Cheese and Chit-Chat

I took a little blogger breather this weekend to enjoy some time with a V.I.C. (Very Important Catriona!!).  Now that I'm pretty much settled in to my new pad she made the trek over from Vancouver for a visit. 

When girls chill out on a Friday night you know there must be wine and schmancy cheeeeese!

Cat provided the vino. 

Chosen specifically for their names of course!  Who wouldn't buy Aussie wine called Evil & Bitch?  :)  FYI:  Evil was actually an excellent Shiraz.  (We saved the Bitchy Granache for Saturday...it was also pretty good although we admit to letting it get too warm sitting on the dining table on the hottest day of the year.)

For our delicious cheesiness I took the opportunity to make my first visit to a local cheese shop I have been dying to shop at...Charelli's.

Oh.em.geeeee.  Little shop of heaven! Instead of spending a lot of time trying to make decisions on my own I just explained to the girls behind the counter that I wanted some fun cheeses to enjoy with red wine and girl talk.  The only instruction I made was that I would like one cow's milk, one goat's milk, and one sheep's milk.

I left feeling quite confident in their choices!

• Le Dauphin...amazing super creamy double creme brie from France!!!
• Grey Owl...dense, firm goat cheese from Fromagerie La Detour in Quebec.
• Roncal...a Spanish hard, creamy sheep milk cheese.

I may have gone a little overboard with the little "extras" to serve with our cheese feast.  :)  Toasted whole wheat baguette, Raincoast Crisps, fruit and honey, cherry tomatoes, salami and fancy olives.

The fresh fig was interesting but the one's my brother served me were better.  I think this variety is a little less sweet. 

We plowed through that amazing brie with no problem!!  I was pleasantly surprised with the mild flavour and firm texture of the Roncal...and the Grey Owl was tart but deeelish.

 

It was so lovely to spend the night chatting with Cat.  It's actually the first time we've ever just hung out the two of us (usually we are surrounded by an entire blogger gals get together extravaganza!!!) and I look forward to many more visits to come now that we are both on the same coast again!! 

We actually ate our dessert for breakfast on Saturday morning.  :)  Petite Lemon Meringue Pies and Mini Eclairs.  What?  I was going to feed her a chocolate croissant but these were handy right on the kitchen counter!! 

Don't worry, we found a real meal shortly after. ;)