Anyone in Seattle or visiting Seattle should make a pit stop to The Cheese Cellar on Fourth Avenue, just south of Denny (in the shadow of the Space Needle). Theresa and Dennis will not only make you feel immediately welcome, but they have memories like a 3 star maitre d’–the service is superb. Chances are they will remember that wonderful Italian goat you had last time, even if you forget. I stopped in to sample some of their exclusive Corsican cheeses, only to be showered with samples of the Corsican jam, honey, and olive oils they carry. I didn’t have time, but I soon forgot all about that. Sicilian and Sardenian products aren’t that uncommon, but Corsica’s pretty elusive. And these products were phenominal.

Tomme Taravu and Tomme Corse - available exclusively at The Cheese Cellar in Seattle. I love island cheese, the soft sharpness to it, the salty rind, the smell of spicy underbrush. I like to shave this cheese into finger-size strips and just let them melt on my tongue, catching all of that flavor. The Taravu was a more aged version of the regular Tomme Corse and, ergo, more funky, buttery, and nutty.

Casa di a Castagna jams. I run hot and cold with chestnuts. I love them hot and just roasted, but as far as chestnut honey or chestnutty things, I sometimes get a not so pleasant, dirty, tooo bitter feeling; so it depends on my mood. But my two favorite jams that I tasted were the chestnut and the clementine. The chesnut had just the right balance of bitter/nutty/sweet/texture. The rock star move would be to make a smear of this on a cheese plate with the Tomme Corse. I’ve got a tea party coming up and I’m thinking brioche, chesnut jam, and almond butter sandwiches. Oh don’t think I won’t. The clementine jam was my absolute favorite, though. I love bitter orange marmalade and that oily rind flavor that comes through (not for everyone). I’d serve this with bubbles, on chevre-ladden crostini.

OK, the honey. From Antoine & Dominiquie Poggi. They had four different bottlings(?), one for each season. I’ve had honey segregated by what pollen in which the bees fornicated (acacia, lavender, etc.), but never honey from whence they fornicated. All I have to say is, I don’t know what the hell those bees do in September, but the autumn honey blew my mind. The spring was delicate–fruity, soft hints of blossoms, light in color and flavor. Summer was bolder, less flowery, and more true blue, straight up honey flavor. But autumn, oh man. Autumn, when everything that grows is pushing out every last ounce of sugar, autumn was herbal and floral and exotic and toasty and toffee and gods know what else.

**You can visit The Cheese Cellar’s website HERE to order online (it’s just that easy!) or contact them via phone at 206.404.2743. And yes, cheese is totally fine to ship overnight or two day. Place your order by the 20th. They also have a killer assortment of gift basket goodies, from Italian meringue cookies to pesto and flavored oils. I didn’t even get into the Corsican oils they stock–all the three-coughing spiciness of a Sicilian oil, with all the buttery goodness of Provence.