Tarima Monastrell on Maui: A Gourmet Cheese Shop's Wonder Wine

If you've been a customer of Guava Gouda and Caviar for any length of time, you probably already know that we are especially fond of Spain and it's Culinary offerings,  the wine of Spain especially.  In recent years,  there's been an extraordinary amount of a new wine on the shelves.  Not new in that it's just been discovered, but new in that it has until now, not made it to the shelves of the commercial markets here in the USA, at least not with any popularity.  The Monastell grape, is not only difficult to grow, but it's yields are inconsistent and therefore difficult to rely on. Despite the challenges,  winemakers are constantly discovering ways to improve blending and production and the Taramina is an example of how these winemakers are able to create delicious wine at unbelievable prices.  The Taramina is a big wine, without the big price. It is generous and hearty and the tannins are controlled and come off the palate with soft intention. The subtle complexities in the wine make it enjoyable over dinner or as a cocktail.  We recommend decanting and swirling and getting the most out every drop. 

Deviled Eggs

Hard boiled eggs left over from Sunday?  You probably already thought of this, but did you consider a little touch of fresh goat cheese to replace the mayo?  We recommend our house favorite, Laura Chenel!  Smooth, creamy richness with fewer calories than mayonnaise, and if it's store bought, a lot fewer additives.  Regardless of the health benefits, it's a wonderful little secret ingredient that your family will happy to discover without feeling like their missing out.  Keep it all white with Sea salt, and white pepper.  Garnish with little chive sticks, not too big as the perfect length is a size that can fit into one bite.  We dare you try this with a sprinkle of the truffles salt in place of the plain sea salt.  It's a show stopper.  And you thought they were just ordinary deviled eggs.  

Sea Salt and Truffles on Maui?

No, neither of the two ingredients come from Maui.  But at Guava Gouda and Caviar, we felt it was necessary to bring it in.  There doesn't seem to be an awful lot to comment on about this product other than it's just simply the best little treasure in our pantry.  The picture pretty much says all it needs to say:  Truffles!  Salt!  Made by the Sabatini family in Umbria, this product is a secret weapon of weapons for those unexpected dinner guests or that pot luck that your boss is throwing.  Well, your boss, your boyfriend, your in-laws, anybody you might want to impress. Suggestions for consumption?  What, the  tip of your finger doesn't sound appetizing?  Follow your instincts.  Any root vegetable,  squash, potatoes, fried baked or smother with cheese, eggs, popcorn, corn on the cobb, sautéed mushrooms, risotto, pasta with cream sauce, roasted chicken, and mac and cheese.  Turn even the simplest dishes into pure Luxury.  Every couple of weeks we make our gourmet mac and cheese over in the Cheese Shop.  It is sold by the pound and makes a special occasion our running late and not having time to make dinner.  Add this little beauty and you'll be forgiven instantly. 

Cohn Creek Anthology: A Cabernet Loved by all @ Guava Gouda and Caviar

Did you know that the word "Napa" is actually a Native American word meaning, plenty? Well for today's modern wine world I understand the implication completely, however, it is a bit bewildering, wondering what may have been wandering, on leg or root, through those hills and valleys some 300 years ago?  Whoever they were and whatever they were doing, I doubt they were sipping on any juice with the power and prestige that the Anthology has to offer.  Anthology, is a Greek word, and whenever I hear, read, or recite the words, "is a Greek word,"  I hear the dad from My Big Fat Greek Wedding explaining all things Greek, and how "there are only two kinds people in the world, Greeks, and those people that want to be Greek."  Well, falling into neither of those categories, just leaves me a fan of the word, Anthology: meaning a collection of literary or artistic work, and that is the inspiration behind the wine. No, not the Greeks, for I doubt there is any wine produced in Greece with the ability to display such rich lively complexity on the palate as this Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend -  it's so American!  An American Anthology of the best grapes grown in the Napa Valley.  Have yourself a spiritual experience discussing this wine, its inspirations, and its place in today's wine drinking world;  make it even more passionate, and do it with a sexy Greek with a thick accent!  Delicious. Did we mention, we mention at Guava Gouda and Caviar we are especially fond of Greek accents?  Well any accent, actually. 

