In Italy, dried pasta is part of the daily diet, from the Italian Alps to Sicily. Sure, Italians use fresh pasta for special occasion dishes here and there, but most, whether in a restaurant or home kitchen, use dried pasta—not just because it stores easily, but because it’s as desirable as fresh pasta for most dishes. But they don’t use just any dried pasta.

At DeLaurenti, we have so many unique and delicious cheeses that selecting our 12 Days of Cheese to celebrate the holidays was hard, but we think you’ll love this list! From soft to hard, creamy to crumbly, delicate to piquant, these singular cheeses cover a range of styles and flavors from the significant cheesemaking regions of the world. Descriptions and suggested pairings will help you plan your holiday gatherings.

It’s true! We’ve adopted an Alp, as a true cheesemonger does. Let us explain: Swiss mountain cheeses are one-of-a-kind delights, made by families who embrace an ancient form of pastoral production that involves moving their herds to high altitude pastures in the Alps each summer and back to lower elevations when the cold weather threatens. The practice originated over 8,000 years ago, but it is a vanishing way of life in modern times. So, in 2012, the Adopt-an-Alp program was created. It connects traditional Swiss cheesemakers willing to spend summers grazing their herds in remote mountain meadows with American cheese vendors who want to support the practices.

This simple pasta is an elegant way to sample truffles. Ritrovo’s delicate egg pasta is made with truffle and porcini mushrooms from the Piedmont region of Italy. Regalis’s White Truffle Oil is deliciously fragrant. Best of all, you can fix this Michelin-worthy dish in about 15 minutes.

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