There's a great article in the St. Petersburg Times called "Cheese a Good Choice for New Year's Celebrations."  Well, we knew that.  But in Laura Reiley's interview with Max McCalman, America's first restaurant-based maitre fromager (master of cheese), who has just released his fourth book on the subject, Mastering Cheese: Lessons for True Connoisseurship From a Maitre Fromager (Clarkson Potter, $40), he mentions the most common misconceptions about cheese.  Granted, we knew this stuff, too, but maybe you didn't.  Here's an excerpt:  Most people have this idea that cheese is fattening and that unpasteurized cheese is dangerous. Cheese is not fattening, and in fact it can lower bad cholesterol and elevate good cholesterol levels. Unpasteurized cheese is perfectly safe — and perfectly legal — if it is aged at a cool temperature for 60 days. Also, people are concerned when they see mold. Cheese is a living food and the mold is extracting excess moisture while adding flavor. And I hear from lots of people that they can't eat cheese because they are lactose intolerant. There is almost no lactose in cheese. It's drained off with the whey, and remaining lactose is converted to lactic acid in the souring of the milk.  And here's the full link: http://www.tampabay.com/features/food/general/cheese-a-good-choice-for-new-years-celebrations/1060411.  Happy New Year!