Cheese, Bread, and Wine Tasting #1

At September 13, 2011
By megan
In bread, Cheese, Hazel Dell, The Cheese Chronicles, The Murrays Cheese Handbook, wine
2

After my catharsis, I decided to put a positive spin on my lonely cheese, bread, and wine dinners. I’m now going to plan on cheese, bread, and wine, and explore some new flavors, textures, and regions of wines and cheeses. Why not?

So, with my Murray’s Cheese Handbook and The Cheese Chronicles as my reference books, I’m embarking on a new adventure.

The first three cheeses that I bought (from Whole Foods) are pictured below:

Beehive Seahive in the foreground- a cow milk cheese sweetened with honey. This was really good. I kept slicing it and snacking and snacking. It’s smooth, just barely sweet, and quite enjoyable.

Romao in the middle- a raw sheep milk cheese that’s rubbed with olive oil and rosemary. Again- yum. There’s just enough rosemary flavor for you to taste the herb without it smacking you in the face the way rosemary can from time to time.

And Taleggio in the back- a cow milk cheese that, according to the Murray’s handbook, is a cheese that “despite pungent, nearly offensive aromas” actually has a “gentle, buttery, mild” flavor. I couldn’t agree more. This cheese was a little scary at first with its moldy, stinky stink. But it is smooth.

So, I snacked a bit and then decided to make some crostini with Hazel Dell Mushrooms sauteed in olive oil and butter with a few slivers of Walla Walla onions (from the Boulder farmers market) and some baby swiss chard (that’s what the sign said at the market- I don’t know if that’s an actual variety of chard)

I made 2 crostini with the Beehive Seahive and two with the Taleggio. Despite feeling full half-way through, I managed to eat all of my dinner. Washed it down with an Arrogant Pinot Noir. Overall, a success.

Xplorador Carmenere by Concha y Toro

Here’s another wine I would buy again. I don’t claim to be a connoisseur, but I know what I like. Xplorador Carmenere by Chile’s famous Concha y Toro tastes great. It is also funny to me that I made up a little song for it that sounded like Dora the Exploradora… and I sang it while I poured.

And just for fun- I added a few photos of the Concha y Toro Winery from our visit a few years ago when we lived in Santiago, Chile.

Wine was plentiful!

The grounds were beautiful.

Scarpetta Wine

As the label says, “Scarpetta is a collaborative effort of Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey and Chef Lachlan Patterson of Frasca Food and Wine.”

Scarpetta wine. What a great idea, and for anyone familiar with Frasca Food and Wine and Chef Lachlan Patterson, it is no surpirse. There seems to be no shortage of good ideas these days.

As an avid wine drinker (consumer perhaps might be a better word?), I was pleased to receive this bottle of Friuli Italian wine from the illustrious folks at Frasca here in Boulder. I do not pretend to be a wine expert, though I do personally consume a lot of wine. I like to say that I know what tastes good. If I don’t notice the hint of strawberry or the tobacco (or whatever else might be hiding in the bottle), I can at least tell you if I’d have another glass… or another bottle.

If I had no restraint I’d be on scarpettawine.com buying a case right now. It really was that good. I suggest if you’re interested in wines you check out Scarpetta and let me know what you think.

Enjoy responsibly, of course.