Cheese of the Month…Ile De France Saint Andre

When I was 16, I was fortunate enough to visit France one summer on a high school group trip. It was a week long tour around the country…Paris, Avignon, Tours and Nice were the cities we stopped in. It was such an incredible experience and I am ever so grateful to my parents for letting me go on such a trip without them – we weren’t totally unsupervised, it was a small group and we were traveling with our French teacher – but as a mom now, I can see it being extremely hard to let your child go somewhere so far away without you with them.

I only wish I could take that same trip over now as an adult, maybe one day…but wow, would that be an experience. I have to admit, back at 16, I don’t know if I was truly appreciating all of the wonderful food I “could” have been eating…I think I may have been more excited about being able to order a glass of wine at a restaurant with my dinner since “anyone” was allowed to drink in France!!

I thought of my trip to France the other day when I received my first cheese of the month selection from Ile de France. Ile de France contacted me recently and asked if I would be interested in trying their cheeses each month and reviewing them on my blog. Would I be “interested”?? Um yes…most definitely. Thank you very much.

My first bite of the Saint Andre cheese gave me a kind of deja vu. I was instantly brought back to that summer trip…more specifically to a rest stop cafe where our bus stopped for lunch one day. It was like a really big gas station with a cafe next to it. It was very clean, and there were things on the menu that I could only wish to see when I’m travelling on the interstate here in Florida! I remember ordering “something” that turned out to be a plate of crusty baguette, creamy soft cheese with a delicate rind, and some thinly sliced meat similar to prosciutto. Oh my….it was good.

Saint Andre cheese has a very creamy and almost buttery texture to it…I served it simply by spreading it on those yummy Ciabatta Crisps I found at Costco recently. It tastes a lot like a brie to me…but with more of an intense flavor. It is delicious. I have been wanting to do more with it…possibly stuff it into some chicken breast with some prosciutto…but instead I have been just enjoying it on these crispy crackers. It has a thin delicate rind that adds another layer of flavor to the cheese, one that I just love.

Just in case I don’t get to actually sharing a recipe with you (I have a feeling I will be instead sharing this cheese with some friends later this week…), check out Ile de France’s Saint Andre page for some recipes and other reviews.

Have a great weekend!!