tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45786019522635483952024-03-13T11:29:12.418-04:00Random OenophileMusings on wine, food, recipes, restaurants, and other topics that I, as a dedicated, although not professional, oenophile find interesting. Look for food/wine-related updates 1-4 times/month. Feel free to follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/RandomOenophile">Twitter</a> and like my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CeciliaDominicAuthor">Facebook page</a>.Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.comBlogger268125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-15629093073800558302016-04-22T21:38:00.000-04:002016-04-22T21:38:37.913-04:00Traveling Oenophile: Asheville, Day ThreeI prefer beginning vacations to ending them. At least this week I'm tapering off vacation by having gone from Asheville to Blairsville, where Hubby and I are helping my dad celebrate a big birthday ending in 0. I'm so glad we live close enough to my parents to do things like that.<div>
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After Battery Park, Hubby and I wandered about and ended up at the Asheville <a href="http://skybar.worldcoffeecafe.com/" target="_blank">Sky Bar</a>, which is on a series of balconies over the World Coffee Cafe. We enjoyed some pink drinks and the beginnings of a lovely sunset.</div>
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We then wandered down the hill and through some more streets and passed by <a href="http://www.curatetapasbar.com/" target="_blank">Curate</a>, which our innkeeper had said we wouldn't be able to get into without a reservation. We decided to give it a try, and while the tables were full, there were places available at the bar, which allowed us good dining and entertainment as we watched the busy kitchen. </div>
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Our wine was a fantastic Albarino, the 2013 Arcan from Rias Baixas. It had a similar fruity profile to the Godello we had Monday but with a saline backbone that helped it pair well with the food. The highlights were (copied from the menu):</div>
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Salada de Tomate y Atún </div>
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kumato tomato salad w/preserved spanish bonito tuna, black olives, drizzled in extra virgin olive oil & reserve sherry vinegar </div>
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Berenjenas la Taberna </div>
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<i>C's note: an unexpectedly good combination</i></div>
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Gambas al Ajillo</div>
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the number one tapa in asheville, sautéed shrimp and sliced garlic</div>
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And some pretty awesome meatballs, which weren't on the online menu, but which are called Albondigas.</div>
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I'm glad we decided to give Curate a try. It's hard to compare it to Zambra, where we ate on Monday, because the menu styles are different. I would happily return to either.</div>
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I do want to give a shoutout to Lynn and Ron of the <a href="http://www.innonmontford.com/" target="_blank">1900 Inn on Montford</a>, which is the only place we've ever wanted to stay in Asheville. The breakfasts are amazing, the rooms wonderful, and the house itself absolutely charming.</div>
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Asheville is one of my favorite places, and I can't wait to get back.</div>
Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-51836949648974607292016-04-20T17:55:00.001-04:002016-04-20T17:56:24.504-04:00Traveling Oenophile, Day Two in AshevilleToday's post is being brought to you by the Battery Park Book Exchange. Yes, I might be at the bar hanging out with the spoils of my bookstore tour of Asheville and a glass of Prosecco. Hubby and I have our system worked out for visiting beer towns - he finds breweries, and I find books.<br />
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Let's back up to last night. Some of the other people at our B&B had raved about Modesto (<a href="http://modestonc.com/" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://modestonc.com/</a>), so Hubby and I decided to give it a try. I have to give chef Hector Diaz credit for taking traditional Italian restaurant fare and giving it a twist.</div>
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Our first course was the fried-green tomatoes with tomato sauce, Gorgonzola, and greens. Yes, Asheville restaurants make sure you get your daily dose of greens:</div>
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Then for dinner, since I'm sort of trying to be vegetarian, I had the Eggplant Parmesan, which had tomato sauce, fontina and goat cheeses, spinach, and sweet peppers, and was served over vermicelli.</div>
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Oh, and of course there was wine, a lovely Super Tuscan:</div>
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We finished the evening at Sante, a wine bar, where I had bubbles and Hubby had Bordeaux.</div>
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This morning I started my Asheville book tour, as one does, at Malaprops (<a href="http://www.malaprops.com/" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://www.malaprops.com/</a>). I got a book and a couple of journals, one for my morning pages and a small one to keep in my purse. Then I made a tea stop and met Hubby at Mojo (<a href="http://mojokitchen.biz/" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://mojokitchen.biz/</a>) for lunch. I had the half-falafel sandwich and salad combo.</div>
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I did some other shopping this afternoon and resumed the book hunt for resources for my talk on hysteria and the occult in Victorian times, which I'll be giving in about a month at the Steampunk World's Fair. I began on Lexington at Downtown Books and News (<a href="http://www.downtownbooksandnews.com/" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://www.downtownbooksandnews.com/</a>), where they were helpful but didn't have exactly what I was looking for. Then I stopped by The Captain's Bookshelf on Page Avenue, where I found two good ones that had applicable chapters. It was then time for a coffee stop, which was okay, and more shopping! </div>
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And now I'm at the Battery Park Book Exchange (<a href="http://www.batteryparkbookexchange.com/" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://www.batteryparkbookexchange.com/</a>)<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">, where I found another book and a glass of bubbles. It's been a good day. Stay tuned as to what happens for dinner!</span></div>
Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-89661647691398888242016-04-19T16:07:00.001-04:002016-04-19T16:07:40.495-04:00Traveling Oenophile: Asheville, Day One<div>Hey, y'all, did you miss me? I'm embarrassed that I haven't posted in so long. Yes, I've been drinking, but most of my writing has been fiction or for the day job. I lost my contract psychologist to a major medical system that provided more financial security than private practice, and my admin has mostly moved on to a full-time position. So, I've been doing most of everything except for what my admin does a few hours per week. Small business-ing is hard.</div><div><br></div><div>Which is why I'm REALLY happy that <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Hubby and I are taking a much-needed vacation to the mountains. We arrived in Asheville, NC yesterday evening just in time to catch the end of the B&B's social hour, which involved wine. Woo hoo! Then we were shown to our lovely room, the Thomas Wolfe suite, which has a newly renovated bathroom with a waterfall bathtub. Yes, I will be trying that out later.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">Formatting note - I'm doing this from my iThing, so if stuff comes through funky, I'm sorry. I also can't figure out how to embed links.</font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">Two of the best things about Asheville are, of course, food and drink. We started with dinner at a tapas place called Zambra (</font><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://www.zambratapas.com)</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">, which we remembered from previously. To find it, go to Malaprops Bookstore and look down the alley to the right.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">They had a lovely wine special, a 2014 single-varietal godello from Valdeorras, Spain. It was crisp, fruity, and went well with everything we tried including the pomegranate-braised pork spring rolls with mango dipping sauce and avocado.</span></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dO1Rlj8o4NM/VxaP39G2BTI/AAAAAAAACL4/bvgBbuoNie0/s640/blogger-image--1620596418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dO1Rlj8o4NM/VxaP39G2BTI/AAAAAAAACL4/bvgBbuoNie0/s640/blogger-image--1620596418.jpg"></a></div><br></font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">Other favorites included the Duck-leg confit with mango chutney, House-made gnocchi with Three Graces Chèvre, and the Braised pork cheek with sweet-potato hash. I wanted to try all the pork things but restrained myself.</font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">We went to Baltimore this morning and skipped the house, which we'd seen twice, and toured the gardens, which were in full spring bloom. Hubby is still sneezing. After we walked off our lovely B&B breakfast, we ate beet and tempeh salads at The Corner Kitchen (</font><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://www.thecornerkitchen.com/m/index.php).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bfAs-TlqXY4/VxaP43jfaQI/AAAAAAAACL8/-pfLDocCpPg/s640/blogger-image-596480788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bfAs-TlqXY4/VxaP43jfaQI/AAAAAAAACL8/-pfLDocCpPg/s640/blogger-image-596480788.jpg"></a></div></span></div><div><br></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">You can't go to Asheville without having beer, so we stopped by the French Broad Brewing Company (</font><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://frenchbroadbrewery.com), where Hubby got the Abbey Style Flanders Ale, and I enjoyed the Wee Heavy-est Belgian-Scotch Ale.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I will do my best to keep up with our adventures, but I have to say, we're off to a great start.</span></div>Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-7427732463194403492015-10-19T13:06:00.002-04:002015-10-19T13:06:21.335-04:00Kitchen playtime: Braising and BakingAutumn is one of those seasons that can go either way here in the South. Some years it's shorts weather on Thanksgiving. Other years it gets cold early, and it feels like it's one of those. Our weekend nights were quite chilly, even down to 39 last night. Yes, I can hear my relatives in New Hampshire scoffing. Y'all come on down.<br />
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Chilly fall weather means boots, sweaters, and of course yummy fall food. One of my favorite cooking methods for this time of year is braising. There's just something so appealing about having broth to sop up with good bread and savory stew-like meals to pair nice red wines with. Plus braising recipes are easy - you just put things in a pot and either slow-cook them or stick them in the oven for a while.<br />
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Saturday evening we decided to do something a little bit different and made <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/coconut-braised-chicken-chorizo-and-potatoes" target="_blank">Coconut-Braised Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes</a> from the October 2015 issue of Food & Wine magazine. Unfortunately Pine Street didn't have the bulk chorizo, so we used spicy Italian sausage instead. It turned out really yummy, although I can see how the flavor of the chorizo would have worked better. Check out the gremolata in the recipe - it has coffee in it for an earthy hint.<br />
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The recipe called for pairing it with a wine that has berry notes.The 2013 Le Sot de L'Ange Grolleau Sans Soufre went very well with the chicken. The name roughly translates to "the angel's idiot," indicating winemaker Quentin Bourse's decision to take the big risk of taking over a friend's domaine and leaving his previous life to be a French winemaker. It's a neat wine made mostly from the Grolleau grape with a little Gamay to balance it out. Grolleau is a black grape with thick skin you don't see very often. I thought the clear bottle for a red was also interesting. Warning - it definitely has sediment and needs to breathe, hence the decanter. I would definitely recommend this one with food and not on its own. Oh, and yay for wine toys! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Le Sot de l'Ange = "the angel's idiot"</td></tr>
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One thing I love about cooking is that I get great ideas for whatever story I'm working on while my mind is mostly occupied with the food. Yes, it's probably a failure in Mindfulness, but that's okay, usually. Remember how when we were kids, some smartass would declare it to be "opposite day" and then try to catch you out when you said the wrong thing? I had my own "backwards morning" in the kitchen, which brings us to this week's episode of kitchen mistakes - lack of preparation, pantry management, and just plain thinking things through.<br />
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Hubby and I like to make a breakfast on Sunday mornings that includes protein so we can have leftovers during the week, at least through Wednesday. I made biscuits from the Joy of Cooking recipe and sausage from Pine Street. Yes, the only time I left the house yesterday was for beer and meat products. It was a good day.<br />
