Spanish Manchego with Italian Amarena Cherries

Putting together things to have with cocktails or for when guests come for a simple dinner and we want to have a little something out before the meal, is when I like pairing things with cheese. It is a one-two punch of flavor and ease. That is where Manchego with cherries comes into play. If you can get fresh cherries, then by all means do. The Italian Amarena cherries are fab when you want cherries but they are not in season. The lovely woman from Met Market that helped me at my signing last week chopped up these cherries and had them sitting atop a piece of the cheese. For ease, I like them in a bowl on a pretty plate next to the cheese left whole. I like seeing that it is a whole cherry. The mix of the sweet & tart cherry combined with the mellow sweetness of the Manchego makes for a winning combination. So good! The above photo of the Spanish cheese, with the Italian cherries, on the plate from England, with the knife from France just made me laugh after I posted it. A combo of some of my very favorite places….

We are up early and heading into the city today. I wish all of you just the very best Wednesday.
From Hawthorne,
Ted