Snack Attack! Bonne Bouche

Sometimes I just get a snack attack, and I have to eat something. It doesn't have to be awesome or clever, or even particularly good. It just has to satiate me for the time being. A whole bag of chips or a hard boiled egg, half a plate of leftovers, whatever.

Sometimes I think ahead and make snacks, or buy things that will make for an impressive snack; these will be the ones that I share with you. I can imagine you don't want to see a picture of cold pizza or an empty bag of Terra Blues.

Recently, I had a snack attack of one of the best snacks ever. Cheese and bread. Throw some slow roasted tomatoes in there and you've got yourself a quick, easy, and deceptively simple snack with maximum results.

These are slow roasted tomatoes on the left, and a cheese called Bonne Bouche on the right.

The cheese is the real star here; the way that it pairs with the sweet and savory tomatoes, adds depth and flavor and makes a regular snack something special.

Bonne Bouche is made by Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery. It is a goat cheese, that is both ash-ripened and a bloomy-rind. I will explain.

This cheese is covered in vegetable ash, which is why it has that blueish-grey hue, this has some subtle flavor characteristics, but does not make it taste smokey.

Bloomy-rind cheeses are covered in a mold that ripens the cheese from the outside in. Cheeses that have a bloomy rind will have a cake-y center and a gooey outer layer. Ones that may be familiar are Humboldt Fog, or St. Andre.

In this close-up you can see the fuzzy parts of the rind. That is mold growing on the outside of the cheese. It is not harmful mold, and may be eaten along with the inside of the cheese (recommended!) I also enjoy the way this cheese looks.

Bonne Bouche have a unique flavor that is fantastic. It is an incredibly complex tasting cheese. It is earthy and sweet, it has some funk, but is not overly pungent or aromatic. It is gooey and delicious, but also maintains some cake-y integrity in the middle. It has the characteristic tang of goat cheese, without all the acidity of fresh goat cheese. At room temperature this cheese is almost unbeatable.


Anyway, Snack Attack right!?

 The Perfect Bite

This combo is so good.
I find this particularly good on a baguette, or a nice soft sourdough loaf.