On Friday I am having friends over for fondue- 2 different kinds! That meant some serious cheese purchases. This is only the 2nd time I've bought cheese since starting my reduced plastic pledge. It also meant getting a serious cheese grater (not exactly the one in the picture but close enough). For my recipes I need a pound of each:
Swiss Emmental
Gruyere
Brie
One fondue will combine the Emmental and Gruyere, and the other will be Brie with pesto. My first trip was to the cheese department at Fairway. The guy who helped me was really nice. Emmental could be sliced for me and wrapped in paper, but the softer Gruyere and Brie were pre-sliced and wrapped in plastic. He checked downstairs to see if there was anyone there to cut me fresh pieces without plastic wrap, but that staff had already left for the day. There was a bit of a comedic ballet as he handed my Emmental off to another guy to wrap-- it took several times explaining that I really did want him to put the price sticker right on the paper and hand it to me 'naked'- no bag, no plastic wrap. I was a little embarrased to cause a fuss, but luckily it wasn't very crowded and the guy seemed more confused than annoyed.
My next trip was downtown to Murrays Cheese Shop. They had no problem with my no plastic request. In fact, I didn't see plastic bags or wrap behind the counter. They placed my paper wrapped cheeses in a rustic wood box to carry to the checkout, and I only had to turn down the plastic shopping bag. Note: Murrays is not for the faint of pocketbook! At least not the cheeses I purchased.
I also purchased steak at Fairway, to be broiled, sliced and dipped in the fondue, along with bread, apples and crudite. It came wrapped in paper, and the Fairway butcher was OK with my request for no plastic bag.
MMMMM, cheese. I'm looking forward to Friday!
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