Columbus Salami, Columbus Day

In honor of Columbus Day today, I thought I'd post my recap of our recent salami tasting party, which was generously sponsored by Columbus Salame!  Now, I am a huge Columbus Salame fan.  I love their salami, their prosciutto, their pancetta...even their lunch meats.  They're a Bay Area company, which makes me feel good about supporting them, though I'd been buying their products long before moving up here.

The kind folks at Columbus sent me six different types of salami to review, and we decided to host our salami tasting party in conjunction with our housewarming party (and a Cal football watching party).  Fun for all!

So much salami!
You can see the tasting guides, pens, and adorable
Columbus cutting board in the background :)
Not pictured: Columbus tote bags

Everyone had a great time tasting the salami, and reading about the differences between salume and salame in the tasting guides!  A brief review, based on feedback from the group:

Chorizo Casero: Not as spicy as we'd expected from a chorizo, but it had a pleasant, smoky chorizo flavor. 

Soprasetta: Slightly oily, I think this is the fattiest of the selections?  It is mighty tasty, with a hint of fennel. 

Cajun Salame: This was the spiciest of all, with a surprising kick that hits you towards the end of the bite. One of my favorites, because it's quite different. 

Pepper Salame: This was also a bit spicy, but more peppery really (perhaps because it's coated in black peppercorn? maybe?).   

Herb Salame: One of the messiest, but also one of the most delicious. The herb salame is coated in a lovely herb mixture, which yes, gets all over your hands, but it's so worth it. 

Italian Dry Salame: The basic salame, though some thought it wasn't dry enough. I don't mind my salami a little wetter, so I had no problem with its texture.  Mild, yet rich, it's just your classic salam.  :)

We pre-sliced half for easy grab-n-go tasting.

We got through just about half of the salame at the party, and Will and I have been enjoying our leftovers quite a lot.  Chopping it into salads, mixing it into breakfast (both alongside fried eggs and in scrambles), and we took a full log up to Tahoe when we drove up to look at venues -- it's a great car snack as long as you have a sharp knife and something to cut on.

Gratuitous salame closeup by Suki

The party was a great success, and a fantastic way to warm our new house!  Thanks, Columbus, for the tasty housewarming gift!

Will says this could be a stock photo for
Columbus. I agree. Thanks, Suki, for the
cool photo (and thanks, Dana, for not
being mad that I posted a picture of you
eating :) 

And because it was damn good, and I'm proud of the design,
I present to you...Script Cal Peanut Butter Snickers Pie.
Sadly, it did not help the Bears beat the Huskies that day.

Oh, you're still here?  You're still reading? Well, lucky you, you get to find out about the giveaway!  That's right, because they are super nice, Columbus is going to send a selection of 3 salamis to one of you lucky readers! 

To Enter:

• Comment on this post and tell me what kind of salami you would like to try.
• Comment on this post to tell me where around the internet you've shared this (twitter? facebook? your blog?  leave one comment for each place)

That's it!  So easy!  :)

I'll choose a winner on Sunday 10/16 - contest remains open until 11:59pm on Saturday 10/15.


You can also visit their Facebook page for a chance to win a grab-n-go salami...they're giving them away (in honor of their fans and their Italian heritage) to the first 1,000 people to enter!

Special thanks to Reed, Suki and Dana, who were especially
helpful in getting this party set up. Salami slicing masters!
Not pictured: Katherine (for some odd reason)