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I had some HUGE apples that needed to be used, and even if I munched on
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Alas,I had used all but about three quarters of a cup of flour in the canister on the counter for the biscuits, and when I went into the pantry to refill it, I found all manner of flour, but no all-purpose. I did have half a bag of self-rising, which if I had been smart, I would have used for the biscuits and saved the all-purpose for the pie.<br />
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What happened? Apparently at some point I decided I was going to limit myself in baking
unhealthy things by not buying any more all-purpose flour. However, my sweet tooth will not be denied, and I really needed to use those apples. The solution? Apple cobbler with the filling based on the recipe for apple pandowdy (an old dessert) plus 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and the topping the basic cobbler biscuit dough with self-rising rather than all purpose + baking powder + salt, all from the Joy of Cooking:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smells like autumn!</td></tr>
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Lunch was <a href="http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/salmon-braised-pinot-noir.aspx" target="_blank">Salmon Braised in Pinot Noir</a> from Finecooking.com. Or, as Hubby puts it, "random salmon recipe found on the internet." I'm not including a picture of it because it just doesn't look pretty, but it's quite tasty, and I'm very picky about fish.<br />
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Finally, dinner. Yes, fall weather means I can have the oven on for a while and not overheat the rest of the kitchen - or house - which means one of my most favorite things - lasagna! I typically do variations on <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/turkey-lasagna" target="_blank">this Cooking Light recipe</a> because it doesn't require that you cook the noodles first. I had intended to do a turkey, eggplant, and mushroom lasagna, but Hubby got ground beef instead, so it ended up being a little less healthy than planned. I did drain the beef before putting it back in the sauce. The mushrooms were lion's mane, which have a meaty texture and pull apart into cute little wispy bits that integrated into the sauce nicely:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ukKj_noHAEk/ViUglPBrxoI/AAAAAAAAB8I/2lliRAeh914/s1600/lion%2527s%2Bmane%2Bshrooms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ukKj_noHAEk/ViUglPBrxoI/AAAAAAAAB8I/2lliRAeh914/s320/lion%2527s%2Bmane%2Bshrooms.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shroomin'.</td></tr>
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And the lasagna was delicious. We had it with the rest of the braising Pinot from lunch, which was from California and remarkable only for the name - Little Black Dress. Hubby got it because we call Pinot Noir the little black dress of wine because it goes with almost anything.<br />
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Stay tuned for more cooking projects from me and Hubby! If you'd like to see the food pictures as they go up and the ones that don't necessarily make it to the blog, <a href="https://instagram.com/randomoenophile/" target="_blank">follow me on Instagram</a>. Want wine and sleep tips as well as info about my books? Please consider <a href="http://eepurl.com/bjz2yf" target="_blank">signing up for my newsletter</a>. I typically send only one per month.<br />
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Happy autumn cooking and drinking!Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-59079397844419271672015-10-11T21:39:00.001-04:002015-10-11T21:39:23.794-04:00Kitchen Playtime: Doin' it Southern styleI'm trying a new experiment this weekend. Rather than waiting until Sunday night to write this post, I'm doing it a little at a time as the weekend goes on. Hopefully that will make it easier to do them regularly. Or procrastinate on my fiction writing. Let's see..<br />
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My current fiction project, title TBD, is set in an alternate Tennessee in 1871, after the Civil War has been dragging on for ten years. Basically, Lee decided not to go into Pennsylvania after his major victories in Virginia, so Gettysburg never happened, and the war ended up in a stalemate. I'm writing Southern food into the story, of course, and it just so happens that our cooking this weekend has a Southern theme. <br />
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First stop - the low country. We did something unusual today, and that was cook lunch. Typically our midday Saturday meal is leftovers of some sort or sandwiches, but due to our other activities, we decided to play in the kitchen. That meant Hugh Acheson's Frogmore Stew from his <a href="http://hughacheson.com/cookbooks.html" target="_blank">New Turn in the South </a>cookbook. I have to give Hubby credit for choosing the recipe and getting most of it started. I peeled and deveined the shrimp, though. Our vendors for the meal included:<br />
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<a href="http://www.pinestreetmarket.com/" target="_blank">Pine Street Market</a> (andouille sausage)<br />
<a href="http://sawickisfoods.com/" target="_blank">Sawicki's Meat, Seafood, & More</a> (shrimp)<br />
Various farmstands from the<a href="http://ucfarmersmarket.com/" target="_blank"> Union County Farmers Market</a> (Corn and potatoes - I have no idea which ones, will do better in the future), <a href="http://decaturfarmersmarket.com/wordpress/" target="_blank">Decatur Farmers Market</a> (tomatoes - Mountain Earth, arugula - not sure of the name, but he was at the back of the baseball field and gave me radishes, too), and <a href="http://www.morningsidemarket.com/" target="_blank">Morningside Farmers Market</a> (leek - Crystal Organics).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yYdEjHEdyKo/Vhlb8FBxIRI/AAAAAAAAB4o/4BOOYhIE6sw/s1600/2015-10-10%2B13.24.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yYdEjHEdyKo/Vhlb8FBxIRI/AAAAAAAAB4o/4BOOYhIE6sw/s320/2015-10-10%2B13.24.15.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It tastes and smells even better than it looks!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooking wine! Great in and with the stew. And the cooks.</td></tr>
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Oh, and regarding the wine, people sometimes ask me if we have "house wines," that is, wines we always keep on hand. We haven't recently because the wine clubs we belong to keep us well-supplied, but we always used to have a bottle of this one on hand. It's about $12, and it's a lovely sauvignon blanc, mostly citrus with a nice acid backbone that stands up well to food.<br />
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Yes, that is the recipe behind the bottle. No, we did not lay out our ingredients that prettily.<br />
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Saturday night was date night. We love our Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and enjoyed a program of Debussy, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. My favorite - the Debussy. Yeah, I'm a romantic. Afterward, we went to <a href="http://midtown.southcitykitchen.com/" target="_blank">South City Kitchen</a> for dinner. You know what that means - more Southern food! I love their fried chicken, served with collard greens, mashed potatoes, and honey-thyme jus:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Southern girl at heart</td></tr>
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We ordered this lovely white, the 2013 Montinore Borealis, which paired really well with the slight heat to the fried chicken and that in Hubby's halibut. Plus, at $36 on a midtown wine list, it's practically a steal.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_DLaa7jw2fo/VhrsZPmu6rI/AAAAAAAAB5I/jTsivLNTuVs/s1600/SCK%2BMontinore%2BBorealis%2B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_DLaa7jw2fo/VhrsZPmu6rI/AAAAAAAAB5I/jTsivLNTuVs/s320/SCK%2BMontinore%2BBorealis%2B.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wants a back porch</td></tr>
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The morning after date night requires a nice brunch. This was a case of me having something in mind I wanted to do, but needing a recipe to start with for guidance. I turned to myrecipes.com, put in apple and sausage, and came up with a recipe for Sausage, Apple, and Cheddar Bread Pudding. Okay. Here are the modifications I made:<br />
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1) Hubby got cornmeal-molasses bread, which was heavier than the sourdough bread called for, so I used 8 slices, which ended up being about 12 ounces, rather than a whole loaf for 8 ounces. I also cut the slices in half and made two layers with the sausage and apple filling in between.<br />
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2) Only 3/4 cup of cheese, and cheddar at that? Puh-leaze. I used about a cup and a half of shredded Gruyere.<br />
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3) I used regular mild Italian sausage from the aforementioned Pine Street Market rather than turkey Italian sausage.<br />
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Here's a picture of the final product:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oQZKs20ph9w/VhrtwOdJaMI/AAAAAAAAB5Y/dljRPsoApII/s1600/Baked%2BFrench%2Btoast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oQZKs20ph9w/VhrtwOdJaMI/AAAAAAAAB5Y/dljRPsoApII/s320/Baked%2BFrench%2Btoast.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfect pre-yard work brunch.</td></tr>
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Tabitha (left) and Timothy Mouse (lying down) wanted to know where theirs was.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mg2koT7j1To/VhrulCF68FI/AAAAAAAAB5k/rub3Vjm2-_4/s1600/2015-10-11%2B13.06.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mg2koT7j1To/VhrulCF68FI/AAAAAAAAB5k/rub3Vjm2-_4/s320/2015-10-11%2B13.06.34.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cats just wanna have brunch.</td></tr>
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Finally, dinner. When I looked earlier, this recipe wasn't online yet, probably because it's in the latest issue of Cooking Light. It's beer-braised beef with bacon, onions, rosemary, and garlic. Hubby sauteed some greens to go with it, and I made some baked sweet potato fries. The wine is a tasty red blend from Hug.<br />
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I know I promised the recipe for my Quick n Easy Mac n Cheesy in my last post, but I want to test it out in a kitchen that's not mine first. Any volunteers?<br />
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Oh, and look what came on Friday! Author copies of Blood's Shadow, which will be out in paper on November 3.<br />
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It just got a four-star review from Romantic Times (hard to come by). Other reviewers have called Gabriel the werewolf Sherlock Holmes.<br />
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Those were my Southern cooking adventures for the weekend. Stay tuned for more wine and food!<br />
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<br />Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-213471646495002822015-10-04T21:23:00.001-04:002015-10-04T21:23:28.910-04:00Travelogue - BlairsvilleOne of Hubby's and my favorite places to go is up to my parents' place in Blairsville. We call it "the cabin," but it's actually a three-story house stuck to the side of a mountain with a fabulous view, even on gloomy days:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look closely for hints of fall color.</td></tr>
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We've been up there quite a few times and have had the fun of exploring Blairsville itself. Granted, it's not a huge place, so it doesn't take very long. Here are some highlights:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1srdHDgS9Ks/VhHL3ckiVlI/AAAAAAAAB3s/oDhr_iyYbig/s1600/2015-09-25%2B17.50.24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1srdHDgS9Ks/VhHL3ckiVlI/AAAAAAAAB3s/oDhr_iyYbig/s320/2015-09-25%2B17.50.24.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful new space</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yum!</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/The-Wine-Shoppe-551262248326717/timeline/" target="_blank">The Wine Shoppe:</a> They've just moved into their gorgeous new space on the square, and when we were there a couple of weeks ago, it was hopping with a tasting of the Bogle Phantom. It's a lovely dark fruity fall sipper. The shop has a nice selection for reasonable prices, and Bill and Jane are lovely.<br />
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<a href="http://cabincoffeecompany.com/" target="_blank">Cabin Coffee</a>: Yes, this is a chain coffee place, but it is not THAT chain coffee place. Love the outdoor patio and camouflage coffee mugs. No, I didn't get one. I'm not worried about the deer stealing my coffee. Yes, the coffee is good.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rockers!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No more caffeinated critters</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0CwU0kIT-gw/VhHMl8Lt-mI/AAAAAAAAB38/11yAKBC1LSk/s1600/2015-09-26%2B12.40.48-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0CwU0kIT-gw/VhHMl8Lt-mI/AAAAAAAAB38/11yAKBC1LSk/s320/2015-09-26%2B12.40.48-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The inspirational quote outside the bathrooms.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Michaelees-Italian-Life-Caffe-10150119966360114/timeline/" target="_blank">Michalee's Italian Life Caffe</a>: Right near the Wine Shoppe, so you can grab a bottle and bring it in. Hubby and I had a fabulous lunch there. Amazingly, I don't have pictures of it.<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/beardingbottleshop" target="_blank">Bearding Bottle Shop</a>: Right below the Wine Shoppe. Seriously, the square is getting to be one-stop shopping. They have growlers, beer tastings, and a nice selection of Belgian beers.<br />
