Monthly Archives: March 2010

wine & cheese night

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Here’s a quick party idea, that your friends can help you host!  But first, a little background:

A couple of years ago I was at a charitable event at City Hall benefiting Spark, an organization invested in changing patterns of equality that impact women throughout the world.  They throw really fun parties, and this one in particular brought in every possible Napa vintner under the sun so we could taste and taste to our hearts’ desire.  So, in typical, “me” fashion, I ended up tipsily wandering over just to look at the Silent Auction choices, and of course ended up bidding, and I won!  A private tasting for ten hosted by Bottlenotes… they provide the wine, cheese pairing suggestions, and then they send over  a representative to run the tasting at your home.  So fab.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago.  In addition to the wine provided by Bottlenotes, I asked my friends to each bring a decent bottle of red so we could conduct our own tasting after the Bottlenotes presentation, and put our new skills to the test.  Brilliant.  And to make sure everyone stepped up to the plate I offered up a super fabulous prize to the couple who’s wine was most liked by the group.  It was a competitive bunch, so I knew this would be fun.

The week of the party I received my cheese pairing suggestions, so off I went to the cheese shop to get cracking on my party.  I thought I went overboard, and figured I would have lots of leftover cheese to use in a future cheese sauce, but practically every bite of cheese was eaten!  On the list? A creamy, full flavored cheese to go with the Syrah, a mild blue for the Cabernet Shiraz, an aged gouda or romano for the Cabernet Sauvignon, a light French blue cheese for the Bordeaux blend, and a firm Spanish cheese to go with the Crianza.  Instantly I knew I’d have to make some changes.  I’m not a blue cheese fan, and I know most of my friends aren’t either, so I needed to do some research for possible substitutions.  Luckily for me, there is a wonderfully helpful website, http://www.artisanalcheese.com, with mounds and mounds of information regarding pairings.  At the end of this post I’ll include the pages I found most helpful. Here’s what I ended up choosing for each wine:

Abero Cava – Triple Creme Brie
Luis Alegre Crianza 2004 – Spanish Mahon
Chateau Tour Simard 1999 – Cave Aged Gruyere and Spanish Iberico (I know, not French, I’m sorry)
Pretty Sally Estate Cabernet Shiraz 2005 – Vermont Cheddar
Kingston Family Vineyards Bayo Oscuro Syrah 2006 – Italian Fontina
Chaeau Chevalier Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 – Aged Gouda

I also got an extra cheese, a Panquehue, which was described as a farmstead cheese, mild and buttery… I figured it would go well with the Syrah or Cabernet Shiraz and it did!

The evening couldn’t have gone any better.  Bayard, our resident wine expert, gave just enough background on each red without being over-the-top and I loved seeing my friends excited to taste the next red and running over to the cheese table so they could try the appropriate pairing.  

We then started into the eight bottles for our blind tasting… at this point the reds were all starting to taste like each other, and I think people were getting a little fuzzy with their memory of each (!!) but we did come up with a winner – a Napa Cellar Zinfandel, followed closely by a Reserve Perrin Cotes du Rhone.

Oh, and you’re probably wondering what the fabulous prize was?  Two huge Rona red wine glasses from CB2, the movie A Good Year (one of my absolute favs), and these adorable party people glass markers.  

Good times!

Tips on Pairing Wine and Cheese click here.

Cheese and Wine 101 click here.

Creating and Arranging a Beautiful Cheese Platter click here.

my newest barbie cake

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I donated a Barbie Cake to my office Holiday Charity Auction, and my coworker won, so he asked me to make a cake for his niece’s birthday.  She requested a chocolate cake with strawberry icing, and she’s in a major princess phase, so Belle from Beauty and the Beast is her current favorite.  It was my first time working with fondant, so I was v. pleased with how she turned out!

I also took the time to take step-by-step photos of the barbie cake process… enjoy!

Step 1: Bake two cakes: one in a Wilton Wonder Pan,  one in a nine inch round. When cool, slice into layers about 2 inches thick.  Use a glass to cut out the center of the cake, as I am against the amputation of Barbie’s legs so you need to make room for her!

Step 2:  Start frosting the different layers of cake.

Step 3: Once all the layers are frosted, start adding a layer of frosting to the outside of the cake.  This will form a seal when you decorate with the fondant.

Step 4: Once fully coated in frosting, place in refrigerator so frosting can set.

Step 5: In the meantime dust your board and rolling pin with powdered sugar, and start kneading your fondant and add the food coloring.

Step 6: Once the color is all mixed in, roll out the fondant till it’s about 1/4 inch thick.

Step 7:  Take your cake from the fridge and drape the frosting over the top.

Step 8:  Start smoothing the fondant against the cake.  Pick a side that will be the front of the cake and try to tuck any pleats or folds towards the back. Use a knife to cut off any extra, but be sure to keep these pieces as you’ll need them in a minute.

Step 9:  Cut a small hole in the top of the fondant and insert the Barbie.  I wrap the lower half of her body and clothes w/ cling film so she’s less messy.

Step 10: Re-knead the remaining fondant, cut into three pieces, roll out each piece, sprinkle with yellow sugar and re-roll so it sticks, and then drape these pieces around the doll to create the ruffles in her skirt. 

Click here to see some other barbies!

***Update***

Now I like to use two 8 inch cake and fill the wonder pan with less batter as it bakes better that way.  Also, make sure you double or triple whatever recipe you are using as this uses a lot of batter!