Cheese of the Month…Ile De France Saint Andre

When I was 16, I was fortunate enough to visit France one summer on a high school group trip. It was a week long tour around the country…Paris, Avignon, Tours and Nice were the cities we stopped in. It was such an incredible experience and I am ever so grateful to my parents for letting me go on such a trip without them – we weren’t totally unsupervised, it was a small group and we were traveling with our French teacher – but as a mom now, I can see it being extremely hard to let your child go somewhere so far away without you with them.

I only wish I could take that same trip over now as an adult, maybe one day…but wow, would that be an experience. I have to admit, back at 16, I don’t know if I was truly appreciating all of the wonderful food I “could” have been eating…I think I may have been more excited about being able to order a glass of wine at a restaurant with my dinner since “anyone” was allowed to drink in France!!

I thought of my trip to France the other day when I received my first cheese of the month selection from Ile de France. Ile de France contacted me recently and asked if I would be interested in trying their cheeses each month and reviewing them on my blog. Would I be “interested”?? Um yes…most definitely. Thank you very much.

My first bite of the Saint Andre cheese gave me a kind of deja vu. I was instantly brought back to that summer trip…more specifically to a rest stop cafe where our bus stopped for lunch one day. It was like a really big gas station with a cafe next to it. It was very clean, and there were things on the menu that I could only wish to see when I’m travelling on the interstate here in Florida! I remember ordering “something” that turned out to be a plate of crusty baguette, creamy soft cheese with a delicate rind, and some thinly sliced meat similar to prosciutto. Oh my….it was good.

Saint Andre cheese has a very creamy and almost buttery texture to it…I served it simply by spreading it on those yummy Ciabatta Crisps I found at Costco recently. It tastes a lot like a brie to me…but with more of an intense flavor. It is delicious. I have been wanting to do more with it…possibly stuff it into some chicken breast with some prosciutto…but instead I have been just enjoying it on these crispy crackers. It has a thin delicate rind that adds another layer of flavor to the cheese, one that I just love.

Just in case I don’t get to actually sharing a recipe with you (I have a feeling I will be instead sharing this cheese with some friends later this week…), check out Ile de France’s Saint Andre page for some recipes and other reviews.

Have a great weekend!!

a2a_linkname=”Aggie’s Kitchen”;a2a_linkurl=”http://www.aggieskitchen.com”;

Wine and Cheese Please…

I know, I should be posting some healthy
recipes since it’s the first week of a new year. But, I am still trying to slowly recap some of the great food that was eaten over this past holiday.

A few weeks before Christmas, our nephew Ryan graduated from the University of Central Florida and we celebrated by throwing him a graduation party with an Italian/Wine and Cheese theme.

It was a lot of fun planning the food for the party…I love working with a theme when it comes to entertaining. We decided on serving 3 different cheeses, along with assorted crackers, crisp breads and fruit for spreading.

There are some really great recipes out there on the web for Baked Brie, I threw together a very simple yet so delicious topping.

Baked Brie with Pecans

large round of brie (found at Costco)
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup of roughly chopped pecans
1/3 cup of butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Melt butter and sugar together in saucepan. Add pecans and cook for about 5 minutes. Pour over brie round and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes in oven.

I think the brie was the favorite (it was devoured!), but these other cheeses were definitely not left unnoticed. I found all the cheeses at Costco at unbelievably reasonable prices. I wish I could tell you the name of the wedge of cheese with cranberries, but we threw out the wrapper and couldn’t remember what it was called.

Herb Coated Goat Cheese
Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis on Foodnetwork.com

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (11-ounce) log soft fresh goat cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or Meyer lemon olive oil
Fresh herb sprigs, for garnish

Stir the herbs, lemon zest, pepper, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Roll the cheese log in the herb mixture to coat completely. Arrange the cheese on a platter. Drizzle the extra-virgin olive oil over and around the cheese log. Serve with the crostini, crackers and fruit. Garnish with herb sprigs.

Stay tuned for recipes from the rest of the party meal!

PS…I want to thank all of you who left comments on my previous post with your meal planning tips! I am working on it, and am getting great ideas from you! 😉

a2a_linkname=”Aggie’s Kitchen”;a2a_linkurl=”http://www.aggieskitchen.com”;

Wine and Cheese Please…

I know, I should be posting some healthy
recipes since it’s the first week of a new year. But, I am still trying to slowly recap some of the great food that was eaten over this past holiday.

A few weeks before Christmas, our nephew Ryan graduated from the University of Central Florida and we celebrated by throwing him a graduation party with an Italian/Wine and Cheese theme.

It was a lot of fun planning the food for the party…I love working with a theme when it comes to entertaining. We decided on serving 3 different cheeses, along with assorted crackers, crisp breads and fruit for spreading.

There are some really great recipes out there on the web for Baked Brie, I threw together a very simple yet so delicious topping.

Baked Brie with Pecans

large round of brie (found at Costco)
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup of roughly chopped pecans
1/3 cup of butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Melt butter and sugar together in saucepan. Add pecans and cook for about 5 minutes. Pour over brie round and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes in oven.

I think the brie was the favorite (it was devoured!), but these other cheeses were definitely not left unnoticed. I found all the cheeses at Costco at unbelievably reasonable prices. I wish I could tell you the name of the wedge of cheese with cranberries, but we threw out the wrapper and couldn’t remember what it was called.

Herb Coated Goat Cheese
Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis on Foodnetwork.com

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (11-ounce) log soft fresh goat cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or Meyer lemon olive oil
Fresh herb sprigs, for garnish

Stir the herbs, lemon zest, pepper, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Roll the cheese log in the herb mixture to coat completely. Arrange the cheese on a platter. Drizzle the extra-virgin olive oil over and around the cheese log. Serve with the crostini, crackers and fruit. Garnish with herb sprigs.

Stay tuned for recipes from the rest of the party meal!

PS…I want to thank all of you who left comments on my previous post with your meal planning tips! I am working on it, and am getting great ideas from you! 😉

a2a_linkname=”Aggie’s Kitchen”;a2a_linkurl=”http://www.aggieskitchen.com”;