Baked Camembert with Garlic and Rosemary: A Not-Quite Recipe with Lactalis

The International Cheese Awards at Nantwich is amazing. It's the biggest cheese show in the world, and is quite simply a cheese-lover's paradise. The inherent problem with the show, however - and I hate myself for admitting there even exists such a thing - is cheese overload; you eat cheese samples for a full, glorious day, and then get caught up in the whole excitement of the day and bring a load home as well. This leads to a fear of one's own fridge, which one barely dares to open for outright terror of the cheese mountain that looms there, growing ever more pungent by the day.

This is where helpful, cheese-loving friends come in handy. I brought back a bag of goodies courtesy of Lactalis, who are the largest dairy products group in the world and who had a ridiculously successful time at this year's International Cheese Awards, winning a total of 22 awards including nine golds. Three of these golds were for the Président range that you will all be familiar with, and as I ended up with two of the whole Camemberts, I elected to bake them whole and serve them up with bread for dipping. Thus I offer this up not as a recipe but as a suggestion really, and to commemorate how much I enjoyed the whole thing.

First, look in your fridge and locate a suitable cheese item. Ignore the rest of the cheese for now, even though it is glaring menacingly and appearing to multiply before your very eyes. Remove the whole Camembert from its waxy paper and put it back into its box, on a baking tray. Lightly score the top with a knife in a criss-cross pattern and then smother it with whatever pleasing ingredients you have to hand. I finely chopped a couple of garlic cloves and a sprig of rosemary, and then drizzled over a little garlic oil and a splash of white wine. Add salt and pepper and pop the whole thing in the oven for about 20 minutes or so - it should be obvious when it's ready as the cheese will have melted but won't yet be at the point where it's leaked all over your oven. Serve with crusty bread - the first of these I did served four as a starter, the second served three as part of a BBQ; but I could, to be honest, eat one of these to myself if absolutely required.

The Lactalis range also includes the Seriously Strong products (which now has a Caramelised Onion variety in the spreadable tubs - see here for a lovely suggestion from Good Egg Foodie on what to make with this) and Galbani Mozzarella, which I like to slice up over the top of a tomatoey pasta. I'm also (almost) looking forward to going back to work so I can use this lunchbox. Lactalis gave me these to celebrate their new products and their success at the awards, but one or more of these items tends to end up in my basket at the supermarket anyway - I might leave it a while before I buy any more though, at least until the salad items rumoured to be somewhere in the fridge have been uncovered.

Cheese & Wine Tasting with Manchester Wine School: Being Educated Never Tasted So Good

Now, whilst it is not absolutely necessary to partner cheese with wine, it can't be denied that they make very happy bedfellows. Of course, it's not always practical to do so, tempting as it might be to whip out a nice Pinot Noir to go with the cheese butties you're consuming at your desk, but like some ever-so-predictable Pavlovian dog, I seem genetically pre-programmed to crave one when I have the other.

I was excited, then, to go along to the Cheese and Wine tasting session hosted by Manchester Wine School at Jury's Inn just before Christmas, in the hope of learning some new matches and maintaining a knowledgeable expression whilst simultaneously drinking as much as possible. I've met Lisa from Manchester Wine School before, through the excellent masterclasses she runs at the annual Three Wine Men Festival, but this was the first of her own events I've actually been to. She makes for a genial host, managing to be both knowledgeable and entirely normal, happy to chat about the wines that she likes and the best places to buy them; she'd also chosen some perfect wine and cheese matches. In fact, the hardest part of the evening was arriving slightly early and having to resist the plate of cheese that was already laid out so enticingly at each place. She started with a general discussion on how to taste wine, much of which I've heard before at other similar events, but she did genuinely tell me lots of things I didn't already know - she is brilliant on the different wine regions and how to choose good-value alternatives to the best-known ones (and has already emailed me some suggestions). She is also completely independent as she does not sell any wines herself - essentially, she shops for things she likes and then we drink it.

We tried six pairings during the two hour session:

1. Les Floriandes Touraine Sauvignon Blanc (from M & S) with Gorwydd Caerphilly (all cheese provided by Hickson and Blacks in Chorlton). This wine was my least favourite of the night - I find Sauvignon Blanc can be a little tasteless, and this one didn't bowl me over. The cheese, though, was lovely - I wouldn't normally buy Caerphilly but this one was creamy rather than crumbly and lacked the slight dryness that sometimes comes with this kind of cheese.

