If you're having a dinner party, then you should consider putting out a cheese plate. This is something that is very common in France. It is served after the main meal, and before the dessert. It is a transition between the heavy entrée and the sweet dessert. If your only experience with cheese is the sliced stuff you get at the deli counter, don't worry. This article will give you a list of cheese to get that your guests will love. You can find most of them at a local gourmet shop, or if your party is not happening for a while, you can even order them online.
Goat Cheese
At first glance this resembles cream cheese. It is light and easy to spread. However, fresh goat cheese is much richer than cream cheese. It has a tangy, almost citrus flavor. This would be a perfect cheese to pair with a crisp, rosemary-flavored cracker.
Roquefort
Every cheese plate needs a blue cheese. Roquefort is a French blue cheese that has a powerful flavor. The flavor is sharp, almost biting. There is quite a bit of tanginess to the cheese. It crumbles; it doesn't spread like goat cheese. Because Roquefort is so salty and tangy, you should pair it with something sweet like a slice of ripe pear or apple. You can also pair it with a bland English style cracker. Make sure to choose a cracker that doesn't have much salt.
Mozzarella Di Bufala
A classic pairing is mozzarella, tomato, and basil. You can make this pairing more exciting by choosing buffalo milk mozzarella. This cheese is made in Italy from water buffalo. The texture of the cheese is the same, but the flavor is much more intense. It has a more gamy flavor. While buffalo milk mozzarella is sold in large sizes, what you should look for are the small balls called bocconcini. These are ideal for serving on a cheese plate.
Extra-Sharp Aged White Cheddar
Most people have had cheddar cheese, but you should surprise them with an aged, extra-sharp, white variety. The yellow cheeses have all had color added. You should look for a white cheddar that has been aged at least 12 months. It will be very hard, and when you slice it, it will flake off.
This is a great cheese to pair with a jam. It has such a strong flavor that it won't be overpowered. You should get a really good fig jam to start with. Make sure the fig jam is made with sugar and not high fructose corn syrup. The corn syrup will be too sweet. Then take the extra-sharp cheddar and slice it very thin. Place the jam on a cracker, and then lay the thin slice of cheddar on top of the jam. This flavor combination works wonderfully with a dark red wine such as Pinot Noir.
