I’m excited to say that there is still the occasion to talk like a baby and not have everyone look at you funny. Or at least TOO funny. (I hope you all read the title aloud.)
This delicious retro treat came to us from my in-laws’ trip to Nashville. Milk chocolate, caramel, peanuts and marshmallow…..how can you go wrong?! They were so good, we have been tempted to take a road trip and get some more. Here’s to being a kid again!
Everyone say Goo Goo!
Everyone say Ga Ga! And mmmmmmm.........
I know it’s a couple days early, but it seemed like a Good Friday to do a post. We just wanted to say Happy Easter to all our, um, peeps out there. We hope the Easter Bunny delivers some sugar-coated marshmallow bliss. Enjoy the time with your family!
Happy Easter, peeps.
The slang definition of fresh may be fashionable or cool. The actual definition is: not stale, sour, or decayed. We think both meanings apply to this fresh Asiago! If you can find it, we suggest you give it a try.
Fresh Asiago (AKA Pressato) is a totally different experience from the mature variety (Asiago d’Allevo). It’s lighter (in both taste and color), creamier, and milder than mature Asiago. The fresh variety is made from whole cow’s milk (as opposed to partially skimmed) and is aged for only 20 – 40 days (instead of 3 – 12 months +).
We decided to pair our light and creamy cheese with the 2009 Shaya Old Vines Verdejo. This Spanish wine was well-deserving of its 91 point rating. It had a pleasant aroma of citrus (particularly grapefruit and lemon) and a hint of honey. Those same notes of citrus and honey were on the palate after a slightly sweet start. It was light and bright with a nice, crisp finish. It also had a bit of creaminess that came out when paired with the fresh Asiago and…
Creminelli Wild Boar salami! We’d been wanting to try this for quite some time. You may not normally think to pair this with such a light cheese and wine, but they really did all compliment one another very nicely. The tanginess of the salami paired with the citrus notes in the wine, and its surprising creaminess went well with the fresh Asiago. This delicious salami was salty, creamy, spicy, and milder than expected.
On a side note… the juniper in the wild boar salami reminded us of gin, so we couldn’t help but pair it with a gin and tonic after finishing our cheese/salami/wine tasting. This was excellent, as well!
None of these would be “suggested” pairings for the others. But….this tasting was a great example of finding common characteristics (such as the creaminess of this cheese, salami, and wine) that become apparent as you taste them together. Let us know what your favorite “unusual pairings” are.
Fashionable, cool Asiagoo.
91 point 2009 Shaya Verdejo.
Creminelli Wild Boar Salami. A fresh pairing idea!
Creminelli Wild Boar Salami, as you'll find it in the store.
I know St. Patrick’s Day is over, but that’s no excuse to stop enjoying Irish Whiskey! Plus, I didn’t have the chance to fully taste it before Saturday evening, and I wanted to give you my impression of this fine Irish single malt. I had posted about Jamesons Irish Whiskey last year (and its blended whiskey burn). Yeah, I know it’s 80 proof, and I know there are nice blended whiskeys out there, but it doesn’t need to be harsh. (Shots, anyone?)
Tullamore Dew Single Malt 10 year is definitely a step up. Being smooth and medium bodied, I definitely enjoyed it neat versus on the rocks. It tastes like the photos look… layers of color = layers of flavor. Aromas of smoky wood, vanilla, and subtle sweet fruit translate into similar tastes, mixed with a fair amount of spice (most likely from the bourbon barrels it was aged in) and a long, dry, spicy, sherry finish.
This whiskey was used for a fitting toast to all of you, my readers. As I mentioned in Bourbon + Spice, I entered the Addys with the photography from a few of my posts. The awards show was last Thursday and I was very pleased to have won two Addys! One for the food, and one for the drinks! Cheers, with a special thank you to my lovely wife, for her role as writer, editor, and more importantly co-taster and muse.
Tullamore Dew Single Malt 10 year gettin' all glamourous on us.
Anyone care for a sip of flavorful Irish whiskey?
Happy to have 2 Addys! Cheers to you all!
Heather and I both have a little Irish blood in us. So…hopefully you are wearing a touch of green to celebrate with us. Baileys Irish Cream is an easy way to turn your coffee into a St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Does the swirl remind you of the tumultuous Irish sea? Or have you already had a few drinks? Only you can answer that! Either way, don’t forget to have your green shamrock cookies. Have a happy (and safe) St. Patrick’s Day!
Baileys and coffee. The Irish cream swirl! Tumultuous Irish sea?
Baileys Irish Cream. A nice blend of Irish cream, spirits, Irish whiskey, and a touch of chocolate.
Shamrock cookies. Would your St. Patrick's Day be complete without them??
