Hail to the Sheep

I have long been turned on to the magic that is goat's milk cheese. Whether its fresh chevre in a salad or the tangy hint of goat cheese in a luscious berry topped cheesecake, call me a fan. But though I frequently peruse the myriad cheese plates gracing our local restaurants' menus, I didn't fully appreciate just how darn good sheep's milk cheese can be until this weekend.

While wandering around the Dupont Farmers Market - my favorite Sunday morning pastime - I saw a stall I hadn't really noticed before, Everona Dairy, where they were handing out delicious samples of their farmstead sheep's milk varieties left and right. Not only did I walk away with a hefty hunk of nutty Piedmont, their signature cheese, but I also got a tub of their Rapidan spread, a tapenade-style dipping 'sauce' that's got the Piedmont cheese mixed right in. Dolloped into a pot of hot orzo with some fresh basil and chopped heirloom tomatoes thrown in for good measure, we had one of my favorite meals of the summer. Yay sheep.