2. Mystery Hill Chardonnay (Ocado) with Aarenwasser. I'm very partial to Chardonnay, and feel it gets rather a bad deal sometimes at the hands of the wine snobs - I would certainly buy this soft peachy number if I could afford to shop at Ocado (although to be fair, the wine is a pretty reasonable £9.99). Another good cheese choice - a semi-soft Swiss cheese with a sweet nuttiness - and I'd surreptitiously eaten half of my piece before Lisa had finished talking.

3. Luis Felipe Edwards Viognier Reserva (Majestic) with Schlossberger. One of my favourite matches of the night. I actively seek out Viognier, and this aromatic, fruity version from Chile was no disappointment (and great value at £8.99). The cheese, another from Switzerland although this time a hard one, was a revelation - I shall definitely be purchasing this one, partly for the pleasure of eating it and partly for the pleasure of repeating the word "Schlossberger" many times over.

4. Callia Malbec (Majestic) with Oakwood Smoked. On to the reds with a nice fruity Argentine Malbec, partnered by Oakwood smoked Cheddar from Dorset. I'm not normally a fan of smoked cheese but the slight smokiness of the wine made eating this an absolute pleasure.

5. MontPierre Reserve Fitou (Sainsburys) with Cantal AOC. I do actually already buy this slightly flinty, good-value (£7.50) wine but had never had Cantal before - a hard French cheese a little like an earthy Cheddar. Another good match.

6. Sister's Run Barossa Shiraz (Tesco) with Cropwell Bishop Stilton. A good, hefty Australian Shiraz to finish - and as it was paired with the wondrous Cropwell Bishop this was unsurprisingly many people's favourite combination of the night.

The two hours passed very quickly - this was an extremely convivial evening with two long communal tables populated with nice people genially sharing out any of the leftovers in each bottle of wine and trying to eat their cheese in a polite manner. The night was good value at £30 a head (wine quantities were generous, and although I could have managed a little more cheese, I always can and am therefore not necessarily a reliable yardstick) and I would certainly go to more of Manchester Wine School's events - Lisa offers a mind-boggling array of options including eight week courses, corporate events and WSET qualifications (full details here on her website). After all, what could be better than spending a day drinking wine and quite legitimately label it educational? Lifelong learning has never been so much fun.

Cooking with Cheese - The Great Lactalis McLelland Cheese Challenge

Anyone who knows me even vaguely will be aware I have more than a passing interest in dairy products, and in fact consider cheese to be my very favourite food group. I very rarely get round to cooking with it though, unless I can count cheese on toast; instead, my preferred modus operandi when eating cheese is to consume it standing up, in chunks, every time I pass the fridge, or - if I'm feeling particularly exotic - to pop it on a cracker.

Exciting, then, to be given a bag of cheesy goodness by Lactalis McLelland and instructed to come up with a recipe making use of some of their products. You may think you haven’t heard of the French-based Lactalis Groupe, but they are actually the largest dairy products group in the world and produce a whole range of dairy goodies, many of which you are likely to have had in your fridge at some time or another. The bag included some Brie and some butter from the Président range, Galbani Mozzarella and some products from the Seriously Strong Range (Extra Mature Cheddar, Vintage Cheddar and the Spreadable, which I have already consumed slathered over toast - presumably this does not strictly count as a recipe though). The cheddar has been used to make mac & cheese, but as my recipe of choice belongs to the Drunken Butcher I won't even try and pass it off as my own; instead, here's one I *did* make up myself!

Buttered Summer Veg Risotto with Red Wine and Brie

This came about from a fortuitous combination of items I had that needed using up - some of my mum's homegrown vegetables, herbs from my own garden, and an open bottle of red that had somehow failed to be consumed on the first pass. I would, in truth, have used white wine had I had some handy, but red also works really well and lends a pleasing colour to the whole arrangement. I ate this all to myself but it would feed two if you added a bit more rice.

So, I started by finely slicing a leek and gently sautéing for a few minutes in a frying pan with a good knob of the Président butter before adding a handful of arborio rice and turning the heat up to toast the rice a little. I then poured in a good glug of red wine and allowed the alcohol to bubble off before starting to gradually add my vegetable stock. You do have to keep stirring as you add the stock, but this is actually very therapuetic, particularly if you address any red left in the bottle during this time period.

