Welcome and Happy New Year...

During the month of December I did a lot of entertaining.  Not just at my home but at other people’s and  found it interesting that people always gravitate in the kitchen no matter the size. 

My home is small, perfect for me and my kittens.  However, add nine more people and it is crowded.  Same goes for my friend, LeAnn’s place.  Her home’s floor space is much larger, which made it easy to invite more people.  In spite of all the roaming room, people still gravitated to the kitchen.  So, what’s up with that?  My own thoughts could lean toward the “if the food is being made here; maybe I’ll get some samples” theory, but I believe it’s more than that.

People want warmth and comfort.  They want to connect with someone else on a real, personal level, even in this high tech world of Blackberrys, iPhones, Skype, Internet Social Networking, etc.  Sharing your home, food and wine with people means you love them.  Simple isn’t it?  The kitchen represents warmth, comfort.  Quite frankly, the kitchen is the heart of the home.  So, use it to your advantage, even you just invite a friend over for frozen pizza and appetizers.  It’s not about being fancy; it’s about opening your heart to people.

The dinner party at my place in December was fancier than normal in terms of food.  The recipe below is for the Veal Meatball “Surprises” with Red Sauce that I made.  It’s a take on the Giada DeLaurentis recipe on Food Network.  If you don’t want to go through the work of the meatballs – buy them and don’t tell anyone.  There are good, quality beef meatballs out there.  Another great idea?  Have some of your guests (who congregate in the kitchen) help you roll and stuff the meatballs, if you want homemade.  No matter which route you choose, I can guarantee the dinner party will be fun and festive. 

Red Sauce (this is inspired by a Giada de Laurentis recipe but I changed it up a bit to serve my wants… feel free to change it to suit you and your guests’ tastes):

3 – 4 Tblsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (from now on…EVOO, I can’t help it…I’ve been Rachel Ray-ized)

3/4 lb Pancetta, thinly sliced and diced

1/2 lb Proscuitto, thinly sliced

32 oz can Fire Roasted, Diced tomatoes (I used Glen Muir brand)

14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes

1/2 – 2/3 c. Dry Red Wine (I used a French Red Wine that had passed it’s prime a bit and was sitting in my refrigerator.  Some professional chefs disagree with this approach and say you should ONLY use wine that you enjoy drinking.  Well, I enjoyed drinking the wine I used earlier the previous week…I just didn’t get it all drunk)

1/2 large yellow onion, diced fine

6 cloves garlic, minced fine

2 Tblsp Dried Oregano

2 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes

1 Tblsp Thyme

1 large pinch Marjoram

Kosher Salt (to taste)

Fresh Ground Black Pepper (to taste)

3/4 c. Pecorino OR Asiago Cheese, grated

1 lb. Linguine (prepared to pkg instructions)

Instructions:

In a large skillet with high side the heat EVOO over medium-high heat until oil almost shimmers.  Add pancetta and proscuitto.  Cook for 5 -7 min.  You do NOT want this to to be crispy, you just want to render out flavor.  Add onion and garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook for another 5 min or until onion is translucent and softened.  Pour in tomatoes.   Add your spices, including another generous pinch or two of salt and a couple small pinches of black pepper.   Let simmer for approximately 10 – 15 min.  After the sauce has simmered, taste it…Grab a spoon and take a taste.  If you think the dish needs more seasonings, then add them at this time in tiny amounts.  Next, add red wine and let simmer again for another 7 – 10 min.  Add asiago or pecorino cheese.  Taste the sauce again for seasoning.  Add meatballs to sauce AFTER the meatballs are done cooking.  Garnish with some chopped flat leaf parsley.

Veal Meatballs (Taken from Giada de Laurentis’ recipe:  Bucatini All’ Amatriciana):

1 lb ground beef (I used 85% lean ground beef, I wanted the fat content to help brown)

1 lb ground veal

1/4 medium onion grated (I used my food processor)

1 1/2 c. Grated Parmesan Cheese (Important – use a good quality one, not the stuff from the green can)

2/3 c. Italian Bread Crumbs (I used a store brand kind from Whole Foods)

2 eggs

1 good squeeze of ketchup (approx 1 1/2 Tblsp)

3 garlic cloves, minced fine

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

4 oz. smoked mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2″ cubes

1/2 c. flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Put your oven rack in the middle of the oven.  Spray 2 cookie sheets with Pam Olive Oil to prevent sticking.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients with the exception of the mozzarella gently.  Make sure, however, you do not have “clumps” of seasonings or food anywhere.  Roll into 24 meatballs (about 2 – 2 1/2 in).  Create a hole in the meatball and stuff a cube of mozzarella in the middle, close the hole and place on cookie sheet.  Bake meatballs for approximately 25 – 30 minutes. 