Irish Blue Cashel Cheese: A True Blue

A House favorite for sure.  Making it's way all the from Ireland to Maui is testament to it's brawn and even further still onto the "top shelf" of the Guava Gouda And Caviar Gourmet Cheese case to it's unwavering beauty.  Made in a small town, by a passionate family with traditional and all natural ingredients it's qualities are harmonious yet individually distinctive.  The body is rich and creamy and memorable.  The marbling adds a minerally effervescence that subtly tingles your tongue and lifts some the weight of the buttery cream off your palate.  We recommend it Hearty Beers and Fortified Wines.  Some local options include Maui Brewery's Coconut Porter and from the Hills of Haleakala, The Tedeschi winery's Raspberry Dessert Wine.  Although the cheese comes from a far off land, it is welcomed warmly by Maui made products and Irish alike.

A Perfect Maui Wine: For the Perfect Gourmet Cheese Shop

This wine, with a bright pale gold colour, is notable for its strong bouquet of wild flowers, honey and musk, with hints of creamy almonds. The wine has a medium sweet flavour, very soft, but fresh and lively with a gentle aftertaste of ripe fruit.  The finish is dry yet pleasant. Called, "sole d’Italia in bottiglia” (“Italian sun in a bottle”),Orvieto is a very ancient wine produced in a very high rocky landscape and over the century has become one of the worldwide symbols of Orvieto. Bigi’s Orvieto, today in the unmistakeable specially designed “Gaudy” bottle, represents the cellar’s flagship wine, which is considered one of its most prestigious products. The grapes are Trebbiano Toscano (locally called Procanico), Verdello, Grechetto, Malvasia Toscana and Drupeggia and are probably the oldest oenological expression of Orvieto available today.  We pour this wine in the Wine Tasting Bar on many warm nights here on Maui.  It is a lovely wine to pair with gourmet cheese and perfect for the beach or a barbecue, the lanai, or an Italian Feast.  The Cheese Shop has many cheeses that pair perfectly, we recommend the italians,  Robiola, Reggiano, and any Italian Goat Cheese.  

Global Cheese Offering on Maui: The List Goes On!

Limburger Cheese on Maui?  You betcha!

It's associated with many things, but it's origin takes us to modern day Belgium, Germany and Netherlands.  It is a cows milk cheese that we love to spread on dark bread and even better with a burger - A Limburger Burger with dark mustard!  Cornichon on the side and you'll be transported to another place and time.  The cheese is known for being on the stinky side and is often compared to the scent of body or foot odor.  Not surprising since the bacteria used to ferment this cheese is the same on found in human skin, Brevibacterium.  Okay, so it probably doesn't sound like the sexiest cheese, but is most definitely one of our more "manly" cheeses.

Sottocenere: Becoming a Maui Holiday Classic

Italian Cows provide the milk for this memorable and decadent cheese 

that we always carry during the holiday months of the Year!

The rind is a finely ground layer of 12 spices, including truffles, 

and the fleshy body is tickled with truffle shavings throughout. 

Don't let this one slip by you if ever confronted with it's delicious smile.

"La Tur:"  Another reason Italians love to Boast

We wish we had this cheese in the case at all times.  The flavor is like no other and neither is it's texture-we especially love the firm but soft center and powdery dry yet damp exterior (it ages from the outside in).  Check out our Facebook page and know when we have this handsome cheese available.  He travels a long way to get here, not unlike many of it's fellow cheese case vacationers, and we are always so pleased he makes it the distance, all the way to Maui, most times unscathed. 

A Simple Wine & Cheese Pairing on Maui!

Wine & Cheese Tasting at Stuey's Wine Bar or @ Home!

