How to put together a fancy Cheese Platter

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I went to a specialty cheese store and I went a little crazy.... they let me try everything and I was able to put together this amazing combination!

1. Tavoliere delle Puglie w/ hot pepper jam
2. French creamy herbed cheese
3. Boucheron w/ raw honey
4. (I don't know the name of this one, it's similar to a soft parmigiano reggiano) w/ apricot jam
5. Gorgonzola. I didn't pair it with anything this time, but I usually serve it with a selection of raw veggies (celery, carrots, peppers, fennel) or a selection of pears (soft ones, juicy ones, firm ones).

I served everything with a homemade Focaccia made from my Pizza Dough. A-mazing!

What to drink with this?

In Italy we often eat this as an appetizer, or if we are at a party we pick on it while we wait for dinner to be ready.

Because all the cheeses I chose are creamy or soft, you can choose amongst these different types of wines:

RED
Go with something that has a red fruit element:
Chianti, Sangiovese, Nero D'avola, Merlot

WHITE
Go with something that has a citrus element, dry, with good acidity, and maybe some sparkles!
Ribolla Gialla, Pinot Grigio, Prosecco Spumante, Franciacorta

If you want to serve the platter at the end of the meal, try it with a dessert wine like Passito di Pantelleria (the best ones are Ben Rye' and Kamma) or a Malvasia.

Enjoy!
Valentina
RealItalianKitchen

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Aperitivo/Dinner all'italiana (italian style)

This is actually some of my favorite food all put together on a cutting board. Because sometimes cooking is a drag. Because sometimes I just want a glass of wine after a long day at work. Because I don't want to use plates and forks but mostly I don't want to clean them up.






In Italy this wonderful invention is called Aperitivo: in theory it should only be a pre-dinner social meet up where you have a glass of wine and some snacks but in many parts of Italy this has turned into the Aperi-cena (meaning half aperitivo half dinner) because you can end up eating and drinking so much that you don't have to go have dinner.

Any selection of cured meats and cheeses would work, here's what was on my cutting board:

French Brie
Mozzarella (buy it locally because the imported ones loose their taste while traveling)
Prosciutto Crudo di Parma (remember that the end cut is always the sweetest most tender part)
Vermont Cheddar
Salame Felino

As vegetables I had:
Fresh seasonal salad with fennel, radish, mixed greens, peppers (with extra virgin olive oil, salt and balsamic vinaigre)
Tomato Salad (with just a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and salt)

A lot of bread.... a lot of your favorite red wine....

Enjoy!
Valentina
Real Italian Kitchen