North Coast cheese plates to wow your holiday guests

At the holidays, we all yearn to indulge in a few bites that are luscious and rich.

On the North Coast, there are few things more decadent than an enticing spread of creamy, gooey and earthy cheeses, served artistically on a cheese board with a few nuts and pickles, honey and preserves.

Whether you open your holiday party with some sparkling wine and tangy goat cheese, or close it with some port and creamy blue cheese, you're bound to satiate your guests' appetites and make them feel special.

“At this time of year, people start indulging in those cheeses they've been lusting after all year,” said Lynne Devereux, who serves on the board of the California Artisan Cheese Guild. “All the summer cheeses are ripening now. Those cheeses are aged three to six months and now are at their prime.”

With cheese season at its height, buyers at grocery stores and specialty food stores are stocking up on all kinds of interesting wheels to whet your appetite and impress your guests.

We asked Devereux and two local cheesemongers for their tips on how to create cheese boards that can elevate your holiday parties, with four or five complementary cheeses and condiments that bring out new flavors without overpowering the cheese. Here are their suggestions.

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Devereux thinks it's important to make the cheese board visually attractive.

“You want something soft and gooey like a brie or a triple-creme, and something hard like Cheddar or Gouda that people will identify, and a blue,” she said. “Then you put the Bellwether Farms Blackstone in there, with its handsome rind made of ash, chopped rosemary and black peppercorn, and it really pops on the plate.”

For condiments, Devereux likes to keep it simple: beautiful nuts and pickled vegetables to offset the fat, and preserves from Friends In Cheeses Jam Co. of Soquel. “They go from sweet to spicy,” she said. “You don't want all the same.”

As for the cracker, less is more. “For me, a cracker is a delivery system,” she said. “I'd rather taste the cheese and keep the cracker textural.”

For sourcing cheeses, Devereux suggests Oliver's Market, where Colette Hatch lives up to her legendary status as Madame de Fromage; Sonoma and Glen Ellen markets; or Petaluma Market, where Marie Schmittroth has served as a long-time champion of local cheeses.

If you have the time, consider going to the source. At Marin French Cheese west of Petaluma, you can pick up some Supreme, a “beyond triple-creme” cheese made with Jersey milk and an extra dollop of cream. “It's a holiday wonder,” she said.

Other local cheesemakers with their own retail shops include Bohemian Creamery in Sebastopol (open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday) and Nicasio Valley Cheese in Nicasio (open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.)

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Freestone Artisan Cheese proprietor Omar Mueller, who studied cheesemaking at the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese, opened this rustic, 1880s-era cheese shop in 2013 in Freestone and has been educating local cheese lovers ever since.

When putting together a cheese tray, he suggests sourcing cheeses with different textures and flavors, incorporating salty as well as creamy cheeses.

“Start with a white, soft-mold-ripened cheese that's chalky to creamy, such as Mt. Tam, Cowgirl Creamery's triple-creme cheese made with organic cow milk; Tomales Farmstead's Kenne, a bloomy-rind, pasteurized goat cheese, a little like a very moist chevre; or Redwood Hill Bucheret, a bloomy-rind goat milk cheese that is nice and ripe.”

Next comes a cheese that is firm and familiar, the nutty, buttery cheeses that everyone knows and loves, like Cheddar, Gruyere or Gouda. “They have lower moisture and are aged up to 18 months,” he said.

Mueller is fond of the Fiscalini Bandage-Wrapped Cheddar, made from the Modesto dairy's Holstein milk; the Point Reyes Gouda, which is nutty and sweet but in limited supply; and Black Betty from Holland, an aged, goat-milk Gouda. He also endorses the Gruyere 1655 made by Fromagerie Le Cret in Switzerland.

“A Gruyere from Switzerland is one of the best cheeses in the world,” he said. “Gruyere is also a beautiful melting cheese.”

Next up, Mueller suggested a washed-rind cheese, which gets its extra “funk” from the saltwater brine that encourages bacteria and pungent odors. “These are in the same family as the Epoisses cheeses of France,” he said. “They have stronger smells and a creamier texture.”

Some of his favorite washed-rind cheeses include Cowgirl Creamery's Red Hawk, a triple-cream cow's milk cheese; Briar Rose's Lorelei, a pasteurized goat cheese from Oregon; and Uplands Cheese's Rush Creek Reserve, a raw cow's milk cheese from Wisconsin inspired by France's Mont d'Or.

