Ile De France Fol Epi Cheese

About six months ago I learned that one of my great-grandfathers was a cheese maker. I was thrilled at this information for obvious reasons, the least of which is my love of cheese. I've tried so many types of cheese, some memorable and others not so, but I rarely find a cheese that I dislike. Ile De France produces many of my favorite French cheeses and I'm always happy to try new ones.

French cheeses are so different in nature than others and I find that each has a quality to it that pairs well with certain foods; sort of like I fine wine. Fol Epi is a cheese with a distinctive flavor likened to Emmental. Nutty and smooth, it doesn't have quite the bite that a Swiss would have and is milder in flavor, but equally delicious.

My favorite grilling cheese is of the Swiss variety, so I knew exactly what would become of this lovely sampling. The sandwich was so good, and the flavor of the cheese so mild, that my 3 year-old daughter couldn't get enough ... thankfully the other kids were out for the day.

The Fol Epi Grilled Sandwich

Serves 1

Printable Recipe

2 teaspoons grainy brown mustard

2 teaspoons honey

1 Naan bread

4 ounces smoked turkey breast slices

1 ounce sliced Ile De France Fol Epi cheese

red pepper slices

tomato slices

leaf lettuce

1. Slice Naan in half crosswise. Spread both halves with mustard and honey on one side only.

2. Layer one side with turkey, red pepper and cheese. Top with other half.

3. Cook in a non-stick grill pan, flipping once, until cheese is melted - about 3 -4 minutes.

4. Carefully remove one half and top with tomatoes and lettuce - replace top and serve.

Ile de France Cheese of the Month: St. Albray

Cheese of the month for August at Ile de France is St. Albray - another soft-ripened cheese that has, so far, been my favorite of the edible rind variety. This cheese is equally delicious served cold, at room temperature or even melted.

Each section of cheese is an 8 ounce portion of a larger wheel that looks like a flower when intact. The presentation of a full wheel would be stunning at a large gathering.

I had in mind a stacked salad of the panzanella variety, but once I knew this cheese was on its way, I decided to do a French version of that, and this is the delicious result. The St. Albray was the perfect complement to the intense flavor of the tapenade and red peppers.

French Bread Stacked Salad with St. Albray Cheese
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

12 1/2-inch thick slices of day-old French bread
8 slices plum tomato
4 ounces bottled roasted red peppers
8 slices St. Albray cheese - rind on
1 cup prepared tapenade (my recipe is HERE)
4 basil leaves for garnish
olive oil for garnish

Lay out 8 bread slices, setting 4 aside
Layer each slice of bread with tapenade, red pepper, cheese and tomato.
Stack 2 slices of prepared bread together and top with a plain slice of bread.
Top each stack with a basil leaf and drizzle with olive oil.

Ile de France Cheese of the Month: Shrimp and Brie Quesadillas

The cheese of the month for July at Ile de France, is Brie. Traditionally, I am not a lover of brie. I've had some that just didn't taste right to me and left me feeling rather funny.

I was a bit apprehensive, then, to try the brie from Ile de France. I was very pleasantly surprised to find it quite agreeable and altogether delicious. I paired this delicate cheese with shrimp in a delectable quesadilla that was consumed with abandon by all who sampled it.

Shrimp and Brie Quesadillas
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

8 flour tortillas - 6-inch size
1/2 pound shrimp - shelled and cooked
1/2 pound Ile de France Brie - rind intact - sliced
4 Tablespoons sliced green onion
salt to taste

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add a tortilla, turning often until heated through. Add shrimp and top with 1/8 pound cheese slices and 1 Tablespoon green onion and salt as desired. Top with another tortilla and cook, turning once, until cheese is melted and quesadilla is lightly browned. Repeat with remaining tortillas and cut each into quarters to serve.

Products to Love

EatSmart Nutrition Scales: Although culinary school was a long time ago for me (16 years!) I still find myself breaking out my copy of The New Professional Chef, the preferred textbook and guide for many chef schools. The recipes are some of the best I've ever had and I like to use the pastry and bread recipes in particular. The only problem with that is the recipes ingredients are more often than not listed by weight rather than volume.

