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March 31, 2008

Caramelized Pineapple & Bleu Cheese Tartlettes

Once again, I participated in the They Go Really Well Together event. This month's ingredients were pineapple and bleu cheese.

When I emailed the Port Club members to entice them to make recipes with me again, Sam replied, "Just pineapple and just bleu cheese sounds good to me!"

While I thought of all the things I could do with those two foods (I seriously considered a souffle!), I decided that Sam was right...just pineapple and just bleu cheese would be perfect.

So, I put together a simple snack for us to enjoy with our wine: I filled phyllo tartlette shells (the kind you buy in the frozen foods section) with a slice of fresh pineapple and a crumble of gorgonzola. I zapped it with a brulee torch to slightly melt the cheese and caramelize the pineapple.

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The fire added a pleasing smokiness to the acidic pineapple and the tangy bleu cheese.

Sharon played along and made a delicious bleu cheese cheesecake topped with pineapple pepper jelly to eat with crackers.

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Pineapple and bleu cheese didn't seem like such an odd combination to me, since I've always liked sweet fruit and strong cheese together. I was more curious to find out what kind of wine goes best with this combination. Red wine or port is a classic pairing with bleu cheese, but I had no idea what went with pineapple. I did some research online and discovered that many people suggested a late-harvest riesling. I just happened to have one in my fridge (a Hogue 2006 Late Harvest White Riesling from Columbia Valley), so I took that with me.

All in all, I tried four varietals: a sparkling Bouvay, a late-harvest Riesling, a dry red (I forget which kind; we had several open that night!) and a ruby port.

I liked the Riesling the best, even though I am not typically a sweet-wine drinker. The port was good, also. I thought the Bouvay and red wine were both too acidic for the pineapple.

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