Sunday, October 30, 2011

Perimenopausal moment #378391037 - Cheese edition

Every so often, the brain fog that is the result of hormone storms colliding with sleep deprivation have a very real financial cost.

Earlier this week, I wandered into the cheese store to pick up goodies for today's party. The idea was to pick up half pound chunks of four or so varieties of cheese for a platter. So...brick, fontina (good for eating on crackers as well as melting in things), gouda and...cranberry cheddar, a local product.

The old gentleman at the counter carved off the blocks, ringing them up and adding them to the andouille sausage I grabbed from the freezer case. While he was checking me out, we were idly chatting about the heat in the sausage and other culinary delights. I wasn't paying much attention to the total on the order, as I was tired and in a hurry.

Once home, I put the whole bag into the refrigerator, too tired to do much more. It wasn't until the next day that I got around to pulling the cheese out of the bag. At that point I discovered that the clerk had misheard my "cranberry cheddar", giving me "ten year old cheddar" instead.

Eeep. Ten year old cheddar runs around $36 per pound. No wonder the total on the order seemed a bit high.

I did consider returning it, but curiosity got the better of me, so I cut it up and served it. Oh.my.gosh. It was worth every penny. Smooth, concentrated flavor. Best cheese I've ever had.

And best I will ever have; I never intend to make that mistake again.

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