United States Cheese Boards

Look what I found today!  I was browsing around and I came across a blog today called A Cup of Joe.  It is one of my new favorites.  It’s written by Joanna Goddard.  This is one very successful blog and she’s originally from Michigan like me!  On her blog from yesterday, she posted about these  cheese boards.  This is the kind of thing that gets me excited lately.  :)

Look at these cheese boards!!  They are available on ETSY in a shop out of Brooklyn called AHeirloom.

I can’t decide which one is my favorite.  The Michigan Cheese Board might take first place because they actually included the Upper Peninsula.  That doesn’t always happen.  I am sure that makes all the “UPer's” (pronounced “yoopers”) happy. 

It’s a toss up.  I live in North Carolina now and that one is pretty nice too.  It might be nice to have if we do any tailgating this year. 

Although I have to say Texas and California are pretty cute too.

  

And if you don’t see a state you want, they do custom orders too!

Cheese Alert: Neal’s Yard Shropshire Blue

I tried a new cheese this week.  It made me weak in the knees.

I have a job where I work on the fringe of the cheese world as a Merchandiser.  I have an elementary knowledge of cheese but find it fascinating and love learning about and discovering new cheese.  This one is my latest find.

This is a special cheese.  I would call it an indulgence.

Did you happen to notice the price tag on this tiny package of goodness?

Yes…a mere $24.99 per pound.  That’s right.  Un huh! And it is worth every penny!!  Of course a whole pound is a lot of cheese.   I don’t need that much.  This little piece will be just the right amount and I can splurge on a $7.50 piece of dairy heaven every now and then right?

This is one of the famous Neal’s Yard Cheese shops.  Love that blue awning.  Neal’s Yard is a cheese company in England that buys cheese from about 70 cheese makers in both England and Ireland and they sell their cheese in two of their famous stores in London.  And lucky for us here in the states they export to shops and restaurants all over the world.  They carry some of the finest cheese the U.K. has to offer. 

I will shop here someday.  Oh, yes, I WILL shop here one fine day. (And I will ask for a sample of the “Stinking Bishop” in the photo above.)

I’m having mine with a sliced pear.  I found my little package of Shropshire Blue at Whole Foods in their Specialty Cheese case. (I had to go all the way to Chapel Hill in NC to find this treat as we don’t have a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe’s or a Southern Seasons here in Greensboro.)  Whole Foods was offering samples.  Offering samples is smart.  That cheese was flying out the door.  A piece flew out with me.

   

Neal’s Yard Shropshire Blue is a cow’s milk cheese.  It is best to serve it at room temperature.  Delicious and it melts in your mouth.  If you like Blue cheese, this one is a highly recommended.  The flavor is incredible. 

Cheese Anyone?

Have you ever seen such a beautiful set of cheese knives before in your life??? My sweet daughter gave this set to me as my Christmas gift this year. And I am tickled to have them.

Here they are in their box. She purchased them at Pier One Imports. Now as some of you might remember, I have been lusting over the set of cheese knives that I saw before Thanksgiving at Pottery Barn. Remember this photo below? I vowed that someday they would be mine.

I still think they are beautiful but decided against them because the handles had the names “Cheddar, Swiss”, and “Blue” on them. What if I wanted to serve my favorite Parrano? Or a Monterey Jack with Horseradish? Hmmm??? I didn’t want to feel “locked” in. :)

I wish I had a pear to slice and some grapes to add to this plate. (If you like Blue Cheese the “Bayley Hazen Blue” in the center of the plate is highly recommended. A slice of that with a piece of sliced pear is heaven!)

An enhanced version of this cheese plate and my new cheese knives might be making an appearance to help ring in the New Year. :) How about you? Any cheese lovers out there?