Simply, charming with the right touch of informative. That is how I would describe the Di Bruno Brothers House of Cheese Cookbook. From novice cheese lovers to connoisseurs, this information packed beauty of a book is one worthy of space on your shelf.
When you open the pages of Di Bruno Brothers House of Cheese Cookbook, it feels like you are stepping in front of Philadelphia’s largest and oldest cheese counter, with experts right in front of you providing helpful guidance. Dare I call it a reference book? Oh…don’t let that scare you away… this “reference” book is unassuming, fun, light and still manages to be an informative book without being overwhelming.
Nick and I first became lovers of fine cheese and wine pairings when we vacationed without the kids a few years ago. We stumbled upon a farmers market in Park City, Utah and decided that instead of dinner, we’d grab some artisan cheeses, fruit, wine and a baguette and head back to our hotel for a night in. From that day forward, creating a simple wine, cheese and fruit tray has been our favorite at home date night tradition. We’ve always been a bit sporadic about our choices, but now with the Di Bruno Brothers cookbook in our hands, we can shake up date night even more with more formalized pairings.
I have an incredibly generous giveaway from Di Bruno Brothers to share with you, but let me just tell you a few favorite things about their cookbook first. Let’s start with the nitty gritty… This wonderful cookbook is written by Tenaya Darlington, the freelance blogger behind Di Bruno Brothers House of Cheese. Let me tell you, Tenaya has a way with words and can make reading about even the stinkiest of cheeses, pleasant. The photography? The gorgeous, artistic photography? It was done by the talented Jason Varney. What a killer team the two of them made with this book!
Here is a sampling of what you’ll find in the Di Bruno Brothers House of Cheese Cookbook:
- 30 recipes ranging from starters to desserts (A few of my favorites? Zeke’s Bacon Maple Grilled Cheese, Baked Brie with Pears and Apricots, The Incredible Bulk and A Pecorino Perfect Martini)
- How-To’s galore, from “How to Host a Cheese Party” to “How to Pick a Hunk” and “How to Talk to a Cheesemonger” and so much more
- Several really awesome and creative cheese board ideas. I really loved the Tapas on the Patio and Desk Bentos for One cheese board ideas! Brilliant!
- Recommendations for the perfect beer and wine pairings
- An all inclusive detailed (in a totally non boring way) list of the types of cheeses out there, broken down by personality.
- Beautiful words and photographs accompanying each and every page of the book, from start to finish.
If you want to get serious about cheese, in a totally fun and enlightening way, you’ll want to buy this book up ASAP. It’s currently only $13.99 on Amazon… the amount of information in this book is worth so much more than that! Also, scroll below for a chance to win the cookbook and a wonderful basket of food goods from Di Bruno Brothers!
The giveaway basket includes a selection of tasty products from Di Bruno Brothers (think incredible cheeses, gourmet jarred goods, crackers and snacks), the cookbook and a $25 gift card to buy some things you love at the Di Bruno Brothers online store. If you want to enter to win the gift basket, do so using the PromoSimple widget below. If you just want to cut to the chase and buy the book, you can certainly do that through this link here.
My favorite is an Irish Cheddar much like Dubliner. Perfectly dry with a hint of sweetness. The perfect cheese to pair with wine tastings.
I am such a cheese person. “Cheese is why I’ll never be vegan.” I am drooling over these images!
goat cheese or feta1
My fave is Humboldt Fog goat cheese. Soooo good.
Queso Fresco!! Tastes amazing on corn or watermelon – crazy but so good!
Most used= goat cheese… On burgers, in scrambled eggs, and on and on. But, while in Mexico, I discovered Oaxaca… It’s a great topper for Mexican dishes!
These photos are gorgeous! I have such a hard time naming my favorite cheese. I love sharp cheeses – feta, white cheddar and parmesan. I just love all cheese!
Probably blue cheese or feta, but I love to try new cheeses.
I love sharp cheddar, because I use it in almost everything from pasta dishes, to sauces, and with burgers!
My favorite cheese that I’ve ever had is PrimaDonna. I tasted it for the first time at Di Bruno Bros on 9th St in Philly about 4 years ago. I’ll never forget the name because the guy behind the counter was giving me samples of several different cheeses and he said to me “you’ll love this one and I’m sure it will be easy for you to remember, princess” and he was right! It was delicious!! I bought two blocks that day and have only been back once since to buy more because I live in SC. I also really love goat cheese and use it in most dishes that I make.
That is such an awesome story, Crystal! Love it!
