This "How to Make a Cheese Plate" video demo was done for About.com, and was quite a challenge to edit down to the requested three minute duration. I usually film about 10 minutes of footage and edit it down to about five, then do a voice-over. The rough cut is then edited to the three-minute final cut. It's usually a very painful process involving me deleting frames and narration that I'm convinced is nothing short of brilliant.But, as the deadline approaches, and my delusions of grandeur fade, I always manage to whittle it down somehow. This video was assigned to follow a 3-cheese selection already published on About's cheese site. I was excited when I saw the choices, since these were three of my all-time favorites. That was also the problem - if I had covered all the info I wanted, the video would have been 15 minutes long!
Since "bring a platter" party season is almost here, this basic how-to may come in handy. These cheeses are fairly easy to find, but if you can't, there are so many combinations that will work. Don't be afraid to ask the person in charge of the cheese department at the local high-end grocery store. The only thing that cheese-heads like better than eating cheese, it's talking about it (my wife sold cheese for years, so I know this for a fact!). Enjoy!
