Sometimes simplicity is best.  This weekend, I put together a four-cheese plate featuring some of my favorite cheeses…

Cabecou Feuille:  a diminutive disc of fresh goat cheese from the Perigord region of France that the cheese-maker dips in plum brandy, folds cracked peppercorns and wraps into two chestnut leaves.  The bold flavors of this fresh goat cheese pair well with Rieslings or Roses.

Pierre Robert: This decadent triple-crème cow's milk brie is by far one of the sexiest cheeses made.  Its creamy paste melts on the tongue.  According to Artisanal, the story goes…  "When Robert Rouzaire and his friend Pierre began to tire of their Brillat-Savarin (same producer), inspiration struck.  They began again the same triple-crème longer in their caves, enabling it to further develop its flavor and become even more meltingly rich in texture."  A perfect date food when accompanied with a good baguette and a bottle of LACE w:st="on">BurgundyLACE>.

Amarelo da Beira Baixa: When I took my first cheese course with Artisanal, this delicious delicacy debuted on my plate and it was love at first bite (sorry, cheesy pun).  This name-protected DOP raw sheep/goat mixed milk cheese comes from LACE w:st="on">PortugalLACE>'s Beira Baixa region.  It begins as a semi-soft, salty, grassy, nutty cheese that metamorphoses with age into a lovely hard cheese that pairs well with LACE w:st="on">PortoLACE>, Tempranillo or Albariño.

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Colston Bassett Stilton: a creamy cow's milk blue that resembles a Frome d' Ambert more than a traditional stilton and begs to be paired with pears and tawny port.