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Wine and Cheese Platter

September 4, 2015

The Cellar Cheese and Layer Cake Sauvignon Blanc Wine

:: Wine and Cheese ::

It’s the last “official” weekend of summer…we can’t believe that! Since I am not ready to give up white, well white wine that is, I am sharing some of my favorite cheeses paired with wine to celebrate the last days of summer and welcoming fall and all it has to offer!

How to create a cheese platter

Though summer has gone by with a blink of an eye, I am super excited for fall and the holidays. Some of my favorite times are spent over a tasty cheese platter with a fruity glass of white wine or a full bodied-red. Either way you choose, you always need a tangy cheese to go with your wine.

My favorite white wine is a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. Right now I am loving this bottle of Layer Cake. It screams summer and makes for a fun and mild white wine. It pairs perfectly with my favorite cheese choices and it is a wonderful bottle of wine to enjoy at a barbecue. 

Cheese and wine are good any time. Easy entertaining.

Okay so now for the goods, what kind of cheese do you prefer, and how do you arrange your platter? It’s all fairly simple and completely up to your taste buds. As for myself, I am not a fan of goat cheese. No matter how I have tried, I don’t like it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t add goat to my cheese platters, especially if I know that my company likes it. Buy different types of cheese if you are hosting or creating an appetizer, you don’t have to eat it! Just fill your cheese platter with a few others you love.

My go to cheeses can be found at my local cheese shop The Cellar or I do love me a crumbly Unexpected Cheddar from Trader Joe’s. I like to have a hard cheese, a semi-soft cheese, and a crumbly cheese that can be easily placed on a cracker. I mix these with nuts such as marcona almonds, pecans, and or walnuts. I also add a fruit and a sprinkling of honey that can be drizzled over cheese and crackers or nuts.  The fats from both the nuts and cheese help to bring out the flavors in the wine.

My wine and cheese platter includes the following:

  • honey
  • marcona almonds
  • spicy pecans
  • crackers
  • grapes
  • Unexpected Cheddar
  • Rogue Creamery Chocolate Stout Cheddar
  • Estero Gold Valley Ford

Sara and I hope you enjoy this holiday weekend. We hope it’s spent well with family, friends, and of course food! For more recipe ideas, check out our recipe index under appetizers.

nicole signature via simply happenstance

Filed Under: Food

Mulled Wine

December 6, 2014

Mulled Wine Recipe using Mulling Spices from Old Town Spice and Tea Merchants in Temecula.:: Mulled Wine ::

Did you happen to check out our post about our Lorimar Winery Sleepover? The local flavors and merchants of Temecula Valley inspired this recipe for Mulled Wine.  Sara and I really enjoyed the wineries, small shops, and old town feel of the town in which we have known for some time.  It was great to visit new places and discover small little treasures along the way.  This recipe was made with tasty wine from Lorimar Winery and sensational spices from Old Town Spice and Tea Merchant.  We hope you try this easy Mulled Wine Recipe during this holiday season.  Warm and cozy it will make you remember why you love the holidays. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Food

Lorimar Winery Sleepover

December 4, 2014

Lorimar Winery in Temecula. Lorimar Sleepover:: Lorimar Winery Sleepover ::

A couple of weeks ago, Sara and I were invited with a small group of bloggers, to Lorimar Winery in Temecula.  The Lorimar Winery Sleepover was coordinated by the amazing Sharon from Cupcakes and Cutlery, along with Lauren from A Fabulous Fete.  The girls put together a lovely wine adventure in Temecula Valley with Lorimar Winery hosting the event {we got to stay on the grounds in their Coach House}, as well as Visit Temecula Valley whom showed us around Old Town Temecula.  Sara and I love Temecula and have a special place in our hearts for this small/big town, but we got to experience Temecula in a whole new way!  Our Lorimar Winery Sleepover, and all it’s grandeur, inspired us to make up a great Mulled Wine Recipe {keep posted}, using locally based ingredients.

Have you ever visited Temecula? If you haven’t, read on… it’s only a short drive away, right here in Southern California.

Vineyards in Temecula [Read more…]

Filed Under: Lovelies

{Date Night Ideas}

March 26, 2013

Date night ideas are a must for any couple.

One of our favorite “date night in” ideas is

having some of our favorite wine paired with cheese,

combined with a savory pasta dish,

or a simple cheese board sampling 

 when the kids go to bed.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Family

My Favorite Pasta Recipe

December 12, 2012

Once I am finished with this Blog post, the secret will be out……

my “go to” dish that I love to make and re-create will be a known recipe.

I know we all have one that we make and it’s better each and every time we have it.

It’s a simple one, of course, it’s one I love to make when we have last minute

guests or just because we have all the ingredients that go with it.

This pasta goes extremely well with WINE {smile and heart}.

A red is best, but if you add in an extra dash of red pepper flakes,

then white can taste fantastic with it.

I found this recipe????

To be honest…  I can’t remember its been almost 10 years.

It was during the newlywed phase in my life where I was trying to find

any recipe that was homemade to make my hubby happy

{my Mother-In-Law is an incredible cook from the midwest}.

So it was a bit hard cooking in the beginning.

My husband did not think it was so funny the couple

times I had thought cheese and crackers would be plenty for dinner.

I had gone from living with my girlfriends and enjoying our marathon runs of,

Sex and the City with wine and cheese for dinner.

When I came across this recipe I thought it was quick and it looked very homey.

{Even better it was Italian, as I think I was one in my past life…wink.}

Here is what you need:

* 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

* 2 cloves of chopped garlic

* 1/2 cup shredded/grated Parmesan Cheese

* 1/2 pound to 3/4 pound of pasta {penne works best}

* 1 pound of sausage {I use Chicken Sicilian or Chicken Italian}

{My favorite is the kind from Trader Joe’s}

* 1 lb to 2 lbs or crates of cherry or grape tomatoes

* Salt and red pepper flakes to taste

I first chop up the cloves of garlic, as well as cut the tomatoes in half.

I prefer to use part cherry plus heirlooms when in season.

Then boil some water and cook the pasta for about 7-9 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking, cook the sausage.

First remove the casings before cooking the sausage.

{Use a large pot such as a dutch oven as the whole meal will eventually cook in the pot.}

I like to cook my sausage so that it is very brown.

Once the sausage is fully cooked,

place a paper towel down on a plate and place the sausage on top.

Then dump in the olive oil and garlic.

{These brown bits from the sausage are key…they help flavor the sauce}

Cook the garlic until slightly brown, then add the tomatoes.

Sprinkle in some salt to taste and few big dashes of red pepper flakes.

Cook and stir this mixture until the tomatoes have popped,

and a sauce has been made {5-8 minutes}.

After you have completed the sauce portion you add back in the sausages and pasta.

Once all the components are added back in,

sprinkle in the parmesan cheese until fully melted.

There you have it…..my favorite Pasta Recipe!

Hope you like it!

Enjoy it with a lovely side salad or oven baked kale with garlic,

and of course don’t forget your wine! {wink, wink}

Filed Under: Food

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About

bioSara and Nicole are sorority sisters that simply “happened” to end up in the same small town. They have many things in common, which have set the tone of their blog. They hope that you will join them in their journey of motherhood, dreams that may be, the daily life, and their passion for cooking, yoga, fashion, and design!

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