Charcuterie board at bluezoo (and experimenting with Boulevardier formula)

The day before the meet-up for cocktails in the bluezoo lounge, we went over to nail down Nick’s Boulevardier cocktail. He’s been getting it since back last spring, but there was a lot of variability (that was due to the pursuit of the perfect Boulevardier) and the taste just wasn’t what he wanted.

On the second attempt, bulls-eye! Simple mixture of Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Sweet Vermouth, and Campari.

a photo of Nick’s Boulevardier from the next evening

We also had the charcuterie board while we enjoyed our drinks… this was different from the last charcuterie board we had at bluezoo with Lisa and Andy (sorry, no photos from that visit).

lots of yumminess on this platter

The charcuterie (a year ago, I couldn’t even spell this word consistently!) included: lardon (upper left), rillette (similar to pate, lower left), applesauce (the brown sauce in this general area), toast (center bottom), pigtail terrine with a bit of andouille sausage (lower right), bresaola (upper right), pickled peppers, pickled pear, and a red pepper jam.

a better photo of the right hand side of the platter

Here you can see the andouille sausage in the center of the pigtail terrine – we both liked the brasoala (air dried, salted beef) – it was Nick’s favorite and we both liked the terrine, it benefited from a bit of the red pepper jam.

the little yellow pickled peppers weren’t spicy at all

The little yellow peppers were almost candied tasting but not overly sweet. The pickled pear had a bit of a spicy kick at the end, it had a good tangy crispness that went well with the softer terrine and rillette.

another photo because these photos are pretty good for me using an iPhone

I was able to get a photo of the terrine cut up a bit, the andouille sausage is even more noticeable in this photo.

pig tail terrine with andouille sausage

lardon and rillette with apple butter

The rillette was another hit with both of us, I think it may have been my favorite. The texture was soft and smooth whereas the terrine was chunky and meaty. Nick liked the lardon least of all the items on the charcuterie board… strangely, I love the “pigginess” of the lardon, but a little goes a long way. It was particularly nice on the salty toast with a dab of apple butter.

nora