Treat your cheese loving sweetheart right this Valentine’s Day with this easy to make Cheese Lover’s Valentine Gift Box!

Update Feb 2019: This post continues to be one of our most popular Valentine’s Day gift ideas – perfect for any cheese lover in your life (and feel free to add a few chocolates in there too, if you are so inclined!)

Don’t get me wrong, I *heart* chocolate and have at least a piece of dark chocolate every day. But it was the after-party during last month’s FoodBlog South conference that inadvertently led me to think outside the Valentine’s box.

This was the first blogger conference I’ve attended and it was a blast. Interesting sessions, cool speakers, friendly bloggers and an amazing food spread summed up a worthwhile weekend in Birmingham for this Southern Wannabe.

Got a cheese loving sweetheart? Gift them a Cheese Lover's Valentine's Day Box this year! @tspbasil
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At the after-party, sponsored by Southeast Dairy Association and Good People Brewery, it boasted some amazing artisanal American cheeses (hello Cabot Clothbound Cheddar) & beer pairings.

But it was the Kentucky Rose light bleu + Coffee Oatmeal Stout with ficoco (fig & cocoa spread!), gingersnaps and chocolate combo that knocked my socks off.

Chocolate + cheese together got me thinking of a past dairy association promotion during Valentine’s Day celebrating cheese lovers and the new wave of artisanal cheesemakers that are changing the landscape of American crafted cheeses.

And so my Valentine’s box this year includes a variety of American cheeses along with a favorite Alabama nosh – Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q famous cheddar cheese biscuits (I was lucky enough to score a free sample of their mix at the conference – these suckers are darn good, even when I cut back on the butter a bit when baking.) The dietitian in me also added some fresh thyme, mint, spinach, tomatoes and raspberries for a little extra color and nutrients.

Would you want to receive cheese instead of chocolate for Valentines’ Day? Or just chocolate, thank you? Or both?