Wine & cheese represent heavenly combo

We all know how well wine and cheese get along. It’s a match made in culinary heaven. Served along with chunks of hearty bread or crackers and perhaps fruit, it’s an easy way to entertain, end an evening of bridge or watch a big game on television.

Now the Fiscalini people in California, with a 300-year background of Swiss dairy tradition, have joined wine and cheese in a blissful marriage in their Purple Moon. This is a 6-month-old cheddar soaked for 24 to 48 hours in California Cabernet Sauvignon so that the delicate cheddar takes on a whole new character — a deep purple coating blanketing a creamy interior. While it’s delectable eaten as is, its full glory is brought out with a little heat, as in a grilled sandwich or topping a baked dish.

Today we have a quesadilla created by the Diamondback Grill in Sonora, Calif., that in itself is a hunger pleaser, but may be served with a tossed green salad, guacamole or sour cream. In our second recipe, Grilled Portabella caps are topped with a slice of Purple Moon spread with pesto.

PURPLE MOON AND MUSHROOM QUESADILLA

2 pounds fresh, sliced mushrooms

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 large tortillas (traditional, sun-dried tomato or whole wheat)

1 cup grated Fiscalini Purple Moon Cheddar Cheese

In large skillet, sauté mushrooms with garlic until most of the water from mushrooms evaporates. Season with salt and pepper; keep warm. Warm tortillas on griddle or in a pan, being careful not to dry them out.

Divide mushroom mixture and cheese evenly between tortillas. Fold in half. Serve with salad of fresh greens. If desired, pass salsa, guacamole and sour cream. Serves 4.

GRILLED PORTABELLA WITH PURPLE MOON AND PESTO

Extra-virgin olive oil (for brushing)

4 large Portabella caps

4 thick slices of Fiscalini Purple Moon Cheddar Cheese

Rosemary foccacia bread

1/4 cup homemade or store-bought pesto

Green leaf lettuce

Sliced tomatoes

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Brush Portabella caps with olive oil and grill or broil, cap side down, until well-browned and flesh is no longer firm. Turn mushrooms over; place cheese slice over each cap. When cheese begins to melt, remove Portabella caps and toast foccacia on grill until warm. Divide pesto between caps, spreading over cheese. Layer with lettuce and tomato on foccacia to serve.