Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Ahh.. The Power of Cheese

Anyone close to me knows my most favorite of all foods is cheese. It's a huge weakness for me.

While waiting for Mark after his surgery, I found a new macaroni and cheese recipe in a magazine. I promptly ripped the page out of the magazine (yes, I'm the person that actually does that if the need arises). The recipe calls for cheddar and Gruyere cheese. Now, I'm not a cheese connaisseur, really, I love most of the cheeses I've tried, but I'm not one to spend $5 for a small piece of some exotic cheese just to have it in the house. Cheddar, cojack, swiss - these are our staples. So of course, I had no idea what Gruyere cheese looked like or would be found at my local supermarket. After hunting for 15 minutes in the fine cheese area, with no employees anywhere to be found, I gave up.

I looked it up on the internet when I got home. Apparently, Gruyere is a hard white cheese, complex in flavor with nutty, earthy flavors that hint at fruit flavors. OK. Whatever. Apparently, it's great for melting (which is probably why it is in macaroni and cheese). I will try again at the supermarket, hopefully being victorious this next time.

And it made me think. There are lots of cheeses I haven't tried, despite my infatuation. I can hardly claim to have a love of all things cheese-related if I haven't actually tried all the cheeses, can I? So I am hereby challenging myself to make one recipe a week using a different cheese for the year 2007.

I know, it sounds cheesy.

And it is.

5 comments:

Mark said...

if anyone is cheesy enough to make 52 new cheese dishes through 2007, it would be you.

I can't wait! (though we might have to add a strict diet for the rest of the week to make it!)

Steve Philp said...

I think Lynn picked up more exotic cheeses as J.B. Russo's. Might be worth a shot.

If you're really feeling cheese'd up, try Alton Brown's grilled cheese recipe once. It's worth the work!

Anonymous said...

Does cottage cheese count? I used to hate it, but now I am addicted. The kids are grossed out by it, so (insert sinister voice here) I get it all to myself!

Anonymous said...

First there was the report that mice actually don't like cheese, and now this:

"Cheese is to be treated as junk food under new advertising rules for children's television.

Commercials promoting it will be banned during children's TV programmes and those with a large proportion of young viewers.

The rules, which come into force this month, are part of a Government drive to reduce children's exposure to foods high in fat, salt and sugar.

Much to the disgust of its makers, cheese is to be regarded in the same light as crisps, sugary cereals and cheeseburgers.

In fact, under the criteria used by the Food Standards Agency to determine junk foods, such products are actually regarded as healthier than cheese."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=426083&in_page_id=1770

Anybody have a recipe for Captain Crunch & Cheeseburger Casserole?

Jenny said...

You've gotta try Applewood English Cheddar. It can be found at Meijer. It is a new find and YUMMY!!!

Perhaps, we should start a cheese and wine tradition at our scrapbooking weekends?!