Despite the fact that my studio kitchen is barely large enough to turn around in, it's always difficult for me to say no to a shiny new kitchen toy. I also happen to have a talent for rationalizing the purchase of cool specialty equipment in the name of feeding myself; thus, the introduction of a beautiful pasta machine to my collection of gadgets, and the impetus for several rounds of ravioli experimentation! In honor of the season, I decided to make mushroom ravioli, flavored with parsley and spring onion, and studded with toasted walnuts. And with Beemster X-O in my arsenal, I couldn't resist whipping up a rich and creamy sauce to drizzle on top!

As our Winter Cheese Plate adventure draws to a close, I can’t help but reflect on the incredible diversity that’s been highlighted by our amazing bloggers.

We’ve arrived at the fifth and final week of our Winter Cheese Plate Party! So far you’ve heard from a few new voices in the culture community about our Winter 2012 Cheese Plate, but we’ve got one more for you! Our final guest post comes from Caroline Kaufman, RD, offering a thoughtful take on nutrition and healthy eating at Sweet Foodie.

As an indiscriminate media zealot and avid snack lover, nothing pleases me more than the mash-up of food and pop culture. For this week’s Tasting Tuesday at culture, I thought it would be fun to play director, imagining some of this year’s Oscar nominees in the role of a lifetime, as one of Point Reyes’ amazing cheeses. Here are a few of my picks to invite for a (snack) session on the casting couch.

We've arrived at the fourth installment of our Winter Cheese Plate Winners! Here's where you'll find five weeks of our winning foodie bloggers, sharing their personal spins on our Winter 2012 Cheese Plate! This next post in our series comes from Caitlin Harvey, the Bay Area blogger behind Milk's Leap, a chronicling of her hands-on adventures in home cheesemaking and DIY kitchen culture. Be sure to check back next Wednesday for our fifth and final post in this series, from Caroline Kaufman, RD, of Sweet Foodie!

This... is... JeoparCHEESE!

Welcome to the third installment of our Winter Cheese Plate Winners! Here’s where you’ll find five weeks of our winning foodie bloggers, sharing their personal spins on our Winter 2012 Cheese Plate! This next post in our series comes from Leah McFadden, the ACS-Certified Cheese Professional and blogger behind Shootin’ The Bries, where she recounts her many adventures in cheese tasting! Be sure to check back next Wednesday for the fourth post in this series, from Caitlin Harvey, of Milk’s Leap!

Welcome to the second installment of our Winter Cheese Plate Winners! Here’s where you’ll find five weeks of our winning foodie bloggers, sharing their personal spins on our Winter 2012 Cheese Plate! Our next guest post comes from Katherine Hysmith, a displaced Texan and grad student at Boston University’s Gastronomy program, recording her New England kitchen adventures at The Young Austinian. Check back next Wednesday for the third post in this series, from Leah McFadden, of Shootin The Bries!

And so it begins: five weeks of our winning foodie bloggers, sharing their personal spins on our Winter 2012 Cheese Plate! Our inaugural guest post comes from pastry chef-turned cookbook author, Garrett McCord, of Vanilla Garlic. Check back next Wednesday for our second post in the series, from Katherine Hysmith -AKA- The Young Austinian.

This may not come as news to many of you, but even though the holidays are over… it’s still winter. Days are short, temperatures (here in Boston, anyway) are miserably cold, and it feels like everything in the CSA box is a root vegetable. On the other hand, sometimes all it takes to get you out of that mid-winter rut is a little fiesta… even if your birthday’s still six months away.

Enter: the culture Winter Cheese Plate!

We know you’ve all been drooling over our Winter Cheese Plate… now we’re giving you the chance to taste it yourself!

WIN A CHEESE PLATE

We’re choosing five lucky bloggers to win a Cheese Plate Party with culture. How does it work? Each Cheese Plate Party blogger will host a party featuring our winter cheese plate, take photos and write about both the party and the plate, and have their blog post featured on our website. In addition, each winner will get to host a giveaway on their own blog.