Starters

My daughter-in-law has been learning to make cheese at her small homestead in Northern California, and I am the lucky beneficiary. She brings me samples of her Camembert and hand-pulled mozzarella, as well as crocks of her deliciously tart and tangy lightly peppered goat cheese. For an easy starter, I like to slather her homemade chèvre on crostini, then add chopped kumquats and fresh thyme, both picked in the garden that lies just outside my kitchen door.