Skincare, Mocha Supremacy, and Rom Com-Inspired Cheese Pairings ft. Anne-Marie Pietersma
Something for everyone, no?
Good evening, readers. We’re back in your inboxes to deliver some of-the-moment pairings, food and otherwise. But more importantly, we’ve got a special guest in the house. This week, we’re graced with the presence of longtime friend-of-the-newsletter Anne-Marie Pietersma. She’s a bi-coastal actor, writer, Certified Cheese Professional®, and founder of Trust Your Taste: an events, education, and entertainment company on a mission to create space for everyone to be more in touch with their (literal and conceptual) sense of taste through great cheese and even better conversation. She’s also the author the incredible and upcoming I’ll Have What Cheese Having: A Book of Cheese Pairings Inspired by Romantic Comedies, which you can pre-order here. We’re offering a sneak-peek inside the book in this letter, and if you’re NYC-based, we highly recommend hitting up the launch party (register here!) on Saturday, May 17th. And because we love you, you can use code CREAMLINE to get 15% off tickets.
Let’s get into it.
Part I: Taylore’s Pairings
A Sample Sale Victory + Happy Hour: A colleague asked me to scope out the Kule archive sale a couple blocks from my place, so Stephen and I browsed on our way to grab drinks. He found three good shirts and I ended up with two solid staples: a striped long-sleeve tee and a flared, brown maxi dress. To celebrate, we headed straight to Grand Army for oysters, shrimp cocktail, and some cocktails off the bar’s new and fun-as-fuck MTA-themed menu. We opted for the deliciously savory Dirty Dog Martini and the Rockaway Ferry, a frozen, fuchsia delight boasting a house rum blend, mango, Chamoy, tamarind, pasilla chili, and an optional-but-encouraged Malibu & Aperol float. We also ended up throwing back both of the bar’s dueling interpretations of a classic handshake shot, the M&M: the Local (a straight-forward but elevated take) and the Express (smokier, hotter, and pleasantly dangerous).
Korres Lip Butter Stick in Mediterranean Grape + Ami Colé Lip Treatment Oil in Romance: This is the comfiest summer lip duo imaginable. The products can obviously be worn solo to lovely effect—the balm imparts hydration and a kiss of rosy brown while the oil glides on as a glossy berry tint—but layered, they create this natural, versatile flush. As cliché as it sounds, the combo (on me, at least) reads as “your lips, but better.”
El Dorado 12 + an Applesauce Sundae: Everything on the menu at Red Hook’s new darling, Cafe Kestrel, hugs the soul. The sneaky-excellent gem salad with Red Rock cheddar and walnut praline or the black pepper-studded mac and cheese alone could turn a shitty day around. But on a recent rainy Friday, I stopped in and found my new favorite treat in all of Brooklyn: their take on schwedeneisbecher, a German sundae. I’m no applesauce freak on a normal day, but Kestral’s—which is spooned into a glass with vanilla ice cream and a mound of whipped cream then garnished with a crunchy stroopwafel—has made me a believer. Paired with a finger of my favorite sipping rum, the vanilla-and-spice-forward El Dorado 12, this whimsical shit lasted mere minutes once it hit the table. I can’t and won’t shut up about it.
A Dialed A.M. Skincare Routine + A Dialed P.M. Skincare Routine: My complexion has been on its best behavior lately, and after close examination, I’m chalking that up to decent weather and some harmonious medicine cabinet swaps over the past couple months. As for my morning routine, a new combo of StriVectin Peptide Plump Line-Filling Serum and Tula’s new 24-7 Moisture Hydrating Day Cream with SPF 30 has made my skin appear bouncier, less redness-prone, and smoother under my foundation. And in the evenings, working Dr. Diamond’s Metacine Night Cream in with the line’s other products seems to be keeping my complexion wildly happy overnight. It’s rare to find a retinoid product that doesn’t piss my face off, but this one has actually lived up to its promise to be gentle enough for nightly use.
Part II: Christine’s Pairings
Comté and Fucking Anything: Is it because this is the most popular cheese in France and I half-wish I were Parisian? Is it because it tastes like steamed milk and a hug? Is it because people tend to write it off and I get to judge them for not being willing to pay attention to cheese that’s quiet but profound? Who knows! But Comté is my favorite cheese and there are very few things it does not go with. Chocolate, potato chips, a quick scrambled egg situation, coffee, honestly whatever.
A Hot Cup of Earl Grey and Morning Light: My new apartment has bay windows overlooking the street and I love curling up in an armchair with some bergamot steam first thing as the sun starts to make its way into the room. Magical!
Diet Coke and Fresh Lime Over Lots of Ice: Or technically, as my friend Lucy pointed out, a diet virgin Cuba Libre. Whatever you want to call it, it’s delicious and refreshing. In harsh times, we need more silly treats, and Diet Coke is perhaps the silliest of treats.
