Hello Culture readers! I'm Danielle, and I have the pleasure of being a 2012 Birth of a Cheese taste tester. Getting free, delicious cheese shipped directly to me from one of America's most highly regarded creameries is about the best thing that can happen in my book. And then I get to blab on and on about it to the world? Perfect.

I am the executive chef of a club at a military base in Texas. My husband, and co-taster, is also a chef and runs the kitchen of a catering company in Austin. Needless to say, we cook, eat, and talk a lot of food. But cheese holds a special place in my heart - I think it's alchemy is magical, and I am beginning to learn how to make it at home.

We hunkered over the dining room table Friday night, trying the three samples Jasper Hill sent. As the other tasters noted, they are all fairly bland at this point, although I understand they will be going through quite a bit more aging. Nevertheless, we had a lot of fun trying to detect the sometimes subtle differences between them, and pushing ourselves to come up with our best describing words for the questionnaire to send back to Jasper Hill.

Since we were having fish tacos the next day, I suggested we use some of our new cheese as a garnish instead of queso fresco or Monterey Jack, mostly because we didn't have either of those. This, readers, was not my best idea. They certainly weren't inedible, but when the cheese's subtle flavor came through, it was misplaced. I got it right on Monday, when I used some common sense and melted slivers of wedge 120125 over a gratin of roasted cauliflower and sliced bratwurst. Cause we all deserve something delicious on Monday. Keep 'em coming, Jasper Hill!