Crossing Pairs With igourmet.com at Mohegan Sun Casino in Pocono Downs
Crossing Vineyards Wine and Cheese Shop is one of only six retail outlets selected for “Project Sunrise,” a $208 million, 300,000 square-foot gaming and entertainment complex at Pocono Downs. Among the shop’s offerings will be multi-level flights of wine and cheese, paired to complement the flavors of each. Customers can build their own pairings, based on their cheese preferences, with wine suggested by a staff knowledgeable about both products.”Crossing Vineyards and igourmet.com are the perfect pairing, two Pennsylvania based companies that value quality and service,” says Christine Carroll, one of the owners of Crossing Vineyards.
Crossing will feature a wide range of its award-winning wines - they’ve earned nearly 70 prizes in national and international competitions - including limited quantities of its Library Wine Series, which has been held in reserve. Quality wine accessories, Reidel glassware, wine gifts such as decanters and wine bags, wine books, games, wine-related dishes and giftware, and seasonal gift items such as wine-themed Santas also will be available.
The wine and cheese shop will also offer igourmet.com’s line of gourmet food products exclusively. Headquartered in West Pittston, Pa., igourmet.com is the nation’s leading online gourmet food and gift retailer. Lauded by Forbes magazine as the best gourmet food Web site for the past seven years, its product line includes more than 850 imported and domestic specialty cheeses along with an award-winning line of exquisite gifts baskets.
Pine Nuts are the kernels of the stone pine (Pinus pinea), a native of the Mediterranean area. They grow in other parts of the world also, including the American Southwest, where they are a native staple crop of the Pueblo Indians. China and Portugal are the largest exporters. Pine Nuts have a rich but delicate flavor; delicious in dishes as varied as stuffings, fruit salads, and pesto sauce. They may also be ground into a flour suitable for desserts. Eat them raw or roast them lightly in a dry skillet or oven to bring out their flavor.
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
PESTO RECIPE
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Olive Oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor and whip until well chopped (do about 3/4 cup at a time). Add about 1/3 the nuts and garlic, blend again.
Add about 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese; blend while slowly adding about 1/3 of the olive oil, stopping to scrape down sides of container.
Process basil pesto it forms a thick smooth paste. Repeat until all ingredients are used, mix all batches together well. Serve over pasta. Basil pesto keeps in refrigerator one week, or freeze for a few months.
Cheeses come in all shapes, sizes and flavors but for every cheese it all starts with the milk. While cow’s milk cheeses are the most well known, cheese lovers demand products made from sheep, goat and buffalo milk as well. Pasteurized or raw, each milk type lends a unique quality to the cheese, so always be certain to include a variety of milks on your cheese tray for hors d’oeuvres and on the cheese plate for dessert.
July 27th is National Crème Brûlée Day! French for “burnt creme”, Crème Brûlée is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hard caramel, created by burning sugar under a grill or with a blowtorch or other intense heat source. It is usually served cold in individual ramikins.The custard base is normally flavoured with just vanilla but it can be enhanced with chocolate, a liquor or fruit etc. Sometimes the hardened sugar on top will be given a Maillard reaction, by igniting a thin layer of liqueur sprinkled over the top
From The Rogue Creamery’s inauspicious beginnings in 1935 has come one of the finest artisan cheese operations in the world today. In 2002, Ig (Ignazio “Ig” Vella, affectionately known as the Godfather of artisan cheese) hand selected Cary Bryant and David Gremmels as the new owners of what is now known as The Rogue Creamery. Of utmost importance was to carry on the tradition of hand-milled cheese. Bryant and Gremmels hit the ground running. Within a year, they were producing award-winning cheeses.
Saffron is the golden stigma of the purple fall crocus and is the world’s most expensive spice. The value of this spice is derived from the fact that it is such a labor-intensive crop. Only five to seven pounds of saffron can be produced from each acre of land. The flavor of saffron, however, is very concentrated. One gram of saffron is enough to flavor forty servings of saffron rice or two large batches of paella.
This miracle fruit, Synsepalum dulcificum, is native to West Africa. The berry contains a protein called miraculin, which binds with the taste buds and acts as a sweetness inducer when it comes in contact with acids. This protien makes tart lemons and hot peppers sweet tasting. The berry can also make cheap tequila taste as good as Patron! Read more about it here. To experience the fruit you may attend a “Flavor Tripping Party” hosted by Franz Aliquo in NYC. The fruit is also availabe by mail order through various specialty suppliers in New York, including Baldor Specialty Foods and S. Katzman Produce or via the web at www.miraclefruitman.com. (A freezer pack of 30 berries costs about $90 with overnight shipping.)
Add this fun widget to your Myspace or Facebook page, blog, or anything you like. Every week we’ll choose a new cheese and when you click the widget you can learn more about the history of the cheese along with recipes and wine pairings.
I created this widget with Sprout. Sprout is a quick and easy way for beginner and pro users to create living content including websites, banners, videos, music, photos, RSS feeds, calendars and more. It’s really easy and fun to use. Check it out.
