Goat cheese may not be as universally celebrated in the United States as, say, cheddar cheese or American cheese. Nevertheless, it's pretty common to see this more pungent variety in salads or on burgers, and we're willing to bet that you'll find it on a charcuterie board this holiday season - the cranberry chèvre goat cheese is one of our favorite Trader Joe's host gifts. Because goat cheese features capric acid, it tastes vastly different from sheep and cow cheese.
Lasagna is, by no means, flavorless, even in the most simple recipes. Amping up the richness won't always work when you try to revamp it. What you need instead is the lemon's contrasting brightness and the way its acidic edge slices right through all the heaviness. One ingredient after another, it lifts the entire dish from within. The tangy cheese finds a companion in the sparkling zest, one that balances out its rough edges.
I'm treading dangerous ground critiquing classics such as Jacob's cream crackers and Carr's table water biscuits, some of Britain's most nostalgic family foods. There's nothing wrong with a bit of comfort eating, especially at Christmas, but both are also symbols of our industrial food culture: bland, beige and unadventurous. That said, maybe they're just the ticket as a neutral vehicle for transporting cheese to the mouth.
A sweet bite here, a salty nibble there; glimpses of a tangy lightness only cheese can offer. That's usually what you get with charcuterie boards. As hard as it is to admit, there comes a time when even those flavors grow overly familiar once the ingredient combinations blur into one another. When you're hosting your own holiday party or get-together, consider introducing a completely new element, something intriguing and different enough to carve a pathway through that repetitive monotony.
