Baked Brie en Croûte with Spiced Pears and Cherries
For this rich appetizer, creamy brie is topped with a spiced fruit-and-nut mixture and encased in a buttery, crisp robe of golden brown puff pastry. Prepare the fruit and spices while the pastry sheet thaws, so that you can assemble the baked brie as soon as it has defrosted; cold pastry is the key to irresistibly flaky layers. Let the baked brie rest for five minutes before digging in so the cheese and pastry hold together. You can use a double-cream brie for extra-gooey results, and swap in other fruit and nuts as desired—apples, persimmons, plums, or pawpaws would also be delicious here. Drizzle honey and sprinkle flaky sea salt on top of the pastry for the finishing touch.
Homemade Fresh Ricotta
This easy homemade fresh ricotta cheese recipe only requires three ingredients—milk, buttermilk, and salt—and yields a light, fluffy ricotta that's a delicious blank canvas for sweet or savory recipes, or you can enjoy it as a decadent toast topper. Source high-quality local dairy if possible for the richest flavor and best results.
Palak "Paneer" with Pressed Fresh Ricotta
A little extra hands-off pressing time firms up fresh ricotta into a block that can be cut into paneer-like cheese. Fried in ghee, the crispy, cheesy cubes transform into cheese croutons and are a perfect pair for the warm puree of chile-and-ginger-spiked spinach and cilantro.
Roasted "Reblochon"
In the French Alps, Reblochon, a bloomy-rind cow's milk cheese, is melted in a special brazier for reblochonnade—a meal of the melted cheese served with roasted sausages, boiled potatoes, and other bites. While unpasteurized Reblochon isn't imported to the United States, there are many American farmhouse cheeses (such as Jasper Hill Farm Little Hosmer or Sweet Grass Dairy Green Hill) that make wonderful substitutes in this reblochonnade, adapted by Food & Wine Senior Food Editor Mary-Frances Heck for home ovens.
This Is the Real Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Yoav Perry's schmear tastes better than anything you'll find in a block—and it's actually made in Philly.
Meet the Two New French Cheeses Invented During Lockdown
During long months inside during the pandemic, cheesemakers in France started experimenting.
