Culinaria: Blue cheese, please

Many of us panic at Christmas time and purchase far more than we need. Is it because the shops will be closed for one day that we need to stock up on all that food and wine?

I know it’s hard to hold back. Instead of a packet of biscuits you buy a box. Just in case Aunty Maureen arrives and needs something with her sherry. I also find people go crazy on their desserts and cheese boards.

They refrain from simplicity and make three desserts (one cold, one hot, the other fluid) and build a cheese board with a savage number of cheeses.

Don’t get me wrong. I think we have some of the best cheeses in the world but trying to tackle six of them is not my idea of gastronomic fun. At our house, I usually go for one dessert and one cheese.

You may ask why. Purely because at this stage of the meal everyone’s belly has expanded sufficiently.

Complexity at this stage is sadly missed. I always go for a dessert that can be made beforehand. Something than can be taken from the fridge, placed on the table and then sliced. I usually make a tiramisu or chocolate mousse with the kids in the morning.

Don’t make a dessert that requires you to disappear for an hour to start plating something with five or six elements. It’s just no fun. For my cheese board, I like to go with a blue cheese.

We have a strong history of blue cheese in Ireland and I really think this is where we shine best. Blue cheese, walnuts and quince. Nothing more. Maybe a small glass of tawny port?

Two wonderful blue cheeses I discovered this year both hail from the north of the country: Kearney blue and Young Buck from Mike's Fancy Cheese. But, as with the GAA, you may have your own regional favourite: Cashel & Crozier, Bellingham, Wicklow, Boyne Valley, Abbey: the list goes on. I think it's the robustness that makes blue cheese a wonderful Christmas cheese. It'll definitely be memorable.