I know Labor Day weekend is winding down, but if you still have the grill on, or aren't quite ready to let go of summer yet, try this recipe for Blue Cheese and Grilled Romaine salad. It couldn't be easier, which leaves you plenty of time to keep on relaxing in your deck chair. What to pair this salad with? I vote for a nice cold beer, which can balance out the salty flavor of blue cheese.

It's that time of year again, when parents rack their brains trying to come up with delicious and nutritious snacks to fill their kids lunch bags. String cheese is one of those genius inventions that has been making this task easier for as long as most of us can remember.

Packaged string cheese as we know it now can trace its stringiness to cheeses like Mozzarella and Armenian string cheese, which are both in a cheese category called pasta filata. Translated as "stretched curd," the curds of pasta filatacheeses are cut into small pieces, immersed in hot water to soften, and then stretched to create a layered texture.

Another favorite cheese for lunch bags is the wax covered Babybels, which are part of the Laughing Cow product line. Marketed as a "sophisticated cheese on-the-go," mini Babybel cheeses are almost bite-sized and have the mild and creamy characteristics kids love. The company that makes Babybel cheese says on their website, "cheese is a big part of our life". I couldn't have said it better myself.

Aged cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano, Gruyere, Piave and Gouda are also great for lunches because they keep well and don't start to emit a cheese odor, even when stuck in a locker for several hours. Consider buying these at your local cheese store to send to school with the kids, paired with fruit or salami.

With Labor Day upon us, the official summer grilling season is coming a close. Just in the nick of time I bought some Halloumi, fired up the grill, and grilled myself some cheese.

Halloumi is a unique cheese, in that it doesn't melt. When Halloumi is made, the curds are cooked for more than an hour which give the cheese a very firm, un-meltable texture. The flavor is mild, kind of like salty Mozzarella. Halloumi reminds me a little bit of cheese curds (you Wisconsinites out there know what I'm talking about.)

Follow this easy recipe for Grilled Halloumi. If you're making kabobs this weekend, also consider cutting Halloumi into cubes and sticking it on the kabob next to meat and vegetables.

I don't know about you, but whenever I watch television I get the munchies. If you're going to be sitting in front of the TV tonight taking in the political theatrics of the Democratic convention, then why not cook up some snacks?

Feta Flatbread is a favorite of mine. If you don't have time to bake, the go for some apps that require no cooking at all: Feta With Olive Oil and Herbs, or Blue Cheese Parsley Dip, or a simple cheese plate.