cabs and apetizers! Help!

A nice salad with lots of gorganzola works well.

Canapes of gorganzola/parm. with a raspberry compote.

Unlike Berno, I'm not a gorgonzola and cab fan, unless the cab is extRemely extracted or fruity. I did recall a recipe for a bruschetta of sorts that worked well with Cabernet. Cut and pasted from fratelliperata.com:

Parmigiano Marries Cabernet Appetizer

This is an easy recipe for the busy Holidays. Reminding us of the fondue craze of the 1960’s, it is easier and with no drips! Because of the salt from the cheese and the cloves, it is a perfect match for Cabernet Sauvignon.

This recipe can be doubled or halved as desired. Like wine, the better the ingredients you start with, the better the end product. Freshly grated cheese is terrific, but pre-grated in a jar is ok in a pinch.

2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 cup half and half
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon ground cloves

2 loaves baguettes, sliced crosswise into silver dollar shapes
Olive oil

In a saucepan on top of the stove, pour half and half. Then with the heat on medium low, slowly add the grated cheese, stirring to melt with each addition. When uniformly melted, add the garlic and cloves. Stir well and allow to cool off the burner.

When cool, place the baguette slices on a cookie sheet, brush with olive oil, toast quickly on one side in a 400-degree oven.

To serve, spread cheese mixture on baguette slice. If the cheese seems too thick to spread, add a little half and half.

Gorgonzola and Cabernet is a horrible pairing. The strong, salty flavor of the cheese will overwhelm and distort the wine.

Fatty, mild cheese will work well, as will steak tidbits, small meatballs, and chicken strips, all on toothpicks.

I think it was the inestimable grunhauser who turned me onto this pairing, but Explorateur Cheese and Cabernet is really quite tasty.

PH

Explorateur and the similar St. Andre are at the very top of my Cab pairing list.

d'affinois

quote:

Parmigiano Marries Cabernet Appetizer

PH - this appetizer sounds fabulous! - sort of a 'sleeper' recipe where the ingredients themselves do not sound like the makings of a great one, but I bet it is, especially freshly grated parm-reggiano. I'm going to try it for a party this weekend.

Not sure how it would pair with Cabs, but this goes well with Brunello.

Proscuitto
Parma-Reg
Green onions
Arugula
Extra-virgin olive oil

Cut very thin slices of the Parma-Reg; dice green onions into very small pieces; combine with whole-leaf Arugula and put on Proscuitto; drizzle with EVOO, and roll the Proscuitto up in a roll. This is good stuff.

thanks everyone for your help! Looks like I have some good aps to bring to the party

thanks again