Day 913 : American Cheese Celebrations : Day Three - Lille

I apologize my dear friends for being slightly radio silent for the past few days - I'm finally playing catch-up today and things will get much more consistent...so let's get back to day three in our American Cheese Celebrations wrap up from last week's tasting with Lille. No folks, I'm not talking about the city in France, I'm talking about the soft ripened Coulommiers inspired cheese crafted by the folks at Vermont Farmstead.

Coulommiers, in case you are not familiar is a cousin of the more well known Brie.

Lille is a fabulous bloomy rinded cheese -- full of buttery round notes and a nice clean mushroomy finish with faint hints of nuttiness and grassiness. A crowd pleaser of a cheese -- this is a sumptuous, unctuous, mouth coating cheese moment! 

Lille for me is the embodiment of Vermont summertime -- bright and full of life!

Instead of pairing Lille with the obvious options of either bubbles or a light crisp white wine, why not pair Lille with a cocktail? In honor of the summertime spirit what about an Elderflower Prosecco Cocktail? 

What do you need to make this cocktail

1 chilled bottle of Prosecco / Champagne / Blanc de Blancs -- your bubbles of choice, the crisper the better. 

St Germain Elderflower Liqueur 

1 Persian Cucumber

Mint Sprigs

Squeeze of Lemon

Ice

Add a few ice cubes to a tumbler style glass. Add a decent amount of Prosecco and a splash of St Germain followed by a few paper-thin slices of cucumber and a dash of lemon. Top with a mint sprig or two for crisp freshness. This refreshing cocktail will cut through the round buttery-ness of the cheese in the most elegant of fashions, it will bring out the hints of grassiness in the cheese and is a different route for Lille.

Albeit not particularly seasonal -- this is also a fabulous celebratory pairing!

Day 851 : Red, White, and Blue - My picks for July 4th cheeses

In honor of tomorrow being Independence day - its time to break out our Red, White, and Blue of American cheese selections courtesy of Fromagical. All Northeast based cheeses honoring our local farmers' excellent cheesemaking craft.

Our Red selection is Twin Maple Farm's Hudson Red hailing from Ghent, NY. A raw cow's milk washed rind cheese aged for anywhere between two and four months with a semi-soft consistency. Buttery and milky with a fabulous roundness on the interior has an earthy, rustic, funky, meaty richness from the washed rind exterior. A great washed rind cheese that pleases the amateur and the cheese aficionado alike. Perfect with a medium bodied fruit forward white or a nice IPA.

Image courtesy of www.artisanalcheese.com

Our White selection is Vermont Farmstead's Lille hailing from South Woodstock, VT. Lille is inspired by Coulommiers, a French bloomy rinded cow's milk cheese that is believed to be an ancestor of Brie. But get those Brie like thoughts out of your head here! Thicker and denser than a Brie -- Lille is all about bright buttery, milky decadence -- hints of mushroom and slight fruity and nutty notes coat the interior of your mouth as you enjoy a morsel of this fabulous cheese. A perfect partner for a glass of bubbles.

Image courtesy of www.artisanalcheese.com

And finally our Blue selection is Berkshire Blue hailing from Great Barrington, MA and crafted by Ira Gramble. Aged just for sixty days, this raw Jersey cow's milk blue cheese is made in the traditional blue cheese manner. Spicy and piquant yet creamy, round and milky with delicate grassy notes. Perfect with a glass of light red wine.

Image courtesy of www.artisanalcheese.com

Have a great 4th all!