Cheese Plate Night

On those nights when cooking isn't an option, I like to keep a variety of new cheeses to try. Think outside the box and be open to experimenting with different varieties. We had two new kinds of cheese tonight and loved both of them.

Let's start out with one of my long time favorites:  Stilton Blue which is an English cheese. It's known for a strong aroma and taste. If you've only tried the blue cheese in prepared bottled blue cheese salad dressing, give this one a chance!

Next, Isle of Man White Cheddar which is a hard pressed, firm bodied cheese. It has a subtle, creamy flavor made from pasteurized cow's milk.  An ideal cheese for the entire family.

The next one was a new cheese for me. In fact,  I had never heard of Basket Cheese. It is a salt, soft white cheese shaped from small wicker-textured baskets. It has a very mild flavor with a taste between ricotta and mozzarella made from goat and sheep milk. Due to the very mild flavor of this cheese, I drizzled it with Tuscan Herb Olive Oil and then sprinkled the top with Tuscan Garlic Seasoning blend. We really enjoyed this one.

An another new cheese to try! Isle of Man Cracked Peppercorn Cheddar is a firm, creamy and full flavored cheese. It's blended with cracked black peppercorns which give it a very unique look and quite a bit of zing! It's aged for 10 - 12 months. I can't wait to try this one on a burger!

I added a few other nibbles to go along with the cheese.

Hummus with olive tapenade served with pita bread triangles. 

And my favorite Italian cured meat, capicola. I love it's spicy hot flavor!