blogfromafar

Ideas for Chocolate, Cheese Tastings

Party Idea #1: Cheese Tasting and Pairing Try three types of cheese. to start They can be:

Then get adventurous and provide three different toppings/sides to serve with the cheese. Choose from:

• Raspberry Jalapeno Ambrosia $8.49
• Peach Harbanero Ambrosia $8.49
• Cranberry Fool $8.99
• Fig preserves
• Orange marmalade

Sounds weird? Try a little at home first and see what you like best!Party Idea #2: Chocolate, anyone? A variation on a theme.

• Do a little research. Find out how chocolate candy is made from a hard little nib. Identify the regions of the world that can produce chocolate.
• Have everyone bring their favorite chocolate, along with a little writeup on origin, where the chocolate is made, % chocolate, etc.
• Provide tasting notes. Have your guests rate each chocolate based on flavor, texture, and appearance.
• Provide mini-pretzels to use as palate cleansers between chocolates.
• Announce the results. Provide a prize for the person who brought the winning chocolate.

Tuscan White Bean Appetizer Fills the BIll

We may not think of tuna as a Tuscan tradition, but locals love it with their signature white beans and bitter greens. Want to add authentic punch to a hearty salad? Try our Tuscan White Bean Appetizer instead of the canned ones in this recipe from Epicurious.

It’s all about terroir, and taking into account our schizophrenia about local/imported foods, it’s important to note that the soil and water that go into the Italian beans provide a taste differential with a distinction. As always, you be the judge! Come by and try a taste! (Italian White Bean Appetizer $9.99)

Speaking of seasonal food, do you know the meaning behind the colors of Mardi Gras? Purple, gold and green stand for justice, power, and faith. This from a King Cake purchased yesterday for $.99 containing, of all things, a “non-edible baby figure” …. didn’t know there was any other kind.

Weighty Issues, Food for Thought

So how do we make the connection? We love the idea of local produce, hate the inconvenience of getting it…Love the idea of the Dallas Farmer’s Market, just can’t get there when it’s open…Love food from other countries, hate thinking about the petrol it takes to get it here….Love a good old Texas steak, just can’t stomach thinking about how it gets to the table.

As Kris Kristofferson once sang, we’re a “walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction…” when it comes to our viewpoints on local food.

So what’s going on in the news?…Here is a veritable cornocopia of links:

So where do we end up on this? Is it a continuum or a line in the sand? Here’s our thought: Where we can make a choice, maybe even pay a little more for local or organic vs. commodity imports, we’ll do it. But we’ll also slow down and savor the special experiences that come with far- away flavors that expand our world and take us on a little trip at the dinner table. We think there’s room for both.

Ancient Lovers

Two lovers embrace through time. Imagine the scene: It’s just another day at the archaeological dig site at Valdarano, Italy. You’re shoveling, sifting….then, you find these two and want to know more. Where they loving? Fighting? Man? Woman? We’ll never know why these two have been holding on for over 5000 years, but we look, and hope they loved each other, died in their sleep. To read more, and to see if you can identify where they were found, click here.

The New Year is February 18: Year of the Pig

Does the Year of the Pig augur for good? Depends on who you ask (see here for more). We, of course, love the Cinta Senese pig (above); native to Tuscany and saved from near-extinction in the ’80′s. We visited a farm where the pigs are raised on our “Inside Tuscany” tour last fall and fell in love with them (and had to engage in a little cognitive dissonance to sample the prosciutto, salami, and other treats at the owner’s home not so much later.)

So for a good recipe that uses pig parts, not to mention our favorite Fruth Farms Free Range Eggs ($4.50/doz), we loved the “Open-Face Bacon and Egg Sandwich with Arugula” from this month’s Bon Appetit. It was perfect for an easy Sunday Brunch, and the counter of the acidic arugula to the eggs and bacon, and scrumptious crunch of ciabatta? Assolutamente perfetto!