Coffee and Chocolate: I know mochas are kind of old news, arguably having hit their peak 20 years ago. But part of the reason we consider them old news is because the market has been oversaturated with extremely mediocre versions of this magical combination. If you’re using good coffee (brewed on the stronger side—I like a moka pot for this), milk from humanely-raised cows who had access to pasture (resulting in a silkier texture and a grassier flavor), and a proper drinking chocolate (this is my favorite, though it’s currently out of stock ), you’re not actually sweetening your coffee that much just adding richness and dimension. One of my favorite treats these days.
On Being and a Long Plane Ride: On Being is my favorite podcast, featuring long-form conversations on what it means to be a human and how to make a good life for ourselves and each other. As a bonus, the host’s voice is soooo soothing, so it sets me up for a nice little plane nap.
Part III: I’ll Have What Anne-Marie Pietersma’s Having
CC: Anne-Marie and I met in the cheese world and have been friends for years. We even had a cheese podcast together before the pandemic hit, ten episodes of chatty cheese education.
I knew her new book was going to be good, but it’s SO good. A delightful and cozy read, it also happens to include tons of information on cheese, booze, and movies plus little windows into her life. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Here, in Anne-Marie’s words, is the touching inspiration for the book along with three of her curated pairings.
AP: My mother had me when she was 45. So it makes sense that on the rare occasion we found ourselves curled up on the couch with a blanket and a carefully selected mug of tea or warm milk, we would watch rom-coms, especially Nancy Meyers movies. There has been a great benefit in growing up in worlds built by legends like Nancy Meyers. Most of her films feature a smart, funny, gorgeous leading lady who is 40+ years old, and embarking on something new, exciting, and at least a little chaotic.
These films feel like home to me.
From a very young age, and even as a teenager, these characters were my role models. They were my Disney princesses. I didn’t want to be Cinderella, I wanted to be Erica Barry in “Something’s Gotta Give.” I aspired to be as witty as these women, dress as cozy and somehow effortlessly chic as them, and be as self-reflective as them—even in the middle of a mental breakdown (this, I am getting good at). They had full lives, but were just getting started, and always finding some form of new love. These are my favorite kind of love stories.
After all, the first love story I ever witnessed featured a smart, funny, and gorgeous woman over 40—my mother—a life-long learner and always embarking on something new and exciting.
Pairing #1: What Women Want (Quadrello di Bufala + Hot Honey)
Though the honey pairing is a nod to the chaotic scene where Mel Gibson's character waxes his legs, this pairing is really about Helen Hunt's character, Darcy. Darcy is known as the cold monster woman of the ad world, she immediately puts people (men) off in a professional setting just by existing. Washed rinds are known as the stinky cheese family, and the initial odor can sometimes offend the nose. Because of this, many people don't give washed rinds a chance, which is a shame, because underneath the funky exterior lies an incredible creamy rich texture, and a symphony of nuanced, complex, beautifully umami flavor.
Pairing #2: The First Wives Club (St. Stephen + Champagne)
The First Wives Club has been my favorite movie since I was 10, which probably tells you more about me than you'd ever need to know. Since this is Creamline, I had to include the pairing that really celebrates the three layers of a soft surface-ripened cheese.
A perfectly ripe St. Stephen is a great example of showing the rind, paste, and creamline of a cheese. Because my brain works the way it does, these three white and off-white layers immediately remind me of the three white and cream colored outfits worn in the iconic "You Don't Own Me" finale scene of the film. The firm white rind is Goldie Hawn’s (probably) leather pantsuit, the paste is Diane Keaton's more structured set, and the creamline is Bette Middler's creamy flowy skirt and jacket.
And finally, my favorite…
Pairing #3: The Parent Trap (Colston Bassett Stilton + Golden Oreos)
This pairing seems like the most complex, but really is the most simple. It's something SO English with something SO American that probably shouldn't work...but when they're together something really unexpected, silly, and beautiful happens.
I'm pretty obsessed with sensory storytelling, and since you Christine and Taylore are part of the reason for my fragrance obsession, it's worth noting that I created two fragrances that go along with the book. (Trying to justify my obsession by making it a part of my current projects? Me? Never). At the launch party on May 17th, there will be a chance to win a book, some swag to help you have your own rom-com and cheese night, and a choice of either fragrance.
One is called CA Kitchen, inspired by the brilliance of a Nancy Meyer's kitchen, and my own nostalgia for my home state. Smells like overflowing bowls of citrus, a cake stand full of pastries, and a warm wood butcher block.
The other is called Knoll, inspired by the dreamy Parker Knoll Vineyard in The Parent Trap. Smells like horseback riding through the vineyard, a bottle of his special reserve label, and moonlight swims...with a touch of Chessy's chocolate chip pancakes in the distance.
 | A guest post by
|