I just love brie baked in a pie crust with apricot preserves and roasted garlic. Fresh mozarella rocks too 🙂
My favorite cheese? I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite. I like anything stinky, or sharp, creamy, or hard. Love most everything!
Seaside cheddar from whole foods is my fave thats coming to mind on a Monday morning!
My favorite is sharp cheddar and smoked gouda! Yum!
My favorite cheese is gruyere! I just love the sweet, but slightly salty flavor.
Goat cheese! I love how versatile it is and add it to salads, sandwiches, pasta.
Ahhh – this book makes me want to host a cheese party! My husband and I love cheese and crackers….we’re from Oregon, so it’s usually Tillamook cheese that we buy but I’d love to try something a little more “exotic”.
My favorite cheese is goat cheese but my husband hates it so my favorite that I actually eat is a really sharp cheddar.
I love cheddar cheese. It reminds me of my dad and growing up in Vermont.
Um I just love the way the parm section starts: “A Muppet movie in your mouth” Does it get any better than that?? This book looks incredibly. I don’t think there’s any cheese I don’t like!
My favorite cheese is a Pecorino Staginato that is produced by a local farm called The Dancing Ewe. Add her fig/lemon jam straight from Tuscany and it’s even better!
Its like picking a favorite child! I love a good sharp cheddar and brie.
My favorite cheese is Gorgonzola. I add it to my mac and cheese, cobb salad or just eat it with a good quality cracker.
FAvorite cheese! I have to pick just one! :-O Hmm maybe an extra sharp cheddar, or a creamy brie. I love the tang of the cheddar and it’s so versatile!
Oh my…how do I pick just one cheese. I love ALL cheese! Hmm….I guess it would be brie, if I have to pick one. I love it warm in a pastry topped with raspberry preserve. Then put it on a cracker or baguette. 🙂
I don’t have a favorite; however, I like a REALLY sharp cheddar. They have a super super sharp cheddar at Woodmans. I also really enjoy Dubliner cheese.
I thought I would never be able to pick a favorite until comte came into my life! It’s french, semi-hard and the best of both worlds. But I could also top everything with pecorino and smother anything in brie.
I love feta and brie!
Sharp cheddar is my all time favorite, go to cheese. I like the “twang” and it makes everything you eat with it taste so much better!
Brie. Wegman’s in Fairfax, Virginia has the most amazing variety. It’s my first stop when visiting my daughter.
Creamy herbed goat cheese is definitely my favorite!
I love brie because it goes with just about everything!
My favorite cheese is a Smoked Cheddar.
Mozzarella! I can’t get enough.
Cheddar, Gouda, and Monterey Jack. I lve driving through Osceola, Mo to stop at the cheese store. If you haven’t been it’s a fun stop! Free samples of cheese!
My favorite cheese is medium cheddar.
It’s Gotta be Gouda!
I love cheese, many different varieties but lately have been eating plenty of Le Gruyere. I love the flavor and texture, it makes excellent Mac & Cheese!
I love an aged gouda – so nutty and salty!
my favorite cheese is muenster cheese, it tastes great melted in grilled cheeses and on cheeseburgers.
gouda is my favorite cheese
trappist cheese is my favorite when I can find it!
I love feta because it’s so salty and yummy!
This week my fave is goat cheese for my fig and prosciutto pizza
I love COLBY and SWISS. I really want to try that cheese that you can grill. Don’t know what it is called. Hope I win , I hope I win, I hope iWIN
Halloumi! (The grilled cheese). I had some a few years ago and it was AMAZING. I think I just figured out what I need to buy for my next wine / cheese night!
Spanish Manchego! My sister introduced me to it after living in Spain for a couple years!!
Gruyere as I love it in quiche.
I love a good blue cheese, stuffed inside dates and baked for a few minutes. A must have with wine night! I totally need this book. Looks so helpful and interesting!
Do I have to pick just one?? Gosh, I’ll go with Gouda. Perfect snack for a girls night in!
Love all cheeses,would like to win.
I LOVE cheese. I can eat it on its own, with crackers or bread, or with fruit and wine or champagne. I am not picking at all when it come to cheeses. I’ll eat them anytime/any place. Gruyere is hands down my favorite–it’s creamy, nutty, fruity, salty…And, it melts so beautifully on french onion soup. Wow! Can’t think of anything better than that.
i like jarlsberg, swiss, and brie and manchego!
I love goat cheese, goes with anything!
Well, I do have a soft spot for delicious sharp cheddar cheese…but my recent favorite is a hard (almost Parmesan like in hardness) goat cheese that we found in Amsterdam. The stuff was incredible, and I’ve been looking for something similar in the U.S. since we got back!