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No, I don't know why all these places except the coffee shop only have Facebook pages, not real websites. I'm just excited for how far Blairsville has come since my parents bought up there before they realized it was a dry county (not anymore, thankfully). You still have to go elsewhere to buy hard liquor, but I'm happy with the beer and wine. Stay tuned for other culinary adventures in the mountains!<br />
<br />Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-53672124509426603502015-07-26T22:47:00.001-04:002015-07-26T22:49:34.091-04:00Kitchen playtime - the catching up extended versionWell, it's been an interesting couple of weeks at the Dominic household. I haven't done this column in a while because first I had a stomach bug and couldn't stand to think about food. And then Hubby got some sort of stomach ickiness, and we passed it back and forth for a while. We were still not thinking about food. And then the Dekalb water crisis hit, and suddenly we couldn't rinse vegetables, first because we didn't have water, and then because we had to boil the water first. As Hubby said, it's third world water service at first world prices. Seriously, we're in this situation because a mower hit a fire hydrant, which then broke a water main. No, I'm not sure how the physics of that works. We don't have silly things like physics in Dekalb County, Georgia. At least that's the only explanation I've got for why some neighborhoods like ours were essentially without water for two days and then with minimal service for another one.<br />
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Rant over. On to the food. I'm going to give you the highlights of the past couple of weeks.<br />
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Let's rewind to two weekends ago. I was just recovering from the stomach bug. Hubby had yet to get it. He had ended up with a huge bunch of time from the Dekalb Farmers Market and had searched for stuff to do with it. We decided to do a simple Sunday dinner of turkey breast, roasted potatoes, and green beans. Hubby made a Honey and <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/honey-thyme-brined-turkey-breast" target="_blank">Thyme-Brined Turkey Breast</a> (recipe from the ridiculously popup-riddled MyRecipes/Cooking Light website).<br />
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He also found a fantastic recipe for roasted red potatoes: <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/thyme-roasted-potatoes-with-garlic" target="_blank">Thyme-Roasted Potatoes with Garlic</a>. I'm glad to be sharing this one so I can have it handy.</div>
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I sauteed some green beans and carrots to go with it. It turned out to be a lovely meal. Since I was getting over being sick, I didn't have any wine.</div>
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I did, however, drink wine for Bastille Day. Hubby pulled out the Julia Child cookbook and made Steak au Poivre. It went well with the leftover potatoes and veggies.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yep, there's butter in that there pan.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gmf4wZztuRs/VbWVEuAG_tI/AAAAAAAABvE/nK445FIELE4/s1600/2015-07-15%2B19.44.43-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gmf4wZztuRs/VbWVEuAG_tI/AAAAAAAABvE/nK445FIELE4/s320/2015-07-15%2B19.44.43-1.jpg" width="320" /></a>Summertime means summer veggies and all the fun things you can do with them as long as you don't heat up the oven. Thankfully Cooking Light had a recipe for <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/summer-veggie-pasta" target="_blank">Summer Veggie Pasta </a>that doesn't even involve cooking the vegetables.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3yhMezYn3W8/VbWVEhVJf9I/AAAAAAAABvM/4mAxu1JX8nk/s1600/2015-07-19%2B20.32.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3yhMezYn3W8/VbWVEhVJf9I/AAAAAAAABvM/4mAxu1JX8nk/s320/2015-07-19%2B20.32.40.jpg" width="320" /></a>Of course you can't have summer without burgers. I'd had my eye on the <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cheesesteak-burgers-pickled-peppers-onions-cucumber" target="_blank">Cheesesteak Burgers with Pickled Peppers, Onions, and Cucumbers</a> from the time the June issue of Cooking Light arrived in my mailbox. Yes, we still get paper magazines. How quaint. The pickled veggies were easy, and the burgers really good. I would never have thought to put dill in a burger, but it worked. Yes, that's a salad in the wooden bowl to the left. Just trust me on this one.</div>
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Hubby decided we need a subscription to Garden & Gun magazine. To clarify, we don't shoot things for fun, and I kind of suck at gardening. I was a little iffy on the idea until we got the most recent issue, which included a recipe for Tomato Grilled Cheese sandwiches with Beer and Bacon Marmalade. Um, hello. They're actually as good, if not better, than the best grilled cheese ever, which can be found at Cafe Lily in Decatur. Here are the magazine's photo and mine. Notice the artful stacking of the sandwiches:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0867ayUAyuw/VbWX3XqoNQI/AAAAAAAABwA/TNlBlmeyGFA/s1600/Tomato-Grilled-Cheese-recipe-700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0867ayUAyuw/VbWX3XqoNQI/AAAAAAAABwA/TNlBlmeyGFA/s320/Tomato-Grilled-Cheese-recipe-700.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We're in one of my favorite parts of summer, which is eggplant time! I roped Hubby into grilling some eggplant, and we made this grilled eggplant parmesan. It was really good:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quite yummy.</td></tr>
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Speaking of eggplant, tonight we made Ratatouille and had it with some of the leftover lamb from Easter. Yes, <a href="http://random-oenophile.blogspot.com/2015/04/kitchen-playtime-easter-weekend.html" target="_blank">this lamb</a>. And the Ratatouille recipe came from The Art of French Cooking. We were surprised that there wasn't any butter in it. We drank it with a lovely French Pinot Noir (pictured).</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No rat included</td></tr>
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And here's the kitchen fail of the week. We tried to make the <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/honey-thyme-chicken-and-apricot-kebabs" target="_blank">Honey-Thyme Chicken-and-Apricot Kebabs</a> from Food & Wine Magazine yesterday evening. Notice in their picture how their apricots hold together beautifully after ten minutes on the grill:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These apricots must be Photoshopped</td></tr>
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And here's ours. Notice how the apricots liquified. We didn't even know apricots had a liquid state.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's more liquid than we saw from Dekalb County this weekend.</td></tr>
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Oh, well. They tasted good.</div>
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So those are our cooking adventures the past couple of weeks. I do recommend the wines pictured. Both were very good. </div>
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Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-81120031926508627782015-07-16T00:00:00.000-04:002015-07-16T00:00:03.084-04:00Wine Professional Interview: Bob Manley of Hermit Woods WineryI'm super excited to welcome Bob Manley to the blog today to kick off what I hope will become a series of interviews of professionals in the wine industry. Bob is one of the partners at <a href="http://hermitwoods.com/" target="_blank">Hermit Woods Winery</a>, and when you go to their tasting room, you'll probably see him. He was my liaison for the signing I did there in March. You can read what I thought about my first good fruit wine experience <a href="http://random-oenophile.blogspot.com/2015/07/oeno-fessions-i-drank-fruit-wine-and-i.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Bob was very generous with his time and answers, so I'll hand the blog over to him...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture taken in March. It was cold.</td></tr>
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<i>Please tell the readers a little about yourself and what you do, then answer as many of the following questions as you like.</i><br />
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<i>CD note: I'm impressed he answered ALL of them.</i><br />
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<i>1. How did you get into food and wine as a profession? How long have you been in the industry?</i><br />
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I fell in love with wine while living in CA for eleven years, and learning about wine became a hobby for me. When I met Ken [Hardcastle, the winemaker] upon moving to NH in 93, and learned that Ken shared my passion for great wine, and also had the knowledge and skills to make it, a match was made. We began exploring wine, mead, and beer together with our friend and now partner Chuck Lawrence in every possible way. We traveled New England and beyond learning about how other produced wine in this part of the word, we started importing grapes from Chili and CA, we planted a vineyard, things got out of hand very rapidly and before we knew it, we were producing more wine that I think was even allowed without having a license. We were having so much fun together and wanted to figure out a way to keep it up and be able to afford to do it. In 2010, we made the decision to get our license to produce wine and the rest is history.<br />
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<i>2. What expertise did you bring to this career? If you came from a different career path or profession, what about it do you think helps you now?</i><br />
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Ken and I both brought very diverse and complimentary talents and background to our venture. Ken being a PHD Geologist with a father who was a Chemistry Professor, brought a great understanding of the sciences to the equation along with over 25 years of exploring and learning about the making of beer, wine, and mead as a hobby. I came to the task with a background in art, photography, and advertising and marketing. Quite simply, Ken had the skills to make great wine, and I had the skills to market it and sell it.<br />
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<i>Now the fun begins… I am a psychologist, after all.</i><br />
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<i>3. How do you decide what to recommend to a specific customer beyond their stated preferences and what they've ordered? In other words, how do you read them?</i><br />
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This is very important as I am sure you know. We begin trying to understand our customers from the moment they walk in the door. What is there level of knowledge of wine and wine tasting, where have they been wine tasting in the past, what types or styles of wines do they find themselves drinking mostly, how adventurous are they with exploring new tastes, etc. The best way is to strike up a conversation and depending on their willingness to share, simply ask. Of course not everyone is as willing to share or really know what the answers to these questions. The next level of understanding comes from watching and listing as they sample our wines. You can tell a lot from their expressions, what the say about the wines to each other and to us. We then follow up each tastes with questions about their experience with each wine and try and decide where to go from there. As I am sure you know, it’s as important to pay attention to what they don’t say as what they say. Facial expressions give a lot away as well.<br />
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<i>4. How do you spot the poseurs, or people who are trying to project that they know a lot about wine but really don't? Okay, besides the ones who have a wine blog.</i><br />
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First, we like to treat everyone equally at Hermit Woods, those who know a lot, whose who don’t, and those to think they do. You can determine who they are very quickly as you begin presenting the wines and they start reviewing what they know about it. In the case of those who don’t know much and those who don’t but think they do, we try very gently to bring them up to speed or help clear up their misconceptions if that be the case. Learning about wine is the goal and all of us could learn our whole lives and still have more to learn. We try and meet people where they are in their journey and go from their.<br />
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<i>5. What about a customer gets your attention or intrigues you?</i><br />
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Of course when a customer brings to the bar a greater knowledge of wine than I, or just a different experience of wine than me, I am always interested in learning from them. I am also intrigued by those customers who know very little about wine, but really want to learn everything they can and ask lots of questions.<br />
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<i>6. What gets you excited about your job?</i><br />
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First and foremost is the experience of making wine with my two closest friends and partners Chuck and Ken. Beyond being a great deal of fun, it is an incredible learning experience that seems to have no bounds. But a close second to that is sharing the fruits of our labor with our family, friends,and customers, There is nothing I would rather be doing.<br />
