Gouda is a nice cheese. Actually, I rarely use cheese a recipe calls for...
but check my cheese drawer to see which has been open the longest and needs to be used up. I have had some amazing results. Fun Too. Some dishes, I stick with old faves, like tacos which can only be extra sharp cheddar and or Monterey Jack. Pasta is usually paremasano reggiano, but I have used many others, like Fontina, Havarti. A new fave is Jarlsberg.