Again, once the sauce is about ready to go, add meatballs to sauce. 

Drain the pasta thoroughly and serve separately from the sauce and meatballs.  That allows your guests to take what they want in pasta to meat/sauce ratio.  (Personally, I prefer less pasta and meat but want more sauce)  Serve this homestyle. 

Wines:

Basically, this dish SINGS for a dry red wine.  We had several to choose from, as that is what I asked guests to bring, amongst my favorites:

• Chianti Classio Reserva
• Cabernet Sauvingon (a lighter styled one…not one with a lot of oak)
• Southern French Rhone

I hope your taste buds sing after this meal as well as your heart and soul.

[Via http://sunshinegrl0117.wordpress.com]

In the Big House

Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Big House Wines.

So the Big House Line. A box of the latest releases showed up on my door not so long ago. First, I can’t stand their website. I don’t know if it’s my computer or what, but it’s jumpy and hard to navigate. I understand trying to be cute…but if I can’t get to what I need easily, I’m outta there. On the other hand, these are meant to be inexpensive, not serious, table wines.  The 2007 Big House Red retails for around $8, had a screw cap closure, and clocks in at 13.5% alcohol by volume. It’s a blend of everything and the kitchen sink.

On the nose I got banana, berries, spice, cranberry, plums, green pepper, and dirt. It smelled fruity and jammy. In the mouth I found raspberry, cherry, chocolate, and plums. I thought the palate was fairly simple compared to the nose and it had bitter tannins on the finish. It smoothed a bit as it aired. It didn’t really jive for me.

[Via http://wannabewino.com]

Why Did the Wine Bloggers Cross the Road?

*This is a republishing of a story I wrote for Palate Press: The Online Wine Magazine back in September. In late July, 275 wine bloggers, PR reps, winery principals and others in the wine industry converged on Santa Rosa, California, for a three-day Wine Bloggers Conference. The night before, however, more than a dozen bloggers from origins as far-flung as Spain made their way to the sleepy hamlet of Murphys, three hours east of Santa Rosa. Why? The answer has as much to do with rubber chickens as with wine. El Jefe and a rubber chicken. Photo by Melissa Dobson

Murphys is home to Twisted Oak Winery, owned and overseen by Jeff Stai and his brood of mascot rubber chickens. Jeff – or El Jefe as he is colloquially known – is a cyber Pied Piper among bloggers. As hands-on with computers as he is with his Calaveras County wines, Jeff has been an early adopter of many forms of social media, notably Twitter (2,500 followers), Facebook (676 fans) and blogging. And in each form of media, he has used rubber chickens as a sort of calling card, setting an irreverent tone that has helped engender a virtual cult-like following. How else to explain the popularity of Twisted Oak’s annual Take Your Rubber Chicken to Work Day. Rubber chickens tend to squawk out the tasting-room door at well over 1,000 annually, according to Jeff.

No doubt the 14 bloggers who happily invested the extra gas and time commitment to visit Twisted Oak did so not for the perks – a whirlwind tour of Murphys, barrel tasting, a bbq and a blending competition – but just to spend some old-fashioned face time with Jeff, whose use of social media is the most innovative and successful of any winery.

The “questionable” winding road to Twisted Oak About inviting bloggers to visit before the conference, Jeff says: “It was a carpe diem thing. People will often arrive early for an event like WBC and it seemed like a good idea to convince a few bloggers to give us a try. I will do anything I can to convince folks that there is wine life northeast of S[an] F[rancisco]!”

From contests that ask people to write the labels for his Ruben’s Blend wine to asking for assistance to name the new kittens his family adopted, Jeff encourages virtual visitors to feel a personal connection to Twisted Oak and his life. I first encountered Jeff on his winery blog, El Bloggo Torcido, in 2006 – it was among the first wine blogs I started following. I actively commented on his blog; in turn, he encouraged me to start my own and became one of my first commenters.

I emerged from the field trip with a better sense of what makes Twisted Oak Winery work, both online and in real life, as well as a very positive impression of Jeff’s approach to social media. In his view, a rising tide lifts everyone, and he actively encourages all the wineries, tourism groups, and other establishments in the Murphys area to jump on the social media boat. “Just the other day I was helping another winery get their Facebook page together,” says Jeff. “People visit more than one winery after all. The important thing is to get them here.” Bloggers Russ Beebe and Ashley Routson stroll through the Twisted Oak wine cave.