Finally, don't forget to include a cheese from the fabulous blue family, which may be firm or creamy, salty or sweet. Mueller suggested the Rogue River Blue, which is wrapped in syrah leaves and has a creamy texture; the Point Reyes Farmstead Bay Blue, which is consistently sweet and creamy, even when it's older; and Grazin' Girl, a gorgonzola dolce from Valley Ford Cheese Co., which is in limited supply because it's so new.

“It has a mustiness and an earthiness that make it good with some truffle honey from Tennessee,” he said. “Blues with a sharpness are better with honey.”

Blue cheeses also go well with Beaujolais Panforte, a classic Italian nut confection made in Santa Rosa that comes in three flavors: hazelnut, almond and panpepato (almonds, hazelnuts, black pepper and cocoa).

With your washed rind cheese, Mueller suggested serving the Nana Mae Gravenstein Apple Relish and Fig Mostarda made by The Girl & The Fig in Sonoma or the Blue Chair Fig Jam. With the firm cheeses, like the Spanish Manchego, you can also add Spanish membrillo (quince paste) and toasted almonds.

Freestone Artisan Cheese carries dried apples and pears made by Simple & Crisp, and various flavors of Porter's Crackers & Crisps, including a gluten-free Toasted Oat Crisp.

Freestone Artisan Cheese is located at 380 Bohemian Highway and open from noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Monday. 707-874-1030.

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Bradley Frank, who has a background as a cheesemonger, joined the Shed team in August as head of the Larder, which now carries lots of products such as jams and patés made by Culinary Director Perry Hoffman.

“We sell our Shed olives, and we have a whole line of pickled and fermented goods,” he said. “We also have raw honey ... Bee Love Honey.”

In putting together the cheese boards at Shed, which can be ordered at the cafe or to go, Frank likes to provide a good mix of cheeses made from different milks and with different textures.

“Less is more - you don't want to put 11 cheeses on there,” he said. “Choose four to five cheeses, and you're good.”

For a special fresh cheese, he suggests the Andante Dairy Cavatina, a goat's milk, ashed-rind log with a creamy, slightly flaky texture; and the Ramini Mozzarella, made in Tomales with water buffalo milk.

For a cheese with a soft, creamy texture, he suggests Pennyroyal Farmstead's Velvet Sister, a goat's milk triple-creme; or the Largo from Andante Dairy, a triple-creme made with cow's milk.

“We support Andante Dairy,” he said. “Soyoung (Scanlan) is a genius and so respected in the cheese community.”

For a soft, washed-rind cheese, he is a fan of the Nicasio Valley Square. “It's a big, funky, soft cheese, like a Taleggio,” he said.

In the semi-firm category, he suggested buttery cheeses such as Midnight Moon, an aged goat cheese from Cypress Grove in Arcata; or Ewenique, a sheep's milk cheese made in Holland for Central Coast Creamery of Paso Robles.

To round out the selection, he suggested a hard cheese such as Mimolette from France; or Andante Dairy's Tomme Dolce, a goat milk cheese rubbed with blackberry preserves and brandy.

As far as the big blues, Frank also is a big fan of the Rogue River Blue. He also likes the Original Blue or Bay Blue from Point Reyes Farmstead and imported blue cheeses such as Chiriboga of Germany or Saint Augur from France.

In the condiment department, his advice is to compare and contrast.

“If I'm serving a triple-creme or brie, I'm a fan of some sort of sweet preserve to enhance it or a pickled, spicy jam,” he said. “With a semi-firm cheese like Cheddar, I like to use fermented pickles and grain mustard.”

With Gouda cheese, he suggests serving some olives or chocolate to contrast with the nutty, rich flavor. With a blue cheese, he often serves dark chocolate or a honeycomb.

Healdsburg Shed is located at 25 North St. in Healdsburg and is open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily except Tuesday. 707-431-7433.

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The following recipes is from Chef Perry Hoffman of Healdsburg Shed, who suggests using the award-winning Deer Creek The Stag Cheddar, available at Shed.

Cheddar Drop Biscuits

Makes about 12 biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

- Pinch cayenne pepper

6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

8 ounces sharp white Cheddar, shredded

11/3 cups buttermilk, well shaken

3 tablespoons chopped chives

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, with racks in the upper and lower third positions. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and cayenne pepper. Work butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or your fingers until butter is incorporated and pea-size lumps remain. Stir in cheddar, then buttermilk and chives, just until dough comes together.

Using two spoons, drop 1/4 cup quantities of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart.

Bake in the oven until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheets once.

Staff writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @dianepete56.