Last weekend my friend Dave hosted a terrific cocktail party at his home. He planned the evening so that we were all set to enjoy a new cocktail each hour, more-or-less on the hour.
My contribution, of course, was bringing the cheese. Unfortunately I didn't have enough of the homegrown variety ready to go, but a quick stop at Trader Joe's served me well. (Bonus: it's fun shopping at TJ's while decked out in your finest linens, amongst the riff-raff in their sweaty workout clothes!).
I took a few chances on the pairings. Three worked beautifully; the other two were, umm, rather lackluster. Here's the deets:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWlviZ1EJ6t_xi4jwz5MzGvGt0U9BYBqeXKTTCJnX5-IK8WHXm75CJpb8GW-TFvLNSQXQPrN6vx4FUV3BBir8Ja6FHVOXl5yE5Qbst4zCs_-_pDCZ0FA6yK0NYT0jDpfBFklVjP7ySNH8/s200/iberico.jpg)
| Seven o’clock Homemade strawberry and pineapple infused vodka spritzers
Paired with Iberico. Not such a great match, sadly. The aftertaste from the cheese somehow ended up a bit "plastic-ey." Not sure what was going on there, but it was less than stellar. Dang.
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Eight o’clock Blood orange martinis with a sugared rim
Paired with Cotswold Cheddar, a creamy cheddar with chives and onions. I thought this was the biggest gamble, and boy did it pay off. Absolutely incredible! The sweet drink was balanced by the sharpness of the chive and onion -- each magically enhanced the other's flavor. Weak in the knees!
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5lrVo9HlaxzL_5VQWNAVTU4IZuGvoQVc9DqYBH0gH8IBILaGWKP1T5P7ccIHaWttuezJ6-O1kGKbnaOsz_OEXnrPgKCbLdp7ZC5QutZERCOf5COvaeK9rt6zi8P3KMK43dztswa3_VA/s320/cotswold.jpg)
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBeltks6ReIA8pQIZ-mbbMZv5mIOaml_hGCQJ3Tj3NgPlL7noKQGucSgvns8cjSxemk5v5GKWR0N4kiWs3Wx4yGtm238-mmBwpVZgbdnhJS5zdRkk83ZVcCA70vPtA5RGAMZKRh4c4Xc/s200/WhiteStiltonApricot.jpg)
| Nine o’clock Absolut mandarin and soda
Paired with White Stilton with Apricots. The Stilton was good, but it had sooooo many apricots! A bit of a fruit overload, I'm afraid. |
Ten o’clock Dirty Dave’s filthy dirty martini
This was a surprisingly tough call. I needed something that would stand up to the olive brine, which I was sure Dave would be applying liberally. I ended up selecting Mushroom Brie. I'm a big fan of mushroom & olive pizza, so I figured it just might work. The distinct, piquant flavor of the Brie really held its own against the martini, while the mushrooms gave it a unique flavor that really helped bring it all together. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi15MCLM7z7GzA18qp3S0N3yQ-2eM1WaCmft5yb3p-FNoTAVoySBaPykV6PerGNf21kBKVR0Fww6LRaGjMJqq1fNd7mNoH0rvXUHxXnfA7k7j5H-ctTEecyFd_-PcmbY3w6gM08SW7qUo/s200/Champignon2.jpg)
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJM5VxJaCofaSSBPhEigfzhIYZQItUzWsurMsVrr0v-qJVmzEhTx5K2wut8S9uI03GMfxlfmrbfkwdMmXpm-oHCvLKHiW7y4hIs34pdAAQOCK9R3aE768yggnkdkfZ4_iTYMgSXndIM6A/s200/chevre.jpg) | Eleven o’clock Chocolate martinis
This one was easy. Plain Goat's Milk Chevre. Creamy, simple, elegant: "Chocolate Milkshake." Take that, DQ! |