Formaggio Friday 1: Testun Occelli al Tobacco

One of my new year's culinary ambitions was to try a new kind of cheese each week. That's 52 different kinds of cheese. Yes, my name is Camilla and I am addicted to cheese.

So, when we went to the Cheese Shop last weekend, I tried a cheese out of Piedmont, Italy. It's a mixture of sheep, goat and and cow milk. Then it's aged 18-24 months and wrapped in tobacco leaves.

The Cheese Shop labeled it as Occelli's Cuise, but I found it called Cusie in Foglie di Tabacco by Occelli. I still don't know what Cusie means. It might be an Italian dialect. Maybe?!?

This cheese was potent. Not sure that I could really discern the tobacco flavor; it was more herbacious and bitter than tobacco-like, in my mind. But I liked it. We bought just a small amount - since it was almost $60 per pound. Thankfully Occelli makes all sorts of interesting cheeses...they'll be my go-to for this Formaggio Friday project for at least half a dozen weeks.

Libation pairing: A Chocolate Stout

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