For those of you that caught that Quantum Leap reference in the title of the post, 5 gold stars for you!
Facts about me:
- I love cheese.
- My mother accuses me of a being a mouse in a previous life.
- One of my family’s favorite stories is about me asking my Grandma on a family picnic if the cheese she brought for sandwiches was Kraft.
- I have discerning tastes. (see above story)
With those facts established, let’s talk about another passion of mine: Julia Child. I’m slowly trying to master her more famous recipes, and the first one I made was her Gratin Dauphinois.
The key flavor in that recipe is Swiss cheese. When I stood, facing 20 different Swiss cheeses to choose from, overwhelmed and a bit stressed, I knew that selecting Jarlsberg was a safe bet. I knew the Swiss flavor would be perfect for the potatoes, and I wouldn’t be taking a risk on a cheese I hadn’t tried before.
It was a good decision – everyone raved about the recipe. I’ve made it several times since, and always use Jarlsberg because I know it won’t let me down.
Being a fan of their cheese, I’m very excited that they are going to be one of the secret ingredients in the Culinary Workshops at the Eat, Write, Retreat conference in Washington D.C. in May. How cool would it be to learn even more ways to use their cheese in recipes?
Great. Now I’ll be thinking of cheese all day and won’t get a bit of work done.
