Summer Lovin’

Hey, you! How’s you’re summer? 

Oh, i know. You’ve been busy. Your days all run together: with working, playing, eating, cooking, craft brewing, sailing, sipping, singing, dancing, swimming, snorkeling, jet setting, wave surfing, shell collecting, bar hopping, barbecuing, , . yeesh…times are tough…

You haven’t bothered with the internets. i mean, WHO has the time. 

Me too. I’m thinking about you, of course. #oops.busted 

It’s too hot to cook, but it is plenty wonderful to eat and drink and be merry [on the beach]

Here’s to summer, and sharing with you, my small slice of it. 

xxoo

M

Manchego+Chorizo

Cheese: the most edible poetry

Cured Meats: a close second

The time I spend [collectively] at Cheese counters can be counted in hours. Furthermore, I’m embarrassed to know that fact about myself…

But– for. real. It’s impossible to decide. Endless choices are the worst. I want this kind, and that kind AND the one they’re sampling because it’s covered in fruity chutney. Also olives. Possibly some cured meats. And NOW I need crusty bread, God love it, because I am NOT AN ANIMAL and can’t eat cheese with my hands!

*note: i have, indeed, eaten cheese with my hands.

Whatever. You get it, I get it. 

So this new made-up series is called “Ahoy, Mateys! Flavor pairings you can SEArtainly trust.”

kidding. It will SEArtainly NOT be called that. i apologize.

Just absorb this list into your sub-conscious and the next time your cheese monger asks you, “*eye roll* What else, Guidarelli?” You can answer him confidently, curtly, and well informed, “I’ll take the Manchego and Chorizo today, Roger. And none of that lip”.

That’ll show him. Nosy, friggin, Roger. 

Manchego and Chorizo. Smoky, salty, creamy, gamey. Its a give and take between them. The cheese has a sharpness that is answered by the spiciness in the sausage that is cooled by creaminess then explodes in paprika. 

Its a dark and lovely thing. Meat and Cheese.

Eat this, drink wine [a rioja, perhaps?] and pretend you are away on a lovely Spanish adventure.

til next time,

Ciao

M

xxoo 

Lady Blue [watermelon+blueberry cocktail]

meet Lady Blue

a sophisticated gal with legs for days and a Master’s Degree.  But down deep there’s a delicious secret involving Spring Break ’92 and lime.

Lady Blue is a cocktail who, the more you get to know, the more flavor profiles you discover. She’s deep. On the surface you think, “Oh, hey there sweet summer drink! you’re so fizzy you tickle my nose! let’s go tan”

but then you get hints of the basil simple syrup, the deep maceration of the berries, the esters from the rum, and then its like, “Whoa…is this a Hemingway novel or what?!”

Happy Summer. Be it Deep and Brooding and absolutely Divine.

xxoo

M

LADY BLUE COCKTAIL:

1 small watermelon (or chunks of watermelon. depending on how many you plan on making. you need about 1/2 c. fruit mix per cocktail)

basil syrup

1 1/2 oz. rum or gin

blueberries

lime wedges

mint leaves

ice

tonic

Slice up a watermelon and liquify it in the blender.

in a small sauce pot add 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar. bring to a boil. take off heat and steep a handful of basil leaves until the syrup is at room temp. discard leaves or save to add them to your drink.

in a pitcher mix blueberries, watermelon and simple syrup to taste.

In a glass fill with ice, pour liquor over ice. top with 1/2-3/4c. fruit blend. top with tonic or soda water as desired. bruise mint leaves, stir in. Squeeze lime wedge over  top.

Enjoy!