A Little Whine and a Lot of Cheese

We entertain a lot and some weeks, it feels like we entertain a lot more than we really do.  Only ten months into our Albanian gig, I'm feeling like we are in a rut when it comes to hosting receptions. It seems like each one has the same menu and same guest list.  So, to kick things up a notch, we decided that for our first April event we would host a wine and cheese themed reception.

It sounded simple enough- or in Glenn's words, we just had to put a bunch of cheese on the table and open a few bottles of wine.  Um, sorry honey. Even the simplest of ideas takes a little more effort.  First, our little shin-dig for 40 was to be held the day after Glenn returned to Albania after being out of the country for a week.  This wouldn't be a big deal if it wasn't for the fact that my only prep time for this event was after Sidney the night owl went down to sleep well after 2100 each evening. 

If I was back in the U.S.- or in any other country in Europe for that matter- putting together a menu would have been a simple enough proposition.  As I should know by now, putting together any event here is a lot more work than it should be.  Albania is the land of "white cheese" - a.k.a. feta with various levels of pungency and two types of wine- vere e bardhe (white) and vere e kuqe (red). That's all folks- those are your local choices. 

People often tell me that I obsess about details but as I always do, I was determined to find just the right combination of food and drink to serve to our guests.  Some of you may have read my post from earlier this week bemoaning the difficulties I encountered when shopping in our local, not-so-friendly Carrefour.  Sticking to my boycott of the store I set about finding the perfect wines to go with the perfect cheeses for our event.  I struck silver- not gold because I couldn't find everything I needed- at Bote e Veres, a local wine warehouse where they know us by name-- or more like they know Sidney by name and recognize Glenn and I as Sidney's parents.  Most of their wines are imported from Italy with a smattering from Chile, the U.S. of A. and South Africa thrown.  With the exception of port  I was able to find everything I needed. (The port was later picked up by my globe trotting husband in a duty-free shop during his layover in Munich).

Part of the cheese spread

A variety of cheeses was harder to come by but in the end I think I did pretty well and didn't serve a single "Albanian white cheese."  I ended up pairing fresh mozzarella and tomato skewers with Chianti, a Gorgonzola and mascarpone torte with port, phyllo wrapped brie with a crisp chardonnay and a Swiss fondue with a Macedonian Riesling.  I paired green olives from Berat with a hard goat cheese Glenn brought back from Vienna and served it with a Sicilian Merlot.  I rounded out the table with a few more wines and simple fruit, crackers, and cheese presentations.  I even dipped into my precious stash of cheddar and pepper jack that had been "imported" from a Maryland Wegman's and the U.S. Embassy in Budapest.

I was a bit nervous going into the evening since after the difficulties I encountered in buying these items, everything suddenly seemed too easy.  I wasn't sure how a simple wine and cheese presentation would be received since this type of event is apparently unheard of in Eastern Europe.  To our surprise, once people got over the fact they could chose between several white and red wines, they really enjoyed themselves.  They enjoyed themselves so much that they ate me out of cheese.  Yes, that's right, for the first time ever there weren't any leftovers and the visions I had had of eating cheese and crackers this weekend was reduced to the cheese crumbles left on picked-clean platters.  That's OK though- within the next month both Glenn and I will be traveling through several countries and we'll be on the lookout for more cheese.

Your Cheese Selection Just Isn't Worth It

Earlier this week I was in Carrefour shopping for one of our upcoming receptions.  I generally dislike grocery shopping and find shopping in Albania tedious at best.  I find grocery stores here to be poorly laid out, selections minimal, and store employees to be unhelpful at best and downright rude at their worst.  But what's a girl to do when she needs to feed her family?  That day I had a long list of foods to purchase, and on that list were several cheese dishes with corresponding wine needs.  Being unsure as to whether or not I would be able to find the exact pairing of wine and cheese, I was meandering through the empty aisles browsing their selections and making notes.  Granted, their selection of both items was not vast but in this town, it is most comprehensive around. 

As I jotted notes in front of the white wine section I was approached by a man who stopped a mere inches away from me and stared.  He was so close that I could smell both his breath and even more pungent body odor. I took a step back and he lunged forward to take my piece of paper from my hand.  If I understood him correctly, he was telling me that I wasn't allowed to write in the store.  In Albanian I told him I was shopping for a large purchase and proceeded to ignore him.  He started yelling something but eventually walked away.

I went about my business making my way over to the cheese case via the meat counter where I made several selections.  As I was looking critically at the cheese selection- which really isn't that impressive- I was approached by another man who stood even closer to me.  This one showed me a store identification badge and proceeded to rudely tell me that I wasn't allowed to write anything down while I was in the store.  At this point I was merely holding my piece of paper and no longer had a pen in my hand.  In Albanian, I told him that I was planning a large party and needed to make sure they had all of the ingredients I was looking for. Inside I was fuming and wondering about the level of "customer service" in the store but I put my best diplomatic skills to the test throughout this conversation. He told me it didn't matter and that he would have to take my paper from me.  Out of principal I refused.  I mean, what harm was my paper that listed possible food combinations for the coming week?  

I usually avoid using the "American" card - and usually I don't have to since I look so obviously American- but the man was persisting.  This time I started by explaining that I was a diplomat with the American Embassy and I was simply shopping.  His whole attitude immediately changed and he switched to a mix of rapid fire Albanian and Italian and told me everything was o.k. or as the Albanians say "shume mire."  He quickly scurried away but in my mind, everything wasn't shume mire.

I was left with a horrible feeling.  In our nine months here, this was the first time I was treated like this.  But my issue isn't just with the way I was treated; rather it is the way customers are treated in general.  I don't know what made me angrier, my initial treatment or the about face change in attitude once he learned that I was an American.  My initial reaction was to abandon my shopping cart right there and leave the store.  The more practical part of me realized that our dinner was in there and Sidney's appetite wouldn't be sated by his mother standing on her principles.  I quickly made my way to the check out with my mind racing.  As I paid for my few groceries I made the decision that I will not be returning to Carrefour anytime soon.  It doesn't matter if it is the most convenient and best stocked grocery store.  In my opinion, a store who treats their customers so rudely doesn't deserve my business.  I will stand by my principles and not give that company any more of my business.  Even if this means I'm regulated to eating nothing but "white cheese" for the next two years.