Stinky cheese night

Stephanie and I have fond memories of "stinky cheese" nights. We experienced our first during the summer of 2008. I had just finished an internship with UGA's Genetics department, and we were heading back to Utah by way of Edisto Beach, Duke University, Cincinnati (where my brother Stephen and his family lived at the time), and Colorado Springs (where Stephanie's family lived). During our Cincinnati stop, Stephen and Laura Beth treated us to their favorite selection of nice cheeses and crackers while we played games and chatted. Stephen has a particular passion for pungent cheeses, thus the name "stinky cheese" party/night. Two years later when we drove out to visit for Thanksgiving 2010, we did another stinky cheese night.

Ever since that Thanksgiving, stinky cheese nights have become a Thanksgiving break standard for Stephanie and I. We like to try new things, but we always try to include a good raunchy blue cheese.

This year, we got our inspiration from Trader Joe's up in Indianapolis. While casually browsing the cheese cooler, I was spotted one that intrigued me: an English white cheddar cheese with milk chocolate marbling. Stephanie and I were both a bit skeptical, but we figured our stinky cheese night would be the perfect venue to try it out. We also grabbed a spicy Wisconsin pepper jack and a bona fide French Roquefort (I had previously only tried American blue cheeses). None of the cheeses disappointed, and we had a great time trying them out over board games!