Introducing the neighbours to one another over cheese and wine.

Hi again everyone. Here I am once again talking about food. Sunday afternoon’s cheese and wine invitation, turned into a lovely party, with neighbours from up and down the street attending. Hubby and I had been to Whole Foods to buy some cheeses and dips, and their wonderful stuffed olives. The guy on the cheese counter, when asked what was a really special cheese for guests to enjoy, pointed us to the “Harbison,” saying that it was expensive but so delicious.  He had bought some and in his own words, had used up his “entire cholesterol allowance for the whole year in one sitting.”

When we took it out of the fridge about an hour before the guests were due to arrive, we were a bit perplexed, as it had this hard brown stuff all around the edge which obviously wasn’t edible, so Hubby carefully stripped it all off, and the whole cheese started to collapse in a heap. I put it on a separate plate and hoped for the best, making a mental note not to buy it again. Well, by the time everyone had had their fill of it, there wasn’t a scrap left, and it was declared the most delicious cheese they’d ever tasted. I looked on the Internet and found out that the brown ‘rind’ is made of tree bark, cut from Jasper Hill Farm’s woodlands in Texas and is to hold the delicate cheese together, and provide flavor to the creamy paste. It also allows for an ideal presentation as the centerpiece of a cheese plate, which wasn’t the case on Sunday.

The pic shows that one serves it with a spoon rather than a knife, so now I know for next time. I wish I’d read this before we took it’s coat off. 😉

We also got a tasty French Camembert and some Kerrygold Irish whiskey cheddar, which went down very well especially with our friend whose favourite tipple is whiskey. We had sundried tomato dip and another one with artichoke and spinach. Hubby had chopped celery sticks to go with the baby carrots and broccoli florets. Then of course there were the olives, chips, mixed nuts, sesame sticks and crackers. If anyone was still peckish after all that, there were these delicious Lindt chocolates. Not many people had room for them fortunately, so hubby and I are having to eat them ourselves.

One things that really amazed me about our little get together, was that although everyone present had been  living within just a few metres of one another, with no fences, walls or gates, they didn’t seem to have met before. We had met them all individually, but they didn’t know one another. One of the husbands thanked us profusely for having the party, and said how delighted he was to have met his neighbours at last.  We all got on so well, and there was non-stop conversation going on, just like they were old friends. The wine and food was highly praised and everyone had a great time. What a pity we have to leave in less than two weeks, after having broken the ice. It took us, the  “exotic South African imports” to bring these neighbours together. How strange is that? They all seem to be looking forward to our return, even though we haven’t left yet.There are promises of more parties when we get back later in the year. I think we may have started a trend. I do hope so.

Have a great day everyone. Chat again soon.