Cheese: cow vs. goat vs. sheep

mmmm, cheese.  i probably eat cheese every other night, at least.  this particular assortment was the result of a very hungry visit to mollie stones one night after work.  (damon was obviously out of town, he never would have let me get away with buying so MUCH cheese at once.)  i really blame jonathan, who sent me this pic earlier that day.  cruel, i tell you, just cruel to show a girl so much cheese at one time when she is seated in front of a gigantic flat screen monitor.  it's a miracle i didn't buy more.

for those of you who are afraid of the vast array of cheeses, here are my "go tos."  with these four cheeses, you are guaranteed to have a little something for everyone, and should be able to find them wherever you are.  if not, perhaps you should consider moving or at the very least, switching grocers.

1.  havarti dill (arguably the most plebian of the bunch, but de-licious).  i love dill and think that it really adds to the yummy havarti flavor.  it's a little creamy, but not anything close to the double or triple cremes - it is a much firmer consistency.  it's a danish cows milk cheese and is on the top right of my picture (the one w/o jonathan).

2.  port salut.  mild in flavor, cows milk, made in france.  it is also a creamy cheese without being messy / drippy, and it's pretty approachable too.  definitely not a "fancy pants" cheese at all.  it's on the bottom left, with the orange rind.  i also love this cheese with a little fig spread.  SO delic.

3.  herbed chevre.  can't go wrong here.  goats milk cheese from france.  the flavor is more biting than the others, it's more crumbly, and obviously yummy.  you can go w/o the herbs, but i'm a fan of the herbed variety.  you can also serve chevre warm which is great in salads.  this is also one of my fave links . . . my french is a bit rusty, but my translation of their slogan is: "you never stop loving the chevre," to which i say, amen.

4.  fromage d'affinois.  o.m.g.  probably my fave of the bunch.  60% fat content.  no more explanation needed.  similar to brie but i prefer it.  very soft (obv).  mmmm.  it is the wedge on the bottom right in the drawer.

I obviously have other favorites - as you can see by the drawer - but these are my standby cheeses, almost always on hand along with the more fancy / rare varieties.  stop by and try them some time!  (and for my preggers friends, you can eat cheeses 1-3, gotta wait on 4).

it goes without saying - all of these will be better if consumed with wine :)

Comments

[Nick]

One word for you... Dubliner. Fairly new in cheese time, but delicious none the less.

[jonathan]

What, no link-love?! Such poor blogging etiquette, for shame!

I do look pretty good tho :-)

[sfgirl]

sorry, sorry - here you go . . . but straussblog is a little sparse!

[The Freebie Blogger]

Yum! I love cheese!