Cheese Tasting

So As I mentioned I had a small gathering for New Year's and we decided to have the food be wine and cheese pairings. For each wine we had two cheeses. For the pairing ideas I must give a shout out to one of the places that I miss most in San Diego and one of the best cheese shops that I have ever been to Venissimo. If you are in the area it is worth a stop or if you are looking for a special cheese, check them out, they ship!

So here are the cheeses that we tried along with various wines....

We started with the reds.. The first batch was some Stilton and P'tite Basque with a Bordeaux. None of were fans of the wine, but the flavors of the wine definitely brought out the flavors of the cheese.
Next up where two cheddar cheeses, one a black diamond and the other the reserve from Trader Joe's, these where paired with a red blend, Menage a Trois, and stout. All of us preferred the Trader Joe's cheese over the Cabot, and thought that the stout was a better pairing than wine.

Our next cheeses where a manchego and Iberico that we drank with a Spainish Sauvignon Blanc. This was a great pairing and all of us loved the cheese and wine combination especially the manchego with the wine. This was a pairing that I would highly recommend.

Next up where two Stilons one with Cranberries and the other with Apricots, these where paired with a Riesling and most of this cheese and wine was finished off. The next pairing was a honey goat cheese and a cranberry goat cheese served with a moscato d'asti, we had Bug Juice, which is one of our favorite varieties of this wine.

This lead us up to about 11:30 and at that time we were ready to start drinking some champagne. We made up some smoked salmon on crustinis and some caviar on potato chips and also served some St. Andre cheese and another Triple Cream cheese, this one a Brie. At this point of the night we were all enjoying the good time we were having and all loved the way the wine complimented the cheese and food selections.

I hope that your New Year's was as good as ours and that the next time you entertain think about hosting a small cheese and wine pairing party.

Happy New Year!

Champagne and Food Pairings

So, I said I would write about some of my favorite thing to serve with Champagne and here is the shortlist....

Strawberries - the flavor of the fruit reacts great and tend to enhance the flavor of the Champagne

Triple Cream Cheeses - I adore the flavor combination of a good brie, St. Andre or other French triple cream cheese with champagne. I don't know what it is about this combination but all I can say is yum, and more please.

Smoked Salmon - I have no idea what it is about smoked salmon served with cream cheese, capers, and red onion that does it for me, but this has got to be one of the absolute best things to eat while drinking champagne.

Caviar - In my opinion this is the only thing that tops smokes salmon with champagne. A super easy way to serve this is by using kettle cooked potato chips, putting a dab of creme fresh on there, topping with some caviar and sprinkling chopped chives on top. This to my is a decadent and lovely way to enjoy bubbly.

Now as for the Champagnes well it really depends on what you like, my absolute favorite is Dom Perigion, after that is Veuve Cliccquot, followed by Domain Carnaros. 

I hope that you get a chance to serve some of these great food and Champagne pairings. If you did not try one for your new year's eve party why not share something special with your loved one on Valentine's Day, or have a nice in home date night.