Gourmet

It sounds like an impossibility, or maybe an enigmatic Zen koan. However, I learned this weekend that you can melt cheese in a fridge. And that knowledge didn't make me happy. Over the weekend, I stayed at a hotel in Montreal while attending TasteCamp, a wine bloggers' conference. Montreal is a great city for food lovers and I spent some time wandering through the stalls of the Jean-Talon Market, a large and compelling food market. While I was there, I purchased a number of different local cheeses from Quebec, including a superb blue cheese. As many people know, good cheese isn't cheap.When I returned to my hotel room, I placed the cheeses into the cool fridge in the room. Which any normal hotel guest might do. Inside that fridge, I also placed some water as well as a bottle of wine. Everything seemed normal until the next afternoon when I opened the fridge to find that it was actually hot inside of it! Hot? Why the hell was it hot inside a fridge?Several of the cheeses had started to melt due to the heat. I immediately contacted the front desk but they were less than helpful. I was told that sometimes when the outer door is closed, the fridge overheats. Though no one ever warned me of that contingency, and there was no warning posted on the fridge. I was also told that the fridges were not meant to keep anything cold. Instead, they were allegedly intended to keep things "fresh." This made no sense to me.The manager was not on duty so I was not able to raise this issue with her. I will have to email her about this issue. Later that evening, the hotel placed a small box of chocolates in my room, as a little way to make me happier over this issue. That was not successful.This episode helps to point out an important issue that arises every summer. Summer is a major time for traveling and food & wine lovers often explore markets, shops, wineries, farms and more. They are likely to purchase various foods and drinks but they still need to transport their purchases home. If such items are just placed in your car, the summer heat could damage or destroy them, and your money will have been wasted. Those valuable items need protection.It is essential to have a cooler and/or insulated bag in your car at all times when you travel. You never know when you might need it. They will keep your food and drink cool and safe during the hot weather. I always travel with both a cooler and insulated bag, and often find use for them in my travels. I would hate to lose a fine bottle of wine or two to the heat while driving home with it from a wine region. I hated to lose some of my Quebec cheese to the heat of the hotel fridge.This summer, don't lose your valuable food and drink. Make sure to keep it properly insulated while traveling. And be wary of hotel fridges. They might not actually keep your items cool like they should. Instead, they might turn into an oven, like the inside of your car on a hot summer day.

Cherry Vanilla Sparkler, a light sake cocktail from Set the Table (Still thirsty? See Liqurious)

The Date and Time: Friday, April 26, 2013 11AM to 4PM The Event: the monthly APVSA tasting (Association pour la promotion des vins et spiritueux en Amerique du Nord). The Venue: Delta Chelsea Inn The Target Audience: wine agents. The Availability/Catalogue: no wines are currently available in Ontario. The group is here to get some agents to agree to rep the principal. Some of the wines are available in Quebec and Alberta. Most of the wines were French, and there is sales staff available to comment on the prices and production. This road show also visits such places as New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Las Vegas, Calgary, Vancouver, Miami, Washington DC, and Montreal. Occasionally, the show will have wines from Italy, Uruguay, Spain and Australia. Sometimes spirits and VDN are also available. The Wines: The problem I had with the wines, and one that must be acknowledged, is that (by and large) they were about the same as wines that we already have here in Ontario. There really did not seem to be any price advantages, either. But these 40 or so wines could be made available through Vintages or Consignment. In the past, quite a few have been picked up for sale in Ontario; these were mostly the good value or unique wines. Here were my faves from today, regardless of FOB cost which must be requested due to competitive pricing. I did not try every wine. Also, it had been two months since I was last at an APVSA tasting (due to my conflicting schedules). The Wines: Prices are FOB **** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms): -Domaine de Font-Sane Gigondas Terrasses des Dentelles 2010, 11.60E -Champagne Pertois Moriset Cuvee Grande Reserve Blanc de Blancs -Champagne Pertois Moriset Cuvee Grande Reserve Blanc de Blancs 2006 -Champagne Pertois Moriset Cuvee Grande Reserve Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs ***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 ? 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms): -Bergerie du Capucin IGP Saint Guilhem Le Desert Val de Montferrand 2011 White, 5.17E -Bergerie du Capucin AOP Languedoc Pic Saint Loup Dame Jeanne 2011 Red, 5.67E -Bergerie du Capucin AOP Languedoc Pic Saint Loup Dame Jeanne 2010 Red, 10.02E -Domaine de Font-Sane Gigondas Tradition 2010, 7.20E -Domaine de Font-Sane Cotes de Ventoux Vieilles Vignes 2011, 3.40E -EARL Maurice Schueller Cremant Alsace 2008, 4.54E -Champagne Pertois Moriset Cuvee Selection -Champagne Pertois Moriset Cuvee Rose -Domaine La Tour des Vidaux Cuvee Farnoux 2009 Cotes de Provence Red, 7.50E *** GOOD -- Three Stars (85 ? 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms): -Bergerie du Capucin AOP Languedoc Pic Saint Loup Dame Jeanne 2012 Rose, 4.40E -Domaine La Tour des Vidaux Cuvee Philothea 2011 Cotes de Provence Red, 3.95E -Domaine La Tour des Vidaux Cuvee Tradition 2010 Cotes de Provence Red, 4.75E The Food: great hot pizzas, went well with the wines, as always. The Contact Person: Pascal p.fernand@apvsa.ca The Marketing Effectiveness/Execution of the Event (numerical grade): 84. Chimo! www.deantudor.com

Orange wedge, grapes. Simply It.

Roast duck curry. Simply It.

Mango beef. Simply It.

Summer rolls spliced with grilled lemongrass pork patties. Simply It.

Corn artichoke hearts scallions and mini dried shrimp. Simply It.

Green papaya and shrimp salad. Simply It.

Simply It for Saturday supper. Mango smoothie