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<i>7. What do you wish your customers would know or do before they come in?</i><br />
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Nothing, like I said earlier, we meet every customer where they are at with respect to their experience with us. If they come in knowing nothing, then we do the best we can to help them begin their journey into wine. If they come in with lots of experience, we try to find out what we have to offer them with our experience and knowledge.<br />
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<i>8. What has been your most interesting customer interaction?</i><br />
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There have been so many it is hard to identify just one. In general, I find it most interesting for me when customers come to the bar with experience in the industry and a vast knowledge of wine, these customers challenge me to dig deep and make sure I can still provide them a valuable, educational, and fun experience. Especially when the customer has never had experience with fruit wine in the past.<br />
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<i>9. When you go on vacation, do you go to wine-making areas or do you take a break from it all? What do you do for fun?</i><br />
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I can’t remember when I last took a vacation that did not include wine tasting, or at least the attempt to seek out wineries in the places I visit. When you are doing what you love, there is no need to take a vacation from it! However, life is full of interesting and wonderful things other than wine, and I try and make sure to keep my time diversified with some of my other interests. I enjoy, running, biking, hiking (primarily winter hiking and camping), kayaking, and traveling in general to discover new places.<br />
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<i>And about wine itself:</i><br />
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<i>10. Is there a wine or type of wine you secretly love but don't readily admit it? Or secretly hate?</i><br />
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No secrets here. First, my love of wine is largely about its diversity. I try to keep an open mind and explore new wines, styles, regions, etc. when ever the opportunity is available. If I find something I love (or hate), there is not reason to keep it secret. <br />
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<i>11. What has been your most memorable wine-drinking experience?</i><br />
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Visiting wineries in France and discovering frist hand wines for some of my favorite regions.<br />
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<i>12. If you could open and drink any bottle in the shop/cellar but you had to pay for it, what would it be? In other words, what would be your splurge at your restaurant/store?</i><br />
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I am in the wine business, so clearly have to be frugal when purchasing wine, however, I am ok with spending between 50 and 100 dollars a bottle if I a reasonably confident that the wine I will be trying will be unique and exceptional enough to justify it. There are so many wines that might fit this category from so many regions of the world that it would be hard to pick a specific brand. I often look for wines of southern France, Provence, Languedoc, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, when I am looking for a special red wine.<br />
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<i>13. If you could go on an all-expenses paid trip to a wine area or region, where would you go and why?</i><br />
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France, and I would hope to include multiple regions, starting with Bordeaux.<br />
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<i>14. What wine or wines are your personal "house wines," ones you always keep on hand in case company comes over or you just want to pop one open yourself?</i><br />
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With respect to wines from my own winery, I have several, including, our crabapple, petite blue, lake house white, and some of our big barrel aged reds from chili. If you are talking about wines from other regions, again, I have a fairly wide collection of wines from the regions of southern France.<br />
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<i>Thank you so much for your answers, Bob! </i><br />
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<i>If you are a wine professional and would like to be interviewed or know someone you'd like to know more from, please fill out the contact form on the right or email me at cecilia (at) ceciliadominic (dot) com</i><br />
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<i>Sometimes as a psychologist, I'm a little too close to the subject, and it can be hard to disengage from a pathological perspective. </i><i>I have to give special thanks to Hubby and our friends and fellow oenophiles Dan and Kirsten B. for helping me to come up with many of these great questions.</i>Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-25070749713354769422015-07-14T00:00:00.000-04:002015-07-14T00:00:00.683-04:00Oeno-fessions: I Drank Fruit Wine and I Liked It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tasting bar at Hermit Woods Winery</td></tr>
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I was going to try and figure out how to do this overlaid with the lyrics to the Katy Perry song <i>I Kissed a Girl</i>, but alas, I just couldn't make it work.<br />
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In the wine world there are anti-snobs, or people who eschew snobbery and then get kind of snobby about doing so. Then there are those who know what they like and what they don't, but sometimes they make these decisions based on hearsay or assumptions. That's where Hubby and I were with fruit wine until last spring.<br />
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My aunt Nancy in Meredith, New Hampshire had been trying to get me up there for a book signing for a while. She acted as a liaison to get me in contact with Bob Manley, one of the partners at <a href="http://hermitwoods.com/" target="_blank">Hermit Woods Winery</a>, and we planned it for the end of March to celebrate my second book <a href="http://ceciliadominic.blogspot.com/2014/02/long-shadows-excerpt.html" target="_blank">Long Shadows</a> coming out in paperback.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My book postcards, munchies, and Blueberry Wine</td></tr>
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Of course I was super excited about this - I love doing signings and drinking wine. Hubby and I had tasted wine in New Hampshire before, and although most of it was hybrids, at least it was made from some sort of grapes. I called my mom to tell her, and she said, "You do know that's fruit wine, right?"<br />
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My reaction:<br />
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After I got through my dramatic chipmunk moment, I thought, "What the heck?" We've typically skipped - okay, avoided - wineries that focus on fruit wine, probably because of old associations with that stuff our college friends liked, you know, the stuff starting with Arbor and ending with Mist, but we'd never tasted fruit wine made by people who were really serious about it and who had formal oenology training. (See tomorrow's interview with Bob to see what his background is - I was impressed)<br />
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When I stopped by the winery the day before the signing, Bob greeted me and Hubby and offered to let us do a tasting. We accepted, bellied up to the bar, and...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wine for snail, er, sale!</td></tr>
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We drank fruit wine. <i>And we liked it.</i> And we learned stuff. As Bob, who has made wines from grapes in the past, pointed out, winemakers often do things to get certain fruit characteristics. At Hermit Woods, they start with the fruits and go for flavor profiles from there.<br />
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The highlights with comparisons for vinifera wine drinkers:<br />
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2013 Lake House White: really nice stone fruit nose, reminiscent of a white Bordeaux. Made from 52% Peach-23% Rhubarb, 13% Quince, and 12% Rosehips.<br />
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2013 Three-Honey Wine: A mead made from three different wildflower honeys. I found it to be nice and light-bodied. Made me think I need to re-investigate mead.<br />
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2013 Knot Mead: Made from Japanese Knot Weed flower honey. Tastes like a dry Riesling.<br />
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2013 Heirloom Crabapple: My neighbors had a crabapple tree when I was growing up, and we were always told not to try them because they'd be horribly bitter. This wine is not what I expected at all. Bob recommended it over ice or with Mexican food. I concur. Made from 95% Crabapple Wine, 5% Blueberry.<br />
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2012 Hermitage: I thought this was a play on Meritage because it kind of tastes like a light Bordeaux, but it references the hermitage that's part of the winery's name. Made from 40% Blueberry, 35% Elderberry, 25% Blackcurrant and aged in French oak for two years.<br />
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2013 Deep Blue: This 100% Blueberry wine is reminiscent of a port.<br />
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I sold some books, and we came home with a couple of bottles, one gifted to us from Bob. Yes, I was pleasantly surprised, and I won't allow my preconceptions to get in the way of me trying new things again.<br />
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<br />Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-68207921768923052642015-07-08T00:00:00.000-04:002015-07-08T23:08:21.635-04:00Five Things to Love about the South Okanagan ValleySince the kids these days are all about lists, I thought I'd create one to discuss some of the highlights from our recent trip to the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada. Before you ask, no we didn't see any of the Women's World Cup soccer (futbol for those of you from outside the U.S.) games, although we did walk by the Fox Sports pavilion when we were in Vancouver. The Okanagan Valley is about four hours to the east of Vancover across the mountains, and they make really good wine. We'd been there before, but this time we focused around the Osoyoos Lake and the wineries in and around Osoyoos and Oliver.<br />
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Without further ado, here are five things to love about the South Okanagan:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Tinhorn Creek Winery</td></tr>
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1. The views.<br />
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Seriously, whether you're in the valley or on one of the ridges, everywhere you look, it's breathtaking.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the grapes have a view.</td></tr>
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2. The experience.<br />
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Hubby and I have tasted wine in several places including California, Oregon, Washington, and several other states including Georgia (duh), Pennsylvania, and Texas. Canadians have a reputation for being nice, and this comes through in the non-snobbishness of the tasting rooms. Granted, the wine-making operations seemed bigger than the previous time we were there, but it still felt laid-back and relaxed, even in the busier tasting rooms. Apparently winery-hopping is a popular "stagette" (i.e., bachelorette) activity, but everything was handled well.<br />
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3. Drinkable white varietals<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-beYsbGFP4tg/VZl79xsOgNI/AAAAAAAABno/0JDaXNu5YRc/s1600/Fairview%2BSB%2Bin%2BVancouver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-beYsbGFP4tg/VZl79xsOgNI/AAAAAAAABno/0JDaXNu5YRc/s200/Fairview%2BSB%2Bin%2BVancouver.jpg" width="93" /></a>I typically stay away from Sauvignon Blanc because I find it to be too tart for drinking on its own, and Hubby doesn't like Pinot Grigio, but in the Okanagan Valley, these two grapes take on a smoother characteristic with stone fruit to balance the citrus. The Pinot Gris, as they call it there, also has more body to it than Italian Pinot Grigio, and we found the same with <a href="http://hestercreek.com/" target="_blank">Hester Creek</a>'s Trebbiano. The highlight Sauvignon Blanc was from <a href="http://www.maverickwine.ca/" target="_blank">Maverick</a>, which has an adorable tiny tasting room in the bottom of the valley right off the highway but still with a nice view. We enjoyed the one we bought from<a href="http://fairviewcellars.ca/fairviewcellars.ca/Welcome.html" target="_blank"> Fairview Cellars</a> in Vancouver with a view of the harbor after an amazing sushi meal.<br />
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4. Interesting red varietals<br />
