this weekend marked my third attendance at mark and johnna’s annual cheese party.
now this is no ordinary cheese party, there are rules – such as the main ingredient in each dish must be cheese (obvious) and a course must be finished prior to moving on to the next dish (not so obvious).
the rules have been fine tuned over the years – i believe it was at my first event that we had to amend the finishing rule halfway through our third lasagna entree and do some cardio (two times around the block) in order to continue on to dessert. we’ve grown through this experience, and now instead of everyone bringing something there are assignments. this years line up was the best yet. i took pictures. and then i ate.
appetizer course
peaches with fried goat cheese ball drizzled with balsamic. made by johnna.
pastry puff with manchego, chorizo, and paprika. made by anna.
soup and salad course
cous cous salad with peppers, eggplant, zucchini, feta, and i’m probably forgetting a vegetable. made by melissa.
cheeseburger soup with cheddar topping. made by tim & jeff.
entree course
pork belly, apple, brie, and walnut pot pie. made by mark.
twice baked sweet potatoes with goat cheese and roasted grapes and honey. made by beth & dan.
mid-cheese party digestif
this is the only dish with no cheese. i don’t remember exactly what was in it, but it had key limes and champagne and it was delicious. made by mark & johnna.
cheese platter
it wouldn’t be a cheese party without the actual cheese board course. made by nate & melissa.
desserts
chocolate mousse with mascarpone and chocolate cookie. made by johnna.
parmesan and fennel short bread cookies. made by me!
after the delirium you are put in from eating this quantity of cheese, there is the voting part of the party. the three categories are:
- overall favorite
- most inventive use of cheese
- there was cheese in that?
and the winners were:
- overall favorite – mark for the pork belly pies and anna with a close second for the puff pastry.
- most inventive use of cheese – me for the shortbread cookies
- there was cheese in that? – johnna for the mousse
it’s my first cheese party award. i am so honored, i know this is going to be a good year.
[…] year, our friends mark and johnna host a cheese party. as i’ve described in prior years, this cheese party is not just a show-up-and-bring-some-cheese affair. there is a lot of careful […]
writes mark and johnna's annual cheese party 2013 | Things I Made TodayThings I Made Today[…] good documentation of what amazing food was prepared or what witty jokes were made. However, the 2012 and 2013 parties are well captured, and you can see our […]
writes Mark and Johnna's Annual Cheese Party 2014 - Things I Made Today