Too much cheese?

I don't think it is possible to eat too much cheese but we are blessed this season with an abundance of the good stuff from both sides of the pond. I went to Trader Joe's the other day and bought a few cheeses for our upcoming work party. The next day, my wonderful friends Alison and Max gifted us with a blessed abundance from Dean & Deluca. There is a lovely roquefort, an enormous, tasty Brilliant Savarin and a yummy Basque goats cheese. To gild the lily, my Mother sent us a sampling of cheeses from Renard's Cheese in Door County. MMMMmunster, WI cheddar and the classic holiday cheese spread. We are now swimming in cheese. Twelve lovely pounds of cheese.

I've also decided to make crème fraiche for the first time. I found the recipe in Medrich's Cocolat, but it is also available online. It's simple but you need to plan ahead. What you do is:

Heat 1 c. heavy cream (not ultra-pasturized) to 105 degrees

Remove from heat

add 1 tbsp. of buttermilk and stir.

Let sit, lightly covered for 12-36 hours in a warm spot until it has thickened and has a lovely nutty taste. I made 5 cups. Mine didn't thicken too much but has that lovely nutty taste and besides, it's "whipping" cream. Now I get to make tarts and desserts and .... yum!