Why Cheese is Healthier Than You Think, and the Easiest Way to Entertain

You may think of cheese as a party food, but not exactly as a health food. Well, we say it can be both. The 57 calories per half-ounce (about the size of your thumb) is about the same as 2 tablespoons of hummus—and it goes much better with a glass of pinot noir, if you ask us. Plus, the handcrafted artisan cheeses we’re seeing more of on the market are so packed with flavor, you only need a sliver for satisfaction.

You can grate aged cheeses like Parmesan and Asiago to add flavor to dishes for much less fat. And most aged cheeses are lactose-free (the milk sugar drops as cheese ages). Serve up an easy cheese plate at your next party with these tips.

How to serve
“Focus on diversity—in texture, in types of milk, even in appearance,” says Janet Fletcher, author of The Cheese Course. You could try serving a soft goat cheese with a smoky blue cheese made from cow’s milk, for example. Or compare similar cheeses from different locations—say cheddars from England and California—so that you can taste the effect of a particular place on the cheese.

When to serve
Serve a cheese course as a leisurely end to dinner, or in place of dessert. “If you have a cheese platter at the start when people are hungry, they tend to overindulge,” Fletcher says.

What to add
“Even one beautiful piece of cheese makes a great presentation,” Fletcher says. But if you want to include an accompaniment, nuts or fresh or dried fruit go nicely. “My favorite is a drizzle of honey on a pungent blue, like Valdeón from Spain.” Fletcher prefers serving cheese with bread instead of crackers, but stick to a basic baguette instead of an herby loaf so it doesn’t compete with the cheese.

What not to do
Fletcher’s one rule for cheese: “Don’t serve it cold.” Remove it from the fridge early—the bigger the block, the longer it’ll need—and keep it under wraps (cover with a dome or overturned bowl) until it’s at room temperature, when flavor and texture are at their prime. To keep things safe, of course, don’t leave any food out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.

By Lia Huber

Last Updated: February 23, 2009
Filed Under: Healthy Cooking

Cobb Salad With Blue Cheese

Colleen Sullivan, beauty and fashion editor, loves Cobb salad: mixed salad greens, chicken, tomatoes, avocado, bacon, blue-cheese crumbles, and blue-cheese dressing.

Colleen likes the contrasts in a classic Cobb—creamy, crunchy, tangy, and smoky—all in one meal. But it comes at a cost: The salad is superhigh in fat, calories, and sodium. Here’s how we lightened it and still kept the flavor.

Bacon
Order 1 ½ tablespoons (that’s two slices, or half the usual amount) and use your fork to spread it around your salad, so you get more of the savory, smoky flavor. You save: 115 calories, 9 g fat.

Avocado
Get 3 tablespoons (half the normal serving) and cut it into smaller chunks, so you get a creamy piece in every bite. You save: 67 calories, 6 g fat.

Blue-cheese crumbles
Skip them—you’ll still get great flavor from the dressing. “Most people don’t realize how high in saturated fat cheese is,” Blake says. “If your salad is covered in cheese, you’re not doing yourself any favors.” You save: 150 calories, 12 g fat.

Blue-cheese dressing
Use 2 tablespoons, which is half the usual amount of dressing, and you’ll still get the piquant taste of blue cheese throughout the salad. You save: 140 calories, 14 g fat.

Mixed salad greens
Ask for extra lettuce to bulk up the salad. You’ll be satisfied on a psychological level if the bowl looks full, Blake says. Plus, because lettuce has fiber and water, it fills you up without filling you out. You add: 8 calories, 0 g fat.



*Nutritional analysis is based on typical meal-size salads at chain restaurants.

By Colleen Rush

Last Updated: July 23, 2008
Filed Under: Dining Out

The Ultimate (Budget-Friendly) Wine and Cheese Party

By Susan Sugarman
From Health magazine

Be a cheese whiz with these professional tips for easy planning—and saving a few bucks:

Stick to odd numbers.
Serve three or five cheese options. This creates a balanced look, says Rob Kaufelt, owner of the renowned Murray’s Cheese shops in New York City.
Bonus: Limiting variety keeps costs down, too.

Balance textures and flavors. Include a soft, semisoft, and hard cheese on your board, advises David Myers, chef and owner of Sona in Los Angeles. And have a mix of mild (chèvre or manchego) and strong cheese (any blue cheese or a sharp Cheddar).

Don’t over-buy. You want your cheese to be as fresh as possible, so just buy what you need. Get 1–2 ounces of each cheese per person, suggests Kaufelt.

Wheel and deal. Make friends with your local cheesemonger, who will let you try before you buy. She can also point out interesting—and budget-friendly—options. Also, consider mass retailers like Costco and BJ’s: They offer great domestic and international cheeses well below grocery-store prices.

Enhance flavor. Take cheese out of the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before serving.

Streamline the sips. Stick with one red and one white wine to avoid competing with the flavors of the cheeses.

Good bets: Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir because they won’t overwhelm the fromage. Andrea Robinson, Health’s wine columnist and author of 2009 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone, likes Erath Oregon Pinot Noir 2007 () and Girard Sauvignon Blanc 2007 ().

Last Updated: March 12, 2009
Filed Under: Healthy Cooking