A Night In France

Tonight we went to Paris for a light repast of fruit and cheese. The streetlamps flickered on and glowed on cobblestone streets as a cool breeze blew down the Seine. The peaceful evening scene was broken only by the muted sounds of laughter and the clink of crystal and china. Shadow and light danced over the water as I waved at the Barefoot Contessa strolling over the bridge on Jeffrey's arm. I turned back to the pastry menu, trying to decide which delicate offering to succomb to....MOMMY!!!.....
O.K., so I wasn't really in Paris, I was at Whole Foods trying to collect the ingredients for a simple but satisfying supper. There is nothing better than sitting down to fresh fruit and a variety of cheese. Something about the meal slows you down for just a little while and says, "enjoy". Tonight's supper consisted of fresh strawberries, sweet pineapple, crunchy Gala apples, Pacific Rose apples, juicy cantaloupe, and perfect grapes. Don't waste your money on the Pacific Rose apples unless you like their neat rosy coloring. In my opinion, they are just glorified Red Delicious, and nothing to write home about. All of the other fruit "hit the spot". There is no comparison to fresh fruit in the spring.
I absolutely love going to a bountiful cheese counter and choosing new flavors and textures to try. You can never go wrong with a good brie. Tonight we tried the Brie Metropolitan 70%. All of the cheeses we tried tonight were cow's milk cheeses and the other offerings were: Cheddar Tintern with shallots and chives,Petit Asour, Robusto, Hirtenkase, Chimay Grand Cru, and Amadeus.
The cheddar Tintern I will buy again and use in a meat or pasta dish, as the flavor was very good, but strong. The Robust and Hirtenkase were harder cheeses with a much stronger flavor, and I really did not enjoy the Hirtenkase. The Petit Asour and Amadeus were very good choices for a cheese plate, but I doubt I will pick up the Chimay again, as the texture mirrored the brie, but I gleaned absolutely no flavor from it.
When you are in Whole Foods, pick up some dips or soup by Epiri Foods. The tzatziki dip was to die for, and the kids downed it with pita chips. The dips had been made that morning, and I have never had tzatziki so fresh--there is absolutely no other way to eat it! Mr. Epiri himself was serving samples also of his white bean soup, an absolutely delicious Latvian dish that has no gluten or several-other-nasty-things in it. Overall, we had a very fresh and satisfying meal, and one which I intend to repeat soon.
So what country shall we visit next week for dinner?