My favorite, most typical go-to for dinner is throwing together a cheese board, pouring myself a glass of wine, and grazing for most of the evening. Maybe there are crackers, a bit of charcuterie, oh! and jams of all sorts too. Doesn't really matter. As a flaky eater living alone who rarely and, if so, begrudgingly eats leftovers - in addition to living up to this ahem- um, distinction I seem to have garnered among friends as being a bit of a food snob - rolling through my local cheese counter for snacks on my way home has become the equivalent of take-out or fast food. Typically, I'll try a bunch of stuff and amass a tiny hoard of impulse-cheese-buys that patiently wait in my refrigerator, longing to be unwrapped and savored.
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| Damned Cute Fruit! Get me Everytime! |
So with that I give you Kumquat Marmalade to go with Mitica Romao and Le Caprice de Clemetine, 2013, Côtes de Provence. (recipe posted at the bottom)
Marmalades are really basic to throw together. You need some kind of citrus fruit (kumquats)
along with some kind of sugar, water, and whatever else you want to do for seasoning. I used both honey and vanilla-infused sugar, as well as some sage and some of the wine.
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| *not how you should measure ingredients |
And there you have it! Marmalade! I'll post the recipe at the bottom. Just add that cheese and wine...
Chateau les Valentine - Le Caprice De Clementine, 2013 Rose - Cotes de Provence
I neglected to mention all of the reasons why I fell in love with this wine. I find it to be very subtle and delicate. I get a lot of fresh scents on the nose: orange blossom, rose petal, wild ripe strawberry. Similar notes on the palette: dry, refreshing acidity, orange zest, some light red fruit, rose water. The finish is very pleasant. Its made with Cinsault and Grenache grape varietals for wine nerds like myself.
And the cheese! Mitica Romao is a really interesting and fun little Spanish sheep's milk cheese from La Mancha. It has a lot of characteristics similar to manchego like salty/sharpness, but I found it to be more texturally closer to softer sheep's milk cheeses such as Petit Basque. The cheese is hand-packed in lard and the rolled in fresh rosemary before it gets cave-aged for 8 months. I would guess this process protects the cheese from getting overwhelmed by the rosemary, where it is instead enhanced by it. I have seen this cheese at Whole Foods and its definitely worth trying out if you see it, even if you're not wild about rosemary. While your at it, make this recipe for marmalade to enjoy with it!
Kumquat Marmalade w/ Honey, Vanilla & Sage
Prep Time: 5 minutes
*Note - I like to cut mine in little circles, but the seeds are easier to remove if the cut down the middle lengthwise and then into slices*
Cook Time: 30-40 Minutes
Yield:
Ingredients:
8 oz. Kumquats, sliced, seeds removed
1/2 c. Sugar (I used vanilla-infused sugar, but dropping in a vanilla bean or a little vanilla extract would do the trick too)
1/2 c. Honey
1 1/2 c. Water
1/2 c. White or Rose Wine (Optional, but substitute for another liquid or more water)
2-3 Fresh Sage Leaves.
Directions:
1. Place sliced kumquats, sugar, honey, water and wine in a small/medium sauce pan and cook over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stir and reduce heat to medium/low.
2. Add the sage leaves. Simmer for 30 - 40 minutes, stirring occationally until kumquats are softened.
3. Removed from heat. Pour mixture into a heat-proof container for storage and chill. Plus points for using a classy glass that you can shamelessly plop down on your cheese board.
I neglected to mention all of the reasons why I fell in love with this wine. I find it to be very subtle and delicate. I get a lot of fresh scents on the nose: orange blossom, rose petal, wild ripe strawberry. Similar notes on the palette: dry, refreshing acidity, orange zest, some light red fruit, rose water. The finish is very pleasant. Its made with Cinsault and Grenache grape varietals for wine nerds like myself.And the cheese! Mitica Romao is a really interesting and fun little Spanish sheep's milk cheese from La Mancha. It has a lot of characteristics similar to manchego like salty/sharpness, but I found it to be more texturally closer to softer sheep's milk cheeses such as Petit Basque. The cheese is hand-packed in lard and the rolled in fresh rosemary before it gets cave-aged for 8 months. I would guess this process protects the cheese from getting overwhelmed by the rosemary, where it is instead enhanced by it. I have seen this cheese at Whole Foods and its definitely worth trying out if you see it, even if you're not wild about rosemary. While your at it, make this recipe for marmalade to enjoy with it!
Kumquat Marmalade w/ Honey, Vanilla & Sage
Prep Time: 5 minutes
*Note - I like to cut mine in little circles, but the seeds are easier to remove if the cut down the middle lengthwise and then into slices*
Yield:
Ingredients:
8 oz. Kumquats, sliced, seeds removed
1/2 c. Sugar (I used vanilla-infused sugar, but dropping in a vanilla bean or a little vanilla extract would do the trick too)
1/2 c. Honey
1 1/2 c. Water
1/2 c. White or Rose Wine (Optional, but substitute for another liquid or more water)
2-3 Fresh Sage Leaves.
Directions:
1. Place sliced kumquats, sugar, honey, water and wine in a small/medium sauce pan and cook over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stir and reduce heat to medium/low.
2. Add the sage leaves. Simmer for 30 - 40 minutes, stirring occationally until kumquats are softened.
3. Removed from heat. Pour mixture into a heat-proof container for storage and chill. Plus points for using a classy glass that you can shamelessly plop down on your cheese board.
