Taste 3- Get a little Old Fashioned

My third way to show him how much I care involves a tasty libation- a cocktail.  And not just any cocktail, but a classic… an Old Fashioned.

I used the recipe from Eric Felten’s book “How’s Your Drink?” and was pleased with the result.  According to Felten, in 1940 the New Yorker called the Old Fashioned “a national institution,” and if you’re going to make one at home, be sure to use American whiskey- either bourbon or rye.  I used Bulleit Rye because I like the spicy flavor and it’s often a great price compared to other Rye Whiskies.

Felten’s recipe calls for:

• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 2 pieces of lemon peel
• 2 oz bourbon or rye whiskey
• orange slice or maraschino cherry (optional)

First, put the sugar, bitters, lemon peel, and a couple drops of water in a glass and muddle it to dissolve the sugar. Then add the whiskey, ice, and stir…. I learned from Evan Faber to stir it 50 times, so I had fun with that. I skipped the orange and cherries and garnished it with a lemon twist.

Enjoy responsibly.

Blue Cheese and Pear on Rye

I’m a big fan of Rye bread, and I picked up a loaf of locally baked Breadworks Rye from Alfalfa’s, so I’ve been enjoying this flavor-packed “spicy” bread for a few days now.  Why did I describe this bread as “spicy?” Well, every bar tender in town describes rye whisky (one of my favorite spirits) as “spicy,” so I’m using that flavor descriptor for this bread. Do people call rye bread spicy? I have no idea…

Anyway, I made a sandwich with rye, blue cheese (from Cured) and pear. Yum. I could go for another right now…

Changing my Life through Cheese

Changing my life through cheese.  Is that what I’m doing?  Might be… things are definitely a lot more fun now that Cured has entered my life.  Who else entered my life?  A tender of a bar who has all kinds of spirits and beers and also likes cheese.  That means my last cheese dinner was an exceptionally fun tasting experience!

People who know my drinking style will tell you I’m a bourbon gal.  True, but once I discovered rye in New Orleans, it became my spirit of choice. So, my friend Matt and I started out the night with a special bottle of rye whiskey- High West Double Rye from Park City, Utah.  Just sippin’ it straight.  Such a nice surprise for me as he pulled the bottle out of his bag of goodies.

But, on to the cheese.  Coral Ferguson, co-owner of Cured, chose four cheeses for Matt and me, and Tyler, an esteemed foodie at Cured, helped me with the beverages.  I asked Coral for cheeses to eat in a progression for this particular evening.  She almost effortlessly handed me a Mt Tam, Fenacho, Red Leicester, and a Stilton.  Tyler suggested pairing it with a sparkling wine, so I picked up a bottle of Tiamo Prosecco.  Tyler and Coral suggested enjoying the Stilton with Port, so I asked Matt to bring some… I can’t always supply EVERYTHING.

But, libation-savvy Matt Lanning had an idea… some Haandbakk, a Norwegian ale aged in wine barrels from the Haand Bryggeriet Brewery in Norway.  Um… yeah, I had never heard of it either.  All I can say is wow, what a beer! The label describes it as an original Scandinavian brew made by farmers, aged in oak, and naturally sour.  I will describe it as fantastic, and say we were both a bit bummed when we finished the bottle, which happened before dinner because we followed the rye with some Stilton and Haandbakk.  Matt insisted on starting with the Stilton, number four in the four cheese progression.  But, we did save some for later.

We dove into the cheese in proper progression after the Stilton/Haandbakk pairing and started with Mt Tam from The Cowgirl Creamery in San Francisco.  Liz Thorpe describes this triple-creme aged, soft-ripened style cheese in The Cheese Chronicles as a “perfectly balanced swath of salt, cream and butter.”  It is perfectly wonderful in every way and when it’s at room temperature, it’s kind of addictive.

From Mt. Tam we moved on to Fenacho, from Tumalo Farms in Bend, OR.  This cheese is really unique because it has Fenugreek seeds, which are commonly used in pickles and curries.  Fenacho is a semi-hard cheese with a slightly sweet, nutty flavor.  This was a really different cheese from what I’m used to, but I enjoyed it and would definitely buy it again.

Our third taste was some Red Leicester, which, as you can probably guess from the name, comes from England. Red Leicester is a beautiful, bright orange cheese, colored with annatto.  It is firm and dry and might replace cheddar in my fridge from now on. There’s a sweetness to this cheese that draws you back… bite after bite after bite…

Matt and I went full-circle this particular evening, ending where we had started- with Stilton. The trusty Murray’s Handbook refers to Stilton as the best known blue cheese in the world.  It is protected under EU legislation, which means it can only be produced in certain counties in England with a particular milk and formed in a cylindrical shape, etc.  The Murray’s Handbook describes Stilton as “an impeccable marriage of heavy, moist paste, sparkling minerality, balanced salt, and roasted nuttiness.”  It then goes on to say ” serve with tawny port and that’s that. There are no other options.”  Stilton and port are without a doubt a fine pairing, but, with all due respect to my trusted guide book for this exploration of cheese, I’ll have to say there is another option.  How about that Haandbakk?

Row 14 Late Night Happy Hour