Wow. Cranberry and Stilton sound fantastic together.
The only cranberry cheddar I’ve had was some stuff I bought in Wisconsin. I was very disappointed. I’m generally against flavored cheeses, but I do find I enjoy horseradish cheddar from time to time.
Shalmanese, your pecorinos sound lovely. I like the way you used them… You’ll have to cook me dinner some time.
I’ve never had truffles. :eek: 
But I know I’d love them.
The concept frightens me–it sounds like one of those hideous Emeril fusion cuisine disasters that result from combining two excellent but inappropriately partnered tastes–but I’m oddly compelled to try it. Who makes this?
Stranger
It’s a pretty common combination around here, actually. At least common enough that all the lower-tier supermarkets around here have it. I usually just buy some at random cheese shops when I’m travelling in Wisconsin, so I really couldn’t tell you what brands are better.
Hmmm…I’ll have to look around I guess. I remember seeing some pretty scary things at the Mars Cheese Castle (just down the road from the Bong Recreation Area…Wisconsin is such a riot) but I don’t recall horseradish cheddar. I could see it with something more mild, but cheddar…
Then again, I once scoffed at garlic ice cream, until a side trip to Gilroy changed my life forever. 
Stranger
I love baked brie cheese. I do not however, like the jelly that many people couple with it. Any ideas on other (unsweet) items I couple to work in tandum w/ the brie?
While I think a sweet raspberry or blueberry jam is the perfect accompaniment to baked brie, if you want something savory, try some pesto (preferably homemade) sprinkled with some pine nuts.
This is probably a really bad idea and I’ll get smacked for it, but a good homemade olivada is great with brie, in my opinion. Use the olivada sparingly, however, so it doesn’t overwhelm. And my olivadas tend to be very, very garlicky. I’m not saying half garlic, half olives, but close.
Brie is also really good with tomatoes, especially fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes. It’s a very simple but satisfying taste.
Heh, great minds…I was going to suggest a tapenade with sourdough toast.
I haven’t tried it with brie, which is not my favorite cheese, but a mix of chopped carmelized onions and fire-roasted tomatoes with basil might be good; a little sweet, but not fruity like jam or jelly.
Stranger
Has anyone tried Norweigian Gjetost? A couple months ago my dear friend and Cheese Pusher brought a cube of this over. I was skeptical when I saw its color but tasted with a clear palate and an open mind. Let’s just say that Gjetost is… not for me. I was tempted to go scrub my tongue with bleach & a toothbrush. I believe that’s the only cheese I’ve ever spit out.
YES!!! I love that stuff. It starts out tasting like fudge (not the chocolate kind. Just the plain, sugar kind) and ends up like a smooth cheese. It’s very mild, sweet, and tasty. It’s awesome breakfast cheese, and works well on crackers.
I find it rather odd that you found the taste so objectionable, Seeker. It just tastes like sweet cheese. I could understand being repulsed by some of the stinkier blues or even the “sweaty ass” (as my brother calls it) smell of Morbier, but Gjetost is a very mild cheese. It just doesn’t taste as you’d expect. It’s almost like a sweet cream cheese, with a bit of caramel to it.
I’ll have some stinky, briney “feet” cheese any day. Gjetost was my first flirtation with the sweet stuff and may be my last.
Oh wow… This Red Dragon sounds delicious!
I don’t think I’ve ever met a cheese I didn’t like.
There’s something incredibly primal about cutting a piece of cheese from its natural rind; this is something our ancestors have done for centuries, without the benefit of cranberries or apricots.
I like the cheeses with fruit/herbs/etc added, don’t get me wrong, but they are more of a confection than an actual cheese, in my view.
I’ve been buying a different cheese every week for the last month or so; this week it’s some unnamed french goats cheese - a bit like an unripe Brie in appearance, but creamier. I had some of that with a sliced avocado, drizzled with chili vinaigrette, it was very nice.
Also enjoyed a slice of Dolcelatte - a very nice soft Italian blue - on a cracker this evening.
Last week it was Mimolette - which is like a very hard, dry edam - quite nutty and tangy in flavour with some of the ‘zing’ that you get in something like Pecorino.
And Vignotte - a triple-cream soft French one looking like a tall, narrow Camenbert - rather stinky (‘outdoor cheese’, my daughter called it), but very, very rich and tasty.
Before that, I tried Bleu d’Auvergne - a sticky, crumbly french cheese with LOTS of blue in it - moderately strong, but quite a complex assortment of flavours in that one.
So, where’s the plate to pass around?
Red Dragon is lovely,as are the other Welsh herbed cheeses like Black Mountain. Similar to cheddar but usually a little softer.
Mangetout try and get some Neal’s Yard Gubbeen, and also try some Alsatian Munster (make sure it is French and artisan made). They both have fine flavour, though avoid mass produced Munster.
FYI - Dolcelatte is a brand name Dolce Gargonzola that is made only from the first milking rather than the traditional two for regular gargonzola.