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Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot are usually blended in with other Bordeaux grapes and rarely get the chance to shine on their own. They do in the Okanagan - pretty much everyone has a Cab Franc. The best we tasted were a <a href="http://www.tinhorn.com/" target="_blank">Tinhorn Creek</a>, and you can see that we came home with both the red and the rose. Another great find was the <a href="https://deserthills.ca/" target="_blank">Desert Hill</a>s gamay, which they also make as a red and rose (and where the guy pouring the wine was pretty cute - don't tell Hubby). We already drank the red when we celebrated Canada Day last week. The regular reds - Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir, are also pretty fabulous. We came back with a <a href="http://www.mooncurser.com/" target="_blank">Moon Curser</a> Syrah.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R8jaSL_QgVY/VZl79_QxmCI/AAAAAAAABnw/rQXO6JwvxxQ/s1600/Canadian%2Bwines%2Bat%2Bhome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="303" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R8jaSL_QgVY/VZl79_QxmCI/AAAAAAAABnw/rQXO6JwvxxQ/s400/Canadian%2Bwines%2Bat%2Bhome.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The haul</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cherries!</td></tr>
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5. The food<br />
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The first thing we noticed when we drove into the valley was that cherries were ripening, which we were told was happening about a month ahead of the usual time. They were beautiful, as were the meals on the plate. The restaurants there take pride in using locally sourced food and do great things with it. Strawberries were also in season, and we enjoyed a strawberry crepe at a place in Oliver and a strawberry dessert at the Tinhorn Creek restaurant <a href="http://www.tinhorn.com/Restaurant" target="_blank">Miradoro</a>, which is where we had our fancy meal, going for the chef's tasting menu with wine pairings.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strawberry crepe at <a href="http://cockandbulloliverbc.com/" target="_blank">Cock & Bull</a> in Oliver</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First course at Miradoro.</td></tr>
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If you're looking for somewhere off the beaten path, Canada's Okanagan Valley is a great place to visit. For more information or to plan your own wine tour, visit <a href="http://winetourhandbook.ca/">winetourhandbook.ca</a> They even have a Twitter account, <a href="https://twitter.com/bcwinetour" target="_blank">@BCwinetour</a><br />
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Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-90127017184857072772015-07-06T00:00:00.000-04:002015-07-06T11:13:11.094-04:00Kitchen Playtime: Summer HolidaysHappy belated July Fourth and Canada Day! This post covers the food we made for both.<br />
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Since Canada Day was July first, I'll start with that one. I got caught in a hellacious rainstorm that afternoon while on a marketing visit, and so I was really happy that Hubby volunteered to cook that night while I went into introvert recovery mode, i.e., pet the cat and stared at my phone for a couple of hours. He'd found strawberries at the Union County Farmers' Market (in Blairsville), so he made <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-lamb-chops-wheat-berry-strawberry-lacinato-kale-salad" target="_blank">Grilled Lamb Chops with Wheat Berry, Strawberry, and Lacinato Kale Salad</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks kind of like the picture in the magazine</td></tr>
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We've just been to Canada - check back Wednesday for that post, already written and scheduled, so it will be here - and brought back some Canadian wine. I'd say this bottle was our first casualty from the trip, but one actually didn't make it out of Vancouver. Oh, well. We enjoyed the lamb chops with a lovely gamay from <a href="https://deserthills.ca/" target="_blank">Desert Hills Winery</a>. You've probably just wrinkled your nose as memories of Beaujolais Nouveau flooded your brain. This wine wasn't like those at all. Think medium-bodied and nice fruit but with enough acid to be perfect with food.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, Canada! I love your wines.</td></tr>
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Since we were both off from work on Friday morning, I decided to make a real breakfast. I drew on memories from my childhood, when my Belgian mother would make Croque Monsieurs. One of my Belgian cousins corrected me on Facebook saying that if it has an egg, it's a Croque Madame. Oh, well. Alas, no cheesy sauce, either, which I've seen in restaurants. To make this version, toast some bread and top with ham (I used turkey - it's what I had), tomatoes, and an egg sunny-side up.<br />
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Saturday morning we ran the Peachtree Road Race in the pouring rain. At least it wasn't horribly hot. Dinner was burgers made with the special blend of pork, beef, and ground bacon from <a href="http://www.pinestreetmarket.com/" target="_blank">Pine Street Market</a>, which I didn't get a picture of because I was really hungry, and cucumber and tomato salad. It's a super easy summer salad made from cucumbers and tomatoes - in case you were wondering - onion, and a vinaigrette that allows for a lot of freedom. I used the same one I made for the <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/greek-tomato-cucumber-salad-farro" target="_blank">Greek Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Farro</a> I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, but I think next time I'll switch out the proportions of lemon juice and vinegar.<br />
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On Sunday morning, we slept in, and I made blueberry muffins from the recipe in the Joy of Cooking cookbook.<br />
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I also had my kitchen oops of the week. We had one bag of peach pie filling in the freezer from last year, so since it's had a birthday, I decided to make it. I assembled it but forgot to turn the temperature down for the last cooking period, so the crust ended up a little overdone:<br />
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It still tasted good, though.</div>
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And finally, here are the ribs Hubby made Sunday evening:<br />
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They ended up with a few extra minutes on the grill because of the women's world cup championship game - go USA! I didn't take a picture of them plated because, well, the sides were grocery store slaw and beans from a can. The recipe came from Selby Winery, which sends food pairing suggestions for with their wine. We ate them with a lovely Selby Merlot.Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-68382208415042844432015-06-21T20:44:00.000-04:002015-06-21T20:44:04.334-04:00Kitchen playtime: Summer produce is finally here!Well, I've been here, there, and everywhere, or that's how it seems. The past month and a half has included trips to North Georgia, Athens, Dallas, Seattle, Okanagan Valley, and Vancouver. I do plan to blog on some of those, but I wanted to get back to the basics. I'm ready to get serious about reporting on my kitchen playtime, which I will try to do every week. Yes, I hear you scoffing. That only motivates me further. Hmph.<br />
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Here in the South, we have four seasons: rainy, pollen, hot/humid, and dark too early but pleasant. You can guess where we are now with highs in the nineties and humidity that makes my naturally curly hair shrink up about an inch every time I walk outside. Mindfulness teaches us that nothing is all good or all bad, so as much as we hate going outside in the summer, we do get the benefit of amazing summer fruits and vegetables. Here in Atlanta we have several farmers markets that focus on local organic produce, and Hubby and I hit the Freedom Park market yesterday after we ran the Braves Country 5K. Yeah, next year I think I'll go back to my "no races during the summer" rule.<br />
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My first two recipes are courtesy of the July and June 2015 issues of Cooking Light, respectively. In the first, <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/greek-tomato-cucumber-salad-farro" target="_blank">Greek Tomato Cucumber Salad with Farro</a>, they return to a familiar combination of tomatoes, cucumber, feta, and vinaigrette that they first introduced me to in the early 2000's with wraps, which I couldn't find the recipes for. Let's play compare the pictures. Here's what their salads looked like:<br />
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And here's mine:</div>
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Yes, it's in a big bowl because we doubled the recipe so we could have leftovers for lunches. But aside from the plating difference and the fact that their recipe hides the farro and includes the cheese, I'd say I got close. The farro cooked quickly, and the biggest hassle of the recipe was all the chopping, but even that wasn't so bad, especially since I got the pre-halved, pitted kalamata olives. The best part - it didn't heat up the kitchen.</div>
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The next recipe, <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/greek-tomato-cucumber-salad-farro" target="_blank">Tomato-Leek Pie with Quinoa Crust</a>, didn't have that advantage. It's not a quick recipe, and it, too, has a lot of chopping but this time in a kitchen with a preheated oven. We were so hungry by the time it was finally done I didn't get a picture until after we'd gotten into it:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dl7Qnf5z5zA/VYdLTi5tDyI/AAAAAAAABk4/HMzXaRkz220/s1600/2015-06-21%2B15.24.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dl7Qnf5z5zA/VYdLTi5tDyI/AAAAAAAABk4/HMzXaRkz220/s320/2015-06-21%2B15.24.58.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I have a habit of buying berries when they're in season and then freezing them with all the best intentions of making smoothies. This can result in us having several "vintages" of berries. Since the oven was already on, I decided to go ahead and clear out last year's vintage as well as a few stray strawberries from 2012 (don't ask) and make a mixed berry cobbler:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tkTNIHWYzG0/VYdL2ql5IOI/AAAAAAAABlA/9wzSS7YAtz0/s1600/2015-06-21%2B16.35.05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tkTNIHWYzG0/VYdL2ql5IOI/AAAAAAAABlA/9wzSS7YAtz0/s320/2015-06-21%2B16.35.05.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Oh, and some of the blueberries had already been used for pancakes this morning:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pWkGub7puWY/VYdL5P1v8jI/AAAAAAAABlI/FvdFMJc_Uyk/s1600/2015-06-21%2B11.33.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pWkGub7puWY/VYdL5P1v8jI/AAAAAAAABlI/FvdFMJc_Uyk/s320/2015-06-21%2B11.33.40.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The cobbler recipe came from The Joy of Cooking, and the buttermilk pancakes from Cooking Light. Links not included because I couldn't find the CL one, and the Joy of Cooking is a book not a website.</div>
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Finally, our wine of the week is the <a href="https://www.thrallswine.com/wines/detail?item=2014-ros-of-pinot-noir-russian-river-valley" target="_blank">Thralls 2014 Rosé of Pinot Noir</a>. I once overheard one guy say to another at a rosé tasting, "If you're a dude drinking pink wine, you're going to have to take some [stuff]." It's really good, and even if you're a dude drinking this pink wine, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Hubby, who is notoriously picky about rosé wine actually likes this one. It pairs well with vegetables, light grilled meats, and hot flashes. We're in the wine club, so we got a discount, but this one is well worth the price.</div>
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So where do you go after all that lovely vegetable-ness? We ordered pizza tonight.</div>
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Oh, and to share my kitchen dumbassery of the week, I found out that when berry juice goes all over your counters from berries that thaw way more quickly than you expect, it looks like someone was murdered.</div>
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Have a lovely week! Just a reminder, if you'd like to sign up for my newsletter to find out about my books, sleep tips, and extra wine info, click <a href="http://eepurl.com/bjz2yf" target="_blank">here</a>. I only send one out every one to two months, so you don't have to worry about getting them too often.</div>
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Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-68152239218538021602015-05-06T22:00:00.000-04:002015-05-06T22:01:51.615-04:00Tasting and a potential book pairingHubby and I live in an area of Atlanta that's frequently called a city of functional alcoholics. I would say I don't know why the Decatur/Avondale Estates part of town has that nickname, but we do have a lot of great pubs, bars, restaurants, and wine, beer, and liquor shops.<br />
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One of our favorites is the <a href="http://www.thelittlewineshopatl.com/" target="_blank">Little Wine Shop</a> in Avondale Estates. We're members of the wine club there and are regular attendees of the wine club tastings, which occur on the first Tuesday of the month. Typically a representative from the distributor will come and talk about the wine, and one of my favorites is Jeff Hagley from Atlanta Wholesale Wine. He's helping me with a blog project, and hopefully I'll be hearing from him soon. Meanwhile, I'll talk about last night's Spanish wine tasting, which occurred in the lovely loft space at TLWS:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo shamelessly borrowed from TLWS website.</td></tr>
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When Jeff lined up the bottles after the tasting, he put them backwards, so, from right to left, here's the lineup:</div>
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And the highlights:<br />
