In this blog series our intrepid intern Molly will find and interview American cheesemakers attempting to re-create traditional European cheeses. Learn about the difficulties as well as the benefits of this type of cheese making, as well as how terroir and the idea of a cheese tied to a location so distant changes when that cheese is made in a new location. Also, each week you'll have a chance to win an issue of culture: the word on cheese. The winner of last week's prize was Noel!

For the past several weeks, I've been writing about American cheesemakers who have been inspired by European traditions. Some have gone to Europe to learn about cheesemaking, while others have loosely adapted European recipes to their liking.

Each week we scan our Facebook page for photos submitted by our fans. For your chance to be featured on our blog, post a delicious, cheesy image to facebook.com/culturecheesemag

Our fan photo of the week goes to Emily Mayne whose [mostly eaten] cheese delighted us. We don't blame you, Emily! We find Stilton irresistible ourselves! And because we're scratching our heads about that early spring prediction, here's a stilton spring breakfast recipe to goad those flowers into blooming.

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.

In this blog series our intrepid intern Molly will find and interview American cheesemakers attempting to re-create traditional European cheeses. Learn about the difficulties as well as the benefits of this type of cheese making, as well as how terroir and the idea of a cheese tied to a location so distant changes when that cheese is made in a new location. Also, each week you’ll have a chance to win an issue of culture: the word on cheese. Last week's winner was Jill Budzynski!

It's that time again! Time to pen your poetic verses on the subject all of us know and love: cheese. That's right, our annual Valentine's Poetry contest is officially underway! We're appreciative of any style -- send us your haikus, free verse, limericks, sonnets, pantoums, whatever. Silly or serious, we'll take it, as long as it's inspired, and full of cheesy goodness (or hilarity, irony, declarations of love, whatever).

To submit your poem, sign in or sign up for the website, and leave a comment on this blog! All entries must be received by Monday, February 11th. The lucky winners will recieve a Fresh Goat Cheese Heart from Coach Farm (pictured). Need some inspiration? Check out last year's winners.

Good luck!

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!

In this blog series our intrepid intern Molly will find and interview American cheesemakers attempting to re-create traditional European cheeses. Learn about the difficulties as well as the benefits of this type of cheese making, as well as how terroir and the idea of a cheese tied to a location so distant changes when that cheese is made in a new location. Also, each week you’ll have a chance to win an issue of culture: the word on cheese. Last week's winner was Bonnie Karoly!

Aah, the Loire valley. This region of Central France-- also known as the "Garden of France"--is a dreamscape in the mind of any cheese aficionado. For some, the name conjures visions of historic chateaus and rolling vineyards--for me, it's beautiful salads adorned with grilled slices of chèvre, and petite balls of goat cheese with fuzzy, wrinkled rinds that look like brains.

This year, I had the pleasure of working the Culture Magazine station at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, one of the largest specialty food shows around. Culture was tucked away as part of the World’s Best Cheeses booth, so I was happily nestled amongst some excellent food and people. Luckily, I was able to sample my way around the show as well. Here’s a short list of what tickled my palate over those three gluttonous days:

Cheeses:

Congratulations to our Fan Photo of the Week winner Gianaclis Caldwell, whose cheese resembles a blanketed baby. We’d like to rock this babe in our arms—and then spread it on crackers! Gianaclis’s photo has even inspired us to make our own cheese. Try this simple homemade mozzarella recipe by Anya Firisen. Yum!

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.