Say “Cheeeeese!” Yummy…
We received 3 truly gourmet blocks of cheese in the first shipment of Gourmet Monthly Club’s Cheese of the Month Gift Club. The three varieties included a Vermont Cheddar, Percorino Pepata, and a Spanish Tetilla.
The package arrived nice and snug in an insulated envelope with a reusable ice pack inside a cardboard shipping box.
Each of the blocks of cheese is approximate a half pound, for a total of 1 and a half pounds of cheeses.
The accompanying Tasting Notes suggested using the Spanish Tetilla cheese in recipes that call for a stuffing or melted cheese coating. So we made Chicken Cordon Bleu. It was delicious! We didn’t even need to use a whole lot of the cheese because the flavor was so strong and distinct. It was a perfect choice! And the Tetilla is good to eat plain, too!
The Vermont Cheddar was described as being “creamy, smooth and gentle” as opposed to having a “strong, bitter bite” like many cheddars. They were so right! Such good flavor, still sharp, but not overly so. We have used the cheddar in many ways already… straight up on crackers, melted in scrambled eggs (although in hindsight it’s really too good to be used like that), and crumbled in a salad. Like the Tetilla, a little goes a long way. So you don’t have to use as much as you would a common grocery store variety.
We have not tried the Pecorino Pepata (pepper cheese) yet. It’s the one pictured above. But we look forward to tasting it soon!
This would make a great gift for someone who enjoys high quality, gourmet food and / or cooking. It’s one of my favorites! The cheeses featured in the Gourmet Monthly Club’s “Cheese of the Month Club” are usually varieties you won’t always be able to find easily on your own.
Photos of the newsletter:
For more information or to order, visit the Gourmet Monthly Clubs website.
Blog , Cheese of the Month Club Reviews , Reviews
We just received our first monthly shipment of beer from Amazing Clubs (also the parent company to Flying Noodle). The monthly beer selections included 4 different types of beer from 2 different breweries.
The first brewery, the Shipyard Brewing Company in Portland, Maine, included Prelude Special Ale – a full-bodied ale with a deep amber hue – and Longfellow Winter Ale – a hybrid between a Porter and a Scottish Ale. Both look to be hearty beers.
The second brewery, Sherwood Forest Brewers Limited in Marlborough, Massachusetts, offered the Archer’s Ale – similar to an English Pale Ale – and Maiden’s Blueberry Ale – described as “a colored pale ale with the subtle flavor and aroma of fresh blueberries.” Hmmm… we’re not quite sure what to think about that one, but will find out soon enough!
As you can see, the beer arrived in sturdy packaging and all bottles arrived perfectly in tact.
There is also a 1-page flyer that tells a little about the breweries and each of the beers. It’s nothing fancy – just an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper that looks like it was photocopied (and some of the ink is smeared). The backside just contains sales info.
We have not sampled the beer yet. Will post again once they get nice and cold! Stay tuned…
For more information on this Beer of the Month Club, visit the Amazing Clubs website.
Beer of the Month Club Reviews , Blog , Reviews
Just a quick post today… photos of the cigars received from Gourmet Monthly Clubs’ Cigar of the Month Club. 5 cigars in various sizes and varieties. Comes packaged with a small humidification device to keep the cigars fresh. So we won’t open the package until they are ready to be smoked!
Visit the Gourmet Monthly Clubs website
Packaged in sturdy cardboard cylinder packaging. Delivered via US Postal First Class Mail
Informative newsletter….
Blog , Other Reviews , Reviews
Fresh-cut flowers always brighten my day. And these Flowers from the Gourmet Monthly Clubs “Flower of the Month Club” did just that…
A stunning arrangement of hot pink and pale pink orchids
According to the notes that accompanied these flowers, orchids are a key ingredient in love potions and the Greeks used orchids as an aphrodisiac! In any case, they sure are beautiful.
The flowers were delivered via Fed Ex Priority Overnight. They were packaged nicely in a green flower box.
This delivery contained 5 stems of small hot pink orchids, 1 stem of large pale pink orchids, a generous amount of green leaves for arranging, and 2 packs of food. You can see that each flower has its own watering tube to keep it fresh and moist.
If you send this to someone as a gift, make sure that they have a flower vase on hand (most women do) because these flowers are not shipped with a container. I was a little disappointed to find that several new buds had fallen off the stems. But it didn’t seem to affect the end result.
I had fun arranging the flowers. I prefer using only a few green leaves to keep the focus on the flowers. So I ended up throwing out some of the extra greenery. Even though I’m not the best flower arranger, the end result is stunning! Don’t you agree???
The accompanying newsletter that Gourmet Monthly Clubs provides with all of its Gift of the Month Clubs was high quality and professional as always. They also included a supplement on “How to revive and lengthen the life of your bouquet” that was helpful.