One of the most fabulous features at Guava Gouda & Caviar in Wailea is the fact that we have Stuey's Wine Tasting Bar right next door;  allowing for sampling of the most gourmet products available on Maui.  Pictured above is a very cool cheese board made by Boska.  It is approximately 10 inches x 5 inches, however, it is available in various other sizes.  We love the simplicity of the natural look which works in casual and elegant environments both in and outdoors.  Sometimes it's just two or three simple ingredients that when combined not only look amazing but satisfy even the most discriminately palate.  Carol Shelton makes amazing wines including a house favorite loved by all, the "Wild Thing" Old Vine Zinfandel from Mendocino County.  We've paired it with another house favorite, "La Tur."  La Tur, from Italy is a very complex cheese that offers layers of earth, mushroom, cream and woodsy notes.  Made from the milk of all three animal milks, cow, goat and sheep, it's no wonder it's got so much goodness going on.  The fruit from the Old Vines is a delicate yet generous offering of dark berries that perfectly blends together into an almost savory berry cheesecake of sorts.  Perfect for before, or after a meal, and for some,  as a meal.  Even on Maui, in the most remote destination in the world, you can treat yourself and your loved ones to The best Wine and Cheese tastings available across the globe. 

Pumpkin Shaped Cheese Ball!

Pumpkin Shaped Cheese Ball!

.50 # Fresh Goat Cheese

.25 # grated Mimolette

.25 # Grated Cheddar or Gouda

2 cloves of Minced Fresh Garlic

1/2 tsp. fresh Thyme leaves

Place in Food Processor and Pulse until desired consistency.  Remove and Form.  After chilling for about an Hour, use a knife to cut the ridges.  Garnish with toasted Pumpkin Seeds. 

Carrots look and taste great too.  Try slicing the carrots diagonally like long chips for spreading cheese on.

Maui's Best Cheese Shop Pairing

Figs stufffed with Goat Cheese and Proscuitto, baked and served with toasted pistachios! 

The Head of a Monk: Tete de Moines

Traditionally made with only summers milk the translation of this cheeses name is "Head of Monk."  Made for over 800 years at the Abbey de Bellalay, it a Swiss Cheese through and through.  Although a somewhat smaller wheel of cheese compared to its fellow country cheeses, don't let it's small size trick you into thinking he's a cute and milk little baby of a cheese.  He is not!  More like a dirty little devil.  The Griolle, was invented for this cheese in mind, allowing the cheese to be shaved in a circular motion as apposed to with a knife right across the top.  This added effort in the preparation and slicing has a purpose:  it actually accentuates the aroma and flavor of the cheese.  Similar to swirling wine, the Griolle does just that for this cheese.  You may have noticed one of this handy little contraptions on the cheese case - if not, check it out next time your in.  Request a sample of the Tete de Moine, right off the Griolle and have a fast of the old world in Switzerland.  Strong, Meaty, Salty, Earthy, Fruity Flippin Deliciouslness.  Serve with dried cherries and an aged Gewerztraminer!  And don't be sissy -  this rind is edible. 

Chef Gerard's Pork Rillette

Malama Farms in Haiku raises these gorgeous tropical fruit fed Bershire pigs.  So what does Gerard's French Restaurant in Lahaina and Malama Farms have in common!  The love of a big fat well fed Bershire pig! Gerard selects his own pig; and we do mean piggy wiggly while it's still squirming and squealing.  He later, after blessing this Godly being, reduces the whole pig to the finest charcuterie one can imagine!

Gerard's reputation alone sells these products..He has owend and
chefed in his fine French restaurant in Lahaina at the Plantation Inn
in the heart of Lahaina for over 30 years.

Pate of pork and pork liver...this country style pate will melt your heart!
Rillette: If you like Kalua pork, this will rock your world! The top
is sealed with rendered pork fat. This is to keep the product from
turning gray with oxidation,which it will still taste wonderful, just
not as pretty, pork pink! Pork belly reduced in a stock of leeks,
carrots, onions, garlic and parsley. The whole pig is simmered and
reduced in this fashion.

A Zinfandel that Snuggles Up to Maui's Best Gourmet Cheese Shop

This masculine zinfandel is a choice for any dinner table this holiday!  The Contra Costa Valley, a warm sunny region in the northern part of the central coast of California, is known for it's ability to birth generous and complex Zinfandel.  Neyers has expressed this special place brilliantly.  For you Zin lovers that adore the big black fruit, you will pleased with ripe lively blackberry bursting in your mouth.  But you won't be too overwhelmed because there's a nice minerality up front filtering the fruity and giving of floral and herb notes.  You'll definitely be ready for a second breath of this big boy!  

