Get your Thanksgiving Stank On! Washed Rind Cheese and Potatoes

Thanksgiving is a time for old favorites and traditions and it is also a time to try out a few new dishes. I suggest preparing some baked potatoes with your favorite washed rind cheese. There are many to choose from Taleggio, Epoisses and Racalette are some of the more popular or try out OMA (see blog entry), Grayson or Robiola. Stinky cheeses all melt very well so pairing them with vegetables, mushrooms and potatoes always works well. Here is a recipe to start with but be creative. Bake 4 Russet Potatoes until cooked through. Once they have cooled enough to handle scoop out the inside while leaving the skins intact. Put the potato insides into a bowl with 1/2 pound (or more) of your favorite Stinky cheese (cut the cheese into small chunks) with 1/2 cup of sour cream, 1/2 stick of butter (softened), salt and pepper to taste, some finely chopped rosemary and/or other fresh herbs (heat them on a dry pan to bring out more flavor if you have the time). Mix it all up with out completely mashing the potatoes. Place mixture back into the skins and bake for 15 minutes (they can be made ahead and reheated but try and get them to room temp before doing this) or until they are golden brown on top. Serve with some herbed sour cream or additional butter (it won't need it but it is Thanksgiving and gluttony is the name of the game) GET YOUR STANK ON!