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The first bottle, the bright green one with the yellow label is the Ulacia Txakolina, which is a lovely crisp white with a little frizzante, which is wine-speak for some fizz but not sparkling-wine level bubbles. This would be one to impress your friends with.<br />
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Of the reds, I liked the 2012 Al-Muvedre Monastrell from Alicante. The nose promised blackberry and dark cherry, and after some determined swirling it delivered, but in a nice, elegant way. The term used for this one was "quaffable." I agree.<br />
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Finally, my favorite of the evening:<br />
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This was the "bonus wine," a chance for Jeff to bring something special in his portfolio. The 2009 Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial from Ribero del Duero is a blend of 75% Tempranillo, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Syrah. It got a "wow" from me in my wine notes for its spiciness, but in a good flourless chocolate cake kind of way. Alas, it was only available for special order, and the price point - $33.</div>
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If you like to pair wine with books, check out the Little Wine Shop's <a href="http://www.thelittlewineshopatl.com/?s=book" target="_blank">Wine, Women & Words book club</a>, which meets quarterly. My book <a href="http://www.ceciliadominic.blogspot.com/2013/08/excerpt-mountains-shadow-lycanthropy.html" target="_blank">The Mountain's Shadow</a> is the selection for May, and there are still spots available. You can purchase your tickets <a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/o/little-wine-shop-management-7923299554?s=32775066" target="_blank">here</a>. The cost is $15.00, and that includes two wines with tasting notes and munchies. I'll be there to lead the discussion, and of course I'll have goodies to give away. Yes, it's for women only. Hope to see you ladies there!</div>
Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-86160645706801357162015-04-09T12:34:00.002-04:002015-04-09T14:57:53.217-04:00Kitchen playtime: Easter weekendHubby and I always look forward to Easter, which we feels gives us the opportunity for some serious kitchen playtime. We start discussing the menu weeks in advance, and there is a careful selection of recipes as well as strategizing what to pick up where. Yes, I just made up a word.<br />
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So first, the cooking wine:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fMmAYtp_9js/VSakrXKMFzI/AAAAAAAABcw/-h0YJUhwO_g/s1600/2015-04-05%2B16.15.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fMmAYtp_9js/VSakrXKMFzI/AAAAAAAABcw/-h0YJUhwO_g/s1600/2015-04-05%2B16.15.22.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yes, that is the 2013 Blanc de Syrah Brut from <a href="http://www.wolfmountainvineyards.com/" target="_blank">Wolf Mountain Vineyards</a> here in Georgia. They make fabulous sparkling wines, and while they do have one sweeter one, the rest are nice and dry. This one is like spring strawberries in a glass.<br />
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And now the recipe sources:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W_31zD77HAU/VSak6hXNriI/AAAAAAAABd4/Jg04ea1cheA/s1600/2015-04-05%2B19.50.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W_31zD77HAU/VSak6hXNriI/AAAAAAAABd4/Jg04ea1cheA/s1600/2015-04-05%2B19.50.52.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Those would be the November 2014 Cooking Light (chard salad), John Sarich's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chef-Vineyard-Simple-Recipes-Estates/dp/0970805020/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428596232&sr=8-1&keywords=chef+in+the+vineyard+Sarich" target="_blank">Chef in the Vineyard</a> (roasted lamb with cherry sauce), and perennial favorite Brother Rick Curry's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Jesuit-Breadmaking-Rick-Curry/dp/0060951184/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428596310&sr=1-1&keywords=secrets+of+jesuit+bread+making" target="_blank">The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking</a>.<br />
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Of course the first part of the meal to be started was the yeast rolls since they rise twice. One thing to remember about the recipes in this book is that the dough tends to be very soft when you turn it out to knead. My best trick for dealing with this issue in this particular recipe is after the initial mixing/kneading period, switch to the dough hook and knead for two more minutes adding 1/2-3/4 cup more flour. It really helps. So, here they are. Rise, my pretties!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p1AOdDRJZdY/VSakrSgp_AI/AAAAAAAABcs/QuOsV07yDbk/s1600/2015-04-05%2B18.16.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p1AOdDRJZdY/VSakrSgp_AI/AAAAAAAABcs/QuOsV07yDbk/s1600/2015-04-05%2B18.16.25.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9I0ajOWJXlg/VSakrijD8qI/AAAAAAAABc0/clT4DGCPghQ/s1600/2015-04-05%2B16.45.50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9I0ajOWJXlg/VSakrijD8qI/AAAAAAAABc0/clT4DGCPghQ/s1600/2015-04-05%2B16.45.50.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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And baked. Seriously, I <i>love</i> this recipe.<br />
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And now for the <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chard-salad-apricot-vinaigrette" target="_blank">Chopped Chard Salad with Apricot Vinaigrette</a>:<br />
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This is a great salad for when the farmers' markets are still full of wintry stuff. Yes, come on, spring! I'm ready for some good spring and summer produce. The salad is just as good with feta instead of goat cheese. And hey, it's Cooking Light, so it's healthy.</div>
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Finally, the roasted leg of lamb with cherry sauce. Being half Belgian, I'm a sucker for meat/fruit combinations. I might have gotten a little too into the stabbing it before stuffing the herb mixture into the crevices and rubbing it:</div>
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But stab, stuff, and rub I did. Here's the cooked leg of lamb:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FPez-t1354g/VSakw0Qvk0I/AAAAAAAABdQ/xQtsf_KZPII/s1600/2015-04-05%2B19.07.07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FPez-t1354g/VSakw0Qvk0I/AAAAAAAABdQ/xQtsf_KZPII/s1600/2015-04-05%2B19.07.07.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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And Hubby engaged in his own knife work:</div>
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Ta da! Easter dinner (salads in bowls on the side):</div>
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The cherries in this sauce added more tart than sweet notes and made for a nice acidic foil for the meat. </div>
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And, of course, the Easter wine, the 2012 Les Serrottes from Languedoc-Roussillon, France. Yes, this one is unfiltered and needs to be decanted for at least 30-60 minutes for that reason and to let it smooth out. Once it did, though, it went great with the roasted meat and cherry sauce.</div>
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Whatever you did, I hope you had a lovely Easter/Passover/spring weekend!</div>
Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-35745702453935152882015-04-05T18:02:00.000-04:002015-04-05T18:12:36.227-04:00The blog is risen!So now that I'm probably in trouble with half my readers for that blog post title, here's the scoop on what's happened over the past year and a half.<br />
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First, I'm sorry to have disappeared for so long. I actually ended up getting a fiction book deal, and then it turned into another, and then the third in the trilogy was contracted, and, well, you get the picture. The first two are available in ebook and paper, and the third is currently ebook only. All of them involve much eating and drinking of alcoholic beverages.<br />
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And then book four, which is a stand-alone, is coming out on May 12. It actually has a character who's an oenology student.<br />
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For info on the books including links to excerpts and places where you can buy them, please visit my writing blog, <a href="http://www.ceciliadominic.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cecilia's Random Writings</a>.<br />
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Second, there's been a lot of personal and health stuff that I'm not going to go into and some major developments with the day job. Yep, it's been busy, and I now have a minion. But never fear, through it all, we have continued to drink lots of wine and eat really good food. In fact, here's what I'm drinking today:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wolf Mountain Vineyards 2013 Blanc de Syrah Brut</td></tr>
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Oh, and we got a kitten. Kittens are bad for productivity, but at least he knows what one does with a bottle of wine. Yeah, it makes me worry that he's observed us open a few too many of these that he knows that the top comes off.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meet Timothy Mouse. Look at that smug grin.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I couldn't find evidence of him decanting it.</td></tr>
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So here's what Hubby and I have planned moving forward:<br />
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1. Since we do most of our cooking over the weekends, we end up doing most of our food and wine pairings then. I'm going to try to write about what we ate and drank as well as recipe commentary. With regard to cooking expertise, I'd rate us as moderately proficient, which means we're still learning and making mistakes. Yes, I'll post about the mistakes, too. Just don't ask about the purple tofu.<br />
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2. I'm going to try to bring some of my psychology background into the blog with interviews of people in the wine industry. If you are such an individual and would like to be interviewed, please email me at cecilia (at) ceciliadominic (dot) com<br />
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3. Continued commentary on wine, wineries, and restaurants.<br />
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4. More random posts from Hubby because he's good at random, and he's really funny.<br />
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5. An updated site. Yep, it's in progress. We'll let you know when we move it.Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-22246605085050590882013-11-17T21:17:00.000-05:002013-11-17T21:18:56.942-05:00Wines and Wineries - Our Weekend Dash Through Sonoma County<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Okay, wow, where did September and October go? I had every intent to post this soon after returning from our California trip, but yeah, life got busy, I released a novel, and I had two of the busiest weeks ever at my private practice. Although I've been drinking plenty of wine, there hasn't been much time to write about it. I do intend to tell y'all about the vertical Claret tasting we did today at Wolf Mountain winery, but I'll do that next weekend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Sonoma County will always have a special place in my heart because that's where we went in May, 2005 for my "Holy crap, you're finally done with school!" trip. Although I wouldn't officially graduate with my Ph.D. until August, we partied like I was already a doctor. Wine -- it's medicinal, right?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This September, after two whole days of PowerPoint Slides at the APA Work and Well-Being Conference in San Francisco, I needed some wine. The conference was good, but I have a low PowerPoint tolerance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We started out from San Francisco on Saturday morning after having stopped at Molinari's Deli and gotten sandwiches. Here's a picture from inside the Deli, which is on Columbus Avenue. Yes, this is where Italians get to stop by on the way to Heaven if they've been very good:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After navigating through a bunch of traffic, we finally made it up to Healdsburg and <a href="http://www.untivineyards.com/" target="_blank">Unti Vineyards</a>, where Hubby went inside to go to the bathroom and came out with a bottle of 2012 <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ros</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">é (83% Grenache, 17% Mourvedre) and a couple of glasses. We enjoyed a late picnic lunch with the sandwiches. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We discovered Unti on one of our previous trips to Healdsburg because they do wines with Italian grapes. Annoyingly, my notes wandered off between the end of the trip and now, but the wines were just as good as I remembered, and the 2011 Barbera came home to Georgia with us. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We checked in at the <a href="http://www.haydon.com/" target="_blank">Haydon Street Inn</a> and wandered into Healdsburg for more wine. Of course we had to stop by <a href="http://www.selbywinery.com/" target="_blank">Selby Winery</a> because we're in their wine club. Their big, fruity reds are a must for chilly nights with hearty dishes. Highlights on this tasting trip included:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2012 Sauvignon Blanc: Yay! More floral and tropical fruit aspects than grass, but still with good structure.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2012 </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Ros</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">é of Syrah: With a "kiss of Grenache," this one is nicely balanced.