Thursday is my Wednesday

Oh so much cheese. Cheese Armageddon has descended on our cheese shop. Lots and lots and lots of delicious cheese in our cases:

My eyes are on:

Marcel Petite Comte--scary addictive cheese, I am officially naming my first child (boy or girl) Comte. Beautiful, no?

Nettle Meadow 3 Sisters--brand new 3 milk cheese from the ladies of Nettle Meadow in upstate New York. Fudgy, unctuous, delish. Plus they're cute as a button.

Brillat Savarin--I don't usually get too excited about brie, but this is serious bloomy rind creaminess.

From cheese slinger Song:

Ardrahan – From Kanturk, County Cork, Ireland and aged at Neals Yard Dairy

Cow’s milk with vegetarian rennet, very low in fat only 25%. Semi-soft cheese with a pungent aroma, buttery textured honey-coloured center. Develops a nutty flavour with maturity.

Berkswell – Sheep’s milk cheese from West Midlands, England

Hand made at 16th Century Ram Hall, situated on the edge of Berkswell village from where the cheese takes its name. Berkswell is located 5 miles west of Coventry in the heart of England. In 1989 sheep milking began at Ram Hall with a flock of Friesland (or East Friesian) and Friesland x Poll Dorset ewes, which has now grown to 900. Ewe's milk is excellent for making quality cheese, with higher solid content than cow's and goat's milk. It also has properties, which allow it to be eaten by people with intolerances or allergies to dairy products.

Ploughgate Creamery Located in Albany, VT.

Ploughgate Hartwell - Cow, soft ripened bloomy rind cheese. It is velvety in texture with a mild flavor.

Ploughgate Willoughby - Willoughby is their newest addition. It is a wash rind cheese with smoky notes and overtones reminiscent of Spring. The rind is washed with Honey Gardens Apiaries Traditional Mead. Willoughby is also washed for special events in a variety of micro-brews.

Cato Corner Colchester, CT.

Cato Corner Fromage d’O Cow - Mark and Elizabeth Gilman are a mother son team perfecting their trade in Colchester, CT. The extensive line of cheese styles they boast is impressive, given the high quality and careful recipe development behind each. ‘Fromage’ is their latest creation. Raw milk washed rind with pungent aroma. The interior is less aggressive, but plenty flavorful. Vegetal flavors, good pungency, and a voluptuous texture remind us of fatty, winter milk French tommes. Better pair with a big red.

Cato Corner Bloomsday – A hugely successful mistake! Created this recipe out of necessity when a different batch did not go as planned. Named for Joyce's Ulysses' protagonist, Leopold Bloom, the Bloomsday is drier textured than many of our cheeses with a fabulous nutty flavor and addictive lingering aftertaste.

Sprout Creek, Poughkeepsie, NY

Sprout Creek Eden - Cow, Rennet: Animal. Related to Tomme de Pyrenees Age: 2-4 Months. Eden is a rare sort of washed rind, very firm and yet pungent. It almost seems to be a washed rind slapped on a firmer style of cheese. Eden has strong acidic notes, balanced by the lingering nutty flavors of a washed rind. The cheese is made on an educational farm started by the brothers and sisters of the sacred heart to help kids get back to the land. Pairings: Belgian Ale, Mountain Whites, Bourbon.

Landaff Creamery, Landaff, NH

Landaff - Made from raw cow's milk, Landaff Cheese is a mild, semi-firm cheese with a delicious combination of flavors, tangy with a clean finish. The open and buttery texture comes with a natural, cave-aged rind. It melts beautifully for cooking, and makes a wonderful addition to any cheese plate.

Dancing Cow, Bridgeport, VT

Dancing Cow Menuet – Raw cow’s milk, uncooled, from only a single milking. A tome style cheese that is sweet and nutty with a creamy texture and long, clean, lingering finish. It reminds you that contented cows make great milk and thus great cheese. The name Menuet comes from a French dance of the baroque period that was described as a dance of many small steps, not unlike the many small steps taken in the crafting of this cheese. Menuet in aged at the Cellars at Jasper Hill for a minimum of five months and available directly from them, year round.

Dancing Cow Bourrée - Bourrée is washed rind cheese with an earthy aroma, supple paste and a rich, creamy texture that melts into a beautiful smoky, meaty, lingering finish. Bourree is made from raw cow's milk, un-cooled, from only a single milking. The name Bourrée comes from a French peasant dance with rapid foot movements, much like the cows when first turned out into lush, green spring pasture. Bourrée is aged at the Cellars at Jasper Hill a minimum of eighty days and available directly from them. Bourrée was a 2008 American Cheese Society winner.