Cheesy

Looking for a good theme for a party? I can recommend a cheese tasting party. Each year our pal Sari (rhymes with Mary) gives a cheese party - she calls it her Cheese-a-palooza - at which we all arrive mid-afternoon and taste cheeses until our arteries clog up. Everyone brings something and it's always super fun. This year, I think she outdid herself.

Of the cheeses I tasted, perhaps the Beemster and the Pecorino were the standouts but for simple richness you could hardly beat the Saint-André. There were also blues and Stiltons and all kinds of other goat, sheep and cow's cheese. There was also a very subtle and incredible duck liver paté, some interesting hot meatballs of unknown origin (we nearly fought over the last few), a wonderful huge wheel of brie baked with green onion and pomegranate seeds on top, several kinds of olives and some delicious cilantro "pesto" toasts, to name just a few. I contributed a bowl of bright tangerines and raclette - complete with pickled onions, cornichons and olives - it was gone in a flash.

There was a little wine, a little fizzy water and, at the very end, a bottle of my favorite champagne, Veuve Cliquot, shared amongst the revelers. We all yakked ourselves hoarse, had great belly laughs, enjoyed hugs and stories and catching up. It was great from start to finish. So, if you're looking for a surefire party theme at which everyone will find something s/he enjoys, think about a Cheese-athon. You can't go wrong.