Meanwhile, I thinly sliced some small courgettes and a baby squash into rounds and added half to the risotto pan once the rice had been cooking about ten minutes. The remainder I popped in a small frying pan with a bit more butter and fried gently to go on top of the finished risotto (nothing nicer than butter-fried courgettes in my opinion). Proving that women really *are* excellent multi-taskers, as well as stirring my risotto, adding more stock, and keeping my eye on the courgettes, I also popped out to the garden and cut a sprig of fresh tarragon. Towards the end of the risotto cooking time (which will vary according to which rice you've used - mine took about 20 minutes, but keep tasting to check when the rice is cooked - you'll also notice the rice grains fattening out once it's nearly ready), I chopped the tarragon into the rice along with a good handful of frozen peas and a little cubed Président Brie and continued stirring - the cheese should melt into the risotto and make the whole thing beautifully creamy and thick. Check for seasoning - I usually add quite a lot of pepper but not much salt, as the stock and cheese will have added flavour.

Serve up in a bowl, topped with the fried vegetables and a little more Brie, thinly sliced. And yes, I know this isn't the most precise recipe you've ever seen, but the whole point of a risotto is that you can add whatever you have to hand - as long as you keep stirring, and adding stock when the rice has absorbed the previous amount, you won't go far wrong.

And the rest of the Brie? I'd like to say I made something else with it, but unfortunately it was discovered by a hungry boy and devoured with crackers in front of the TV - proving once and for all that cheese really is the most versatile of ingredients.

- I was given the ingredients free of charge by Lactalis McLelland but I do regularly buy some of these products anyway, including the Brie and the butter that I have used in this recipe.

Cheese and Wine at Hickson and Black's Deli, Chorlton: Festive Faces at the Ready

There are a number of highly excellent advantages linked to the run-up to Christmas, and the festive period in general. For one thing, it is entirely permissible to accept and consume a small sherry at any time of day or night should the opportunity present itself; equally, entire afternoons may be safely passed in the watching of a succession of low-quality festive films, often featuring brave canines, small children lost in dangerous snowscapes or - ideally - a combination of the two.

It is also entirely to be expected that those with an already high level of cheese consumption may push the dairy boat out still further, embarking upon a whole new array of Christmas cheeses which - by law - must be consumed with an appropriate wine pairing. To this end, I was pleased to be invited to Hickson and Black's deli in Chorlton for a cheese and wine tasting (no finer combination of words in the English language than these four in my opinion) in order to showcase some of the wines already in stock and dangle a couple of possible new ones for our opinion. Now, barely a day goes by on Twitter without some smug Chorltonite crowing about the magnificence of the Hickson and Black's sandwich they have just snaffled (bacon seems particularly popular) and I have bought cheese here before from their excellent selection, but I had never really thought of it as a place to buy wine. I now stand corrected on this matter - here's the sampling list, with my favourites clumsily highlighted in non-wine expert manner:

The Whites

Statti 'Feudo dei Baroni' (Greco) Calabria 2012

Ciconia 'Branco' (Anton Vaz, Viognier, Verdelho) Portugal 2012

Domaine Patrick Vauvy 'Sauvignon de Touraine' (Sauvignon Blanc) Loire 2012 - this was a favourite with most people. I am suspicious of Sauvignon Blanc, particularly in non-summer conditions, finding it often a bit acidic and rather tasteless. Not so with this one - soft, fruity and pretty exquisite with a sliver (/slab) of goat's cheese. I think this was £12.95 but as measures were fairly generous I'm afraid I cannot be completely certain on this matter.

Levenwacht 'The Tin Mine' (Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier, Roussanne) South Africa 2011 - another favourite, with an unusual minerally taste and a blend of grapes that really works. Not currently stocked at the deli, but SURELY it should be.

The Reds

Cours la Reine 'Saint-Chinian' (Syrah, Grenache Noir) Languedoc 2012

Tierra Segrada 'Antigua' Tempranillo, Garnacha) Carinena 2006

Devil's Corner 'Pinot Noir' (Pinot Noir) Tasmania 2012 - in truth, I enjoyed all the reds, but this was my standout favourite. Although I did, ahem, have to try it several times, just to be really sure.

Chateau Les Rochers Mirande 'Montagne-Saint-Emilion' (Mainly Merlot) Bordeaux 2006

The Extra Blagged One

Niepoort 'LBV' Douro 2007 - I am only a very recent convert to Port, but as a room full of wined-up people were baying lustily to try this, it seemed churlish not to join in. I think I have been put off Port previously by exposure to nasty, cheap, supermarket stuff; this one is in a whole different league and worryingly easy to drink, particularly when someone has foolishly placed a plate of blue cheese right by you on the counter. Hickson and Black's sell a half bottle for - I think - £12.50, and I am keen to procure one for my Christmas drinks cabinet (which is, in truth, only a metaphorical cabinet, but is none the worse for that).

