French Cheese

French Cheese, there is simply nothing like it!

One of my favorite things to do is wander around the excellent cheese shops in France. Did you know that there are over 400 types of cheese? Within these varieties, there are different aging periods making the actual number of choices closer to 1,600!! No wonder cheese shops are super fun!

This particular shop, Laurent Dubois, is my new favorite. There are so many creative options that I had to share a few with you and at the bottom of this post, I have a cheese recipe that is so simple you can be ready to serve guests in a matter of seconds so scroll along!

This blue cheese stuffed with peaches cooked in white wine really got my creative juices flowing.

Did you know that the French dedicate an entire course of their meals to cheese? It’s true! Before dessert and sometimes instead of dessert, they eat cheese. The French never start their meals with cheese as we Americans do. We love our grazing boards and cheese displays along with a glass of wine before we eat. Not the French, they consider cheese to be a digestive so they take it after their meal. Most French cheeses are made with raw milk which means it’s loaded with gut-loving probiotics. Here in America, we pasteurize our milk so there are no longer any live cultures…make you think huh?

Just look at this brie stuffed with walnuts, can you imagine eating this with crisp fresh champagne? I can!

Or how about this brie filled with apples cooked in Calvados? It sounds like a recipe I will be teaching in my upcoming French Food and Wine class slated for November!

Meanwhile, I wanted to share a super easy recipe for a Provencal style cheese that you can have ready for guests in a matter of seconds!

Provencal Chevre

4 ounces of fresh goat cheese

1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence

Pinch crushed red pepper

1 fresh or dried bay leaf

Mold the goat cheese into a disc. Sprinkle the top with the herbs then the crushed pepper and garnish with a bay leaf. Serve at once with fresh French bread or wrap in plastic and tore up to 1 week before serving.

ENJOY! Lorie

I hope I’ll be seeing you in a cooking class this fall.

I have only 2 seats open for the season in Classic French Pastries Friday, October 28th . If you’ve not already signed up, join me for a sweet day learning the latest pastry techniques to create desserts that look like they are from the windows at a Parisian Patisserie! Register NOW