Fromage Fort and a Vacation

Last week we had a party- I cooked for days ahead of time, and you know what? I didn't take a single picture. What a terrible food blogger. Some of the things were things I've shared here before, the muhammara, the black lacquer chicken, my favorite quinoa salad. But that wonderful rhubarb custard pie, the cheese salad? Undocumented, lost to the wilds of imagination.

Add to that blogging offense, and we're headed out of town for a couple weeks on vacation (woohoo!). We're planning on taking some cooking lessons on our trip, and I hope to come back with much to report. But in the meantime, I'm culling through the 3,299 photos on my laptop (and I wondered why it runs slow sometimes), trying to find those items lost in the archives. Hopefully they'll keep you entertained in my absence.

First up we have an easy appetizer and a great way to use up those random tidbits of leftover cheese. Fromage fort, or strong cheese, is simply a mixture of cheeses blended with wine, garlic, and seasonings. What's so nice about fromage fort is that it can work with almost any combination of cheeses, even strong cheeses like blue cheese or epoisses. It helps to include a soft cheese, to bind the mixture together, but really anything goes. In this particular mixture I used provolone, parmiggiano reggiano, and camembert. The mixture is quite good in it's plainest form, but you can also add in any herbs (chives are great) or spices like fennel or turmeric.

Fromage Fort
The cheese can be served as a dip, or spread on toasts and run under the broiler until bubbly and fragrant.

1/2 lb cheese in pieces
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup dry white wine
salt, pepper
chives (optional)

Pulse in a blender until smooth.