At a dinner party last weekend, I was served a perfectly roasted, apricot-glazed pork loin and a gratin with greens and Emmental that I still can’t get out of my mind. The hostess revealed that both recipes came from Pure Flavor, a cookbook written by Kurt Beecher Dammeier, the proprietor of local treasure Beecher’s Handmade Cheese.
I’ve been thinking about Beecher’s Flagship cheese ever since,
occasionally getting lost in daydreams of its famous mac ‘n’
cheese—penne bathing in a melty lake of two different cheeses. I
was thrilled when I stumbled upon the Tasting Room‘s weekly
event Mac ‘n’ Cheese Monday, featuring Beecher’s mac ‘n’ cheese.
The Tasting Room, tucked away in the bricks of Post Alley, not far from
the Beecher’s cheese shop, is a cooperative tasting cellar that pours
some of Washington’s artisan and hard-to-find wines. On Mondays, you
can order up a bowl of bubbling, creamy mac ‘n’ cheese, and enjoy it
with a special wine flight. This collaboration screams delicious. Great
things happen when friends get together. 
