It is lunchtime and I’m hungry! My mind is on sandwiches, naturally, and there have been a couple in heavy rotation at the cheese shop lunch table. The first is a Brie Fermier, Pâté de Campagne, Dijon mustard, Cornichon dream on A&J King’s ciabatta roll. Pictured is Brie (Brie the person, not the cheese) with the OG (original gangster) French sandwich. Brie Fermier or Camembert Fermier are Brie’s preferred cheese choices for this sandwich because they are both rich, buttery, and earthy with a pleasantly funky mushroomy flavor. The cheese brings a punchy flavor and luscious texture, the Pâté de Campagne is meaty and garlicy, and the tangy Dijon and Cornichons add a sparkle to this hefty sandwich. Now that we have the sandwich, here’s how I would eat it if I wasn’t inhaling it under the florescent lights in our cramped back room: Rich, garlicky, creamy, tangy sandwich, red and white checkered tablecloth, a couple of lit candles, a glass of stony, warm and bright Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley (I’m thinking of the 2017 Mary Taylor Anjou which is just yum yum YUM), and you’ve got yourself a MEAL!

The other sandwich that has stolen my heart involves tinned fish. Tinned fish is a very hot culinary trend right now and I am all for it, any kind anytime! When I have no food left at my apartment and I can’t bring myself to be a grownup and go to the grocery store, I eat whatever tinned fish I’ve stockpiled, placing the delicate filets on top of a roll and drizzling it in the olive oil from the tin. Dinner in a flash! However, when experimenting (a.k.a eating with gusto) at the shop, we’ve added a few things to give it a more pizazz. It is still a simple sandwich, but it’s rockin’. Spread a piece of crusty bread with Arethusa Butter from Connecticut. It is the mildest of our butters but adds some necessary fattiness so the otherwise very lean fish. Crack pepper over the butter, add the fish (I’m partial to Cole’s Smoked Rainbow Trout or Jose Gourmet’s Sardines with Lemon in Olive Oil) with or without the oil, a slice of Italian Raschera and voilà, you’re done! While I know cheese and seafood is controversial, the semi-firm cow’s milk Raschera smooths out the whole sandwich with its mellow fresh cream, toasted almond flavor.

So now the major, super important question is, what sandwich should I have today??

For the love of cheese and sandwiches with flavor that just won’t quit,

Kiri

Lunchtime