Posted in Cooking, Drink, Food, Misc., Travel, tagged Brad Newman, business ethics, Eater, food writers, hotel reviews, no pay no play, restaurant reviewers, restaurant reviews, servercards, travel reviews on January 27, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Posted in Cheese, Cheese for Dummies, Drink, Food, Misc., The Sustainable Kitchen ®, tagged boulder, Boulder Wine Merchant, Bryan Dayton, cheese, cheese and spirit pairings, distilled spirits, drunken oafs, OAK at Fourteenth, spirit pairings, spirit tastings, spirits on December 22, 2012 | 2 Comments »
The other night, I did a cheese and spirits pairing with my friend/distilled beverage guru Bryan Dayton. Bryan is the co-owner and force behind the cocktail program at Boulder’s much-lauded OAK at Fourteenth. He also digs cheese, and provided invaluable information for the pairing chapter in my book, Cheese for Dummies. I blame him for my current obsession with bourbon and aged Gouda.
Photo love: Flickr user Orofacial
We were at the Boulder Wine Merchant, a kick-ass shop owned by MS Brett Zimmerman–one of five Master Sommeliers living in Boulder. After a busy two-hour event, Bryan left to oversee dinner service at his restaurant, while I packed up. The cheeses and selection of four spirits (which included a heavenly Hans Reisetbauer Apple Brandy ) were still on the table. Suddenly, a tall, dark stranger appeared before me.
“Whatcha got going on here?” he asked. His considerable girth was barely contained by a bulky CU hoodie, and his beady eyes gleamed as they took in the array of free booze and cheesy nuggets. He looked not a day over 19, but upon checking his ID, I discovered he was barely legal, in drinking terms.
Still high on the vapors of a highly successful evening, I asked if he’d like me to walk him through the pairing. I noted the fistful of raw, local goat’s milk cheese already in his meaty paw, and poured him a taste of the late-harvest Riesling. He downed it before I’d even had a chance to mention its dominant notes of honey and melon, underscored by an earthy finish.
We moved on the brandy. Its searingly potent fumes were brilliantly tempered by the butterscotch and caramel flavors of the L’Amuse 2-year Gouda I’d chosen. Gulp! The spirit vanished down my pupil’s maw, followed by a handful of Gouda. “What’s next?” he asked, chewing with his mouth open.
By the time he’d pounded the Samuel Smith Imperial Stout, I finally clued in to the fact that this guy hadn’t been sober when he’d walked in the door. But I persisted, determined to see this through to the end. I poured him the final tasting–Averna–and went into my spiel:
Me: “This is a bitters, an herbal liqueur often served as a digestif. It’s made from a proprietary blend of botanicals, but you’ll notice it’s more syrupy and sweet than many in this category, such as Fernet, or Jagermeister….”
Him (starting to slur): “Hey, d’you, like, think this stuff when you’re just hanging out drinking wine?”
Me: “Um, no. I mean, this is a tasting, so it’s meant to be educational. I love food and all, but I don’t have these thoughts running through my mind when I’m trying them, unless it’s in a professional capacity.”
Him: “So, y’don’t, like, drink some wine ‘n say to yourshelf, ‘Ooh, I’m getting a lot of really ripe fruit in this. Oh, yeah, this is sooo good?’”
Me (squinting): “No.”
Him (leering, and gesturing to Averna): “I want you t’ talk to me about thisch like you would if you’re taschting wine. Like, for real. You know, like, describe it t’ me. Like thosch wine magazines do.”
Me ( Laugh, or vomit, laugh or vomit?): “Yeah, that’s so not going to happen.”
Mercifully, his frat friends found him at that moment, beer purchases made. And thus my would-be suitor shuffled into the snowy night, knuckles dragging. Drunk, lonely, horny, and doomed to yet another session reciting the Coors Lite flavor profile to himself. Tapping the Rockies just isn’t as easy as it used to be.
Posted in Cheese, Cheese for Dummies, Drink, Food, Misc., Recipes, Seasonal eating, tagged alternatives to Mad dog, blue cheese, cheese and cockatils, cheese and spirits, cheese pairings, cocktails, Denver restaurants, Euclid Hall, gin, goat cheese, herbal liqueurs, pairing cheese on December 12, 2012 | 2 Comments »
All due respect to Snoop Dog, or whatever the hell he’s calling himself these days, but gin and juice is no longer where it’s at. Gin and goat or blue cheese, yes. Or, if you’re feeling fancypants, sub gin for an herbal liqueur. Inspiration to be found right here.
Photo love: Flickr user pmarkham
P.S. A shout-out to Denver’s Euclid Hall, for serving me a lovely cocktail called The Calvin Broadus (Hendrick’s Gin, fresh grapefruit juice, honey habanero syrup, ginger beer) the other night. Hello.
Posted in Cheese, Cheese for Dummies, Cooking, Drink, Flying, Food, Meaty treats, Misc., Seasonal eating, Travel, Western U.S. lifestyle, tagged Anthony Bourdain, calf and kid, cheese shops, Kitchen Confidential, No Reservations, public markets, Seattle, Seattle cheese shops, The Layover on July 10, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Tony is thinking, “You should all buy this book.” Probably.
A conversation between myself and Anthony Bourdain:
Me: Tony? Would it be possible to take a picture with you?
Him: Of course.
Me: (shyly holding up my book) Um, would it be okay if I held this? I mean, it’s not like I’m asking you to endorse it or anything.
Him: Hey, as long as you hold it, man, that’s cool.
Me: Thank you so much, I really love your work. I hope Seattle shows you a good time.
Him: (with sly smile) It always does.
Fin.
Update, Feb. 1, 2013: Click here to view Melrose Market segment. My ass makes a guest appearance in seconds 25-27, perusing the cheese counter at my former work, The Calf & Kid.
Posted in Cheese, Cheese for Dummies, Cooking, Drink, Food, Fuzzy (and not so) critters, Humane livestock management, Misc., Seasonal eating, Sustainable agriculture, The Sustainable Kitchen ®, Travel, tagged cheese, cheese books, cheese cookbooks, Cheese for Dummies, cheese plates, cheese recipes, dairy, making cheese, styles of cheese, types of cheese on May 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Holy crap. I wrote a book.
Or, as I like to call it, “Dairy Treats for ‘tards.”
It’s been a long journey and an incredible experience. I had no idea when I started this project that writing a cheese book would enable me to ace “Jeopardy” in my lazier moments. “What are Visigoths, Alex.”
Many thanks to my kick-ass co-author, Lassa Skinner, who helped save my sanity many, many times over, our star editor, Tracy Barr, and to culture magazine for presenting me this opportunity.
Buy now, and I’ll send you a personalized, signed copy. Woo! I’ll continue to post book tour info. here and on Twitter.
BOOK EVENT SCHEDULE
August 4: American Cheese Society conference; Raleigh, NC, 10:30am
August 18: Boulder Wine Merchant; Wine and cheese pairing, book signing, 5-7pm.
September 16: Justice Snow’s Restaurant + Bar, Aspen; wine, cocktail and cheese pairing, 6pm.
October 3: Book Passage, San Francisco; reading, artisan cheese tasting, and signing, 6pm.
October 11: Boulder Bookstore, Boulder, CO; reading, local artisan cheese tasting, and signing, 7:30pm.
Posted in Drink, Food, Misc., Western U.S. lifestyle, tagged Are you Mom enough?, attachment parenting, breastfeeding, child abuse, child-rearing, milk, parenting, TIME magazine on May 10, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
and it’s time to quit breastfeeding when your kid is old enough to request milk in their coffee.
Mummy, do you have any 2%?
Just sayin’.
Posted in Drink, Food, Misc., Seasonal eating, Travel, tagged Adventure travel, Andes skiing, Atacama, Chile, Chilean wine, Chiloe, Futaleufu River, Patagonia, rafting, San Pedro de Atacama, skiing Chile, Valle Nevado, Valparaiso, Vina del Mar, whitewater, wine tasting on April 3, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Whether your idea of hardcore is bagging volcanoes or wine tasting, Chile’s got it. Read all about it in my new BootsnAll feature, “Ski, Surf, Sip, Raft and Ride: Six Places to Explore the Diversity of Chile.”
Laguna Chaxa, Atacama
Posted in Cheese, Cooking, Drink, Food, Humane livestock management, Seasonal eating, Street food, Sustainable agriculture, The Sustainable Kitchen ®, Travel, tagged food lovers, food snobs, foodie, foodies, foodistas, gourmets, locavores on October 13, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
My anti-foodie manifesto on Gadling: “Dropping the F-bomb: Why “foodie” needs to go away.” If I go missing, it was the disciples of Chowhound.