Being without kitchen scales kept me from making many of my favorites. Lots of the conversions are fairly simple, but the end result isn't always the same. Having a set of scales has made it far simpler for me to replicate those much-loved recipes.

The EatSmart Precision Pro Multifunction Digital Kitchen Scale has an extra large LCD readout and a capacity of up to 11 pounds. For something to small, it sure does a big job. It's exact to the smallest amount in both metric and customary units and takes up very little space in my kitche. That was a huge plus for me because the kitchen we had just prior to this one was about 8ft x 8ft - truly diminutive.

For a scale that packs a punch, whether you're measuring ingredients or keeping track of your food intake, this one beats the rest hands-down in functionality and most especially, price. It sells for a mere $25.


Gaea Mediterranean food products: Certified Carbon Neutral food products from Greece. Partnering with myclimate, Gaea has offset carbon emissions from each step of their process resulting in carbon neutral products. I tried two products:

Cyprus Sauce - Rich Tomato & Orange Fusion Sauce. I had a moment's hesitation at the thought of a tomato sauce with citrus in it, but this sauce is absolutely delicious. I used Gaea's label recipe for Izmir Meatballs, and they were perfect; even the kids ate them!

Olive Oil - Laconia P.G.I. (which stands for Protected Geographical Indication) Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the land of the Spartans! After a few references to the movie, "300" we tried it and adored it. The flavor is light, bright and buttery smooth.

Ile de France Suprême Cheese: A soft-ripened cheese made with crème fraîche that boasts a fat content of 63%, this is one seriously rich cheese. While I try to come up with a great recipe for each of the Ile de France cheeses I've tried, this one was put to so many different uses that I lost track. I added it to creamy polenta for breakfast, tucked it into the vegetable filling of of my latest strudel, added it to the top of toasted bagels and stirred it into a rich homemade macaroni and cheese. This is a truly decadent cheese, meant to be eaten in small amounts, that delivers big flavor with every bite.

Scanpan: Scanpan, a Danish cookware maker, has just released the World's first PFOA-Free line of nonstick pans using Green Tek surfacing. I just won one of these at What's Cooking and I'm already in love with it. Made of ceramic and titanium, it holds and distributes heat very well and the safe nonstick surface has made this my go-to pan for omelets and other egg dishes. I also love that the pan comes with its own heat-resistant holder that fits right over the handle. Putting this pan in and out of the oven is a breeze and the fact that it can be put into the oven is my other favorite feature.


Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil: Did you know that coconut oil is not bad for you? After years of being vilified, coconut oil is making a comeback, and rightly so. The antibiotic and healing properties of this simple oil are unmatched and the saturated fat content is actually a 'good' saturated fat. If you don't believe me, get over to Tropical Traditions to watch the video, read the testimonies, and check out amazing (and heartwrenching) story of how this particuar coconut oil, the first certified 'virgin' and organic came to be.

This is the best coconut oil on the market with higher antioxidant levels than any other sold and the flavor doesn't compare to others either. We've used it in cooking, straight up and even set aside some to use externally on minor cuts and rashes. It's amazing stuff with awesome healing properties that begs to be looked at.

Ile de France Goat Cheese

I'm positive by now that it's no secret that my favorite cheese is goat cheese. A quick search on my blog turns up quite a few mentions of it. So, when I was offered the chance to sample and blog about goat cheese, you can bet I was thrilled. Ile de France happens to be the goat cheese I buy most often and the lovely package I received reinforced that for me.

While I've used goat cheese in many recipes, from pizzas to tarts, my very favorite way to enjoy is is with a crusty and warm loaf of French bread, a bowl of tapenade and some good olive oil. I prefer my cheese rolled in herbs or pepper and this time I used freshly cracked garlic pepper to coat the bouchette of cheese in. It was, as always, perfection.

The Ile de France website has all you need to know about this wonderfully tangy and creamy cheese - from recipes to pairings to history. Go and have a look and I'll sit back and enjoy my cheese.