Do you find the idea of selecting cheese for a dinner party daunting? Here's a quick guide to arranging a cheese course.

Think you're the big cheese? Test your cheese knowledge with our Cheese Trivia Quiz on Slashfood.

If Kraft can produce best-selling industrial cheeses why can't Nestle? It's slightly alarming to see that in Mexico Nestle is selling a cheese they call Manchego. Indeed, the cheese they call Manchego could not be any more different than the original Manchego, produced in the region of La Mancha in Spain. Instead of being made with sheep's milk, it's made with cow's milk. While Manchego has a striking bright dark rind, this one is rindless. In short, Nestle's version is highly manufactured; Manchego is artisanal.

The larger issue is whether or not the Spanish government should protect the Manchego name, like France has done with Champagne and Mexico with tequila. Nestle is taking advantage of a Spanish cheese and marketing their version under its name. It's no wonder why the company is selling it specifically in Mexican grocery stores. But, perhaps I am being too judgmental of Nestle. After all, think of what the American food market has done to mozzarella. Check out the poll below to let us know what you think.

Corporations push hybrid "superfoods" - Orange juice fortified with omega 3s from sardines, fiber-filled yogurt, etc.

Trend: Dieters who stop dieting and start eating healthy food in a moderate and conscientious manner.

Sarah Palin's nomination has made moose meat a political joke. But it's tasty!

Have your eggs been optimized?

The Minimalist does Chinese chicken, with a recipe from the island of Hainan.

Mozzarella bar to open in NYC.

I first encountered Burrata during a trip to one of Genoa's oldest markets - Mercato Orientale. When I sliced into Burrata a luscious cream slowly oozed out from the center. The cream tasted slightly like a fresh ricotta. I spread the cheese over crusty bread and drizzled olive oil over it. Burrata is essentially a creamy spreadable buffalo milk mozzarella. In Italian, the name "Burrata" means "buttered." Unlike Mozzarella, Burrata's center is filled with cooked Italian cream.

Burrata is produced in the southeastern region of Italy, called Puglia. It was not until 1920 that this rich smooth cheese was invented. By the 1950s, the production of Burrata increased. This probably had to do with the fact that the cheese recycles leftover pieces of mozzarella. During the cheese making process, Burrata is formed into a pouch that is filled with scraps of leftover mozzarella and topped off with fresh cream. Traditionally, the cheese would be wrapped in asphodel leaves. The leaves serve as indicators to the freshness of the cheese. As long as the leaves are green, the cheese is still fresh. Today, the cheese is not always wrapped in these leaves.

Unfortunately, Burrata is not easy to find in the United States. This has to do with its fragility and freshness. In Italy, Burrata is typically eaten just a few days old. It does not have a long shelf life. So, the pouches of this cheese that you find in the U.S. are normally flown into the country. I am skeptical about purchasing the cheese from online vendors. I would suggest that you buy it from a cheese monger who you trust will tell you when the cheese arrived. Continue reading to find out how it can be the perfect summer treat.

Mozzarella made from water buffalo is one of Italy's most important exports. Now that product is threatened. There has been an outbreak of Brucellosis, which is a bacterial disease affecting livestock. It leads to infertility, abortion and reduced milk production. It is estimated that up to 30% of the herd in the Naples area have been infected.

Though the Italian government has set up a commission to try to stop the spread of the disease, they are planning to begin slaughtering 32,000 infected water buffalo in the next two months. Apparently the problem has gotten bad in large part because the local mafia prevented the early cases from coming to light. Now the government is sending in armed police along with government veterinarians to get rid of the infected livestock.

This is a crisis for the farmers and makers of mozzarella di bufala. They are responsible for one of Italy's biggest exports, but they're about to lose a sizable portion of the water buffalo herds. Also, the disease may be transmitted to humans, so there may be some kind of scare. The cheese is actually safe to eat if the milk used to make it is pasteurized. Just look for pasteurized mozzarella di bufala and you will be fine.

[Via ColdMud.com]

I do my best to offer up posts with good recipes, tasty links and interesting food-related news events. I really try not to turn Slashfood into a culinary News of the Weird. However sometimes, the insane excesses that people out there dream up are just too nutty to ignore. The crazy wedding cake doppelganger I posted about earlier in the week fell into that category. And so does this--a burger made out of ground bacon, filled with mozzarella cheese, coated in beer batter and then put in a deep fryer until crispy and cooked through.

A heart-stopper for sure, although I must admit that I'm sort of curious to know how it tasted. Sadly, I don't have the grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer, so I fear I will never find out (I don't actually think I could bear introducing my body to this much saturated fat all at once, but darn if I'm not intrigued).

[via Phillyist]

OK, your guess is as good as mine.

I've been searching the interwebs, but I can't find anything that explains what this day means. I've found several sites that mention that it is indeed National Cheese Sacrifice Day, but none that go into detail as to what it is. When Wikipedia doesn't have something, you know it's odd. I guess we are left to speculate.

Does it mean that we buy some cheese and sacrfice it somehow, or does it mean we aren't allowed to eat cheese today, as a sacrifice?

Wikipedia does have a long page on cheese, so knock yourselves out. And here's out cheese category to browse.

Update: As a reader pointed out in the comments, it's actually Cheese Sacrifice Purchase Day. I've changed the headline but not the URL.

