STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Starstuff · Kenneth Cole

cheese, glorious cheese!

nyc_shopgirl · Dooney & Bourke

My favorite type of cheese which is a form of cheddar is port wine. I have loved it since I was 3 it is very yummy. I also like gruyere and enjoy the kind with fruit in it there is one with cranberries and another with appricots I got at Stew Leonards. Check at your local gourmet or health food store and just pick something up that spikes your interest.

cc · Marc Jacobs

For everyday snacking, I love things in the Swiss family like comte and gruyere, but my favorite cheese is a soft creamy cheese with layers of walnut. It is usually called either St. Julian or gourmandise. I love to make a put it on a baguette with slices of apples. It's really rich though so I usually tend to go overboard eating it and then need to lay off it for a while. It can be hard to find too. I've gotten it at Food Emporium and Gourmet Garage but sometimes they won't have it for months at a time.

Here it is, on the left. Usually it has walnuts on the outside as well.

-- Edited by cc at 13:01, 2004-12-14

valenciana · Dooney & Bourke

i'm not very well versed, and of those Big Three you mentioned, i only really like brie. But one of my favorites, for snacking in particular, is havarti. yummy!

Maddie · Coach

I'm not a cheese expert, but I have some favorites. I really like smoked gouda and camembert.

dc · Dooney & Bourke

I have a few faves - every day cheese I like perrano or goat gouda and I always have one or the other in my fridge.

For parties, drunken goat cheese is a huge hit (people like the name), and I am also partial to blue cheeses like Saga blue, Roquefort (which is rather delicate for a blue), gorgonzola, cambazola (blend of camembert and gorgonzola - yum) or Maytag. Also, in winter I love huntsman, which is alternating layers of stilton with double Gloucester. Very hearty and makes a very attractive presentation because it's striped.

Sometimes for parties, I'll do a Spanish theme and have a few like manchego, campo de montalban, idiazabal, etc, then I'll serve with some yummy olives and marcona almonds. This gives you the opportunity to drinks lots of yummy rioja and sangria as well. You can do themes for other countries, of course.

Instead of your usual brie, try reblochon or camembert... I just think they have more character (good @ room temp). Chaumes is a nice, mellow brie alternative as well.

Also, what you serve your cheese with is important, IMO - thinly sliced baguette is great for a soft cheese, and mini water crackers allow the flavor of a mellow hard cheese (like some of the spaniards) to come through. Stronger flavors can stand up to, say, a cracker with cracked red pepper and basil, just don't get too many flavors in there or it's confusing. With English cheeses I am partial to stoned wheat crackers, but that's just me.

No ritz crackers. Too oily and buttery. I love the crackers by haute cuisine and also some italian crostini can be nice with the right cheese (a stronger soft cheese). Also flatbread can be good.

Anyway, I'd just go to whole foods and start tasting! They have really knowledgeable people who are not afraid to suggest alternatives to the old standbys.

God, I am hungry.

e_doli · Dooney & Bourke

manchego is one of my current favorites. its a spanish, hard sheep's milk cheese. its pretty mild and a little nutty flavored.

i know its still cheddar, but dubliner vintage irish cheddar is really good. very different from plain old cheddar.

parmigiano-reggiano is a great cheese too.

here's a thing from the food network on cheese plates:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_28192,00.html

dot · Marc Jacobs

comte is my favorite cheese. i turned cc on to it.

if you really want to go wild, you should check out the artisanal website for ideas.

www.artisanalcheese.com

i never knew so many kinds of cheese were out there. if you are really into cheese and are ever in new york, you should definitely stop by and have a consultation with the fromagier (yes a cheese man). the first time i went, we had him make a selection of 8 cheeses... he picked them out, told a story about each one, and then told us which order to eat it in..... they are VERY serious about cheese here.

dc · Dooney & Bourke

quote:
Originally posted by: dot
"comte is my favorite cheese. i turned cc on to it. if you really want to go wild, you should check out the artisanal website for ideas. www.artisanalcheese.com i never knew so many kinds of cheese were out there. if you are really into cheese and are ever in new york, you should definitely stop by and have a consultation with the fromagier (yes a cheese man). the first time i went, we had him make a selection of 8 cheeses... he picked them out, told a story about each one, and then told us which order to eat it in..... they are VERY serious about cheese here."

