Tag Archives: food

Fresh. Slang: fashionable, cool.

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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.

Fabulous fresh figs

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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.

Sweets for your sweet. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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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!

Sweet Apple Goodness!

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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!

Which fish can perform operations? (or help you celebrate the New Year?)

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The sturgeon is definitely good for more than just fish jokes! Namely….Caviar! I must say, it’s not something we have often, but it’s a nice treat. I had the opportunity to shoot a variety of caviar for Wegmans (thank you)…. which you can see here: caviar.  Ranging from $60 for the tin of domestic Hackleback Sturgeon to the $210 for the tin of Caspian Sea Golden Osetra (Sturgeon), caviar can be quite different. I believe the White Sturgeon was $130, and the Siberian Osetra was $170. Quality definitely goes up with the price, along with the size of the roe, and the Russian Caspian Sea Osetra was by far our favorite. It was delicate, buttery, mild, and slightly nutty. We knew it was fish, without it being “fishy” or salty. The Hackleback did have a tiny bit of a salty, fishy taste, was not as mild or buttery, but was still very good. We had all of them on baguette with the traditional accompaniments of creme fraiche and hard boiled egg. Next time I’ll plan to make blinis, as I couldn’t find any at the last minute, but the baguette was a good way to go.

Leave me a comment with your caviar experiences. As most people are very opinionated on caviar, I’d love to hear what you think!

We paired our caviar with ice cold vodka and champagne. As a match to the caviar we both liked the champagne, but I have to say that Sobieski makes a very good vodka. And it’s ridiculously cheap….less than half of most. Maybe it didn’t pair well being a Polish rye vodka, and unlike most Russian vodkas? It is quite bold in flavor, sweet to start with some citrus, and has a slightly bitter aftertaste. But it’s very smooth, and you almost forget it’s 70 proof. We had a vodka tasting party and this finished in the top two or three with most of us, but almost deserved it’s own category. Give it a try and let me know what you think of Sobieski as well!

We plan on trying a few Finger Lakes sparkling wines to celebrate New Year’s Eve. I will post about them next week…I mean next year. Be safe and Happy New Year!

Caviar tins, straight off the ice.

Serve on ice with creme fraiche and hard boiled eggs.

We ate ours on baguette, but you may want to try blinis as well.

Sobieski Vodka, frosted, straight from the freezer. Polish, not Russian to match the caviar, but excellent.

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”

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Warmest holiday wishes to you all. Enjoy the time with family, and don’t forget to leave Santa a treat!

Heather’s cut-out cookies always bring me back to our first date, where we had quite a lengthy discussion about our favorite cookies. She then brought some to a party I hosted a week later and the rest is wonderful history. Leaving them for Santa will certainly help the boys out with their wish list!

I'm sure Santa will be pleased with Heather's Christmas cookies!

An apple a day……brings a smile!

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The supply of Honeycrisp apples is starting to dwindle. I’m not happy about that. As one of my favorite types of apple, I look forward to seeing them in the store every fall. The Honeycrisp is a cross between Macoun and Honey Gold apples that some ingenious apple scientist came up with.  I love the crunch and the blend of sweet and tart. Yum! (Makes smile!)

Heather, her mom and her grandmother mix up a wonderful batch of applesauce each fall. We portion it out and store it in the freezer so we can enjoy it year round….or until it runs out! I highly suggest you try it out, as I hear it’s fairly easy.

Grandma Betty’s Applesauce: Peel, core, and quarter one peck of apples. Rinse the apple pieces and put them in a large pot with 3 cups of water and  up to 3/4 cup of sugar (depending on how sweet you like it). Add cinnamon to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer to desired consistency, stirring occasionally.

We also wanted to try the Honeycrisp apples with a trio of Grafton Village cheddar cheeses. Thinking it would be a fun experiment to pick the best pairing, we set up our cheeseboard and went to town! The one-year aged cheddar was slightly sharp, but smooth. It took the apple in a creamy direction. The two-year aged cheddar was crumbly and a fair amount sharper than the younger cheese. This was our least favorite pairing as it seemed dry in comparison to the first. The maple smoked cheddar was mild, creamy and – true to its name – smoky. It had a honey maple flavor that paired extremely well with the honey in the apple, making for an awesome combination.

Head to the store and grab some Honeycrisp apples while they’re still available! CRUNCH!

Honeycrisp apples. AWESOME...whether in applesauce or just snacking on them.