Last night, a friend introduced me to a fun appetizer idea that makes a terrific edible centerpiece. When I pushed for the inspiration, she admitted that it was a concept borrowed from another friend, who always serves it at parties. It is simply white and green tortellini (the secret is to only cook it for half the time the package directs, or it will be too soft to stay on the skewer), a grape tomato and a small ball of fresh mozzarella wrapped in a basil leaf.

As you can see from the picture, she arranged them in a vase, so that they look almost like a flower arrangement. It made the table gorgeous and they were absolutely delicious to boot.

photo by Marisa McClellan

Though I frequent my local Starbucks more often than I probably should, I have to admit that I've never had any of their food. I'm not a big fan of wraps, and the baked goods they offer really just don't appeal to me. That said, with the addition of salads to their regular menu, I may have to bite the bullet and try them for lunch one day soon.

According to one source, they will be releasing two salads nationally next week: a tomato mozzarella salad containing fresh mozzarella cheese, grape tomatoes and basil, as well as a Southwestern variety containing roasted corn and black bean salad topped with grilled chicken. Apparently in the Chicago area they will be selling three different salads: a pipette pasta salad topped with white chicken, salami, smoked mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh grape tomatoes; white chicken in a Thai curry dressing on a bed of couscous; and a penne pasta salad topped with albacore tuna, sun-dried tomato pesto, Parmesan cheese, peas and sweet peppers. (Not sure why they are offering those just in Chicago - test market perhaps?)

In addition to the salads, you can also expect to see them pushing yogurt parfaits, a fruit and cheese plate, and a vegetable snack plate soon.

After pointing you to Wendy's new Design A Burger contest, I figured I'd point you to this site, since many of you eat pizza and not burgers.

It's the Random Pizza Generator, and it automatically chooses your crust, the types of cheese and all of your toppings for you. It's sort of like that idea Kramer had on Seinfeld, only you won't burn your fingers. The webmaster doesn't suggest you actually make the pizza you get, but if you do, take a picture of it and he'll post it.

The one I got was Smoked Gouda, Provolone, Cauliflowers, Salsa, Wurstel, and Spam. For the record, I am never making that.

Hot, comforting and filling, risotto is comfort food - albeit one that is a cut above a casserole or other hearty, quick-fix dish. It is not that risotto is difficult to make, but the thing that makes it special is the slow cooking and constant stirring that develops the creamy texture that is so satisfying. This Risotto with Smoked Mozzarella and Radicchio was made by Tami, from Running with Tweezers for the food blogging event, Hay Hay It's Donna Day, in which variations of Donna Hay recipes are celebrated by bloggers. This particular variation on a basic risotto comes from Food & Wine magazine. While many risottos use Parmesan as the main cheese, this one gets a deeply satisfying flavor and creamier than usual texture from smoked mozzarella cheese. The richness of such a cheesy dish is cut by the slightly bitter crunch of radicchio. The wonderful thing about risotto is that there are so many ingredients that can be used to make it that it can really be customized to your preferences. It is just a matter of getting down the basic technique and being willing to commit a few extra minutes to stirring.

A sandwich can be the perfect solution if you are hungry, but not hungry enough to sit down and have a whole meal. They can also be a relatively healthy late-night snack if you find yourself up in the wee hours. Finger sandwiches and tea sandwiches are categories of sandwich that were created entirely for snacking. More often than not, these snackable sandwiches are meatless, since that ensures that they will need minimal preparation time. Elise, of Simply Recipes, made up a batch of Caprese Mini Sandwiches that are perfectly suited to snacking, meeting both the size and meat-free requirements. Though they are small and easy to prepare, they are surprisingly elegant, using a combination of pesto, mozzarella and tomatoes on top of a lightly toasted and seasoned pita bread. The seasoned pita bread, which uses spices and a bit of parmesan cheese, could also be used for dipping in salsa or hummus, if you're not inclined to assemble the whole thing.

There are a number of food pairings that work well together, but the combination of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese is a favorite with just about everyone. Pizza and simple salads are the examples that immediately spring to mind, but Tomatoes & Mozzarella: 100 Ways to Enjoy This Tantalizing Twosome All Year Long offers up even more. Unlike some other books that focus on tomatoes, this book does not treat them as a seasonal food, although there are plenty of recipes that call for the use of fresh tomatoes. As you might expect, given the topic, there is a heavy influence on Mediterranean and Italian dishes. Winter dishes include lasagna and a variety of other pasta dishes. There a plenty of appetizers - Deviled Tomatoes, in particular, are a great take on a classic hors d'oeuvre - and salads, but other tempting dishes include a Mozzarella and Tomato Risotto and Tomato Pot Pie. The versatility of these two ingredients is incredible, and it's nice to have a few more options in one volume.

Since tomatoes seem to ripen all at the same time, those who grow their own in summer often struggle with ways to use them up quickly. Sauces and salads are very nice, as are fresh tomatoes when eaten out of hand, but a simple open-faced tomato sandwich, as Dawna from Always in the Kitchen made, might be an even better application. Her sandwich starts with a piece of toasted, crusty bread (sourdough might work very well here) and is topped with slices of red onion, tomato, mozzarella cheese and a few sprigs of fresh basil. She also added a generous amount of salt and pepper. Simple though it seems, a sandwich like this one is guaranteed to be one fantastic lunch.

More fresh tomato recipes:

• Roasted Strawberry and Tomato Salsa
• Gazpacho
• Heirloom Tomato Tart
• Slow Roasted Tomatoes