Anybody else have hostess "go-to"s? Like, if I had come to your house for your last three get-togethers you hosted, I would have eaten the exact same something more than once? At my house, the party staples are a veggie tray (with a bevy of dipping sauces) and a fully-stocked cheese board. I usually find that if people stuff their faces with cheesey & bready carbs as soon as they walk in the door, they're less likely to hound me about why dinner is taking so long ("I'm uh... preparing a reduction sauce. Yeah. Totally not trying to scratch the little burnt bits from your toast, if that's what you're asking.") So yeah. Back to cheese plates.  

The Really Good Stuff

Joanna Goddard from A Cup of Jo recently got in cohoots with the cheesemonger (the cheese expert, for those not in the cheesey know) from her local shop. That local shop just happens to be Murray's Cheese Shop, the oldest cheese shop in New York City. So here's what's on Joanna's expertly curated plate: