Alouette Hickory Smoked Baby Brie

Alouette Hickory Smoked Baby Brie

Alouette is the French word for a Skylark. A Skylark is a cute little bird; Alouette makes cute little cheeses. I guess it works.

I have never been a huge fan of Alouette Brie, as it never seems to age to that perfect gooey consistency that I expect of my softer French cheeses. It works fine in a pinch, though. Now, smoked brie, though? This is another issue entirely.

I had never tried smoked brie before. What could possibly be the point? The beauty of a brie lies in its simplicity, its mildness, its innocent maiden-like charm that conceals a richness so deep that it needs no accompaniment. Remember the scene in Twin Peaks when Jerry and Ben Horne nearly go mad over the beautiful simplicity of brie and butter, spread on a baguette? That is the magic of this cheese. To cover it in hickory smoke seems, well.... misguided.

And after tasting it, I believe it really is. The smoking does nothing to the brie except add a slight harshness to its aftertaste, and a slight firmness to its texture. The last thing a brie needs is to be firmer, even if this is a "baby" brie. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either.

If you really must add some sort of pizazz to your brie for your next party, such as baking it en croute or some such thing, I merely entreat you to keep it as simple as possible. The best bries need no help being delicious.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Yancey's Fancy Fire Roasted Tomato Cheddar

Yancey's Fancy Flavored Cheeses

Yancey's Fancy Fire Roasted Tomato Cheddar is a mild but robust cheddar chock-full of red, smoky, flavorful tomatoes. This cheese surprised me - I wasn't really expecting much of it, but it really is very flavorful and rich. The tomato flavor is perfect - not too smoky or tangy, just warm and tomatoey enough to really enhance the cheddar experience. I plated it with some cured meats and banana peppers, it was a winning combination.

I can think of some other cool uses for this cheese, too - try melting it all down with refried beans and peppers and a bit of salsa in a crockpot for a killer dip. Or use it to make nachos, or throw it on a pizza crust for your next homemade pizza. This is a great party cheese.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

New Holland Havarti with Dill

Christmas (or whatever) is coming up, which means it's cheese plate season! My family never had a big Christmas dinner when I was growing up, we just spent the holiday week snacking on cheeses, cured meats, and whatever was around, Roman-style. So for me, the month of December is a non-stop orgy of chips, dips, breads, crackers, and cheese. It's a great time.

My husband and I kicked off cheese plate season last night with a rather lovely assortment, the first of which was New Holland Snacking Havarti with Dill. New Holland doesn't seem to have a web presence, but you can find their "snacking havartis" at most grocery stores. I'm not sure what distinguishes a "snacking havarti" from a full-on "eating havarti", perhaps someone will know the answer. Havarti pretty much always works, though, as a soft, mild cheese that will be palatable to anyone.

The Havarti with Dill was very nice, if you like dill of course. There's quite a bit of dill in it, and it's very spreadable. It goes well with cured meats and any pickle product of your choice - cornichons, chopped dills, pickled onions, et cetera.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Beemster With Mustard

Beemster with Mustard at the Beemster Website

Beemster is a line of Dutch cheeses, of which I am quite fond. Their cheeses tend to be mild and creamy, yet flavorful and enticing. Beemster with Mustard is no exception.

This is a variety of cheese from Beemster's "Royal Garden Selection", which makes me feel pretty fancy. It's just a nice, creamy, mildly yellow Dutch cheese with a lot of mustard seeds in it. The mustard flavor is not overpowering or out of place, and the seeds give the cheese an extra layer of texture that makes it quite a pleasure to eat.

This is definitely a versatile cheese that would perform wonderfully on a burger, in a grilled cheese sandwich, on a cheese plate, in a salad, I mean wherever really. Nothing goes better with mustard than onions, so if you're cheese plating this one, I recommend surrounding it with some yummy little cocktail onions - or just drinking a Gibson while you eat it.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

VOD Gourmet Whiskey Blue

Whiskey Blue at iGourmet

VOD Gourmet Home Page

VOD Gourmet cheeses are the brainchild of Swedish cheese visionary Ulla Nylin. She decided that it would be a great idea to make Swedish-style cheeses infused with Vodka, and has built her cheese company around that idea. I haven't tried her vodka cheeses but it sounds like a great idea to me.

Nylin expanded the VOD Gourmet line of cheeses to include whiskey- and wine-infused varieties, and that's where VOD Whiskey Blue comes in. It is a very high-quality, strongly flavored blue cheese that has been aged in delicious bourbon.

After my previous success with whiskey cheeses in the form of Kerrygold Aged Cheddar with Irish Whiskey, I was excited to give Whiskey Blue a try. Honestly, it was good enough, but I think that whiskey works MUCH better with cheddar than it does with blue. I got the feeling that two very strong flavors were having it out for domination in my mouth, and it wasn't a cohesive flavor experience at all.

That said, it is a very nice, creamy, strong blue cheese, and the bourbon could be tempered a bit, I think, with the right accompaniments. Any blue cheese goes great with Branston Pickle, I think that and a strong ale (or whiskey, duh) would give you the flavor mix that you deserve from an interesting cheese like this one.

RATING: 2 out of 5 stars

Woolwich Dairy Triple Creme Goat Brie

http://www.woolwichdairy.com/products.aspx?x=lwikHt29djFe7s8764t6fWk7Zrf%2f1MBI0aMDI11dZ2Y%3d

Soft goat cheese is certainly common enough, but it's not every day that you eat Goat Brie. I love it, and this Woolwich Dairy variety that I picked up the other day was particularly delicious.

Goat Brie is pretty similar to Cow Brie, except that it is a little less rich (even in triple-creme form), and it of course has the distinctive flavor of goat milk that comes with any goat cheese. It adds a subtle interest to the creamy, melty cheese, and is a refreshing alternative to your usual brie experience. I highly recommend it.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

Sonoma Jack Garlic Jack

http://www.montereygourmetfoods.com/company/sonoma_cheese/

I'm sure you've seen varieties of Sonoma Jack at your grocery store - I've tried a few of them in the past but was never that impressed. Not until I tried their "Garlic Jack" flavor. Wow! I am a huge fan of garlic, the more garlic in my food, the better. In terms of garlicky goodness, this cheese really delivers. It is rich and creamy and intensely garlicky, in the best possible way.

What to do with it, though? It is so very garlicky that it might potentially disrupt or overpower the other flavors on your cheese plate. The label suggests: "Grate it on breads!". I think this is a fine idea. You could drizzle some olive oil or butter on french bread, load it up with grated Garlic Jack, and run it under the broiler for garlic cheesy bread heaven. Alternatively, I imagine it would be lovely on a burger. I don't think it would be impossible to serve this cheese plate-style, either; I would just give it some strong accessories, like olives (garlic-stuffed olives, even??), mustard, pickles, and beer.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars