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:
 | 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. |
| 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! |  |
 | 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. |  |
 | Eleven o’clock Chocolate martinis This one was easy. Plain Goat's Milk Chevre. Creamy, simple, elegant: "Chocolate Milkshake." Take that, DQ! |
