago when I was in Hong Kong.  After a fantastic lunch at Caprice where we were served some of Jeremy's precious cheese, I decided to buy some cheese and sausages while I was in Hong Kong - knowing that I simply couldn't find the same selection in Taipei.

I arrived home with my friends and started to bring out the goodies, slicing them into bite-sized serving portions.  I was kept busy for a few minutes, but I was happy.  I finally had the opportunity to share the good stuff with people who can appreciate it.

I opened a bottle of 2006 Yves Cuilleron Saint-Joseph Saint-Pierre, as I often prefer to drink whites when having cheese.  Unfortunately this was a little too ripe, showing flavors of marmalade and bitterness.  Oh well...

Mimolette extra vieille - I just love the flavors from old Mimolette, and this was 24-months.  Besides the noticeable increase in saltiness, I just love the bitter taste - and I normally don't enjoy eating things that are bitter.  Somehow it just comes together for me.  From the very first cheese dinner I had at Caprice, Jeremy taught me to pair this cheese with Hoegaarden white beer.  I think the ladies like it very much… especially the orange citrus flavors provided by the coriander seeds in the brewing process.

Gruyère - this was also aged, I think to 18 months.  Clearly more salty than your average Gruyère, and also more crumbly.

Comté, 4-year old - my most treasured cheese.  I tried to cut them into thin slices to achieve the right amount of saltiness in the mouth.

I also stopped by the Bellota-Bellota kiosk at City Super to pick up some of my favorite pork products.  I found it interesting that the famed Parisian purveyor of jamón ibérico chose to open their only foreign outlet in Hong Kong, and naturally the prices aren't cheap.

Lomo - the simplest offering made from pork loin.  I thought this was pretty good.

Lomito - the underloin, which is more silky and fatty than the lomo.  So yummy.

Chorizo - very nice and chewy, with paprika.

I enjoy having my cheese with jam, so I brought out a fresh jar of lychee jam from Red On Tree (在欉紅).  After a couple of spoonfuls, I decided to also bring out a jar of Ispahan that Christine Ferber makes for Pierre Hermé, which is one of my favorite jams in the world.  The combination of lychee, raspberries and rose is simply wonderful.

The ladies brought over a pizza from an Italian place that they love.  The thin-crust pizza with mushrooms and ham was re-heated in my oven, and turned out to be very delicious.  I must pay this place a visit one day…

For dessert, I served my favorite creamy puddings in the world - from Chitaka (知多家).  These Porcini puddings are so creamy and silky…  Basically these are identical to the ones my friends used to get me from Pastel in Tokyo.  We also nibbled on some of Valrhona's 2011 single planation chocolates, and also had some candied kumquats from The Wilson.

This wasn't exactly your well-orchestrated, multi-course dinner party at home, but I can pretty confidently say that everything we had tonight was - in my not-so-humble opinion - the best in its class.  I look forward to having another evening where I can share my treasures.