Aaron and I have been doing a wine and cheese night in our home on Friday evenings, when we can. We splurge on buying really delicious cheeses and a decent bottle of wine since we don’t have to pay a babysitter, tip, restaurant prices, etc . . .  Pop in a good movie and it’s a date!

Ingredients

• roasted garlic –cut off top, drizzle with olive oil (good amount), sprinkle with salt and pepper, scrunch some foil around it, and pop in the oven for approx 45-60 min @ 400-425.
• fruit  and nuts– choose one or two: figs, red grapes, apples, pears. Almonds, candied walnuts or pecans
• meat – salami or prosciutto
• olives- check out the olive bar at your local grocer; they often have pepper and artichokes too. Experiment!
• bread - I usually just slice and broil a baquette brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt
• cheese –this is the star for us.  Try to pick three really different cheeses. Pictured above is a manchego,
triple cream gouda, and a goat’s milk cheese called Humbolt Fog (if you love cheese, you must try this). Point Reyes blue cheese is also divine.

I purchase 1/4 lb of each cheese, which was a good amount for us to have two wine and cheese nights.

I don’t know where I got this recipe, but it makes a great, classic pesto every time. Freeze the extra in ice cube trays and enjoy homemade pesto in the winter when fresh basil is hard to find!  For something different, mix a dollop of pesto with mayonnaise or cream cheese and use as a spread on your next turkey or chicken sandwich.

Directions

Puree the following ingredients in a food processor (I’m sure a blender would work too) until paste forms -sometimes people gradually drizzle the oil in:

• 4 cups fresh basil leaves (loosely packed)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts (I like to toast mine –let them cool before adding though)
• 2 cloves garlic

Stir in 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and 1 tsp of kosher salt.

To help prevent browning, store with a layer of plastic wrap pushed right up against the pesto. It should last several days in the fridge, but tastes best when consumed right away.