quick appetizer---of the restaurant variety

I don' t know if you have noticed but it seems cheese plates are taking their place on menus everywhere. They show up in the starting line and at the finish---whether you are tasting a flight of wines or wrapping up a splendid meal. So once in awhile, we embrace the fad, and order ourselves a humble little plate of cheese. Often part of the fun is selecting a few cheeses from a list: a cheese plate of 1, 3 or 5 distinct cheeses. And then a little plate of cheeses arrive, sometimes with a sprig of thyme and quite often with some jellies, reduction sauces, a few olives or carefully placed almonds.

We recently ordered a plate of 3 cheeses, to liven up the notes of our respective glasses of vino. Our little plate of came with miniature wedges of cheeses, a few walnuts and a small ramekin of honey mustard dipping sauce.

We seem to rank them, when we have cheeses plated side by side. Of course, I never actually write down the name of the cheese, so that 'one we liked the best' remains nameless. But I will say this: it was a firm goat cheese (from... I think Spain), mild in flavor and lolled easily across our palates when paired with this 'honey mustard sauce'.

Of course the following week I produced a similar appetizer in our home (with, I might add, a much larger wedge of cheese), complete with dipping sauce.

Honey & Cheese:

Buy: wedge of cheese, or two or three. I don't find this sauce ideal for triple creams or sweet brie. Try matching this sweet and tangy condiment with a mild, semi-hard cheese. Or pick a few and find your own favorite.

3 T honey (I used clover, but lavender or blackberry honey might be interesting...) 1 tsp dijon mustard (I used one sans seeds) big grinds of black pepper to top

Stir honey and dijon, grind pepper, serve.