Tonight for dinner, instead of ending with a sweet note, I decided to put together a cheese plate of local cheeses to round out our meal. At the cheese counter, I picked up a favorite, the Humboldt Fog from Cypress Grove. As I was perusing the other selections, I noticed a new offering from Cypress Grove – Truffle Tremor. I added that to my basket, and randomly selected a Cowgirl Creamery to round out my offerings (because I always like an odd number of cheeses). The Cowgirl was Red Hawk, and man, was it stinky! Very tasty, but so stinky you almost needed to hold your nose around this cheese. (more…)

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Appetizers, Dessert, Dinner by Courtney

To be fair, oysters pair quite well with a number of alcoholic beverages. Champagne, riesling, stout. However, this was a dinner fit for a birthday boy, and given that the birthday boy wanted some nice Cajun food, we went for a nice Cajun beer with his appetizer.

Dixie beer has long been my favorite of beers. It’s one of those I’ve always had to search out, as only liquor stores with a large selection seem to carry the beer outside of New Orleans. During Katrina the brewery was damaged, and for a couple of years thereafter, there was no Dixie to be had. They eventually got up and running again, but not utilizing the original brewery. I’ll take what I can get after a two year dry spell, and it still holds the spot as my favorite beer, even if it comes from a different location.

For the oysters – well, we’re not on the Gulf here, so we went with a Pacific variety, Kumamoto oysters. They’re one of our favorites, with a briny, salty flavor that tastes as if they’ve just been plucked from the sea. Add a bit of horseradish and cocktail sauce, and you’re good to go!

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Appetizers, Drink Time by Courtney

With the return of Monday night football comes yummy, cheesy, not-good-for-you foods. And to begin the season, I decided to break out one of my recently pickled batches of jalapenos and make a plate of these guys.

I saw this recipe on America’s Test Kitchen many moons ago, and I immediately had to make it. Fast forward a year, and silly me hadn’t saved the recipe. While the nachos part itself I could remember, I couldn’t remember the recipe for the guacamole, which is one of the best I’ve ever had. Recently, I found the recipe again, as a download to promote the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook. Luckily I saved it this time, because it looks like its already gone again. (more…)

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Appetizers, Comfort food, Gluten free, Vegetarian by Courtney