I love Havarti because it’s buttery and acidic at the same time.
Gruyere cheese would have to be my favorite. I love that it’s slightly salty and sweet. Kind of tastes like Swiss cheese but a lot better. It’s very rich.
This book looks really great! Thanks for sharing!
Isn’t every cheese our favorite? :o) I would have to say an aged Cantal. The characteristics of this aged cheese goes nicely with an appertif if you like your cheese as an app…OR paired with dried fruit, it goes nicely with a digestif as well. LOVE Cantal! This cheese book looks amazing! Thanks for sharing it with us!
I love most sharp cheeses (or almost any cheese 😉 )
Probably Humbolt Fog. So hard to choose!
I’ve never met a cheese I didn’t like. Fresh mozzarella is my favorite for snacking and apps, and myzithra is my favorite to cook with. Love it added to pasta!
Italian fontina. Or havarti.
Well I am sorry to be boring, but I really like brie.
Casatica! It’s a buffalo milk cheese. The first time I had it, it was recommended to me by an expert at Di Bruno Bros and I’ve been hooked ever since. It goes perfectly with their Truffle Honey.
I love every cheese. Can’t pick a favorite.
I love goat cheese. My mom and I have special traditions making yummy treats with goat cheese. Thanks!!
My favorite cheese’s are swiss cheese because I love the way it taste and I love to make gooey grilled swiss cheese sandwiches. I love mozzarella because i love to pile it on pizza’s.
I love so many kinds of cheese, but I’m going to say caraway Jack because it used to be a staple around our house, when I was growing up, and only later did I discover it was only made by one local cheese company… and I haven’t had it since. It doesn’t exist here, for sure, and it may not exist outside of the cheese department of the one grocery store in Vancouver my parents got it from (that would be Stong’s).
I absolutely love Muenster, it reminds me so much of growing up and it’s delicious! I honestly love most cheeses though, so I’m picking Muenster because it makes me feel at home!
I love cooking with Parmesan–so versatile. I love snacking on Muenster–nice, mild. I love swiss on sandwiches–just a bit of …tang.
i haven’t tried that many cheeses but i love a good sharp cheddar. i would love to learn more about cooking with cheese.
This cookbook sounds amazing. I have a cheese problem. I am currently hoarding a coconut gouda that I am hiding from my husband. I love cooking with cheese so this sounds like a perfect fit!
I like Taleggio cheese because it melts easily and tastes great on my grilled pizza
I like most cheese, but I’ve always been a fan of provolone. Working “on the road” for years, I had to pack my own lunches. Provolone just went with everything…
Roquefort, brie, goat, provolone cant decide love it all
My favorite cheese is Munster. I dont know why… it just tastes yummy.
Love, Love practically all cheeses- provolone, gouda, swiss, parmesan, cheddar(all) but I guess going by what we eat the most of- it would just be plain old American sliced!
I love Munster because it has a sweet smooth taste.
I love harvarti because it is so creamy
I like pretty much all cheeses. It just depends on what I’m making but I would have to say that my ultimate favorite for everything cheese is Cream Cheese and for a just for me treat Smoked Gouda!
Cheese is the best food.
I love all different types of cheese,and I am always looking for something new.
I love just about all cheeses, from Provolone to cheddar to Swiss, depends what I am having with it, and what wine is available!
Cheddar is my all time favorite, like others have mentioned there are many tasty cheeses to love, but cheddar is my comfort cheese delicious alone or with many other foods/beverages. Yum, I want some now!!
My favorite cheese is cheddar and I love it on top of baked potatoes.
My favorite is mozzarella. Not sure why, I just really LOVE the taste.
Thank you for the chance to win!
I love sharp cheddar cheese……it is great on everything.
cool
My favorite is cheddar cheese. I put it on almost everything. Would love to try some different kinds.
My favorite cheese is cream Havarti. I love the texture and flavor!
I like sharp cheese. I love the taste. Thank you for the chance to enter
One of my favorites is mozzarella because it gets so golden brown and bubbly, delicious!
I would have to say my favorite cheese is colby jack.the best of two kinds of cheese in one.
I love mozzarella the best but a nice sharp cheddar is one of my favorites too.
Well, I love cheese and it’s hard to pick a favorite. I guess I eat cheddar the most, I like sharp best.
I like sharp cheddar best but paired with blue cheese for nice grilled cheese sandwich, mmm.
My favorite cheese is a yummy creamy burrata with a bit of olive oil drizzled on top and eaten with a crustini
My favorite cheese is provolone because I love Italian salads and sandwiches and that’s what tastes best.