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2008 Cabernet Franc: Nice and fruity without the harsh tannins sometimes found in Cabernet Franc.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2008 Petite Syrah: This grape can sometimes come across with grape soda flavors, but not this one, which is very nice and elegant.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2009 Old Vines Zinfandel: Yes, Selby does Zin very well.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2010 Bobcat Reserve Zinfandel: Always a favorite.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Next stop was <a href="http://www.roadhousewinery.com/" target="_blank">Roadhouse Winery</a>, which had some decent Pinot Noirs and a good Zinfandel, but nothing spectacular. To be fair, I'll admit that by September, I'm pretty over Pinot Noir because it's a go-to summer red. Next year I've got to follow through on that perpetual vow to drink more French and Italian reds to find some other light-bodied options for summer.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We went to the <a href="http://www.topelwines.com/" target="_blank">Topel Winery</a> tasting room next, whre we tried both the Red Flight and the Winemaker Special Flight. A lot of the grapes came from outside Sonoma. I don't have detailed notes, but the highlights included the following:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2010 St. Helena Battuello Vineyard Gamay: Not Beaujolais Nouveau by any means.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2007 Mendocino Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2009 Mendocino Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2009 </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">St. Helena </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Battuello Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Finally, that evening at the B&B, there was a tasting with wines from <a href="http://www.portalupiwine.com/Tasting-Room" target="_blank">Portalupi</a>. Three out of the four got a "Very Good" rating from me, the 2010 Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley), 2010 Barbera (Shenandoah Valley -- the West Coast one), and 2011 Old Vine ZInfandel (Dolinsek Ranch, Russian River Valley). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We met some very nice people and even shared some of our Unti </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">ros</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">é</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> with them after the tasting. We finished it up later by the fire pit:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sunday morning, we drove town toward the town of Sonoma itself and hung out with our friend Ed Thralls, who works for Flowers Winery and is now making his own stuff. His first vintage was promising, and the Pinot Noir we tasted from him this time around was very good. He's going to be one to watch. He also has an awesome view from his back door. No, his wine isn't that light in color, it's just how the light is hitting it.</span><br />
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We didn't do much tasting in Sonoma itself, just stopped into wine bars and explored the town by the glass. The night ended somewhat randomly when the sound of jazz lured us into the <a href="http://www.erickjames.com/index.html" target="_blank">Erick James</a> tasting room, where the winemaker himself as "Sonoma Satchmo" and his band played to a small crowd. It was random but fun.</span><br />
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If you're wondering about my book, it's an urban fantasy mystery featuring werewolves with a scientific twists, and it's available in all ebook formats. You can get the details including summary, excerpts, and links to buy it at my <a href="http://www.ceciliadominic.com/" target="_blank">author website</a>. Yes, my characters eat and drink well. It's also very helpful during harvest and while sampling Malbec grapes:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-50373246560474066432013-09-22T22:56:00.002-04:002013-09-22T23:15:52.586-04:00Know Your Saints: Saint MauriceSeptember 22 marks the feast day of Saint Maurice.<br />
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Why ever is he here? Read on! <br />
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<a name='more'></a>For those who don't know<sup><a href="http://random-oenophile.blogspot.com/2013/09/know-your-saints-saint-maurice.html#maurice1">1</a></sup>, Maurice was the leader of the Roman Theban Legion. According to the Interwebs, the Roman Emperor Maximian called upon the Theban Legion to help quell a revolt in Gaul. So Maurice and 6,599 of his closest friends headed off to Gaul and put said revolt down, much to the chagrin, presumably, of Asterix<sup><a href="http://random-oenophile.blogspot.com/2013/09/know-your-saints-saint-maurice.html#maurice2">2</a></sup>.<br />
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One would think that Maximian would be all, "Nice job, bro!" One would be wrong. Not content with kicking Galatian arse, Maximian tried to get Maurice and his legion to offer sacrifices to the Roman gods for their success and, quoth Wikipedia, "harass some local Christians." Maurice, being a good Christian, said no. Somewhat annoyed, Maximian again asked them to make their sacrifices. The legion again said no. Maximian, now somewhat annoyed, ordered every tenth man in put to death with the threat of a second "decimation" unless they obeyed his order. The legion refused to budge. Now seriously ticked off, Maximian ordered the second decimation and warned the legion that they would all be killed if they persisted in their disobedience. Maurice, encouraging his men to stay true their faith, told Maximian to bugger off. Convinced now that Maurice was a stubborn sort, Maximian ordered the whole legion killed.<br />
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Sorry, folks. No happy endings here. The massacre was completed. Maurice and his entire legion were put to death.<br />
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Now that I have you all depressed, you might be asking yourself, <i>"Self, why is he posting about a massacre from the 3rd Century?"</i><br />
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Glad you asked!<br />
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Since then Maurice has gone through the application and approval process to become a fully venerated saint. He is now the patron saint of soldiers, swordsmiths, armies, and infantrymen. Got menstrual cramps? Maurice is your guy. And of course, Saint Maurice is the patron saint of the pompetus of love.<sup><a href="http://random-oenophile.blogspot.com/2013/09/know-your-saints-saint-maurice.html#maurice3">3</a></sup><br />
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<i>"But self, swords? Cramps? What does this have to do with a wine blog?"</i><br />
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Well, despite my unfortunate lack of Catholicism, this could be a result of me feeling close to the Catholic church after a few post-mass Guinnesses<sup><a href="http://random-oenophile.blogspot.com/2013/09/know-your-saints-saint-maurice.html#maurice4">4</a></sup>. It could also be that I started drinking when the Braves clinched the NL East division title today and kept going because, for crying out loud, did you SEE the crap the Falcons put forth this afternoon?!<br />
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But really, St. Maurice is also the patron saint of the Piedmont region of Italy, home of delicious Barbaresco and Barolo wines. So, in honor of St. Maurice, we encourage everyone to join us in opening up a delicious Piedmont wine to enjoy.<br />
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Cheers!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Data sourced from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Maurice">Wikipedia</a> and the <a href="http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/synexarion/maurice.html">Coptic Orthodox Church Network</a>. Image of Saint Maurice is from the user <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Chris_73">Chris 73</a> and is freely available at <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Maurice_Magdeburg.jpg">http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Maurice_Magdeburg.jpg</a> under the <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">Creative Commons cc-by-sa 3.0</a> license.</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="maurice1"><sup>1</sup></a> Like, say, me before I started Googling random crap last night.<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="maurice2"><sup>2</sup></a> I have it on good authority that Obelix stayed home that day.<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="maurice3"><sup>3</sup></a> It's entirely possible that I made that up. Like, 100% entirely.<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="maurice4"><sup>4</sup></a> Firefox recommended "guiltiness" as an alternative there. Make of this what you will.Leoghannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09414262756391316230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-2660415237335300532013-09-16T20:56:00.001-04:002013-09-16T21:04:40.417-04:00Central Coast California: Day Three<div>
I'm taking advantage of the free wireless at <a href="http://www.enowinerooms.com/hotspots/san-francisco" target="_blank">Eno Wine Bar</a>, which is off Union Square in San Francisco, to post this, the last report from Paso Robles. Later this week, I'll be sharing our adventures in Sonoma. I'll also be doing that from a computer, so I can get my links embedded beyond the first picture, which just isn't happening on my iThing. The events below happened on Tuesday, September 10.</div>
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Any day that starts with a hot tub and massage is a good day. Yes, this was the day we spent the morning at a spa.<br />
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We decided to mosey on after our relaxation-fest to <a href="http://www.hugcellars.com/" target="_blank">Hug Cellars</a>, where we enjoyed talking to Raquel. She also has a nifty reference book collection and gave us some great recs for when we return to San Francisco. Seriously, though, I could definitely stay in Paso Robles for a while. Because they have fried Mac and Cheese (at <a href="http://www.pappymcgregors.com/" target="_blank">Pappy McGregor's</a>):</div>
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Okay, back to the Hug wines. We liked all of them. We joined their wine club. No, this was not under the influence of hot springs and massages, they were just that good and highlighted how good Paso Robles winery do Rhone blends.</div>
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Then we moseyed on to Eberle (www.eberlewinery.com), which we'd been wanting to visit since a friend of ours discovered their Zin at a wine bar in Atlanta. As we expected we liked their big reds the best, but some of the whites also surprised us, specifically:</div>
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2012 Estate Chardonnay: Although it had a hint of smoke on the nose, it was mostly tropical fruit and green apple on the palate.</div>
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2011 Mill Road Vineyard Viognier</div>
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2010 Barbera: Came back with us, didn't last the afternoon</div>
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2010 Steinbeck & Wine Bush Vineyards Zinfandel</div>
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2009 Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah</div>
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2010 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon</div>
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We only bought one because they have a lot of distribution, including to our area, and the guy we were talking to gave us the contact info for the distributor. We'll likely be reaching out to them once we get to big red season. They also had the nicest views so far:<br />
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Then we went on to Pear Valley Estate (www.pearvalley.com). I liked:</div>
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2012 Viognier: very nice, especially on the finish</div>
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2010 Zinfandel: no comments, just yum</div>
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2009 Inspiration: 59% Syrah, 32% Grenache, 9% Mourvedre</div>
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Yes, another GSM. I'm telling you, they know their Rhone grapes here.</div>
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2009 Syrah: see Zinfandel</div>
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And that was it for the wine tasting for us. We were insane to tackle eight wineries the day before, so we decided to chill and write blog posts for the rest of the afternoon. This occurred in an Irish/Scottish pub, so we felt right at home. Now if we can only get The Marlay House, our Irish pub at home, to start doing fried Mac & Cheese...</div>
Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-8741294461862593152013-09-14T14:26:00.000-04:002013-09-14T14:28:06.419-04:00More Tipsy Musings -- California Central Coast, Day TwoI wrote this on Tuesday and am posting this from our hotel room in San Francisco. We're headed north today to Healdsburg, and then to Sonoma tomorrow. I really did mean to post this earlier this week, but I was busy being a psychologist rather than an oenophile. Okay, I was drinking wine as well -- in San Francisco, how can you not? -- but wasn't in the blogging frame of mind. Due to a glitch in the Blogger app and some disagreement in the browser, some of the links are embedded, and some in parentheses after the places.<br />
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Back to the show...<br />
