Sottoilnoce

My best friend's wedding gift to us was a subscription to the Carmel Cheese Shop wine & cheese club.  You can imagine my giddiness upon receipt of these deliveries.  Such a fun way to learn about different cheeses, cheese makers, and regions of the world where they come from.
One of the latest deliveries' cheeses was enjoyed yesterday -- Sottoilnoce.
A pecorino cheese, aged while wrapped in walnut leaves.  It's rich and nutty... strong yet still delicate.  I served it with a drizzle of raw honey. 

Holiday Gifts - Homemade Chai Tea Mix

For the holidays this year I got a little Martha Stewart thanks to the Kitchn and put together this homemade Chai Tea mix.  I'm not a huge tea drinker (which is changing) but thanks to sort-of accidentally multiplying the recipe by 12 I have Chai Tea coming out of my ears.

Really, I was just browsing the blog and the photos on their website seemed like the perfect holiday addition to the girls-dinner I hosted last night.  Each had a jar sitting at their place setting.  

Anyway, if you're into the homemade treats for your friends, family, holiday hostesses... these are pretty easy to put together and you'll be left with an amazing aroma filling your kitchen.

Chai Tea Mix Recipe
Makes about 12-16 teabags

12 green cardamom pods
1/2 teaspoon whole red peppercorns (optional)
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1 4-inch cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons chopped candied ginger
1/2 cup loose black tea

Preheat oven to 350°

With a sharp knife, split the cardamom pods in half. Place in a pie tin along with the peppercorns, fennel, coriander, cloves and cinnamon. Toast in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the spices are fragrant. Remove and cool.

Crush spices lightly with a rolling pin or in a mortar and pestle. You may have to crumble the cinnamon stick with your hands.

In a bowl, toss the spices, candied ginger and tea together until blended.

Spoon into your container of choice (mason jar, cello or parchment or waxed paper bags, vintage tea tin, etc.) Include fillable tea bags and brewing instructions. Alternatively, you can fill each tea bag with approximately 1 tablespoon of the chai mix and tie it loosely to close. (But that's a lot of work if you're making several batches!)

Brewing Instructions
tea for one

1 cup of water
1/2 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of Chai Mix placed into a tea bag
Sugar or honey to taste

Bring the water to a boil and add the teabag. Turn off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes. Add the milk, turn on the flame and reheat until hot. Remove from heat, discard teabag, sweeten to taste, enjoy!

One Day...

I'm going to succeed in doing something tasty with these.  For now, I have 2 failed batches of raspberry jam and one mediocre batch of "plumcot" (aka pluots, plum-apricot hybrids) preserves under my belt. 
Tomorrow is a new day.

Thankful.

We spent our long weekend driving up to Northern California to enjoy great food, wine, and each other's company. It was our first trip to the Sonoma and Napa Valley and we absolutely fell in love with them.  As I haven't posted any new food/cheese adventures lately, I thought I'd share a couple highlights from our trip.  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.  'Tis the season.

Scribe Winery

Opus One

Silver Oak