The Cheese Affair at Rapperswil
Weekends this autumn have meant a mini vacation to discover the wonders of the harvest of Switzerland. This autumn I have zigzagged over mountain and dale in wild search of a festival with a theme of bountiful celebration. It has become somewhat of a game throughout the first half of the week to scan the news and social media for festivals in Switzerland for the coming weekend. I have been given a two-hour (one way) travel limit (which I have only exceeded once by five minutes) and have enjoyed each mini vacation which I view as a divorce from the hustle and grind of the week and my duty to enjoy the beautiful country that I have decided to make my home.
Now that my work/life balance is somewhat better meaning I can happily shut my laptop most weekends and never (okay almost never) glance at it again until Monday morning. With rest(oration) at top of mind each weekend, I must say that the work week doesn’t feel nearly as treacherous, bottomless and never-ending as it did a little over one year ago. *Sigh of relief*
Earlier this month, Mr. M. and I made a 15 min jaunt to the neighboring town of Rapperswil to attend a cheese festival. Did I mention that it is officially cheese season in Switzerland? Yes! With the short days and the crisp nights comes raclette and fondue dinners which translates to melted cheese with a bit of bread or potato or both until the pot of cheese is empty or you get tired of heating spatula after spatula of molten cheesy goodness. The result - you leave the table sort of dazed and confused and ready for a sleep but if you were in my last fondue situation no such sleep could directly occur because I had to sled down a mountain in the dark... we will cover that little adventure in anothe post.
The Rapperswil Cheese Festival was comprised of booths which lined promenade along the lake. Think of strolling down an alley of cheese booths with everyone offering a sample of mild to pungent cheeses from every canton in Switzerland. A robust man in cantonal dress, offered me a board of cheeses from his farm. I couldn’t resist the purchase. I’m not a lover of soft, stinky cheeses so riddled with green and blue as to be fairly crawling forth from the plate, so his offering of a mild hard cheese was not only welcome but embraced. We sampled various Appenzeller’s, Tilsiter, Vacherin Fribougeois AOP and my personal favorite and therefore purchased rediscovered hörnli. The confusing thing is that the hörnli I snatched and bought is (I am certain a goat cheese) however most are proclaimed as a medium hard cheese from cow’s milk. I must accost a cheese expert and ask what in the world is going on!
No matter. I plan to use this particular goat cheese in a butter lettuce and fig salad accompanied by crisped pecans and caramelized red onions and now I think of it…. perhaps a poached egg nestled on top! Isn’t that scrummy sounding?!
Another idea is to reimagine one of my favorite deli sandwiches from Tampa’s Wright’s Gourmet House. The sandwich, introduced to me by a dear friend Lindsey while we were on the campaign trail for a congressman in 2006, is a twist on a Monte Cristo. My twist will be layers of thinly sliced turkey, dabbles of the creamy hörnli encased within a couple of thinner slices of zopf bread, mustard (not too strong) and slightly sauteed pears (just so the crunch is off) and the whole thing grilled so that the bread is toasty, meat is warm and hörnli is one with the sweetness of the pears. Scrummy-ness overload!
One could eat a different kind of Swiss cheese every day as there are at least 365 different cheeses produced in this lovely country. I am definitely enjoying them all… maybe a bit too much, however, nothing will ever pull my allegiance from my Dutch cheeses. Sorry Switzerland, utilitarian, versatile and hearty Dutch cheeses will always be number one with me.
What’s your favorite cheese? In the name of research, I am willing to sacrifice and try something new! Please leave your comment below on your favorite cheese and why.
