Football season brings with it the promise of cheeseburgers, cheese balls, cheese dips and even cheese cubes. All are wonderful accents to the first official parties of Florida’s transition into fall, and let’s face it: artisanal cheese doesn’t stand up to a hot room full of chanting beer drinkers like the processed stuff does! So, as your favorite college and pro teams take to the field, raise your drink to cheers your family and friends while you enjoy all the glory mass manufactured cheese has to offer.

Now that you’ve got that out of your system, lets cut to the real cheese. As the rest of the country enjoys the soft transition into cooler weather, it’s painfully obvious that the seasonal change hasn’t started for us. However, there is an end in sight. The artisanal cheeses available in Tampa include several selections that will provide a reprieve until then.

Pierce Point from Cow Girl Creamery (pictured at right) is a beautiful California cow’s milk seasonal cheese that is only made for a short period each year. It is lovingly spritzed with Riesling and then rolled in dried coriander, fennel, juniper berry, bay leaf, lemongrass, lemon balm, red clover, marigold, chamomile and oat straw. The result is a decadent, semi-firm cheese that is a real treat. Pierce Point’s creamy and sweet characteristics make it the perfect cheese to pair with a tart apricot jam (see recipe below). This unique accompaniment is a recipe of dried apricots, honey and cinnamon. The crisp, fruity notes of the apricot enhance the already complex Pierce Point.

For another domestic choice, occasionally available at Bern’s, St. George serves as a unique option. The intense, cheddary depth of this cow's milk cheese provides a rich full-flavored treat. As this Portuguese-style cheese coats your tongue, pair this with a late summer corn, basil and olive oil salad. The combination is refreshing, sweet and sexy!

This article appears in Sep 9-15, 2010.