A cheese and salad course serves as the perfect transition from the meal to the dessert course. The winter season does not mean you have to do without fresh greens. Inquire at your local market or farm stand for “greenhouse” mesclun mixes.We recommend pairing the greens with an assortment of locally produced cheeses and our quince cranberry compote.

Berkshire Blue
A Jersey cow’s milk blue cheese, made by Berkshire Blue cheese makers in Lenox, Massachusetts. This is a buttery cheese with the traditional blue veins that give a mushroom and herb flavor hints. A great match for the bold flavor in the venison stew.

White Buck
A goat’s milk cheese from Bob and Debbie Stetson at Westfield Farm in Hubbardston, Massachusetts.This cheese is very similar to the powdery white molded Loire, France, goat cheese called Bucheron. The interior of the cheese is cakey in texture and floral in flavor with some lingering citrus notes. A great cheese to pair with the almond pear torte.

Hannahbells
Little thimble-sized cow’s milk cheeses from the Shy Brothers inWestport, Massachusetts. Their Classic French “cakey”-textured gems are surface ripened to a thin pale yellow rind and have a beautiful floral and herbal aroma and flavor. They also are made with the addition of lavender, shallot and rosemary. A great cheese to match with simple greens, but substantial enough to pair with the Brussels sprouts.

The Cheese Course was curated by Robert J. Aguilera