Our Way with Cheeses

We are not very organized about cheese. We eat the world’s ten greatest and most famous cheeses more often than the ten latest award-winning small-batch cheeses (as good as they are), and we seldom plan a cheese board. And yet things work out. I ask about new cheeses, or Rob brings one home, just often enough to avoid being a cheese Luddite, and there’s usually something in the fridge to top a chef salad or to make Rob’s famous browned cheesy omelet.

When Roy Gumpel, the photographer who shot the cover of Rob’s new country album, Sweet Virginia Girl, came to Small Farm for the day, we found ourselves at the pool in the late afternoon and suddenly hungry. Just as suddenly I was self-conscious that I hadn’t thought of anything to offer him before his long drive home. But a few minutes of rummaging in the kitchen produced some prosciutto, Mahón (a semi-firm Spanish cow cheese), local melon, tomatoes, wine, and iced coffee. Julian and Jacob wandered over and ate with us. Ah, for the days of three- and one-year-olds who will eat anything.

From The Real Food Cookbook: Traditional Dishes for Modern Cooks