If you want to learn more about this Flower of the Month Club, place an order online, or check out some of their other great monthly gift clubs, visit the Gourmet Monthly Clubs website.
Blog , Other Reviews , Reviews
Today’s review is for one of the most popular Gift of the Month Clubs around… a Wine of the Month Club! We received 2 bottles from Gourmet Monthly Club’s Collector Series, their top-level membership. One bottle is red, and the other is a bottle of champagne!
The red is “Dehesa La Granja Vadillo de la Guarena – Zamora Seleccion 2000″ from Spain. Sounds fancy! And the champagne is “B. Deville-Chevallier Brut – Grand Cru Champagne N.V” from France. Both were very well-packaged and arrived in perfect order.
As always, Gourmet Monthly Clubs includes a high quality, informative newsletter. this edition tells about the monthly wine selections, includes Tasting Notes, Accompaniments, and Recipes. Everything you need to know about your wine selections is in there!
We haven’t opened the wine yet, as we want to save it for a special occasion! But I’ll post again once we’ve had a chance to sip the vino and champagne, and tell you all of our impressions!
The Collector Series costs $78.95 per month. There is a two-month minimum commitment. Featured wine selections in this club retail between $30 and $60 per bottle. This Wine Club reaks of quality and would make a great gift this holiday for someone who appreciates fine wine.
Gourmet Monthly Clubs also offers a Premier Series for about half the price of the Collectors Series ($42.95 per month). Bottles in this club retail between $15 and $25 per bottle. Or you can compare and contrast wine quality by joining the Master Series and receiving one bottle from each of the other two clubs. The Master Series costs $58.95 per month.
Visit Gourmet Monthly Clubs for more information or to join.
Blog , Reviews , Wine of the Month Club Reviews
We tried the “Blind Betty’s HOT Caribbean Concoctions” hot sauce – it was yummy! Spicy, but not uncomfortably hot (and my palette is a bit sensitive!). We added it to rice & beans and it gave it a nice Caribbean flavor. It had a tomato-y base with an intriguing blend of other subtle flavors. Just the right amount – nothing was too overpowering.
I think I’m going to try it out next mixed with a little mayonnaise and use it as a sandwich spread…..
Blog , Reviews , Sauce & Condiment Reviews
Two bottles of Hot Sauce arrived in the mail today. I have not tried them yet, but they appear to be pretty spicy!
Two bottles of red hot sauce
The first is called “Deathwish” and is a red jalepeno sauce. The other is called “Blind Betty’s HOT Caribbean Concoctions” and is a blend of Caribbean spices and flavors. The ingredients are intriguing…. pumpkin, apple juice, tomato juice, carrot, onion, habanero pepper and some other stuff. Doesn’t sound TOO spicy, huh? Guess I’ll find out!
Good packaging – maybe a little excessive for such small items
Newsletter is simple – just an 8.5″ x 11″ black and white paper. One side is about the sauce. The other side is marketing stuff to try and get you to buy more.
I’ll post again once I’ve had a chance to try out the sauces.
Get more information on the Hot Sauce of the Month Club from Flying Noodle / Amazing Clubs.
Blog , Reviews , Sauce & Condiment Reviews
The first official review for FindGiftClubs.com is for the International & Domestic Variety Beer Club from Gourmet Monthly Clubs. It’s always exciting when a package arrives – but even more so when that package contains 12 bottles of domestic and imported BEER!
The shipment arrived secured in impressive packaging to ensure none of the bottles broke during transit.
Sturdy packaging and the newsletter right on top!
Upon closer examination, we discovered four interesting selections of brews…
- Butt Head Bock from the Tommyknocker Brewery in Idaho Springs, Colorado
- Red Rack Ale from the Woodstock Inn Station & Brewery
- Hobgoblin Strong Dark Ale from the Wychwood Brewery in Central South England
- Golden Pheasant – made from 100% barley – straight from the Slovak Republic
What a fabulous assortment of beer we would probably never buy for ourselves from the local liquor store
While we waited for the beer to chill in the fridge, we perused the newsletter to learn a bit more about the tempting beer selections that awaited us. They packed in quite a bit of info into a little newsletter!
All in all, we were impressed with the quality of beer included in our Beer of the Month Club. It would certainly make great gift. Keep it in mind when the holidays arrive and you just can’t think what to get dad, or brother, or boyfriend… or sister… and so on. Anyone who enjoys a cold brew now and then is going to LOVE this special gift!
Get more info and pricing for the International & Domestic Variety Beer Club or check out more great Gift of the Month Clubs from Gourmet Monthly Clubs
Beer of the Month Club Reviews , Blog , Reviews