The trio of Grafton Village cheddar that we tried....Mmmmm.

The cheese trio posing for a close up.

Thanksgiving with friends….10 courses of perfection!

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We are so very lucky! Our wonderful friends Mark and Tammy hosted a pre-Thanksgiving gathering, and Heather and I were fortunate enough to be included. From start to finish, this amazing meal was both visually stunning and incredibly delicious. My only faux pas was that I was too busy enjoying Mahine’s shrimp (one of the fabulous appetizers) to remember to photograph it before it was devoured! If you count the cheese course served with the cocktails, it was a 10 course meal!! I will give details about the cocktails in an upcoming post, but for now, enjoy looking through the pictures below. If you have questions on the food prep, let me know and I will direct them to Chef Mark.

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving (and time with family and friends) as much as we did. And… I have to say that I am very thankful for all of my friends, followers, and readers. I appreciate all of your positive comments, and enjoy sharing our culinary adventures with you! Cheers, salud, kanpai, prost, noroc, mabuhay, a la sature, pura vida, salute, À votre santé or however you say it (one for each course)….to your health!

The menu, pre-dinner cocktails, and laarb moo.

Kevin and Tammy watching Mark cookin' the food, Vouvray white wine from the Loire valley, and miso marinated salmon with du Puy lentils and miso cream.

Start-to-finish Nantucket Bay scallops with wild mushroom confit and Leone D'Almerita Sicilian white.

Pastilla (Moroccan braised chicken pie as discovered by Mark and Tammy on their trip to Morocco) and Abad Dom Bueno Godello Spanish white.

Duck garganelli with swiss chard, walnuts and prunes complete with a flip from Mark! Hahn Pinot Noir from Monterey.

72 hour beef short ribs with parsnip purée and roast baby carrots. 2004 Charles Krug Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa.

Mark torching the white and dark creme brulee, which was then paired with chocolate caramel cashew ice cream and Quinta do Noval Porto. For second dessert, we were treated to warm madelaines and Mexican chocolate cookies. You can tell by our smiles that the meal was phenomenal!

11 reasons to like this post….

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I couldn’t resist the post title given today’s date….11/11/11. And it’s 11:11!  Despite all that ….this truly was an awesome treat!

1. A bottle of blue agave nectar!

2. Gooey drips of agave nectar!

3. Agave nectar is roughly 1.3 times sweeter than suger, but has a lower glycemic index, and  it absorbs more slowly into your system.

4. Light and creamy ricotta cheese!

5. Gently grilled crusty baguette!

6. Wine in a blue bottle, to go with the blue agave!

7. Ricotta cheese spread with an antique spreader on the grilled baguette!

8. Don’t forget the pepper!

9. More specifically…Finger Lakes wine!

10. Swedish Hill 2009 Vidal Blanc. The wine has a little sweetness to pair with the agave nectar, and it was nice and crisp with pear and peach notes.

11. The great photos! 🙂

This was a great appetizer on a recent warm fall weekend, but would be great anytime of the year. I hope you get to try some later today, to make your 11/11/11 better. Cheers!

Grilled baguette topped with ricotta and blue agave nectar. Oh my!

Swedish Hill 2009 Vidal Blanc. Yum!

Blue agave nectar. A very sweet treat!

Eat up, me hearties, yo-ho!

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I think we should call this the pirate taco. “Fish taco” just doesn’t have enough character, especially since I cooked it with spiced rum!

My brother in law dropped off a freshly caught rainbow trout for us on Friday night. (Thank you, Jamie!) We consulted Chef Mark on a cooking method and settled on baking it wrapped in parchment paper, while stuffed with thyme, lemon, garlic, onions and bay leaves. It was  a great meal, but time (and hunger) did not allow for photos. Since the fish was huge, we had plenty left over for the next day. Thus the creation of the pirate taco!

I started by sautéing some onion slices and diced jalapenos in a touch of olive oil. Once browned,  I threw in black beans, rice, diced tomatoes, the leftover fish, some chopped cilantro and cotija cheese. I then poured in a few ounces of spiced rum to steam it since I really only wanted to heat everything up quickly. Once warmed, I added some diced avocados, lime juice, seasoned with salt, and tossed before serving in lightly grilled flour tortillas topped off with salsa and sour cream. Enjoy with rum for a true pirate experience!

The pirate taco. Fire up the stove, Matey!