So, I was asked to try out the President Brie Log...and I gotta say I was nervous. I mean, any food with the words "log" or "ring" bring frightening flashbacks of 1970's appetizers (take one pound of processed cheese food, add 1 can pimentos, shape and serve!!).
I picked a quiet morning; grabbed a pear, a knife, my cheese log, and settled in. After all, I've had regular president brie so I imagined I knew what to expect. But I took one bite and I lept straight up. It was good! No. It was fantastic! There was no way I could eat this by myself. (child development textbooks talk about toddlers "spontaneous sharing of enjoyment" response...guess that never goes away :). I immediately went into a mini frenzy of activity. I rewrapped the brie in wax paper and set it aside for the dinner guests that were, conveniently, coming over that night. And then I scurried off to get water crackers...Ooo and my mom's homemade peach chutney was a perfect match! I haven't been this excited about sharing a cheese since that irish cheese which involved having to recite a long tale about widows and rare cow breeds.
As dinner approached I got more whipped up. Would my guests find the President Brie Log to be everything I did? I mean, here I was, a certifiable cheese snob, serving a cheese that you can find in most supermarkets. (Ooo, but isn't that the holy grail of cheese hunting? Finding the cheese that both novices and gourmets can enjoy, that's resonably priced, and easy to find??) When they finally arrived it was obvious I had had nothing to fear. The brie log was the talk of the evening (lasting far longer than the cheese itself, which was entirely descimated in record time - by just the four of us!). I felt postively glazed in hostess-with-the-mostess praise.
So here's my advice: try this cheese! Creamy, immenetly approachable, absolute bliss to pair with other hors d'oeuvres... this cheese is fail safe. There just is no reason not to have this cheese. Hmm, on that note I better bring some for christmas dinner.
Link: President Cheese Website