My favorite is Manchego. I just love the soft and versatile taste of it. I’d eat it with anything, or just by itself.
Parmesian is my favorite cheese. Goes well with so many things….
Parmesan cheese is my favorite. It goes well with so many things….
cheddar cheese
mozzarella
I love all cheeses. I especially like blue cheese and white cheddar.
Raw milk chevre, yum!
baby swiss is my favorite
My favorite cheese is brie! I love it with homemade sourdough bread, almonds, and fruit.
My favorite cheese is an extra sharp cheddar.
extra sharp raw milk cheddar is my favorite
I love smoked gouda as an occasional treat!
I LOVE Goat Cheese
Brie. Brie, brie, brie, and more brie! ha! I love it, in any way, shape, or form.
Stinky Cheese – Sharp super sharp provolone, when you go to cut it, it just crumbles.
My favorite cheese is sharp Cheddar, because of its tangy bite, its richness, and the fact that it’s great for melting! It’s the perfect choice for a grilled cheese sandwich or a tuna melt!
I love Gruyere the best; I love the nutty bite of it. It’s great just on a cracker but is also supreme to cook with (never make quiche without it); definitely worth the coin.
My favorite kind of cheese is feta cheese! But I don’t think there’s one I DON’T like!
i love, love, love all cheese but my all time favorite has to be old cheddar!
I love parmesan cheese. I love how you can put it on or in almost anything and it still taste great.
goat cheese–so creamy and mild
I love sharp cheddar. It feels and tastes great. I love almost any flavor of cheese!!! <3
I love muenster cheese! I think I love it so much because it brings back great childhood memories. 🙂
I love Le Gruyere. So good !!
My favorite is sharp Cheddar-childhood favorite & source of much nostalgia!
Love cheddar cheese.
Love mozzarella! !! And parmegiano regiano!!!
I’m not sure it’s possible to pick a FAVORITE cheese, but I’m in the mood for a soft, creamy blue at the moment.
My favorite cheese would have to be Pecorino Pepato (A sheep’s milk cheese with black peppercorns) . . . not the table cheese that is remarkably soft, but the aged variety with much more character.
My dad grew up in Sicily, and when I was a child my dad would take me and my brother — every spring — to acquire a wheel of this wonderful cheese . . . I spent many summer afternoons enjoying a lunch of this cheese, along with some semolina bread, salume (it could have been pepperoni, Genoa, Sopresatta, dry salami . . . almost anything . . . and hot peppers . . . it’s a memory that I treasure after all these years . . .
I call it, comfort food . . . and I look forward to it, every spring.
I can’t think of a better way to honor my dad’s memory . . .
Moses Sleeper!
I love taleggio; it goes well with sweet and savory.
I have never met a cheese I didn’t love, but my current favorite is burrata, which I love to pair with tomatoes from our garden.
Midnight Moon Cheddar
I prefer baby swiss. I love it on hot sandwiches.
CHEDDER!!!!! I have always loved it but now swiss is pushing in on my favorite
its a close tie between parmegiano regiano and pecorino
Lactose intolerant. But family likes Monster.
Blue or Brie it’s a tie
Love all cheese, but feta is great on a summer spinach salad with fresh strawberries!
Homemade Mozzarella
Semi-Soft brie……..pure heaven. It melts in your mouth. I serve it with fig jam and sea salt crackers. The sweetness of the fig jam, the creaminess of the brie and the saltiness of the cracker……..oh my. Great flavor combo!
A provolone grilled cheese is tasty.
My favorite is Sharp Cheddar with parmigiano-reggiano running a very close second! 🙂
Cheddar is a comfort favorite!
My fave cheese is Emmentaler, I cannot get enough of it. My boyfriend says I love Emmentaler more than I love him, not true though.
Humbolt Fog!! So good…
Oh my gosh! Cheddar is my heaven! (So much so that I named my orange tabby Cheddar.) So great!
I love all kinds of cheese. A couple of favorites are gruyere and Brie cheese.
I like a dry aged cheddar, not too crazy about soft cheeses, unless they are melted that is.
Cheddar is my favorite – it goes with everything
Parmigiano Reggiano or an Extra Aged White Canadian Cheddar.
Smooth textured, tangy tasting goat cheese–rolled in fresh herbs, drizzled with EVOO and sliced into pinwheels for serving! Divine!
I adore parmesan – could eat it with every meal and snack…
Smoked Gouda.
Smoked Gouda bc it was in the recipe grits a yaya that I tried at a restaraunt.