Emmentaler, Week 10

Mmm...ten whole weeks of cheese!  So far, I've enjoyed reading, writing, cooking, and thinking about cheese all year.  The 'cheese diet' has most definitely been treating me well.

This week's cheese was picked out by my cheese guy, Casey, after a delicious lunch at Great Sage with him and my veggie friend, Cassie.  While Cassie and I frolicked in the aisles of Roots finding new and fun foods to try, Casey had the tough task of choosing the cheese.  He made a great choice in Emmentaler, a kind of Swiss, and dreamed up Emmentaler and Herb Crisps.  I thought of pairing them with BLTs, and we were all set.

Emmentaler

Smell: Buttery Swiss, Holier-than-thou mmmmm

Price: $8.99/lb

Step One: Ready the ingredients for quick cooking! (Okay, the ice cream went back in the freezer...the everything else, brownies included needed to be ready to go!)

Step Two:  Shred all of the cheese, add a heaping tablespoon of thyme and a tablespoon and a half of chives.  Season with ground black pepper to taste.

Step Three: Griddler time!  We divided the griddler to half grill, half griddle.  Take a nice-sized tablespoon of the cheese/herb mix and dump on the griddle, leaving plenty of room for the crisps to spread out.  We seasoned the applewood smoked bacon with some crushed red pepper, and it turned out wonderfully.

Step Four:  Don't touch the cheese!  Wait until it looks like a snowflake before you even think about taking it off the griddle.  We tried flipping them, which was fine, but not necessary.

Step Five: Eat.  They may look like doily potato chips, but trust me, they are way better than potato chips.  Way.

Verdict:  Emmentaler was a great cheese by itself and as crisps.  It's a buttery smooth Swiss that I will certainly come back to in the future.  Also, unlike some of my other top cheeses, Emmentaler is generally easy to find at local grocery stores.  I ranked it just a teeny bit below Vermont Cheddar (a smidge betta').  

End tally: Midnight Moon > Lamb Chopper > Manchego > Paneer > Comte > Vermont Cheddar > Emmentaler > Bucheron > Delice d'Argental > Red Square > Stilton > Pecorino Romano > Monterey Jack

P.S.- Don't forget dessert :)