Fromage For Dinner? Pourquoi pas? 

In the land of a thousand cheeses, cheese is every bit as important to the French as their treasured wines. There will always be a cheese course after an important meal (like Sunday lunch, a meal out, or a dinner party). But sometimes cheese is just lunch. Or, see recipe below, it’s dinner.

There are many wine bars and cafés in France that serve a light meal at lunchtime. On la carte there will typically be a choice of a salad, a quiche or a croque monsieur, a charcuterie plate–or a plateau de fromage. (In fact there are 2 new places like this in Beaune: Le Solstice and Café de la Paix, plus Les Accords in the new Wine Museum). A cheese plate makes a lovely lunch, and many days thats our déjeuner, chez nous.

If you want to Frenchify a meal or a party, adding a cheese plate is a super easy way to go. It’s indulgent, but simple: serve 3 cheeses for 4 to 6 people, maybe 5 for a crowd. They don’t have to be French; throw a Manchego or a Pecorino or a good white cheddar into the mix.

To serve, just put a few wedges on a board, plate, or platter. Garnish with a bit of fresh herbs, or sprinkle a handful of nuts around. (This post has more detailed instructions).

And now, what to do with those dribs and drabs of leftover cheeses, all different? This is the fun part. With these you can make one of our favorite meals: Marion’s Baked Cheese Mélange.

I’ve posted this recipe before, but I’ve refined it a bit and anyway it’s worth repeating, it’s so good.

Here is how to do it:

RECIPE: Marion’s Baked Cheese Mélange

You can use any combination of cheeses for this recipe. The only rule is: The More the Merrier. It helps to have a bit of something blue for tang. For the dinner shown in the photo I cleaned out the fridge and used morsels of: gruyère, cheddar, Roquefort, a brie that was stuffed with apricots, and some parmesan. It will taste a little different each time, depending on what bits you have on hand. Also, it’s 10 minutes of prep, my favorite kind of dinner. To make it even easier, melt the cheeses in the microwave, and put the dish under the broiler at the end.

Directions:

Cut the cheeses up into small pieces and put them in a casserole dish (I put them in individual dishes to avoid injuries when fighting over the last bites).  Add a generous splash of brandy (a tablespoon-ish per serving), and a couple of cloves of finely chopped garlic, or to taste. Add some black pepper.

Bake at 350 for maybe 10 minutes, until it’s melty, then give it a good stir. Most of the cheese should be melted, but it’s still going to be  a bit lumpy, which is OK. You can do this in the microwave if you prefer.

Crush a few whole grain crackers and put them on top; I like to put some chopped nuts on top too, for crunch. Crank the heat up to 450 or put it under a broiler (not too close), and keep an eye on it. When it’s bubbly and golden, it’s ready.

There will probably be some oil that separates from the cheeses. You can very carefully pour most of it off, or spoon it off.

Let it sit just a couple of minutes to let it set up a bit, but you don’t want it to cool off. Serve it with lots of crackers for dipping, or spoon it on to bread. C’est le paradis!

And don’t forget the wine! Red is traditional with cheese, but as they say, the French have many rules and they love to break them.

Favorite READS and VIEWS: Natalia enjoyed The Wish by Nicolas Sparks, and as she says, he needs no introduction. Lots of books, some turned into films. I’m enjoying the best-selling self help book, Let Them, by Mel Robbins . And this week it was fun to see The Thursday Murder Club come to the screen, with some dazzling stars obviously having a grand time.