Receta Grazing Boards (and wine)
Grazing Boards (and wine) By Eliot, on May 29th, 2021 During our imposed pandemic isolation, we watched a lot of movies and ate in. One of the easiest and most delicious things to throw together with supplies from the fridge and pantry was a grazing board. (I was made aware of these during a Virtual Yelp Event…I participated in a lot of those too during the past eighteen months.)
I also drank a lot of wine.
I’m pulling movie watching, grazing and wine all together today for May’s Food ‘n Flix post. I’m hosting for May and chose Bottle Shock, a 2008 based-on-a-true story film. It tells the David and Goliath tale of the fledgling California wine industry circa 1976. An entrepreneurial British wine snob (Alan Rickman) wants to create a blind tasting between French wines and these brash young Yankees, thus the “Judgement of Paris” takes place and puts Napa on the map. You can read the announcement post here.
I was amazed that it was Spurrier’s character (the wine snob mentioned above) that gave the California wineries the idea that people would (and should) pay for wine tastings.
There was a lot of wine (obviously), some food references, but there wasn’t a lot of food shown on the screen. (You can see my list at the bottom.) I can’t wait to see what the rest of the FnF members came up with.
What follows is not a recipe but more of a guideline.
How to Build a Grazing Board
By Debra
For a fancy board for guests, I use these recommendations. For just us, I pull from the pantry and fridge. You also want to consider the 3 Cs: cheese, charcuterie, and crunch. (And maybe add CHOCOLATE!)
Ingredients
soft cheese (Brie, goat cheese, even a cheese ball)
hard aged cheesed (like an aged gouda)
a pungent cheese (like gorgonzola)
whatever cheese is your favorite
a good cow’s milk cheese like Manchego (or substitute a cashew cheese for vegan options)
2-3 different cured meats
pickle or fermented elements
fresh fruit (grapes, berries, pears, apples—think about the textures)
dried fruit (apricots, figs, raisins, craisins)
nuts
honey, jam, or jelly
chocolate
crackers, pita bits, toasted baguette slices
Instructions
Use 3-4 pieces of cheese per person and then build around that. (The cheeses tend to take up the most space.) Don’t make your guests work for their cheese—slice, cube, crumble and provide a cheese knife
Use 2 oz. of meat per person. Fold meats and arrange in “rivers” or make some salami roses.
Decorate with fresh berries (even pom arils) and herbs.
Add seasonal or holiday touches as appropriate.
Place similarly colored items around the board, not side by side.
Use whatever is on hand. Here’s some of what I found in our pantry and fridge:
That’s a jar of pickled green cherry tomatoes in the background.
I love a bit of sour on the board, too.
Along with some crunch from pistachios and apples.
DO NOT FORGET TO ADD A WINE SELECTION.
I like chardonnays with my grazing boards. And, for this post my intent was to do my own blind tasting. Since Chateau Montelena won the “Judgement of Paris”, I purchased one of their 2018 chardonnays (which was a bit pricey for us), a Stag’s Leap 2018 chardonnay (because 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon won the red category) and Trader Joe’s “Two-Buck Chuck.”
Notice, I said my intent was….
I’ve been a bit out of sorts and discombobulated recently. First of all, we lost our beloved pet; secondly it’s Memorial Day weekend; and thirdly, I have a mass of relatives converging next week. Unfortunately the wine tasting will have to wait for another post. (I feel totally inadequate as the host this month.)
I’ll leave you with some of my favorite quotes from the film:
“Rodin used bronze…Debussy, the piano…Baudelaire, language…so Henri Jayer and Philippe de Rothschild used the grape.
Great wine is great art, my friend.”
“You have to grow up with the soil underneath your nails…and the smell of the grape in the air that you breathe. The cultivation of the vine is an art form. The refinement of its juice is a religion…that requires pain…and desire and sacrifice.”
Even though Bo (Chris Pine) and his hair drove me nuts throughout the film, I loved watching his character’s transformation from the cellar rat and whose life’s ambition is to see The Dead at the Cow Palace to the champion and representative for California wineries at the “judgement.”
Here’s some of the wine (and their was a lot), the food (barely any) and food references from the film:
“I detect bacon fat…laced… with honey melon.”
Beers and peanuts at Joe’s bar
1971 Ridge Cabernet
1962 Buena Vista Pinot Noir
1947 Cheval Blanc (the one that almost “stumped” Gustavo)
Bloody Mary’s, martinis and a sandwich at the Country Club.
A “dynamite” Sauvignon (made by a woman)
Vittel bottled water, water biscuits or a French roll
Burgers, looks like a roasted chicken (lunch break as the workers watch Sam wash out the thrashers)
Portuguese sardines…and crackers (when Sam tastes Gustavo’s wine)
KFC
Guacamole served to Steven (probably something else he’s never tried, along with the California wine)
sweet nectar of the Napa Valley
Bâtard-Montrachet and a Chambertin (from Steven’s cellar)
Vodka (to drown sorrows after the 500 bottles were thought destroyed)
Other wines in the competition: Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault Charmes, Chalone Vineyards. 1973 Château Montelena Chardonnay (the chardonnay winner)
Wine, wine, wine, Elderberry
Wine, wine, wine, or Sherry
Wine, wine, wine, Blackberry
Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee Song
If you have not seen Bottle Shock, I encourage you to do so. It would make great holiday weekend viewing. (You also have exactly three more days to create a post and join us.) And, if you have not seen Harvest Season, you should. It’s a great supplemental documentary to Bottle Shock.
The June Food ‘n Flix feature is The Pickle Recipe hosted at Culinary Adventures with Camilla. Look for an announcement post soon on Cam’s site.
Clubs and Blog Hops, What we're growing, eating, and doing. Bottle Shock, charcuterie, Chardonnay, cheese, cheese board, Food n' Flix, grazing board