Made In France, Made With Love

There's nothing I love more than spending time at home with friends drinking wine, eating charcuterie and fromage. Since we are hitting the French theme, I am excited to share some French products I got to indulge in. Don't get me wrong, I love all kinds of parties (All kinds), but I love hosting wine parties with amazing seafood for people to enjoy.

Click the Brie to learn more about it.

Le Chatelain Brie comes from the pastures of the Meuse region of France where most farms have herds ranging from 20 to 30 cows spending a good amount of time throughout the year roaming outside. I've heard a lot of restrictions before about raw milk products aged over 60 days can be imported to the United States. With that said, Le Chatelain Brie is the only alternative to come close to tasting the flavor of raw milk French Brie without shoving $$$$ to travel to France.

You can find this normally in Cheese shops and higher end retailers. This cheese won Gold 2010 and Silver 2011 from France's Concours General Agricole. 

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I macerated some strawberries to eat with the Brie. This was eaten with sunflower/flaxseed crackers. Drizzling some honey is also delightful. 

President Butter is made in the heart of Normandy, the "Grand Cru" among French dairy regions which are known for their outstanding quality of its milk that gives this milk an exceptional flavor. This butter is freshly crafted from cultured cream. Its distinct, rich and savory nutty taste is great on spreading over a nice baguette. I like to let the butter sit just a bit to soften. I sprinkle a touch of kosher salt with fresh cracked pepper.

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The five outstanding wines.

Mas De Daumas Gassac. Click on the photo to learn more.

Mas de daumas Gassac in the only Grand crus status wine from the Languedoc region. A family owned estate which has devoted its approach since the creation of the estate to respect the environment (where the family also lives). The Daumas Gassac Grand Crus wines are made by 2nd generation winemaker Samuel Guibert who split his time between Gassac (from May to Nov) & San Francisco. Samuel’s winemaking follow the same philosophy since the 1st vintage of Daumas Gassac wines were made in 1978 : “Finesse, Balance & Elegance”. Finally the Daumas Gasasc wines aim at offering the best possible quality at the most affordable pricing (despite its Grands Crus status). 

MAS DE DAUMAS GASSAC RED 2015

This wine is best when served around 16°C (60°F), preferably in large Burgundy glasses. Let the wine breathe before drinking. This wine also pairs well with any strong flavored main dish. I recommend roasted some lamb chops. The retail price goes for $39-$45 a bottle.

MAS DE DAUMAS GASSAC SPARKLING ROSE 2016

Best if drunk you and served between 6 & 7°C (45°F). Stunning as an aperitif, with charcuterie, goat cheese or shrimp salad. Beautiful with a chocolate based dessert or simply with raspberry and/or strawberries. This wine is retailed at $17-$26 a bottle.

Buy this wine at Fine Wine stores and wine savvy restaurants

Click the photo to learn more about Trimbach wines.

This Trimbach selection you see is from AOC Alsace, France. The Trimbach family dates back to 1626. Their wines benefits from the unique Alsatian microclimate. 

The Riesling wine has a beautiful straw color with green edges. Has a fragrance of ginger and caraway seed and under ripe pineapple and flowers. Received 90 pts Wine Spectator 2016.

The Pinot Gris is bright, has a pale gold hue with aromas of juicy peaches and ripen pear. It is full-bodied wit ripe smokey tropical fruit flavors. Great with fish, shellfish, poultry and lighter pastas. Received 90 pts Wine Spectator 2016.

You can find Trimbach wines at Gordon's Fine Wines & Liquors. 

Click the photo to learn more about this Whispering Angel.

Located in the heart of Provence, France, Chateau d'Esclans is a prestigious estate and winery producing the industry's leading Rose wines. This was awarded #1 premium rose in the U.S and #1 French wine in the U.S. The retail for this rose goes for $21-$22. This wine is dry with no sugary finish. Extremely fresh and crisp. Find this beauty and Total Wine, Whole Foods and Fresh Market.

To learn more about any of the wines, just click on the photos for more information. I definitely enjoyed each wine as well as the Brie and Butter. Make sure to be creative and host your French inspired party. If you need more ideas and inspiration, make sure to follow these wines on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Grilled Cheese - VONS

There are a few reasons why I love a grilled cheese sandwich. One of the main reasons though, is because I am lactose intolerant. No one ever knows because I still love to eat it when it's in front of me. Lactose Intolerance can't tell me what to do! The other reason why I love a grilled cheese sandwich was also because when I was growing up, a lot of my classmates would have this in their brown lunch bag which I also did not have.

Brown lunch bags and grilled cheese sandwiches. I remember I always wanted a brown bag, but my parents would instead give me the plastic bags they use to bag groceries. I can tell, they wanted my life to be miserable. It's not even a simple plastic Vons bag. It had to be the ones from the Chinese market with weird prints on them. It was so embarrassing. But sometimes, the school would serve grilled cheese sandwiches. It's the cheapest thing ever made along with the bean & cheese burritos, but I would trade anything for one right now.

For national grilled cheese sandwich day, I made my own version of a grilled cheese sandwich for a small little competition hosted by Vons. The recipe you will find below feeds 4 people. I like to use really subtle cheeses just because I have a sensitive palate to stinky cheese. This recipe will definitely be friendly to anyone, but more towards the hardcore foodie fanatics. Why? Because it includes Pimento Cheese and tator tots. Holy COW.

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You will need:

• 3 Cups of frozen tater tots - I used Safeway tater tots. Selling 2 bags for $5 at the moment!
• 1 - 3/4 cups (1 bag) Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese - Lucerne
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan - I had leftover Krafts
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise - Best Foods
• 8oz of cream cheese - Lucerne
• 4oz of diced pimento drained - (Found near the pickles at Vons)
• 3oz canned green chiles drained - (Found near enchilada sauces at Vons)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1 heaping teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
• 1 loaf of Signature Select sourdough - slice about 3/4 inch - 1 inch depending on preference. The sandwich will be pressed. - (Found near fresh baked breads)
• 1.5 tablespoons of unsalted butter.

** Make sure your cream cheese is softened before proceeding. **

1. Preheat your oven to 425 per instructions on the bag of your tater tots. Cover a pan with non-stick parchment paper before laying out your tots. The tots will bake for 22 - 25 minutes. I like to drizzle a bit of olive the LAST 5 minutes. Once the tots are completed, I sprinkle on Kosher salt while they are still HOT.
2. Once your cream cheese has soften, you basically mix everything in a large bowl until all the ingredients are combined. This is why soft cream cheese is important. Like mixing cold butter. Might as well just give up.
3. Preheat your non-stick pan (or whatever you are comfortable using) to medium heat.
4. Start layering your sandwiches. Pimento cheese on both slices of bread. Top with an even layer of tater tots, then top the other slice with cheese on top of the tots. So it's: bread-cheese-tots-cheese-bread.
5. Once your pan is read, take 1/2 the butter and put it in your pan. Once that melts, quickly put your sandwich in with a pan placed on top to press. The first side will take about 2 minutes pressed, but we all know it can always change. Just grab a spatula to slightly lift.
6. Once it's golden brown with dark crispy edges, remove the sandwich on your cutting board. Put the rest of your butter in the pan, and repeat process 5 until golden brown. The cheese might ooze out. Don't panic, these get crispy and delicious. I scrape them up along the sandwich when they start getting too dark.
7. Once the sandwich is completed, let stand for a minute before eating so you won't burn your mouth.

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Boy was this scrumptious! This was extremely flavorful and savory you won't even miss the meat. BUT, if I had more time, I would totally cook some bacon bits to fold into my pimento cheese. The sourdough was perfectly crispy. The pimento cheese was slightly spicy from the cayenne, but was cooling from the creamy cheeses. Each bite gets your jowl going. Crack open a bottle of root beer and this will be the best summer backyard/outdoor sandwich to get the crowd going for days.

Feel free to bake all your tots to eat on the side. You can never have enough of these things.

Happy cheesin.

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