When Laura Chenel began making goat cheese in Sonoma, California more than 40 years ago, she was the first to introduce Americans to the artisan cheeses she had discovered in France. Today, her name is synonymous with fresh goat cheese, and the company she founded continues to innovate while adhering to the high standards she established.
Earlier this year, Laura Chenel launched a new line of four-ounce goat cheese logs in eight distinctive flavors. The expanded flavor line has something for everyone and encompasses the flavor spectrum of herbal, sweet, savory, umami, fruity and hearty, plus Laura Chenel Original, the signature flavor Chef Alice Waters used to crown Chez Panisse’s iconic mixed greens salad. Each variety features sophisticated, high-quality ingredients that enhance without overpowering the creamy, rich flavor of the goat cheese. All ingredients are fully incorporated into each log rather than rolled on the outside for neater presentation and full, consistent flavor in every bite, and the vacuum-sealed packages have easy-peel corners for convenient serving.
While the size of the new logs makes them especially easy to add to a cheeseboard, the flavors also invite experimentation in the kitchen. Here are a few of our favorite ways to use and pair them:
Kalamata Olive
- Top grilled halibut or tuna
- Add to a pasta with spicy tomato sauce
- Spread generously over garlic naan or other flatbread, bake at 475 until bubbly and sprinkle with chopped basil
Fig and Grapefruit
- Top a bowl of mixed berries
- Roll into small balls and coat with chopped pistachios
- Spread on a shortbread cookie and top with shaved dark chocolate
Black Truffle
- Slather atop a grilled steak
- Crumble over roasted fingerling potatoes
- Fold into scrambled eggs
Sundried Tomato and Basil
- Stuff into a partially baked mushroom cap and broil until cheese is softened and bubbly
- Add an extra layer of flavor to a BLT
- Melt into a garlic and white wine sauce for shrimp or scallops
Orange Blossom Honey
- Spread on French toast
- Sandwich between oatmeal cookies
- Crumble atop cubed avocado and mango
Garlic and Chive
- Spoon into a baked potato and top with crumbled bacon
- Combine with chopped smoked salmon and serve in endive leaves
- Spread onto slices of prosciutto and roll slices around blanched asparagus spears
Cranberry
- Substitute for mayo in a turkey sandwich
- Crumble into a green salad with toasted pecans and sliced red onion
- Spread on toasted pumpkin bread
For more ideas, visit laurachenel.com
Sponsored by Laura Chenel
Laura Chenel
Laura Chenel ushered in a new chapter in American cheese in 1979 when she started making farmstead goat cheese with milk from her goats and techniques she learned in France. Today, Laura Chenel still embodies its founding namesake’s pioneering spirit as a leading producer of fresh and aged goat cheeses, and goat yogurts crafted with fresh goat milk from family-owned farms in California, Oregon, Nevada and Idaho. Located in the heart of Sonoma County, Laura Chenel is the first U.S. creamery to be awarded LEED Gold certification, and its commitment to sustainable practices, including solar energy and recycling, helps preserve the terroir for generations to come.
