Using Cheese to Please & More This Summer by J. Stein! @Specialty_Food #FancyFoodShow #wefancy #summerfancyfoodshow #gifted

We posted about all of the delicious samples we received last Summer at the Fancy Food Show in NYC, and here is your reminder to shop for the very best as we prepare for this year’s show starting this weekend!

From charcuterie boards to quiches and gourmet pizzas, cheese has a place on your plate at a summer dinner or party! Even gourmet mini grilled cheese is sure to appease all of your guests! Cheese works for vegetarians, people of all ages, and comes in enough flavors, textures, and styles to please everyone at your table. Cheese enthusiasts are always looking for how they can add this versatile food to their menu, so we have a few ways to use cheese to get applause this summer just for you!

Charcuterie Boards today have hard and soft fragrant cheeses from around the world. Boards include creative cracker selections, juicy fruit, cured meats, sweet jams, and savory olives. Including innovative flavors, like Artikass Hay There Lavender & Thyme Gouda or Walnut & Hazelnut Gouda or Roth’s French Onion Havarti, will get people talking! Soft spreadable cheeses, such as Cowgirl Creamery’s triple cream MT Tam or Devil’s Gulch with hot red pepper, glide onto fruit and crackers. Goat’s milk cheeses, like Nettle Meadow Truffle Kunik or their Sugar Loaf Mini bring big texture and twists on classics that cheese connoisseurs will enjoy. Laura Chenel’s beloved Goat Brie or their marinated varieties add fantastic flavor to your board that goes with a host of breads, crackers, or fruit. As far as the meat on the board, consider Piller’s Salami Whips, Fratelli Beretta 1812 Italian Style Platter meats, Chef Martin Old World Butcher Shop Kasekrainer Alpine Cheese Bratwurst, and Tempesta Mortadella with Pistachios. Variety is the key to a beautiful board, so literally go nuts!

Fancy Pizzas have more than mozzarella these days! Today, your pie can be made with Alma Gourmet Asiago, Briati Parmesan, or Talavera Cotya Artisan Mexican Cheese. White pizzas have Kite Hill Ricotta (for those lactose intolerant), Auricchio provolone, or Belle Chevre goat cheese. For those with lactose allergies, aged cheeses are best. Try a muenster from Horizon Organic, Camembert by Marin French, or Tillamook’s Colby. Experiment with hot honey by Momofuku or Bone Suckin’ Yaki Sauce on your next slice to add flavor! Sauces like Roa’s Homemade Four Cheese Alfredo Sauce or The Vine Tomato Basil Sauce are great bases for pizza. Sliced pears, Fossil Farms exotic meats, and Greenridge Natural’s Beef and Chicken sticks diced, all are delicious additions for that perfect slice of pizza. Fancy and fun go hand in hand when it comes to pizza these days!

Quiche is one of those foods that can be served for any meal! Cheese is the base to every quiche. Secondary ingredients can be peppery spinach, crispy bacon, Greenridge Naturals Andouille Sausage, caramelized onions, or mellow leeks. Gruyere, with its nutty rich flavor is top pick of cheeses for quiches, but one can also use other mouthwatering dairy delights! Emmentals by Emmi Roth or Sartori also have a nutty flavor and work with this famous French dish. A Jarlsberg or a comte, such as Comte JuraFlore Fort des Rousses, also can be used as the base cheese for the elegant dish. Don’t forget that hearty cheddars, such as Ivy’s Reserve Somerset Redchere or Wyke Farms Vintage Reserve Cheddar, make a tasty quiche. Feta is a favorite cheese in quiche. Athenos Fetta is a tried and truly easy to find brand to add to quiche to enhance the texture and flavor. Dodoni is a robust fetta brand and from Greece. Note: Shredding your own cheese may improve the melting quality due to anti-caking agents in some pre-shredded cheeses.

Gourmet Grilled Cheese can be made from a variety of cheeses on any number of crusty breads. The dish can be created small for appetizers or as a hearty main course. Some people like to use a good butter, like Paysan Breton French Butter with Sea Salt Crystals, or mayo on the bread to fry with for extra crispness. You can fry the sandwich in a pan, air fryer, or on a grill top. Adding honey, such as Mount Somers Rata Honey from New Zealand or Mike’s Hot Honey onto your sandwich adds another layer of flavor. Gouda’s from Artikaas or Beemster are a delicious pick as a cheese base to make a super sandwich. They have a smooth melt and slightly sweet but nutty taste. Young fontina cheeses also melt well for spectacular sandwiches from brands like Murray’s or Vald’Aosta. Havarti brands such as Roth Kase and Castello make for creamy dreamy grilled cheese. Havarti comes plain or in fun flavors like dill or chive. We cannot forget to mention Monterey Jack cheese. Brands like Laura Chenel for goat jack and Cypress Grove for cow’s milk jack both will give mild melts for memorable gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches.