Eat Fresh, Buy Local

On Saturday June 20, Mr. Charlestown Culinary and I made a day trip down to Westport Rivers Winery for the Taste of Westport, an event to support local farming initiatives. At the event, Mr. Charlestown Culinary and I enjoyed a variety of food and beverages provided by local restaurants, caterers, farmers, breweries and wineries – while listening to a local blue grass band.

Here are some of the highlights of the event:

Starfish Bakery's Cupcakes

Starfish's chocolate cupcakes were rich and moist, with a delicious buttercream frosting. Mr. Charlestown Culinary and I were so impressed with the little treats that we left the event with a purchased blueberry pie. (Which was sooo good it was devoured before any photos could be taken!!)

Shy Brothers Farm's Lavender Bud Hannahbell Cheese

Shy Brother's Farm shared a variety of their thimble-size artisan cheeses in 4 different flavors: Classic French, Lavender Bud, Rosemary and Shallot. All four flavors were creamy and delicious. My favorite was the Lavender Bud! Travessia Urban Winery Unoaked Chardonnay

Travessia sampled three varieties of wine: Rosé, Unoaked Chardonnay and Vidal Blanc. My favorite was their Unoaked Chardonnay, which was very reminiscent of Chablis – my favorite white wine. Coming in close second was their Rosé – one of my favorite wine varieties for the summer.
Hope Amber Ale

New to East Coast beer scene is Hope Ales (so new their beers are not yet available in stores), which sampled three beers: Prudence American Wheat, Hope Amber Ale and Patience Condensation Ale. Typically I am not a fan of darker beers, but their Amber Ale was terrific – refreshing with a hint of sweetness. We are looking forward to seeing it in stores in July!

Ménage à Trois

Who knew the suburbs were so exciting? On Saturday night I joined 2 girlfriends at Bon Vivant, a wine shop located in Randolph, MA that was celebrating their first anniversary with a Spring Fling Grand Tasting. The tasting featured over 25 varieties of wine, beer and port. With them were passed hors d'oeuvres and a cheese selection that included an addictive cranberry cinnamon Chevre. Amongst the selections at the tasting, were three that scored very highly with our group:

1. Jockey Club Reserve Porto: A spicy tawny port that paired very well with the cranberry goat cheese.
2. Lindemans Framboise: A sweet Belgian beer fermented with raspberries.
3. Ménage à Trois Red: A fruity wine made from a mix of Cabernet, Merlot and Zinfandel that is very reminiscent of a French Beaujolais.

Interested in checking out Bon Vivant, our selections and other great wines? Fortunately, they hold weekly tastings on Thursday nights between 5 and 7. À votre santé!

Course 2: Orange Fennel Salad

As previewed in Sunday's blog entry, the second course of the 'Wine Scavenger Hunt' was a salad course that was paired with wine brought by the 'Zumba Yogi'.

The salad was a combination of Moto blood oranges with endive, fennel and mint. This was dressed with a blood orange vinaigrette.

Charlestown Culinary's Recipe for Blood Orange Vinaigrette:

Juice from one blood orange
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh ground coriander
Pinch salt
Fresh ground pepper

Mix well and serve with salad.

Sliced Fennel

Blood Orange Salad

With this course, we enjoyed a pinot noir paired by the 'Zumba Yogi'. The Pedroncelli Pinot Noir, from California's Russian River Valley was velvety and bright, with hints of berry.

Course 1: The Cheese Course

'Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese' ~ Billie Burke

As previewed in Sunday's blog entry, the first course of the 'Wine Scavenger Hunt' was a cheese course that was paired with wines brought by the 'Armenian Princess'. For cheeses, I selected the following:

Pecorino Gran Cru: A hard sheep's milk cheese with a sharp and nutty flavor
Sottocenere with Truffle: A creamy cow's milk cheese with an earthy truffle flavor
Bucheron: A semi-soft goat cheese with a mild lemon flavor
Brie de Meaux: A soft cow's milk cheese with subtle nutty flavor

The cheeses were accompanied with: orange fig spread, dried apricots, candies pecans, honey with pine nuts, freshly baked bread and rosemary crackers. With this course, we enjoyed 2 wines that were provided by the 'Armenian Princess':

Pierre Sparr Extreme Riesling: A zesty white from Alsace with hints of lime, white grapefruit and green apples
Frutezia Orchard Blend: A lightly sparkling white wine with hints of green apple

The Hunt was On

On Saturday night I had 3 friends over for a 'Wine Scavenger Hunt'. For The Hunt, each person was assigned a course of a set menu - I did the cooking and the assigned person paired it with a complimentary wine. For a group of competitive and wine-loving foodies, this added a little extra fun to our ladies night.

Over the next 3 days, I will post pictures of each course and the wines we enjoyed them with. In the meantime, enjoy these 'prep porn' pictures.

Course 1: Cheese Course, paired by the 'Armenian Princess'
Pecorino Gran Cru, Sottocenere with Truffle, Bucheron and Brie de Meaux -accompanied with: orange fig spread, dried apricots, candies pecans, honey with pine nuts, freshly baked bread and rosemary crackers

Dalmatia Orange Fig Spread

Pine nuts

Course 2: Salad Course, paired by the 'Zumba Yogi'
Salad of blood orange, endive, fennel and mint with a blood orange coriander vinaigrette

Blood Orange Cross-Section

Blood Orange Sections

Course 3: Entree, paired by the 'Passionate Salter'

Coq au vin with roasted potatoes and blanched asparagus

Diced Bacon, Chopped Garlic and Fresh Herbs

Cipollini Onions and Mushrooms

Marinated Chicken and Vegetables

Course 4: Dessert, paired by 'Charlestown Culinary'
Valrhona chocolate ebelskivers with raspberry chambord sauce and freshly whipped cream

Chopped Valrhona Chocolate

Frozen Raspberries

James Bond and I Have Something in Common

‘I drink it when I am happy, and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I am alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and I drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it, unless I am thirsty.’ ~ Lily Bollinger, manager of Bollinger Champagne house from 1941 to 1971

About 4 years ago, my friend Marije and I took a week-long road trip through the French country-side. Starting from the Netherlands, we drove to Beaujolais, then worked our way through Burgundy, Chablis and Champagne before ending up in Paris. Was it ‘coincidental’ that each of there regions were known for their excellent wine and cheese? Of course not!

The climax of our trip was in Ay, where a friend of Marije's was able to arrange for us a private tour of the Bollinger Champagne house, one the oldest champagne producers in the world. From the Vielle Vignes (old vines), to the underground cellars, to the tasting room, we spent hours learning all about the production (and taste!) of Bollinger.


... As for the James Bond reference? Bollinger Champagne has been featured as James Bond's Champagne of choice in Ian Fleming's novels, as well as the 007 movies.