Shop ALDI For Your Holiday Party

 Last weekend, I had an intimate little Christmas party.  Okay, so maybe "party" is not the right word since it was just myself and a very special friend of mine.  I served some simple foods that paired well with wine, all courtesy of my local ALDI grocery store. 

It had been a while since I had shopped at ALDI, and I honestly had no idea they had such a wide selection of wines, all very reasonable priced.  In fact, everything they sell is reasonable priced at almost 50% less than traditional supermarkets. I got four different bottles of wine, totaling about $24. Since I am not normally a big drinker, I was a little clueless when it came to picking out the wines I wanted.  The manager of the store heard me talking to myself and came over to help me find the selections I needed.  She was awesome!  She even walked around the store with me as I selected the rest of my purchases.  I was very impressed with the customer service I received.  The only drawback was that I forgot that they do not bag your groceries, so I had to purchase a reusable shopping bag to bring my things home in.  It was only $1, and I can use it again the next time I shop there (or anywhere else!), so it was worth it.  

My favorite wine was the Gonfalone Chianti, and I served it with cheese and crackers.  I used a recipe ALDI supplied for a Baked Brie, and I can not tell you how delicious it was.  It was so simple to make, too. 

ALDI Baked Brie with Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
1 wheel edenVale Brie Cheese
1/2 cup Southern Grove Dried Cranberries
1 cup Burlwood Cellars Chardonnay
1/2 cup Berryhill Blackberry Fruit Spread

Directions:
 1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Place unwrapped brie on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Heat in oven 12-15 minutes or until brie is warmed through and soft to the touch.

2.  Meanwhile, bring dried cranberries and white wine to a boil in a small saucepan.  Add fruit spread, reduce heat to medium high and simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring often.. Sauce is ready when liquid has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.

3.  To serve, pour over warm brie.  Can be eaten alone or spread on crackers.

The final result:

Okay, so maybe it doesn't look as good as it tasted, but trust me when I tell you it was delicious!  I served it with ALDI's Savoritz Entertainment Crackers - Six Cracker Assortment.  I plan on making it again the next time I have guests over.

I am big on desserts, so I also bought a Belmont Premium Cheesecake Sampler and paired that with the Chaza Moscato, as ALDI suggested.

This was my friend's favorite wine. I liked it, too. In fact, we finished off this entire bottle! I am a huge cheesecake fan, and I can say without question that this cheesecake was awesome.  I especially liked the turtle slices.  The raspberry was great, too.

ALDI has so many great selections when it comes to party food, and this time of year, we are all either having our own or attending friends and families Christmas parties.  You can look like a rock star if you hit up ALDI first and arm yourself with some of their wines.  Just don't forget to pick up all the goodies they offer that pair with the wine so well.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of ALDI and received a gift certificate to facilitate my review