A few months ago, we sent our Imports & Exports Procurement Manager, Scott Case, on an Italian trade mission to Italy. Along with representatives from several other specialty retailers from around the USA, he scoured local markets and shops for new products and visited with several producers of authentic Italian specialty products. This effort was to bolster trade with Italy and to ensure that the word is getting out about the great work these small, artisan producers are doing.

A few months ago, we sent our Imports & Exports Procurement Manager, Scott Case, on an Italian trade mission to Italy. Along with representatives from several other specialty retailers from around the USA, he scoured local markets and shops for new products and visited with several producers of authentic Italian specialty products. This effort was to bolster trade with Italy and to ensure that the word is getting out about the great work these small, artisan producers are doing.

If you’re working on your resolutions, allow me to weigh in. There’s never been a better time to explore American cheese, and with the bounty available to you from small artisans it’s high time to move beyond Cheddar and Brie. In the spirit of newness, here are five types of American cheese to try in 2013.

If you find yourself heading to a swish party without a holiday sweater, you can always make up for it with a wedge of Rogue River Blue. It’s the elusive wedge everyone’s been looking for since it won the coveted “Best of Show” award from the American Cheese Society last year. Now it’s in season, just in time to nuzzle pears and sidle up to your most intoxicating eau de vie.

Remember this: birds migrate in the fall, and so do great cheeses. The holiday season draws rare imports, and you can count on cheese shop shelves to be bountiful and bright. If you’re a caseophile, now is a great time to look to the sky and ask yourself, “What amazing cheese is in store for me tonight?”

Recently I was doing some research on Gorwydd Caerphilly and found this recipe for a vegetarian “sausage” from Wales. I had to try it out, especially because I had never cooked with Gorwydd before and was intrigued by the prospect.  The first Glamorgan Sausage recipes are from 1863, though this hearty vegetarian sausage received renewed popularity during World War II [...]

Dear Pepper Jack Lovers, let me bend your ear. I know that you get the fever this time of year – when the Crock-Pot comes out, you want your game-day dairy hotness. I’m only going to tell you this once: there are 3 spicy condiments that you can pair with sharp cheese, and they’re way better than pepperjack. Yeah, go ahead and breathe. It’s hard to hear.

A few weeks ago, my friend Mike Geno received an 18-pound wheel of Grand Cru Gruyère from Wisconsin in the mail. The American Cheese Society (ACS) had commissioned him to paint a series of award-winning cheeses, but after he finished the portrait, he was left to scratch his head. What does one do with a whole wheel of Gruyère? Of course, I got a call.

Fall brings a bounty of fantastic seasonal fruits and vegetables that I crave the second the temperature drops. I love cooking this time of year: the bold spices, rich flavors, and hearty dishes you're automatically entitled to eat the moment it drops below fifty- five degrees. One recipe that's ingrained into my memory is my grandmother's apple pie.

When David Waldman comes to town he will bring with him some seriously good coffee. He will also bring his forty plus years of experience and a coffee IQ which is unmatched by anyone in this region. David Waldman is Head Roaster and owner of Rojo’s Roastery in Lambertville, NJ and it was my privilege to visit the roastery a few weeks ago for a cupping.