Other wineries looking to tap into Twitter, Facebook and other social media would find their time well-spent to look at what El Jefe has done for Twisted Oak. Devoting 8-12 hours a week, he manages to blog, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and participate in multiple forums.  Rubber chickens and a “twisted”sense of humor may not work for everyone, but the attitude of connecting personally to interested wine lovers, and developing a sense of community around the winery, certainly can.

Jeff, in his own words a  “social media slut,” estimates that at least a third of Twisted Oak’s business results from his online activity. He includes me among this number, and I admit, it’s not likely I would have known about Twisted Oak Winery if not for Jeff’s consistent cyberpresence. Here are some of my Twisted favorites:

2008 Syrah-Viognier (barrel sample). This is going to be a fantastic wine. I tasted vanilla, anise, beautiful flowers, apricot, plums, black cherry and red-fruit edges.

2002 Murgatroyd (library selection). On the nose I found spice, mulberry, toasty oak, cinnamon, blackberries, black currants, slight chocolate and violets.  It smelled like mulled cider and tasted like Christmas.  In the mouth I got tart fruit that seemed much more red than the nose; red berries, red currants, earthy spice, mulberry, cranberry, cinnamon.  Murgatroyd is a kitchen-sink blend that includes Cabernet Sauvignon; ready to drink now!

2007 “Silvaspoons” Verdelho. On the nose I got pineapple, tropical fruit, spice, peach, mandarin oranges, banana, and papaya.  In the mouth I found the wine to have a a slightly creamy texture and flavors of lemon, tropical fruit, papaya, melon, pear, citrus and granny smith apples.  Overall, the wine is dry, crisp, easy to drink.  A must buy for the summer months! (Current vintage is 2008.)

[Via http://wannabewino.com]

Corrupt Power

Ohio limits an individuals wine purchases to 288 bottles a year.  On its face, an unreasonable limit and a gross overstepping of governmental power.   But why limits?

The bottom line is this: Government agents will not break down your door if you bring home that 25th case of Two Buck Chuck. But if you order more than 24 cases of wine in a year and have it delivered directly to your door from a winery, you could face a fine.

State legislators added the purchase limit in 2007 (and amended it in 2008 to clarify the size of the bottles) when they were trying to figure out how to regulate wineries shipping directly to Ohioans.

“This was to prevent massive shipments to individuals,” said Donniella Winchell, executive director of the Ohio Wine Producers Association. “The level was set to establish what would seem to be a reasonable amount for personal use.”

The Ohio Wine Producers Association?  I can’t think of anyone who benefits from such a stupid law, other than perhaps that group.  I wonder how much they spend on lobbying and in campaign contributions.

[Via http://paulstagg.com]

Wine Tasting Notes: 20 July 2003

This is a repost from a wine tasting at Pauli’s in Huntsville/Madison, AL. There will be a series of these to go up, along with notes on individual wines.

This week’s tasting at Pauli’s was focused on South Africa, and was quite fun. In an unusual move, the tasting started with a dry cider that was a refreshing change of pace. Savanna dry premium cider has a nice yellow colour, a dry crisp nose rich with fruit: pear and apple predominating. The taste is mellow, a medium full body with a slight tartness followed by apple, pear, and a hint of honey. It has a nice finish as well. Not too sweet, and refreshing on a hot summer day.

The first wine was Groot Constantia 1999 sauvignon blanc. It has a nice straw colour, a crisp nose of hay and light green fruit, with a hint of vanilla and citrus. This is followed by a very light taste that is tart-crisp, with straw, sour apple. and vanilla rounding it out.

The second wine was De Wetshof Estate Lesca chardonnay, 2001. The pale straw colour is nice, and it has a sharp nose with fruit, wood, and a light citrus overtone. The taste is that of fruit with apple, lemon, and grapefruit leading, with oak following. The finish is astringent in a pleasant way. Not overly woody, so refreshing.

The third wine was KWV 1999 shiraz. It starts with a nice ruby colour followed by a good nose of red fruit, chocolate, and a hint of leather. The body was light, and the taste filled with blackberry and leather.

The fourth wine was Roodeberg 2000, a blend. It has a nice deep red colour and a good nose filled with spice, leather, loam, and fruit. The taste starts with a slight pucker followed by fruit, clove, cinnamon, and leather. It has a good finish, nice complexity, and was a very good wine for a blend.

[Via http://untourist.net]

01-10

What did you do for New Year’s Eve? Did you make last-minute plans that turned out excellently, like we did?

