Behold, the power of CHEESE!

While I'm waiting for my sister in law to call back, I figured I'd blog about the Cheese.

My sister, in her infinite wisdom, decided that for a Christmas present, Shawn and I would be enrolled in a 3-month membership for the Artisanal Cheese of the Month Club.

The first month was the Soft Cheese month. There was a Camembert, an Affidelice, and a Banon de Chalais (at least, that's what I think it was based on the description). The Camembert was good, the Affidelice smelled horrible and was EXTREMELY strong tasting--in fact the only person I could find that really liked it was the Russian at work, and she LOVED it, and the Chalais was pretty good--cream cheese consistency, but not overly strong. I'm not a big fan of Camemberts, so of these three, I'd recommend the Chalais.

The second month was the Cheese and Crackers month. There was a Pecorino Toscano Stagionato, Double Gloucester, and Fiscalini Bandaged Cheddar. They all worked well on crackers, though the Cheddar was best with crackers. The Double Gloucester was great by itself and the Pecorino worked wonders on whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce. I would recommend all of these.

And finally this month, we have the European cheeses. There's Quicke's Cheddar, Bleu d'Auvergne, and Pecorino Maschio. We just had the Cheddar and Pecorino on crackers and they're not quite as good as the ones mentioned above, but they still are mighty tasty. I don't think this pecorino will be as good on pasta, it's definitely not as hard as the previous Pecorino, but it is better with the crackers. I haven't had any of the bleu cheese yet (Shawn won't eat it plain like I will...but he sure does seem to like that stuff on steaks way more than I), but I'm sure I'll post here if it was any good.