Out of the hundreds of samples we tasted, these are some of the favorite foods my friends and I found at the 35th Winter Fancy Food Show.
Cold Beverage
Let’s start with cocktails. Some of you may remember when I wrote about Sence Rose Nectar in its gorgeous bottle last year.
This year, mixologist Sean Bigley combined the Sence European Rose Nectar with Hendricks Gin to create a delicious, refreshing, aromatic cocktail. Hendricks Gin is especially well-suited to be paired with Sence because it infuses Bulgarian rose petals during the distillation process. With the elegant bottles and the clear pink color, this would be a beautiful cocktail to serve for a wedding or bridal shower and it would be great prior to a Moroccan or Turkish meal.
Fever-Tree offers a premium line of mixers. My favorite was the Ginger Ale, made with three kinds of ginger.
I would like a gin and tonic made with Fever-Tree tonic water and topped with the super-fancy cocktail garnish, the Tipsy Cocktail Stirrer, by Sable & Rosenfeld.
Appetizers
As I’m sipping my gin cocktail, it would sure be nice to have an amuse bouche served in one of these fancy cones. I’m so glad Linda pointed them out to me.
Hafner offers an impressive array of baked pastry shells to meet any savory or sweet need. The cones I tasted were delicious, delicately crunchy, and their neutral flavor yields to the flavors of the contents.
Tracy and I both thought the Crisp Made Entirely of Cheese was downright addictive. Amazingly, this super-crispy, intensely-flavored cracker qualifies as a Diet and Lifestyle Product, winning gold in the category.
I thought the fava bean hummus by Fava was absolutely delicious:
Dairy
My favorite cheese of the day was the goat cheese by the Rogers Collection. Its creamy texture melted in the mouth like a dream and the rich flavor was heavenly. Stephanie remarked: “I don’t like goat cheese much but I like this.”
John Cancilla, of Rogers Collection, immediately replied, “I love goat cheese and this is my favorite”. Mine too.
Cypress Grove Chevre, of Brie Wedding Cake fame, won the gold Sofi for another goat cheese, Truffle Tremor. I'm sure it was great, I love their Humbodt Fog, but my mushroom allergy prevents me from tasting it.
Marin-County-based Cowgirl Creamery is reliably delicious, their signature cheese, Mt. Tam is my favorite.
My palate is getting fatigued, I will take a break and continue with our favorites next time.
9 comments:
Whenever I stop by your blog, I am both hungry and thirsty afterward!
Love reading about the Fancy Food show. I have some of the Rose Nectar, but wasn't real fond of it. Any suggestions that are not alcoholic? I was thinking about making a syrup with it and infusing in cupcakes.
Dear Kala,
Funny, I get hungry and thirsty whenever I write these food posts :-).
Dear Marilyn,
I'm sorry you don't like the Rose Nectar. I can imagine that a whole bottle of it might be a bit too much. As a mixer, however, I think it has real potential.
I've been thinking about your question. How about brewing a cup of black tea with it? Or in pink lemonade? I'm glad to hear that you were able to locate some. I'm going to have to find some and experiment with it.
Mmmmmmm, yummy nummy-nums! So pretty and delicious looking!
Looks like so much yummy fun! yummm cheese! ;o)
Dear Susan and Kris,
Thank you both! It was yummers - that goat cheese...
hendrick's is the best gin ever!! thankfully, my girls from the UK just visited and i'm well-stocked! it's absolutely divine with the recommended thin slices of cucumber. sigh.
That is some seriously fancy food.
I am a big ginger ale fan, so I would love to try that Fever-Tree. Maybe I'll find it in a restaurant some day.
I love it that you show us these fancy shows.
Dear julochka,
I agree, it was delicious! Cucumber is another ingredient they infuse during distillation.
Dear Ruth,
I love ginger ale but I only remember to have some on airplanes and boats. Even though I don't get motion sickness, I think of it then because ginger is supposed to be a good preventative measure.
Post a Comment