For the next several days, The Lady will be designing and I will be reviewing cheese plates that will go well at your holiday celebrations.
Designing cheese boards or platters is simple and presents a beautiful and delicious addition to the festivities. A cheese board begins with the mildest cheese and ends with the strongest flavored cheese, generally a blue. Limit your variety of cheese offerings to either three or five. Why the odd number? Simple prettier to display and any number over five becomes too many flavors to enjoy.
On our first holiday cheese board we’ve chosen both domestic and international cheeses:
VBCC Fresh Chevre
From our good friend, Allison Hooper and the Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery, we start with their fresh chevre. This is the cheese Allison made for a dinner organized by Bob Reese, her partner at VBCC, who at the time was the marketing director at the Vermont Agriculture Department. The chevre creation was a hit and soon Allison and Bob founded VBCC. Vegetarian-Suitable.
Creamy, mild with citrus and a gentle goat tang, VBCC Fresh Chevre is the perfect start for a perfect holiday cheese board.
French Double Creme Brie
While setting up the Murray’s Cheese Shops in Krogers, The Lady was introduced to this affordable Double Creme Brie from Henri Hutin. Rich and mild, Brie Couronne is earthy with a fluffy, snowy white rind. Source is pasteurized cow milk. Perfect with a warm baguette and Harvest Song Apricot Preserves.
Chimay ala Biere
This washed rind cheese made by in the traditional Trappist style is stinky as a result of the beer washing which creates the b. linen bacteria. As with many washed rinds, this cheese has a much stronger bark than its bite which is mild with apricot notes. There are also after notes of hops from its washing. Pair with pears…
Grafton 2-Year extra Sharp Cheddar
Mellow and tart with a nuttiness, this raw milk cheese has been aged two years and crumbles perfectly while being creamy on the palate. You can never go wrong with an aged Vermont cheddar. Serve with Mitica Fig Almond Cake, which is made with marcona almonds and Pajarero figs.
Colston Bassett Stilton
The last offering on your Holiday Cheese Board is the King of English Cheeses, Stilton. This protected cheese is made by Colston Bassett, a cooperative of local English farmers whose land has been part of the cooperative since its founding in 1913. Rich and creamy with blue veining, this cheese pairs perfectly with Bee Raw Maine Raspberry Honey. As blue ages, the flavor intensifies. Made with pasteurized cow milk.
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