Happy New Year! Sherry Wine Cheese Spread (1980)

So back in 2019 (one week ago) I was invited to a New Year’s Eve party at the home of some of Mr. Sauce’s dear college friends.

Me, being me, I always have to bring something to a party–and if it’s a dish from my collection of cookbooks, that’s even better.

But what to choose? What screams party?

Cheese. Cheese ball. Why stop there? Why not go with a cheese spread that is a CHEESE MOLD?

This little gem of a cookbook was given to my by my old high school chum, Jackie.

Each main recipe is a signature dish from a variety of restaurants across the country. A sample:

I decided to do a quick search and see how many of them still exist.

• The Chesapeake Restaurant in Baltimore? There is a restaurant there, but it’s not the original.
• Windows of the World in NYC? Big no.
• Locke-Ober Cafe in Boston? Closed in 2012
• Gene and Gabe’s Lodge? Shuttered in 2009
• Star of the Sea Room in San Diego? Bye bye.
• New Orleans’ Restaurant Jonathan?    Nope.
• Casa Grisanti in Louisville closed in 1991.

There are a few that are still in operation:

• Russian Tea Room? Yep. Been there.
• Mader’s is kicking it in Milwaukee.
• Bagatelle of Miami is reopening this year.
• Brennan’s in NOLA is still serving bananas foster.

Back to the cheese. I blended together butter and cheeses and stuffed it into a 3 cup mold for chilling before we go to the party.

So we get to the house. Our hostess opens the door and she is wearing stiletto heels and a beaded cocktail dress. The other women at the party are wearing metallic party dresses and jumpsuits. Hair and make-up on point.

I turn to Mr. Sauce and say, “what the hell?”

“Oh yeah, on the invite the dress code was “Fancy As Fuck.”

FANCY. AS. FUCK.

And there I am, with cheese mold in tow, dressed in head-to-toe Talbots, wearing sensible winter shoes, and minimal make-up.

I’m not wearing glitter. I am not awash in sequins.

To make things even more awkward for me, I am older than the other attendees. How much older? Let’s just say that in high school I could’ve baby sat every single person in the room.

So there I am–weird, out of place, middle aged, casual lady trying to force cheese out of a lightly oiled, copper Jell-O mold; whilst everyone else is so festive and sparkly and gussied up.

Well, the cheese finally unglued itself from the mold.

I thought it was good. Very, very Sherried.

However, no one else ate it.

It made me sad.

But the party did feature tiny hats, and I do love a tiny hat. So I took one home with me.

Look where it ended up.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2020 from everyone at DiS1972 HQ.

I hope to be more active on the blog this year!