This cheese is fabulous. It's Smokey Blue from the Rogue Creamery in Oregon. It's drier than a Gorgonzola with a clean tanginess that keeps the richness in check. As you chew it, it melts on your tongue into an unctuous smokey pleasure. It's just so good we had to share.
We served it last night with scallops. We seared fat U-10 diver scallops in a smoking pan, basted with butter and set them aside to rest. We tossed the excess fat from the pan and then deglazed with lemon juice and petite arugula. The arugula just wilted and picked up all of the crusty caramelized bit from the pan. We served the scallops and arugula with Jack's Black Lime Ketchup and crumbled smokey blue cheese. It was a simple and delicious dish for a summer evening. But frankly, you could just eat the cheese by itself with a crusty baguette, some cherry conserves and a great dry rose wine like the ones made by Domaine Tempier in Bandol or Van Der Heyden in California.