All of this booze was ably soaked up by a selection of cheeses, pâtés and meats from the deli counter; the range and quality of cheeses here is particularly impressive, as you will see if you have a little browse of the website here. Thanks to Jay and Steve for their excellent hospitality; now all we need to do is start a campaign for Hickson and Black's to have its own dedicated tram stop for those of us who wish to cart their wine back to the wilds of East Didsbury...

- Hickson and Black's is at 559A Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 8AN; tel. 0161 881 2001.

Cheese and Wine with Old Amsterdam and Albert's Chop House: Christmas Comes Early to Manchester

I am sorry. I have let you all down, and you can rest assured that, since Tuesday night, I've been sitting here quietly, thinking about what I've done. For since Tuesday night, I have been feeling festive, despite it barely being mid-October.

The finger of blame must point squarely at the cheese and wine matching event I attended last week, hosted by the dream team of Chris Chisnall of Bradbury Cheese and George Bergier, sommelier extraordinaire from Albert's Chop House. The idea was to let us sample a range of cheese, and suggest some wine matches for each one - perhaps some less obvious pairings that you wouldn't normally think of (particularly if, like me, you simply eat lumps of cheese whenever you pass the fridge, and wash it down with whatever comes to hand). Here's what we had:

1. Old Amsterdam with Three Choirs Coleridge Hill. First up, Old Amsterdam - a 12 month-matured Gouda that has a pretty permanent residency in my fridge. I tend to use it in cheese sauces and the like, but found it also most acceptable eaten neat and washed down with a zippy little number from Gloucestershire. The very slight sweetness of the wine worked well with the saltiness of the cheese, and proved - thrillingly, for a Somerset girl - that the West Country can produce something more than cider, and The Wurzels.

2. Belton Farm Red Fox with Kleine Zazle Chenin Blanc. I am normally a little suspicious of anything that looks remotely like a Red Leicester, considering its dry blandness a waste of calories and stomach space, but this was a revelation - Red Fox is matured for 14 months, and the result is a creamy, full-flavoured cheese that looks like a Red Leicester but is a hundred times better. The high acidity of the South African Chenin cut through this creaminess with aplomb - another successful pairing.

3. Quickes Mature Cheddar with Kleine Rust, Stellenbosch. A good strong Cheddar this, matured for 12 months wrapped in muslin (and, according to Chris, smeared in pig lard - not entirely sure if this is true, but I include it here purely because I can think of at least one person who will boak when she reads it). The wine worked beautifully, a slightly smoky blend of Pinotage and Shiraz from one of my very favourite wine regions - I could drink a lot of this.

4. Brie de Meaux with Fortant Sauvignon Blanc and Mamaku Savignon Blanc. This was a proper Brie - the sort that smells of sprouts and cabbage, and has to be physically scraped from plate to mouth in one sticky-faced swipe. There was some disagreement over which of the wines best matched the cheese; I thought they both coped well with the pushy ripeness of the Brie, but I tend to prefer a New Zealand Sauvignon over a French, and that was the case here. By the way, in the picture you see here, Chris is just about to teleport the whole lot into his mouth - or was perhaps just in the middle of telling us about it, one or the other.

5. Cropwell Bishop Stilton with Grahams LBV (2007) and Royal Tokaji. And this was it - the moment Christmas came to Manchester: a strong, creamy Stilton with a lovely big fat glass of fruity Port. This, to me, is one of life's perfect combinations, and although some people preferred the pairing of the Tokaji dessert wine, for me there was no contest. Seriously, if I'd had one to hand, I would have put the Christmas tree up when I got home, so festive was I feeling.

I had to cut my cheese evening slightly short to run across Albert Square for a Manchester Literature Festival event at the Town Hall - but I did at least have the satisfaction of sitting amongst an erudite, literary audience secure in the knowledge that I was probably the only one there with a piece of Old Amsterdam in her handbag...

- Albert's Chop House is in The Memorial Hall, Albert Square, Manchester, M2 5PF; tel 0161 834 1866. Bradbury Cheese is based in Buxton, and you can admire their cheesy wares here.