Oh...'C'est Bon' all right...

There are few things in this world that can transport me to the gates of heaven like cheese. Cheeeeese. It gives me heart palpitations just thinking about it (and as if I didn't just eat some 10 minutes ago). But like everything in life, there are hobbyists and there are Olympic medalists. There are golfers, and then there's Tiger. Oh. Bad analogy. There's supermarket goat's milk cheese, and then there's C'est Bon Fresh Chevre from St. Marys, Ontario.

Upon first glance, this product is quite unassuming. It's only after you taste it that you'll wonder why they didn't get Victoria's Secret to design the packaging. When I opened the 190-gram tub, its consistency reminded me of the cold cream my mother asks for every year at Christmas. I imagined what it would be like to rub this heavenly chevre all over my face and go to sleep with it on, waking periodically to take a big lick (imagine the number of late night fridge runs Nigella Lawson would save!). But I restrained myself and decided to make a delicious torte instead.

Line a cereal bowl with plastic wrap, put some crushed hickory smoked almonds on the bottom and set it aside. Finely chop half a red onion and throw it into a frying pan over medium heat with 1/4 C of balsamic and 2 tbsp of good Canadian maple syrup. Whoosh it around a bit for 6-8 minutes or until the liquid almost disappears then take it off the heat. Gingerly fondle your tub of C'est Bon Fresh Chevre until it pops out like a marshmallow onto the palm of your hand. Put it on a plate, take a thread and carefully slice it horizontally. Put the top half head-up into the nut mixture, slather the onion mixture in between, add the bottom half of the chevre, wrap it up and refrigerate until an hour before you're ready to pop it upside down on a plate and serve with some gorgeous crackers. I'll need to discover some gorgeous local crackers...

This appetizer makes angels sing every time and what makes it outstanding is the cheese. The lovely local cheese...I'm getting a little misty just thinking about it...