Goat curd is available, but if you can’t find it, a log of young goat cheese, before it has formed a rind, will suffice.

My friend Laura recently posted about a meal I had invited her, her husband and a few other people over to.  All of the dishes made were from “The Cookbook”, so I’d have lots of things to write about (when I finally got the time).  The really cool part is that she drew the meal!

I’m going to try and get a copy so I can hang it in my kitchen.  The one recipe that she talked about and didn’t draw was this one, the dessert.

I hit up the farmer’s market, hoping that I’d find someone with goat curd for sale.  Sadly, it seems like all of the goat-related vendors had decided to stay home.  Since Mr. Henderson had declared that fresh goat cheese was okay, I went with that route.  Maybe I’ll find some goat curd in the spring.

Next up was the Marc.  Marc de Bourgogne to be precise.  Finding it turned out to be easier than I had feared, thanks to my wife working at Grapevine Market in Austin.  When we went to pick up a bottle, we were warned by a few of the “wine guys” at the store that it was very “rustic”.  And strong.  Mr. Henderson had mentioned in the recipe that if necessary, it was okay to hold back on the Marc content “if you find it too heady.”  You would think that I’d be paying attention to all of these warning signs and blinking lights, right?

In a bowl I combined a bit of caster sugar with the Marc, and then stirred them together to melt the sugar.  Bit by bit, the goat cheese was added until everything was completely mixed.

I plated the Marc/cheese concoction along with a few sugar cookies and some fresh fruit.  The first bite was…  interesting.  I mean, I could smell the Marc from across the kitchen.  So actually eating it combined with the creamy yet mild goat cheese was an intense experience.  Maybe I should have heeded all of those warnings.  You really needed the fruit or the cookies to diffuse the sheer power of it.  The Marc itself could best be described like so:  Imagine that you’re out on a long drive, and you decide to rest for the night.  The only place you can find is a family run bed and breakfast that’s slightly run down.  The water isn’t terribly hot, and the bed squeaks when you roll over, but the family is so warm and inviting that you end up leaving with a big smile on your face.  It does have a rustic flavor to it, and it is very strong.  That’s what makes it so wonderful.

I do want to post more this week, but please pardon me if I don’t.  I’m currently on vacation in Chicago for my birthday, which will end with a dinner at Alinea.  I can’t wait!

One down, eighty nine to go.