Amuse-Gueule de Roquefort

J has loved blue cheese ever since we discovered it on our honeymoon in Europe in 1977. She would buy it in every new town, at a cheese shop, and put it in her purse. We ate it for lunch most every day, back when Europe was $10 a day. And she still loves it. Now we live in Iowa, where there's good Maytag blue. And in Ames, where at Iowa State University they created the first process for making blue from cow's milk, homogenized.

This is a recipe for cheese balls in Julia (MAFC I p. 196). But I just use it to top crackers or toast rounds.

4 ounces blue cheese
1 tablespoon chopped chives or green onion tops.
3 tablespoons softened butter
1 tablespoon finely minced celery
Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 turns of a pepper mill
1 teaspoon cognac or two or three drops Worcestershire sauce

1. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, blend the ingredients until smooth.
2. Garnish with more chopped chives or green onion tops