Cheese Love & an Ile de France Giveaway!

Cheese is one of those things that will always make you happy, whether it’s on a Reuben Sandwich or Macaroni & Cheese. How can you NOT like cheese?! It’s a fantastic snack (raise your hand if you love peeling string cheese!), it can be an entire meal (can you say Cheese Platter, Charcuterie and Bread?) and the way it melts softly, slowly, in such a sensuous manner makes me think I should be warned about how amazing it is.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Some cheeses, I hate. Goat Cheese was one of them, but after trying Ile de France’s Goat Cheese, my hate changed to love. No, it wasn’t because I received free cheese in the mail. Let’s back track this story to the end of October 2010 and M. bringing home some goat cheese from the restaurant. I was pretty excited to have some goat cheese and sliced some for myself, nearly hating myself for it. It was acidic, and not pleasurable at all. I banned all goat cheese from the house until a month ago, when Ile de France asked me if I was interested in testing their goat cheese. I thought about saying no (because of the previous ban), but allowed myself to be a little more open-minded.

Let me just cut to the chase, because I know I’m rambling, but their goat cheese is fantastic! Not only is it balanced, with underlying sweet tones, but the texture is just right; crumbly but still firm enough to slice. What did I make with it? What didn’t I? Below you’ll find some quick and easy recipes featuring goat cheese, enjoy! Better yet, thanks to the generous folks at IDF, we’re giving away not one, but FIVE cheese gift sets like the one in the picture; read below for how to enter.

1. In a medium bowl, crumble goat cheese and let it come to room temperature. This will make it easier to roll into balls.
2. In the meantime, whisk together the cornmeal, cornstarch and spices. Set aside. 
3. After 10-15 minutes, add spices to the cheese and roll into small balls. Coat in cornmeal mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour, allowing them to firm up. This will also help the cornmeal coating stay on!
4. In a deep fryer or a deep enough sauce pot, heat your vegetable oil slowly. To check heat, throw some cornmeal in, and if it starts bubbling, you’re good to go. If it burns in less than 3 seconds, you need to tone it down. 
5. Slowly drop the cheeseballs into the oil and fry for about 30 seconds to a minute. They’ll cook quickly, so keep an eye out for them. 
6. Remove from oil, drain over a paper towel and serve over a salad or as an appetizer.

1. In a medium bowl, crumble the goat cheese and add the rest of the ingredients. It’s very important you add bacon fat, so reserve at least 2 tablespoons of it!
2. Combine everything together and use it to fill raviolis, or spread on a crostini for a lovely passed    appetizer. 

Giveaway information: Deadline is December 16th at Noon Eastern Time. US mailing addresses only. Prize will be shipped by Ile de France Cheese. How to Enter How to Enter (4 entries, please leave a comment for EACH entry):

1. Visit the Ile de France Cheese recipe index and tell me what you’d make if you won!
2. Follow IDFCheese on Twitter
3. Follow Nella22 on Twitter
4. Tweet: “If you love cheese as much as I do, enter to win @IDFcheese via @nella22! http://bit.ly/sD2fWb #giveaway”

Have you entered our other giveaways? Make sure to stop by each one for more chances to win!

• Win a Seventh Generation set and Le Creuset Casserole Dish
• Win a copy of the new “I Love Trader Joe’s Cookbook Around the World”