This Week's Tasting Plate: Monks Know How To Do It Right

The best Nic Cage movie of all time is absolutely, 100%, no comparison at all, Moonstruck, which in no way explains why we went to see Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance but we did and we don't want to talk about it except to say that there are monks in it and they have an exceptional wine collection.

What is up with monks living the sweet life? Between making beer and cheese and collecting wine, life doesn't seem nearly as ascetic as those burlap outfits would make you think. This week at the store, we have a fresh batch of Birdville Reserve, a small Trappist-style round that is washed in a brine solution as it ages. Of course, it's not actually made by Trappist monks. It's made in Granbury, Texas at Eagle Mountain Cheese. But it is inspired by the delicious flavor and creamy texture of monk cheese and carried out with Jersey cow milk.

While we're living the luxurious life, we might as well enjoy a full-blown triple cream in the Mt. Tam from Cowgirl Creamery. We keep this one around often, but its elegant butteriness is incomparable. We'll also have Pt. Reyes Blue and the cumin version of Marieke Gouda on the tasting plate. As Nic would say, "I lost my hand! I lost my bride!" Now, let's get this man some cheese.