| Blue cheese--either crumbled or in a dressing--nicely balances bitter greens in salads. You can also pair it with bread, crackers, or fruit for an appetizer, or let it melt on pasta or grilled meats. Blue cheeses vary in pungency--I'd serve a mild blue cheese like Cambozola at a neighborhood get-together, and a more pungent blue like Saint Agur or Cabrales to fellow foodies that I'm trying to impress. Stilton is the most renown blue cheese, and a reliable party-pleaser. Blue cheeses grow more pungent with age or mishandling, and it's best to use them within a few days of purchase. Like almost all cheeses, blues should be brought to room temperature before serving. Substitutes: feta cheese Complements: bitter salad greens OR port wine OR dried fruit OR robust red wine OR apples OR pears OR melons OR stone fruit OR honey OR nuts OR figs Varieties that are best for: Dressing salads: Stilton OR Roquefort OR Bavarian blue OR Gorgonzola OR Cabrales Snacking: Gorgonzola OR Saga blue OR Stilton OR Bleu d'Auvergne Melting on meats: Cabrales OR Gorgonzola OR Picon Dressing pasta: Roquefort OR Maytag Blue OR Gorgonzola OR Danish Blue Dessert: Saga blue OR Stilton OR Roquefort OR Gorgonzola | 