Meadow Creek Dairy is a family dairy farm in Virginia that makes several unique and richly flavored cheeses. Appalachian is one of them, made with raw cows' milk from their herd of jerseys and aged just 2-3 months. Meadow Creek Dairy makes cheese from April to November, which is roughly the milking season for their cows. About 20% of the milk from their cows is used to make cheese and they always begin the cheesemaking process within 2 hours of milking, so the milk is extremely fresh. I love family farms and the extra care that goes into their cheese!

Appalachian has a supple, densely creamy texture and a mushroomy, earthy flavor that reminds one of the sweet aroma of hay. The finish is bright and lemony, which is why the cheesemakers recommend you have it with Pinot Grigio, a wine that often has the same sort of finish. Appalachian has a pale yellow color that the cheesemakers say "reflects the grass based diet and the high beta carotene content of our milk.."

This is the first cheese that Meadow Creek Dairy made when they dove into cheesemaking. They must have known they were on to something good!

As you do your shopping for Thanksgiving, don't forget that a cheese plate is an easy appetizer. Your local cheese shop can suggest some delicious types of cheese, or you can also follow this easy rule of thumb: buy at least 3 types of cheese, each one representing a different milk type (sheep, goat and cow) and/or each one representing a different texture (hard cheese, semi-hard cheese, soft cheese).

Before you shop, take a glance at these quick tips for making a cheese plate, which include suggestions for staying within your budget.

One way to stay within your budget is to display the cheese on a dish you already own. For ideas, check out these various types of plates and platters that work well for serving cheese.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

On a recent visit to San Francisco I stumbled upon this little cheese with big flavor. Inverness is made by Cowgirl Creamery and has the same luscious texture and attractive look that the rest of their cheeses do.

The cheese fooled me at first - I could have sworn there was some goat's milk in it - but Inverness is pure Jersey milk. The cheese is aged just three weeks and has a creamy texture and earthy, tangy flavor. This is a new cheese for Cowgirl Creamery and as far as I know, it's only available around San Francisco, so if you live in the Bay Area, take advantage of the opportunity to buy some.

Stuffing just might be my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal. Comte Stuffing is the perfect type of stuffing to serve as a side dish at the holiday meal, especially if there will be vegetarians at the table. The stuffing contains Comte cheese, but only a little bit, so it's not too rich for the meal. Cheese melted over bread that's been flavored with herbs and mushrooms...what could be better?