Making the Perfect 4th of July Entertaining Spread

Easy & Delicious

The long 4th of July weekend is almost here and putting together a crowd-pleasing spread can be overwhelming. To take the stress out of your party planning, add our recipe ideas to your spread, or better yet, recreate our whole spread! We have enhanced some easy, classic summer dishes by adding Emmi cheese that will make both cooking a breeze and your guests happy!

Burgers with Shredded Gruyere

The staple of almost any summer party is a burger. By adding some shredded Gruyere, you can liven up this grill out favorite. Emmi Shredded Gruyere melts perfectly on burgers and gives them that extra flavor boost.

Fresh Vegetable Fondue

Emmi Original Fondu works great as a dip for fresh vegetables. All you need to do is heat up the fondue mix and serve with cut veggies for a healthy and summery snack.

Le Cremeux Cracker Bites

Kaltbach Le Crémeux is a tasty addition to these cracker bites which include Granny Smith apples, honey, and thyme. The apple and honey pair perfectly together to highlight the unassuming sweetness of the cheese and balance the taste of the bites.

Ingredients:

  • Emmi Kaltbach Le Crémeux cheese
  • Granny Smith Apples
  • Honey
  • Thyme
  • Crackers

Pimento Cheese Dip

We created a fun spin on this classic cheese dip by swapping cheddar cheese out for Emmi Le Gruyère. This unexpected twist will both elevate the dip and be a delicious surprise for your guests.

Recipe:

  • 6 ounces Emmi Gruyère cheese, shredded
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 1 (4 ounce) jar pimento peppers, drained and diced
  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  •  1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced chives

Mix everything together well with a spatula, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes prior to serving. 

Emmentaler Pasta Salad

Running short on time but need one more dish? Complete your spread using deli made pasta salad with added cubes of Emmi Emmentaler. All you have to do is cube the cheese and your 4th of July party food is ready!

Emmentaler® AOP

Notes

Nutty, Slight Acidity, Hint of Herbs

Pair With

Oaked Chardonnay Cabernet Sauvignon Gin & Tonic

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Original Fondue

Pair With

Crusty Bread Cubed Ham, Boiled Shrimp, Meatballs Red And Green Bell Peppers

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Shredded Le Gruyère AOP

Pair With

PASTA DISHES TOPPING SALADS ALSATIAN WHITE WINES SUCH AS RIESLING

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Festive Pairings: Pie and Cheese

Nothing says the holidays like pie and cheese. Turn your leftover pie into pairings for a beautiful, seasonal cheese board with these clever cheese and pie pairings. No need to be fussy here. Simply arrange slices of pie and cheese on a platter so everyone can try a bite of everything. Start with these pairing suggestions and create your own. There are no rules!

KALTBACH Gouda + Pumpkin Pie

The sweet, caramel notes of cave-aged KALTBACH Gouda are a magical match with sweet, earthy pumpkin pie. Add a drizzle of caramel sauce for extra decadence.

Emmi Le Gruyère + Cherry Pie

With its notes of candied walnuts, dried fruit and spice, Emmi Le Gruyère complements all sorts of berry pies, but cherry is our top pick.

KALTBACH Le Crémeux + Apple Pie

Aged in the legendary Kaltbach Cave, Le Crémeux has a distinctive, complex flavor and a wonderfully creamy texture. Classic apple pie is a perfect pairing.

Triple Source Le Gruyère + Chocolate Pecan Pie

Selected exclusively from three of the premier Le Gruyère AOP creameries in Switzerland for consistent flavor and quality, Triple Source Le Gruyère can be found exclusively at Costco. Pair it with an equally showstopping pie – chocolate pecan.

KALTBACH Le Gruyère + Sugar Cream Pie

The mineral-rich air of the Kaltbach CAVE creates the perfect environment for transforming specially selected Le Gruyère wheels into wondrous depths of flavor. Pair slices of KALTBACH Le Gruyère with luscious bites of sugar cream pie.

Emmi cheese and pie pairings for Thanksgiving
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Grazing Boards Will Change Your Summer

Quick, easy snacks are a summer must-have. This summer? Enter: the grazing board. It’s a cheeseboard without the fuss. A snack with a purpose. A meal without the oven. Any way you see it, a grazing, or snack board, is a simple way to eat without the fuss.

