I dont know if this is going to be about wine per se, however, it is worth writing about.
Went over to a friends house for din-din and we were supposed to get together and go over some ideas for this new project we are starting together and a light dinner. We should’ve been there by 7 but didn’t reach their house until 8pm.
As we arrived, their excited dog, Skipper, greeted us. As we walked inside and settled in, I saw the starter. Fruits, nut breads, and cheese. As usual, there was a bottle of wine. They were all tasty but one cheese blew me away. It is a French cheese called Brillat Savarin. Apparently there are two types – fresh and whatever the other one is. Get the fresh one! I was going to try it with the nut bread, but Laura suggested I put on a clementine. A clementine I ask? Oh goodness! I trusted Laura, a professionally trained chef, there was no reason (thus far) not to trust her. So I did, on top of a section of clementine, I generously added the Brillat Savarin cheese (…and fade to fireworks on the 4th of July!) It was incredible! I felt like Remy from Ratatouille when he found a new marraige of ingredients (I forget which one it was when he and Emil got electrocuted?!) It was absolutely heavenly. Of course I had some wine too. We had a 205 Chateauneuf du Pape. Not sure from which domain in was from…but it was nice. It “married” well with the fruit, cheese, etc.
Onto the main course. Where shall I begin – we had pasta with carrots and courgettes (Julienned to look like pasta) in pesto sauce (which was not with your normal pine nuts…it was with almond and pistachios!) We had breaded chicken breast, garlic bread, steamed asparagus (or maybe boiled…I dont know it was good!) with parmesan cheese shavings, cherry tomatoes (not sure how she did that but it was awesome). Oh…my…goodness. I must admit the pesto sauce had me scared a little…I dont generally like pistachios (my hubby does)…but it was so good. Needless to say, the table was silent – and for having two teenagers at the table, that was incredible.
Then came dessert – sugarless chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and a swoosh of chantilly (whipped cream). As Ashante says…”ooooooooooooo mmmmmmmmmmmmy ggggggggggggooooooossssh!” It was made with Splenda.
I didn’t finish my piece…I left a morsel. It would’ve been to greedy of me to finish off my plate! LOL!
Oh…yes the wine…for dinner we had a St. Julien (or was it a St. Emilion?) I forget. It was too strong for me. It was a bit heavy for me. Looking at the bottle, there was only a 13% alcohol content. Again, I didn’t check to see which domain it was from or the year. As you can see, since I am not the wine lover, Im not sure what is important and what isn’t. My friend Laura has vowed to help me understand why my hubby loves wine so much. She gave me a book and I think the first thing I am going to do is read up on how to interpret the label.
I’ve added my friends blog (Laura) to my blogroll. She just started it, however, stay tuned as her meals are absolutely awesome!
It brought a smile to my face to read your article. I love the way you write. I want to read more of your adventures so keep on writing! The othe Brillat Savarin you refer to is affiner (aged or refined). Because it developes a crust it is also salty. The fresh is just pure cheese. YUM.