I Like Cheese.

How is cheese so fucking good?

 It's old, sharp, mellow, stinky, flavorful, hard, soft, moldy, delicious. I could go on and on, and maybe I will. I have decided to learn more about the fantastic world of cheese, and visited a cheese shop that's near my house last week. It's called Cheese Bar, and their rotating selection of seasonal cheeses, meats, beer and wine have me hooked. The cheese board and hard cider that my boyfriend and I shared last week was revelatory.

'Why don't we do this all the time?'

Well now we do. We bought some cheese to bring home, and made our own cheese and fruit board. I threw together a quick blueberry balsamic compote (with blueberries I had picked from my garden that day) to spread on the fresh Grand Central baguette that we toasted into crostini, used the plums, cherries, and apples that we had intended to use in a salad as our fruit element, and drank a very nice bottle of wine that my sous chef gave to me in exchange for cat sitting for her while she was on vacation the week before. Sitting in bed eating fantastic cheese, drinking very expensive wine, and watching Game of Thrones turned into our favorite 'dinner' that we had made together- and both of us are cooks for a living, so this is saying a lot.

So this is why the French eat like this. You are really able to taste the flavors of what you're eating, and appreciate all that goes into the food. The smoked paprika tomme that we bought was so fantastic. Smoky, bright, sharp, and with the blueberry compote, it was the perfect balance of sweet, salty, and smoky. And something about eating this way with somebody you love makes you feel even closer to them. Matt and I both love food, and have a deep appreciation for it, and being able to share this and know that the person you are sharing the experience with feels just as strongly about it is something special. Anybody can eat food, but not everybody can appreciate it.

 This morning we decided to make french toast for breakfast. I love it when we collaborate on our cooking, because we both have our own style, but always manage to fuse them together into something fantastic. Matt made the Challah herbed french toast, using mint from my garden. I had intended to make an orange marmalade, but when we went to the store and I saw the plump, bright little kumquats nestled in a bowl along with the orange display, I had to get some. So I ended up making a kumquat-orange marmalade with

mint, and an orange zest and chai spiced whipped cream to top of our fantastic mountain of french toast. OMFG was it good. The kumquat marmalade was so tart and tasty, yet sweet. With the slightly sweetened whipped cream to balance the minty freshness of the french toast itself, we had a miracle in our mouths.

We decided that tonight would be another Cheese Board night, and we went with an Elderflower infused Tomme from France, and a Truffle Stack Brie from Washington. We grabbed some smoked copa, plums, and a baguette, and decided that my leftover kumquat marmalade would be perfect with it. It was another fantastic meal. Simple, light, yet wholly satisfying.

Who wants to make Kumquat Orange Marmalade?

The marmalade was so simple to make, and such a versatile little sauce, and I've got a rough recipe here. Kumquats are awesome, because the desirable flavor is actually in the peel! So what looks like a huge pain in the ass to peel is actually not necessary. They are pretty sour and tart, so I did put in an orange to sweeten it a bit. I wanted to use honey as my sweetener, but Matt had just thrown out the honey because it was infested with ants! So sugar it was, but you could use any sweetener that you prefer, or have lying around. I just fooled around, threw in what I thought it needed as I tasted, and that's what you should do too! Always cook with your intuition, it usually won't lead you astray.

Kumquat-Orange Marmalade

1/2# Kumquats

1 large Navel Orange

3 TBSP Sugar (I wanted to use honey, but didn't have any)

Water (I probably used 1/2 cup, and also threw in some of the Hard Cider I was drinking)

Wash your kumquats. Slice off the ends, then cut them in half to expose the seeds, and take them out with the tip of a paring knife. Also cut out the membrane. 

Cut the halved kumquats into smaller pieces (I quartered mine, but you can also slice them) and put in a sauce pot. At this point, I zested the navel orange into the pot, then cut the peel off, and segmented the orange. (This is when you cut the wedges of meat out in between the membrane of the orange) I would recommend segementing over the pot, as a lot of juice will be caught. 

Add just enough liquid to cover the kumquats, and your sweetener, and bring to a boil. Make sure to watch, because it may boil over as the liquid is evaporating. Boil for 5 minutes, then lower to a simmer for about 10-15 minutes. If the marmalade gets too dry, add a little more liquid. Taste as you go, to make sure it tastes the way you want. Want it more tart? Squeeze in a little lemon juice. More sweet? Add more sweetener. I added some apple cider, and it gave it a nice tart acidity, and brought out the floral notes in the kumquats. The marmalade will thicken up once it cools, so do make sure that it has a little liquid to give before you pull it off the heat. That's it!