Getting Cheesy This Month

Now that Sweetest Day and National Dessert Day are over, it’s time for something a little more savory. Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine has been celebrating American Cheese Month with a few special events. Tomorrow night at 7 p.m., the store hosts a dinner with Jerry Heimerl of Saxon Homestead Creamery at Nightwood, 2119 S. Halsted St. The dinner will also help support the American Cheese Education Foundation. For $90 per person, you’ll get a four-course dinner with wine pairings.

A seasonal menu begins with bitter fall greens, fermented melon, peanut and Saxony, followed by date dumplings, cabbage, sage and fresh cayenne. Big Ed’s grilled cheese with tomato and apple jelly will close things out. Tickets may be purchased at Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine online or call 773-472-4781.

Pastoral will also host free afternoon tastings and demonstrations with Consider Bardwell Farms (Vermont) and Uplands Cheese Company (Wisconsin) from Oct. 25 to Oct. 27. More details can be found on their website.

For a quicker way to get in on American Cheese Month, purchase “The Greenfields” sandwich or “The Great Ladies of Cheese Medley” through Oct. 31. The Greenfields sandwich is a $10 baguette of prosciutto, pear jam with ginger and whole grain Dijon mustard created by Chrissy Camba, chef of the new Bar Pastoral set to open later this month.