Cheese of the Month: Camembert

This year I made a new year's resolution to try a new cheese every month. So many cheeses, so little time. I know you understand.

I decided to do a Cheese of the Month feature, highlighting each of the cheeses and recipes I try along the way. Last month, I featured a Red Dragon Mustard Seed and Ale cheese, which I served with a pretzel baguette from Whole Foods.

This month, I am featuring ILE DE FRANCE Camembert. I have had Camembert once or twice before, but each time it has been served alone with bread. I've been wanting to try Camembert in a recipe to test out it's creamy melting abilities.

While watching a recent episode of Alex Guarnaschelli's new show, Alex's Day Off, I saw her make Cheese Fondue Hash Browns. Alex fried chunks of potato until golden brown, topped them with a wheel of Camembert, and baked them in the oven until the cheese melted and oozed over the potatoes. Those cheesy fondue hash browns looked irresistible and I instantly marked them down on my "things to make" list. How could I not try them? Fried potatoes with a wheel of Camembert melted on top- a stroke of genius!

You can find Alex's recipe for Cheese Fondue Hash Browns by clicking HERE. It requires very few ingredients and is quite simple to make.

Notes/Results: Brie and camembert are known as the crown jewels of French cheese. They are both a semi-soft cheese and can be used interchangeably in recipes. I love both of these cheeses for their soft, smooth, thick and creamy consistency. Alex's recipe for cheesy fondue hash browns is quite a decadent treat and really is very tasty. Crunchy potatoes and oozing cheese is the all-time comfort food and everyone enjoyed this recipe. I think this is a great recipe and would make for an impressive breakfast/brunch menu, but I will say that my favorite way to enjoy this cheese is simply all on it's own, served over bread.
How do you like to serve Camembert?