We’d thought and thought about where to go to ring in the new year, and by the time we came up with a plan, the venue was sold out! A few other options (think keg parties, trashy and noisy bars) just didn’t appeal to us much.

We considered a short getaway, but my three-day weekend was interrupted by being called into work Wednesday night because two co-workers had their heads cracked open this week and we were short-staffed. It sounds callous to mention such a trivial event in my life in the same sentence as someone falling and going to the hospital only to have an emergency Pacemaker operation and another getting in a serious car wreck that broke bones and shook him up thoroughly, but that’s the facts, folks. I feel terrible for them and their families, especially this time of year.

It was back to square one, and on Dec. 30, at about 11:30 at night, I had the brilliant idea to check whether the Italian cafe just down the street from me had anything going on for the evening. We ended up with a 9 p.m. reservation for two at Asti Trattoria.

My favorite neighborhood intersection.

We’d been to the restaurant once before, for a casual, exceptionally good lunch, but this experience was on a different level altogether. Everything that went into my mouth was stunning.

We arrived at 8:30 and stood in the crowded bar area with glasses of Cantina Terlano 2007 Pinot Noir, which was so good we got a bottle to go with dinner.

Vino por el año nuevo

We were seated under a sky of multicolored balloons, and our waiter was quirky (his navy dress shirt was covered with pictures of Irish setters) but service was exceptionally prompt, and we were overwhelmed by the time we got to the main course. We had to take dessert to go!

In case anyone is interested, here’s my vegetarian feast to close out 2009. Far and away my best meal of the year:

White Asparagus Soup
Parmesan & White Truffle Crema

Red & Yellow Beet Carpaccio
Fennel, Black Olives & Orange Vinaigrette
Ricotta Bruschetta

Asparagus Risotto
Prosecco, Meyer Lemon Oil & Scallions

Wild Mushroom & Cipolline Onion Ragu
Anson Mills Polenta & Black Truffle Mascarpone

Chocolate Truffle Tart
Vanilla Balsamic Gelato & Brandied Cherries

Unfortunately, I was not feeling exactly wonderful by the time the clock struck 12 — I just couldn’t handle that much incredibly rich food and a good amount of wine. OK, I was actually asleep when 2010 was born.

But dessert was lovely on New Year’s Day, less the incredibly strong reduced vinegar they used as a sauce. Perhaps if we’d had it served at the proper temperature, it would have worked better.

So now it’s back to reality, back to the grind, back to the same old schedule. But with one twist: We’re doing the Power 90 program (think precursor to that  P90X thing advertised in annoying infomercials) to get super-buff (ha!) in three months or less!

I’m quite excited to begin. I’ve printed up a 90-day planner and the exercises I’m supposed to do, and I’ll get started first thing tomorrow on my first full cardio routine. Wish us luck!

[Via http://plumandcircumstance.wordpress.com]

some resolutions

i don’t usually make new year’s resolutions, but this year i decided that i would go for it, and actually try hard to keep them.

1. don’t drink wine if i’m planning on having more than 2 drinks total. i know that wine gives me the worst hangovers. i spent most of today throwing up and with my head feeling like someone was chiseling it. and i’ve never learned so far. so i’m going to stop, if i’m drinking drinking it will be spirits only from now on
2. don’t do anything which i don’t want to do. this is the actual serious one of them all. i’ve wasted enough of my time doing stuff that i don’t want to be doing, so that’s it, i’m not doing it to myself any more. everything i do this year is going to be something that i want to do and makes me happy
3. attempt to do a 365. a lot of people seem to be doing these this year, and i fully admit i’m just jumping on the bandwagon, but i like it. i’m planning on taking pictures which tell something about what i did that day rather than concentrating on trying to make them amazing. this is the one i took today, i’m in my bathroom, i thought it was appropriate
4. keep my film list up-to-date. i normally keep a list of every film i’ve seen, and this year i’ve totally neglected it, so i’m determined to make sure i write them all down this year, and try to fill in all the ones i’ve forgotten from this year
5. start my new food blog (which i did today) and keep it up. i want to make it a proper thing, not just do it all half-arsed and only post odd things when i remember. basically i’m working my way through two 1001 things to eat before you die books (1796 foods in total) and taking pictures of the foods and writing some kind of review/anecdote to go with it. it’d be good to get at least 365 foods done by the end of the year

so that’s it. i’m going to try hard, i’m not going to get bored and quit stuff like i usually do

[Via http://teawithlemon.wordpress.com]