Holiday Cheese Plates

It's holiday time and party time and short on 'time' time.  

Well the answer to winning dishes at pot luck parties is not a dish, it's a platter!  

Don't re-invent the wheel or spend hours shopping, schlepping, prepping, doing dishes, cooking and cleaning, just head on down to your local cheese monger, if you're on Maui, that would be Guava Gouda & Caviar, and have them cut a slice of a few great cheeses.  Maui Cheese was limited to grocery market cheese until this last decade;  and now Cheese on Maui, is basically cheese from all over the world.  We like to recommend at least all three animals - cow, goat and sheep.   Try to pick cheese from  three different countries, so lets say cow from France, Sheep from Spain, and Goat from the USA!  

Now make sure you have three textures, creamy, soft, and aged, or somewhere in the middle of each. 

You can't go wrong with cheese.  It's a no-brainer.  

Gift Baskets on Maui

We've been making Gift Baskets for over a decade and have discovered the beauty of simplicity!  Although we have many gift basket ideas that are pre-designed for your convenience, we also offer a great service with Custom Gift Basket Ideas.  They are very easy to put together;  you can design your own in the shop in a matter of minutes - we have everything you need.  What a great gift for the "Gourmand"  in your circles of friends.  You know the one!  The one that has everything and knows everything already.  We are here to assist you in putting together specialty items that are sure to blow them away.  Over 100 wines to choose from,  a top shelf collection of fine spirits, obscure liquors and dessert wines from all over the world, cheese that can't be found anywhere else on the island and all the necessary accoutrements.  Guava Gouda & Caviar prides itself on offering quality gift baskets to suit any budget.  And, we deliver to most of the island of Maui and offer overnight shipping throughout the Hawaiian Islands!

Unreal Housewives of Wailea: Gorganzola Bread Pudding

Nancy’s Gorganzola Bread Pudding

2 Tbs. Olive Oil

2 Red Onions Chopped

1 Cup Red wine

1 Tbs. Fresh Thyme – minced

1 One pound loaf of good bread – cut into 1/3 inch slices

4 eggs

4 cups whole milk or cream

8 oz. Gorgonzola, crumbled

salt and pepper to taste

In a large sauté pan, sauté onions in olive oil until beginning to brown.

Add Wine and and cook until all liquid is evaporated.

Stir in Fresh Thyme.

In a large bowl, beat eggs.

Add milk, salt and peper.

In an 8x14 casserole dish, cover bottom with 1 layer of bread

Sprinkle ½ of Gorgonzola and 1@ of onion mixture over bread.

Repaeat. 

Pour egg mixture over the bread layers and press down with hands to allow top layer absorbe liquid.

Sit for 4 hours min.  better over night.

Bake for 45 minutes – and hour, until brown on top

Rest 10-20 minutes before serving

Serves 10-12

It's Pink, But it's not Guava

Zardetto Vino Spumante Rose NV

Guava Gouda and Caviar is always on the look out for wines that fit your budget and the Maui Climate.  All of the Wines are available to Taste at our Wine Tasting Bar, the only one in Wailea, pretty much nightly.  We are partial to bubbles and big reds and this little bubbly makes us bubbly with cheer!  Refreshing Ripe Strawberries bursting with Bubbles from the Veneto in Italy.  We love this casually elegant  Sparkler because it is perfect for a warm holiday afternoon.  Whether it's a late breakfast, lunch, early dinner, sunset, or night cap, These bubbles are somehow alway feeling appropriate, fun, romantic and delicious!  Even if you didn't come to Maui to get married, some pink bubbles might be just what the doctor ordered.  

Gourmet Cheese On Maui?

Yes, in fact, we are Maui's only Gourmet Cheese Shop.  We are proud to offer the widest selection of Cheese on the island.  We also offer Maui's only World Class Wine Tasting Bar on the island.  Conveniently located right next door to the Cheese Shop, Stuey's Wine Tasting Bar offers Wines from all around the world and have Regional cheese from all around the world to pair with.

Super Fresh Little Video Clip by HackRabbit

Click on the  Pic or on the link below for a little tour!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX-
M3r0tSoQ&feature=youtu.be