I've been!!! I went w/smash. It is indeed a magical place. We just had brunch - no consult w/the fromagier, but I DID do that at their sister restaurant, Picholine, and it was delightful....

Mia · Kate Spade

I love cheese. I think it might be my favourite food. I don't think anyone has mentioned Stilton, but a good, room-temperature Stilton is...heaven. God, I am drooling.

I second dc's love for cambozola, as well. I lived on cambozola, baba ghannouj (sp?) and baguettes when I was a student in Montreal.

smash · Dooney & Bourke

as soon as i saw this thread i was immediately going to recommend that you go with J to Artisanal. i see dot and dc beat me to the punch! it's on 32nd and park and it is the perfect place to learn about cheese. it's a great place to eat in general (amazing fondue, delicious sandwiches, the best mac & cheese in the city), but having a wine/cheese tasting is a great experience. their cheese menu is enormous - B is kind of a cheese freak, so he always just gets cheese when we go -- he also is very adventurous whereas i am not... if something says "borderline offensive" or "brutal" in the description, he will order it. anyway, they are great about helping you select cheeses for your tasting and you can also get their opinions on wine to pair with each. and if you love something when you are eating there, you can go to the back and buy a hunk of it to take home.

another great place to browse for new cheeses to try is Ideal Cheese (http://www.idealcheese.com/) on 1st Ave and 52nd St - they are extremely helpful in guiding you to select cheeses that are in the same family as other cheeses that you are familiar with or know that you like.

and one more suggestion is ordering some stuff from Fresh Direct - they have good descriptions on their website and then you can try a bunch of stuff in the privacy of your own home... we've tried lots of new cheeses this way.

i don't have anything to recommend that dc didn't already cover - she and i seem to share very similar taste in cheese.

Starstuff · Kenneth Cole

quote:
Originally posted by: smash
"...if something says "borderline offensive" or "brutal" in the description, he will order it. "

LOL! I can't imagine how cheese could be offensive (except maybe the smell), so that is too funny!

J is a cheese freak. The man loves cheese. He would love to go there, so maybe for my b-day. Mac-and-Cheese sounds like a good celabratory dinner. J loves stinky cheese -- me, not so much. (True confession time: I'm secretly afraid that J will meet a woman who shares his passion for blue cheese and leave me for her. so lame, I know. )

Thanks for all your advice -- I check out the web sites, and I'm gonna write down your recommendations for the next time I'm at Eli's or Fairway.

Mia · Kate Spade

There is a restaurant with only cheese??!

*faints*

Karina · Chanel

i looooove gouda cheese w/ pears and apples

sephora rocks · Nine West

I just had a party last night and the cheeses that we chose to serve were a big hit! The favorites were the Applewood Smoked Double Gloucester and Costwold (if you like chives, then you'll love Cotswold). Also, I discovered that triple creme brie is much creamier than "regular" brie...it was wonderful spread a slice of french baguette. Aged Gouda is great, too (aged cheeses have a stronger flavor).

JoceyBaby23 · Gucci

i love PepperJack! Costco sells a Kirkland brand that is amazing!

JackieO527 · Dooney & Bourke

My favorite cheese is Boursin Cheese in Three Pepper or four pepper I cannot remember right this second.

Recipe to go along with it:

1 Loaf of French Bread

Butter

Fresh sliced Tomatoes

1 package of boursin

Slice the bread into desired size, lightly butter one side of the bread, put in the oven at 350 until lightly toasted, does not need to brown just be a little crunchy, then spread cheese (any amount you choose) over the bread, then place a piece of tomatoe on top of the cheese and presto you are done, it is really each and people love it.

Patricia · BCBG

Manchego is a really good "starter cheese" imo. Everyone seems to like it.

I just got a heavenly Spanish blue - Cabrales I think?

mikacat · Coach

yum--

i love cheese too. looks like you have some great recs.

My personal favs are farmer's cheese (kind of mild), all havartis but especially havarti with dill (also mild), baby swiss, Saga (kind of like brie and blue cheese together-- heavenly)