ArtSpace Someone’s in the Kitchen – Cheese Course : Whipped Brie,Popcorn Cracker,Black Mission Fig and Balsamic

For the cheese course I had originally wanted to have an assortment of cheeses and preparations but as usual with the scope of the whole dinner and what all I was trying to accomplish I had to trim down the “wants” of each of my courses. When we went shopping for the meal in addition to the Brie I purchased some Gran Padano a Parmesan like cheese. I meant for this crumbly type cheese to be served alongside the brie with a few sprinkles of freshly ground black pepper. If I were on Bravo’s Top Chef the camera would have shown this cheese sitting on the shelf of my fridge while I walked out of the house

For the Brie,I just let it soften then tossed it in a standmixer and whipped it till it was the consistency of a soft butter. The popcorn cracker was made by placing popcorn in a food processor and finely chopping it,picked out the hard shell pieces and added to a basic cracker recipe. The balsamic was just balsamic vinegar reduced down to a syrup like consistency.

As for the fig, you would think “hey,we are in Louisiana,it’s August – we have to have figs” well yes and no,try finding a fresh black mission fig around North Louisiana and it is near impossible. This little beauty was bought in Dallas,TX.

In addition to adding more cheese with different preparations for the next time I do a dinner I will also attempt to make my own Slate Cheese Boards.  Awhile back my FBF ( food blog friend) David of Eat Foo did a post on how to make these at home,check it out HERE when you get a chance