The Cheese Course: Donnay Chevre

The cheese course, in this case, was also the main course. We had planned to have this for Sunday brunch, but we didn't get around to it, so it became Monday night dinner. It was a rare warm evening in this cool summer (I am not complaining...), so a cold supper of smoked trout, local chevre, salads and bread was perfect.

The Donnay (no website I can find) chevre (Kimball, Minnesota), is a fresh goat cheese sold in bulk in most co-ops and cheese shops in the Twin Cities. It's a lovely soft, mild cheese, rich and just tangy enough. I mixed some garden herbs--thyme, chervil, chives--into half the cheese, and left the other half nature, as the French say. Mary and I both found that we preferred it plain. Much as I love thyme, it was a bit strong, raw in the cheese.

Real Bread walnut bread is a perfect complement to goat cheese. We won't be at the market this week (August 8), but we'll be back for the August 15 market, with walnut bread and much, much more.

That "Eat Local Challenge" deal is going again. Let's see how we're doing:

Smoked brown trout: caught it myself in a small Wisconsin stream, smoked it with Bide-A-Wee apple wood

Cheese: Donnay chevre, Kimball, Minnesota

Herbs: Chives, chervil and thyme from our garden

Carrots: Our garden

Cucumbers: From Honey Creek Farm, Joe and Laura, at the market

Tomatoes (added after the picture): Va Vang at the market

Bread: Home-baked natural leaven walnut bread (all local ingredients except walnuts and salt)and baguette (all local but yeast and salt)

Wine: Champalou vouvray, Loire Valley, France

I think we pass.


Text and photo copyright 2009 by Brett Laidlaw