It’s quite difficult to improve upon a fresh fig. The slightly sweet, almost honeyed, jammy fruit is amazing. We love eating plain fresh figs whenever we can find them, but the balsamic rosemary prosciutto wrapped fig is another great way to enjoy them. Halve the figs. Wrap each half with a small piece of prosciutto, then coat it lightly with balsamic glaze and rosemary. Sear them in a medium skillet until they just start to crisp. After plating, drizzle with a little more balsamic glaze and enjoy. Simple and fun!
Fresh figs. Yum!
Balsamic rosemary prosciutto wrapped figs.
I entered 2eat2drink in the Rochester Advertising Federation Addy competition, our local advertising awards. This gave me a chance to review my 2011 annual report. I did 67 posts, with 251 pictures (WOW, no wonder I had no free time!), and had over 12,000 page views (thank you!) in just over ten months! It’s been an extremly fun way to reach out to clients, friends, and friends-to-be around the world, while sharing a little about our lives and highlighting my photography. If this is your first visit I encourage a full review. Those of you looking to get a brief overview, here are some of my favorite and most viewed posts:
The drink of choice for Sam Axe: The Minty Mojito.
Gin + Juice
I like it chunky: Guacamole!
Campfires and the double marshmallow, Special Dark chocolate s’more!
Bourbon Tasting at the Lake
The first post! Honey Roasted Tomato Bruschetta
You know you want one…the creamy root beer float!
Gooey, earthy, creamy, pungent French camembert.
The NOLA Margarita
Blimey! That’s a good ale!
Yes, I really did drink prehistoric plant matter deposits.
I want Mahón!
Now that you’ve worked up a thirst, on to the bourbon + spice! This is the cocktail I prepared for Chef Mark’s Thanksgiving feast. It’s a marvelous combination of rich, spicy and sweet. Infusing the flavors of ginger, cinnamon and cloves into dark brown sugar simple syrup is step one. Combine one cup each of water and dark brown sugar in a saucepan. Bring the mixture just shy of a boil while stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add 3-4 slices of ginger, 5-6 cloves and 2 cinnamon sticks, remove the pan from the heat and let steep for about an hour. Strain before use.
Over ice in a rocks glass add 2 oz. bourbon, 1 oz. cinnamon ginger clove simple syrup, 1 oz. Trader Vic’s Kona Coffee liqueur, and 3-4 dashes Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged bitters. Stir, garnish and enjoy. (Bottle and store the remaining syrup in the refrigerator.)
Cheers to the Addy judges and all those who work hard to make the Addys a great event!
The Bourbon + Spice cocktail!
The rich, sweet and spicy ingredients!
Willett Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey was my choice for Bourbon + Spice.
Chocolate is a classic Valentine’s Day gift. I think we all know that, but based on my brief research at least 35 million heart shaped boxes of chocolate are sold every Valentine’s Day. That’s a lot of red hearts! These particular Andy’s Candies truffles came to us via Heather’s sister and her husband. (Thanks!) They were delightful! I bet all you last minute shoppers can still find some. Heather will have to wait till tonight to see if her extremely lucky Valentine brought any for her….
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Andy's Candies assorted truffles.
Mmmmm, the gooey center!
This post required a fair amount of “research”. While on our honeymoon in Puerto Rico, we had a few chocolate martinis at the Copamarina resort. They were excellent! But we had no idea what the recipe was. So…..after some experimentation, and some more experimentation…..and a little more……..we came up with a delectable treat!
Over ice in a martini shaker add:1 oz. chocolate vodka, 1 oz. triple espresso vodka, 1 oz. Godiva chocolate liqueur, 1 oz. Kahlua Mocha, 1/2 oz. black raspberry liqueur, 2 oz. milk or half and half or cream (whichever you prefer), and a touch of dark chocolate syrup. Shake it up! Then pour in your martini glass….. after rimming the edge with chocolate shavings and drizzling a swirl of dark chocolate syrup around the inside of the glass.
Sip and enjoy!
The perfect chocolate martini!
Heather and I have many favorite desserts. The apple crostata is the newest on the list. The large size is $12 (small is $6), and quite the bargain in the bakery section at Wegmans. It’s worth every penny for its light as air crust and sweet apple goodness. I had actually purchased the cranberry apple crostata 3 times with the intention of shooting it, but we ate it first. When I went back for it the 4th time, the apple cranberry had been phased out. Thus, Heather presents the apple crostata! I have to add…they have now phased out the apple, and are on to cherry! My apologies, as I’ve been a little too busy to get this shot posted. But I hope you jump at the opportunity to get a cherry crostata!! Let me know if it’s as good as I’m dreaming it is…
The super yummy apple crostata!
2eat2drink 