We’re here to show you how easy they are with this simple formula:

Cheese + veg + meat + carb + extra

Don’t stress about what you put together. Use up leftover bread, a handful of nuts, pickles, lunch meat, and other items you have on-hand.

Here, we used:

  • Emmi Le Gruyère cheese
  • Grilled corn and tomatoes
  • Candied bacon
  • Flatbread crackers

IN THIS POST

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Holiday Pairings with Kaltbach Le Gruyère AOP

Good things do indeed come to those who wait. After at least one year aging under the watchful café of the Kaltbach Master Affineur in the legendary caves, Kaltbach Le Gruyère AOP makes its way onto tables around the world. With its flavors of dried stone fruit, spice, black tea and hazelnuts, it’s the perfect cheese to feature on a holiday cheese board.

Kaltbach Le Gruyère AOP lends itself beautifully to both sweet and savory pairings, as well as a festive holiday punch (read on for the recipe).

It’s hard to go wrong sweet pairings to accentuate this versatile cheese that delights a wide range of palates. Choose a selection of accompaniments that add color as well as complementary flavors to your cheese board. For the holidays, we reach for deeply colored black grapes, fresh persimmons whenever they’re available, dried figs and a beautifully made jam. Cherry jam is a wonderful complement to the cheese, and if golden plum jam is available in your market, it makes for an extra special holiday treat. Finish your sweet pairings with a cookie – it is the holidays, after all! Ginger snaps, almond cookies or cranberry biscotti are all great choices.

On the savory side, there are many great options, as well. Hearty, rustic bread is a must, as are briny, buttery olives. Charcuterie is another wonderful pair with many possibilities. For our holiday board, we chose double smoked Canadian bacon (ham works wonderfully, too) and peppery soppressata.

It wouldn’t be the holidays without a cup of cheer, so don’t forget to include a festive beverage pairing or two. If you’re serving wine, choose a Cabernet Franc, red or white Burgundy, Grenache or Syrah to complement the Kaltbach Le Gruyère AOP cheese. Single malt Scotch also highlights the flavors of the cheese quite nicely. If a holiday punch is more your style, we have just the recipe to accentuate your beautiful cheese board, made with sparkling pear cider, ginger kombucha, port wine and club soda. Get the recipe below.

For something non-alcoholic, ginger kombucha and non-alcoholic pear cider are both great options. Whatever your beverage of choice, raise a glass to friends, family and good food, and have a wonderful holiday season!

Ginger Pear & Port Punch

1 bottle (750 ml) ruby port wine
1 bottle (16 ounces) ginger kombucha
1 bottle (750 ml) pear cider
1 pear, sliced
1 liter club soda
1 cup frozen cranberries (optional)

In punch bowl, combine port wine, kombucha and pear cider; mix. Top with ice and club soda to taste. Garnish with sliced pears and frozen cranberries.

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Cheese + Sparkling Wine Pairings

There’s really nothing better than a freshly popped bottle of bubbles on the back patio on a warm summer night. Unless, of course, you also have a cheese board on that patio. Sparkling wine or champagne is the perfect compliment to cheese. Here are some of our favorite ways to pair Emmi cheeses with these light, summer bottles!

Gruyére + Cava
To highlight Gruyére’s nutty, mild flavor; pair it with a glass of Cava or Champagne. Both sparkling wines are similar in flavor with fine bubbles and a yeasty, toasty flavor that enhances those same qualities in this favorite mountain cheese. Choose a Brut variety for a drier, more pleasing flavor.

Kaltbach Gruyére + Champagne — Aged in our prized 22-million-year-old Kaltbach Cave, this raw cow’s milk Gruyére is unlike any cheese you’ve tasted. To match its rich depth of flavor, enjoy it with a glass of Spanish Cava or French Champagne. Both sparkling wines enhance the cheese’s nuttiness, making those addictive flavor crystals somehow taste even better.

Kaltbach Le Crémeux + Rosé
If you haven’t yet tried this one-of-a-kind cheese, then do it with a glass of bubbly in hand. Aged in our 22-million-year-old Kaltbach Cave, Le Crémeux has a caramelized butter flavor and approachable mildness that makes it easy for pairing. We love it with a bottle of dry sparkling rosé, Prosecco or dry (Brut) Champagne.

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