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!

Curated especially for culture: the word on cheese, our 2012 Winter Cheese Plate includes wedges of Comté, Great Lakes Cheshire, and Bayley Hazen Blue, along with a few other special goodies. We think this feisty little plate is cause enough for celebration on its own but figured, why not make an occasion out of it? That’s where we asked for your help.

After reading through many incredible reader submissions, we’ve selected five foodie bloggers to throw a party, with our cheese plate at the center of it all. Over the next few weeks we’ll be sharing their guest posts here on the culture blog, detailing their own party adventures.

To kick things off, meet our cheese plate winners:

Garrett McCord, a pastry chef-turned author, with new cookbook, Melt: The art of Macaroni and Cheese, to be released in early 2013 by Little, Brown & Company. Read his daily musings in the meantime at Vanilla Garlic.

Katherine Hysmith, MLA candidate at Boston University’s Gastronomy program and dislocated Texan writing about good Southern food, New England discoveries, and everything else on both sides of the Mason-Dixon at The Young Austinian.

Leah McFadden, an American Cheese Society-Certified Cheese Professional who loves to write about food - and especially cheese- on her blog, Shootin’ the Bries.

Caitlin Harvey, a hands-on home cheesemaker with a knack for throwing parties and converting friends to bona fide cheese-enthusiasts themselves. She documents her adventures in cheese at Milk’s Leap.

Caroline Kaufman, RD, a Registered Dietitian, freelance writer, and nutrition consultant who specializes in childhood and family nutrition. Caroline shares her perspective on healthy eating at Sweet Foodie.

Be sure to check back every Wednesday to read up on creative tips for hosting a cheese plate party, unique cheese pairing ideas, favorite cheeses to please a crowd - and more. We hope this series will inspire you all to host your own cheese fêtes… even if it’s just a party of one!

Cheers to you, culture readers!