Mombrier July 20

We are up early and off to the market in Blaye. Our first stop was the fromagerie that Paul told us about, La Fromagerie de L' Embarcadère. It was amazing. I am mad I didn't take a photo inside because it was so charming, as were the couple inside. We had tastes and bought 4 different ones. The first was chèvre for our host Paul, Morbier was our next choice, Comté is the third one, and lastly St. Nectaire. It was just a wonderful little French experience to go into this small shop with Artisanal cheese, have tastes, and purchase what we wanted using our limited French and no English from the owners. I loved it!!! Of note, later at the market we go one other cheese, Gouda with pesto/basil & pignon. It is green and caught my eye, just couldn't pass it up!

The market was amazing. Wonderful fruits and vegetables are in large supply, we bought 3 different types of peppers, a melon, green beans, cabbage, peaches, and cherry tomatoes. In addition, we bought a whole (very large) roasted chicken with a bit of clear sauce that is loaded with herbs and tons of garlic cloves and 2 pieces of seabass. I took lots of photos. We were given a whole Canelé as a sample and there was some sort of rum sample to go with it. Along with many cheese samples along the way. We had a great time. It was warming up and we were thirsty. Surprisingly, the only beverage we saw at the market was that rum sample and several places to get coffee. We walked back, crossed the street, and went to the cafe where we ate lunch the other day. A cold beer tasted really good. Now it is time to head back to Mombrier.  

We had a nice cheese plate that Stuart prepared in the mid afternoon. For dinner I used some of the shrimp stock Stuart made and made a sauce, it wasn't great but the fish we bought at the market was delicious, as were the fresh green beans. A nice dinner and playing cards completed our day. I will say we did not eat dinner until 9:15p! We are becoming quite French!

About the Cheese:

Chèvre is cheese made from goat's milk. Goats were among the first animals to be domesticated for producing food. Goat cheese is made around the world with a variety of recipes, giving many different styles of cheeses, from fresh and soft to aged and hard.

Morbier is a semi-soft cows' milk cheese of France named after the small village of Morbier in Franche-Comté. It is ivory colored, soft and slightly elastic, and is immediately recognizable by the distinctive thin black layer separating it horizontally in the middle. It has a yellowish, sticky rind.

Comté is a French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France bordering Switzerland and sharing much of its cuisine. Comté has the highest production of all French Appellation d'origine contrôlée cheeses, at around 66,500 tons annually. It is classified as an Alpine cheese.

Saint-Nectaire is a French cheese made in the Auvergne region of central France. The cheese has been made in Auvergne since at least the 17th century.

Gouda infused with Pesto/Basil and pignons. A soft cheese with a good pesto taste, a balanced mix of pine nuts and basil. Here's something to give an original color to your cheese platters.