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When you're tasting wine in Paso Robles, there's only one number you need to know: 46, as in California Highway 46. On Monday, Hubby and I headed down CA 46 West for some tastings. Eight to be exact. When we told people afterward, they weren't sure whether to congratulate us or put us on a liver transplant list. How much of the wines from the last few vineyards did we taste? Who knows? I got cute cat pictures, though.<br />
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We started at <a href="http://www.turleywinecellars.com/" target="_blank">Turley Vineyards</a>, home of the Zins. It seems like Zins should have an adjective in front of it like "Fighting," but let's be real -- Zin, in all its fruity glory, is a lover, not a fighter. In hindsight, it was probably not the best idea to cuddle up to a 15+% wine first thing in the morning. Granted, we'd had a good breakfast and had even stopped off for Pringles because we couldn't find a freaking grocery store anywhere -- seriously, what do you Paso Robles people do for groceries? Grow them yourselves? If that's the case, we're totally raiding your Triscuit trees next visit. Those are our wine tasting starch of choice.</div>
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Anywho, we ended up with one of the "younger" Zins, younger defined as the vines being 50 or fewer years old. Then we moved on to <a href="http://www.redsoleswinery.com/" target="_blank">Red Soles</a>, where my favorites were the 2012 Flop Flip Viognier/Chardonnay blend and the 2011 Kick-Off, a nice smooth Zinfandel, Petite Syrah blend. Since we tend to run short on whites, we got the Flop Flip.</div>
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Hubby decided we needed a breakto move on to somewhere a little farther away, so we ventured out to Tablas Creek (www.tablascreek.com), which several people had recommended to us. This was where we discovered how well Paso Robles does Rhone grapes. I liked a lot of their wines, the highlights of which were:</div>
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2010 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc: 60% Roussanne, 35% Grenache Blanc, 5% Picpoul Blanc</div>
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Okay, so first, kudos for planting the Picpoul, one of my favorite whites. This one had nice, light fruit with honeysuckle overtones. Trust me, I'm from Georgia, where honeysuckle pops up in the middle of one's garden completely uninvited. If I say it's nice, it means it's nice. This one is named for the estate in France they have a partnership with.</div>
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2011 Mourvedre: It's a 100% Mourvèdre, and no, we're not sharing the bottle we bought.</div>
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2010 Esprit de Beaucastel: 45% Mourvedre, 30% Grenache Noir, 21% Syrah, 4% Counoise</div>
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Is it just me, or does talking about Counoise make one feel slightly dirty? Seriously, it sounds like a French euphemism for something naughty. Either way, this was a lovely blend with a little more tannin but still very good.</div>
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Then we moved on down the road to Oso Libre (www.osolibre.com), which translates to "free bear." We didn't see any bears, but they do raise black Angus cows. I couldn't help but envision a pre-emptive pairing:</div>
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The Oso Libre tasting room is a refreshing change from the somber wood, glass windows to the barrel room style of most California rooms. They blast country music (okay, I wasn't so much into that part) and have a sort of diner-themed motif:<br />
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The wine highlights included:</div>
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2011 Volado Viognier: good and fruity balanced out by nice floral notes</div>
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2005 Jovis Sangiovese: great smooth fruit</div>
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2005 Revolucion Syrah: velvety and fruity</div>
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2011 Carnal GSM: very good and smooth</div>
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NV Primoroso, Winemaker's Blend: interesting layers of flavor</div>
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We bought a bottle of the GSM.</div>
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One thing that's imperative to know about Highway 46 West is that apparently the county has cracked down on wineries serving food, so alas, most of the places listed with food on the wine country map don't have food at the moment. This includes Grey Wolf and Cypher. </div>
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We did taste at Grey Wolf (www.greywolfcellars.com), where we were served by an elderly lady whom Hubby decided reminded him of John's Grandma in the Garfield comic. In other words, she's got plenty of attitude and might ride a Harley home. I didn't get a picture of her but did get one of Jake the cat, who was not interested in me or much of anything:</div>
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The wine highlights there included:</div>
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2011 Pretty Girl Pink, a nice rose blend of Cab, Zin, Grenache, and Syrah.</div>
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2011 Barton Simple Man Zin: nice and fruity but not too heavy</div>
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2010 Lineage: a nice blend of 60% Cab Sauv, 15% Carmenere, 15% Malbec, 5% Merlot, and 5% Cab Franc.</div>
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We took a Pretty Girl home with us. Wine, you pervs. We're not into that kind of thing.</div>
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Then it was seeking food, for realz. The only place allowed to serve food on the 46 West corridor is Aron Hill Vineyards (www.aronhillvineyards.com). Luckily they're pretty cool and have a nice tasting room. I particularly enjoyed:</div>
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The PrimRose. It's not a white Zin, it's a dry white Primitivo. Totally different!</div>
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2006 Primitivo: this was a dry year, and something nearby burned, so there's a little smokiness to it</div>
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2009 Cabernet Sauvignon: lighter than they would have liked, but still good.</div>
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We didn't buy anything there -- room is getting scarce in Bertha the wine safe. Josh and Nicole in the tasting room were great, and he gave us some recommendations for the rest of the day. He also had me sign one of my book postcards and took a picture with me for his website.</div>
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Then it was off to Peachy Canyon (www.peachycanyon.com) because, being from Georgia, we had to make sure they were indeed peachy. I'm not sure if they're truly Peachy, but they were definitely Zinny. I particularly liked the 2011 Snow Zinfandel (not Snot Zinfandel, which my iThing just tried to make it), 2011 Mustard Creek Zinfendel, and the 2012 Rose. I also enjoyed petting the cat Peaches, who was slightly more awake than the aforementioned Jake:</div>
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Our final stop was Cypher Winery (www.cypherwinery.com), which had also been recommended to us. They also had a cool red, black, and white tasting room:</div>
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The highlight for me there was the Freakshow "Peasant" GSM, which should actually be an MGS to reflect the percentages of grapes in it.</div>
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By that time, our palates were fatigued beyond belief, as were we, so although we had time to hit a few more, we opted to head back into town and meet up with Matt and Annie Browne. Matt tweets as Matthew Liberty (www.twitter.com/MatthewLiberty), and he was instrumental in guiding us to the best wineries for us among the 200+ in the area. He and Annie were also online "on call" for other questions for us while we were here, and I can't express how much we appreciated their advice. We even found a new wine club to join, but more on that tomorrow.</div>
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We met up with Matt and Annie at La Cosecha (www.lacosechabr), a cute Spanish/South American restaurant and had drinks since we were still stuffed from our 3:00 lunch at Aron Hill. Then Hubby and I headed to La Cosecha's sister restaurant, an Italian place around the corner from our hotel called Il Cortile (www.ilcortileristorante.com). We'd been told to try the beef carpaccio, which we'd never been brave enough to do before. It was served with a creamy truffle sauce and shaved truffles. Then I enjoyed the beef cheek tortelloni and finished up with the chocolate lava cake. We sat outside, and the lighting wasn't right for photos. We also shared a bottle of Terry Hoage red, but the wine list crashed the web site, so I can't tell you which one.</div>
Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-38605929403802192712013-09-10T19:46:00.000-04:002013-09-10T19:53:54.732-04:00California Dreamin': Central Coast Trip, Day OneMy brain is weird. I never have stress dreams about work during the week, but just let me have a long weekend or vacation, and three to four nights in, I'll have work-related dreams. Typically it's some sort of scheduling problem, like three new patients show up at once, or like this morning, a particularly difficult patient has been scheduled for every Tuesday at 12:30, which is a two-fold problem because I have a regular patient scheduled for noon on Tuesday, and my appointments are an hour with 1:00 being my lunch hour. Yes, I get really pissy when people mess with my lunch. In general, it's like my little overachiever Type A mind can't let go of having to <i>do</i> something or be somewhere. Seriously, brain, chill!<br />
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I'm writing this post in a hotel room in Paso Robles. Hubby scheduled a couples' massage for us this morning at the <a href="http://www.riveroakshotsprings.com/" target="_blank">River Oaks Hot Springs Spa</a>. I was expecting the massage, but he surprised me with an hour in a hot springs hot tub and mimosas. Yes, ladies, you may be jealous now. I'm also very relaxed and drinking Eberle Barbera out of a hotel water glass, so I apologize in advance if this post is a little discombobulated. Hey, at least I'm drinking water out of a hotel coffee cup to hydrate and balance things out:<br />
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Random fact: apparently the Milwaukee airport has a Recombobulation Area just beyond security, but no one is ever in it because Americans suck at vocabulary. A friend who flies for Delta told me that.</div>
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We flew into San Francisco on Saturday. The best part of the flight was finally getting to see the most recent incarnation of The Great Gatsby. Holy crap, airplanes still show movies sometimes! It was definitely a Baz Luhrmann film, but eh, whatever, he gets better with every movie IMHO. I like Tobey Maguire, and I always wondered about the character of Nick Carraway, the narrator of the book. Hubby, who grew up in Montgomery, never read the book because my MIL hated F. Scott Fitzgerald. She also hates me, so I'm in good company. Maybe my books will be shown as airplane movies someday.</div>
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Wow, this first post in a while is rambling. Perhaps I should get to the wine...</div>
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Our first stop off CA Highway 1 down the coast, which may or may not be foggy, so you may or may not get to see stuff, was at <a gt="" href="http://www.beauregardvineyards.com/" span=""> Beauregard Vineyards</a>. Admittedly, we saw a sign pointing to a winery down Bonny Doon road and thought we were going there, but happened upon Beauregard instead. This was a happy happenstance. The highlights for me were the 2012 Metallique Chardonnay (yes, a Chard -- there are people fainting at this right now) and the 2010 Merlot Zayante, which got a gold medal from the vaguely named Beverage Institute. I have a beverage institute. It's called my kitchen. Anywho, we started our California trip by getting the f*cking Merlot. Take that, Pinot!</div>
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It was at lunch at the West End Tap & Kitchen in Santa Cruz that we got the news our diabetic cat was in a bit of a crisis with multiple accidents and growling at the cat sitter. This is normally a very mellow, if bossy, cat, so we knew something was very wrong. Hubby understandably didn't want to get out of cell signal range until he could coordinate care between the cat sitters, emergency vet, and possibly our regular vet, who is closed on Sundays. So, we stopped in Monterey, which is where I now want to retire with a view like this:</div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);">We even saw a wild seal, who was not very graceful maneuvering the rocks. I tried to get a picture of it, but it's hard to get a good shot through an iThing when you're not sure what rock you're aiming for. Okay, we might have been drinking at the time. Really, did you expect otherwise? This was actually a good stop because the wines are from grapes grown in a cooler climate, so they set up a nice contrast for the Paso grapes.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);">2008 De Tierra Merlot: Grape stem nose with nice cedar overtones.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);">2011 Parsonage Syrah: Smooth with a nice balance of fruit and spice, chewy texture.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);">In general, I've liked the cooler-climate grown syrahs better than the desert ones this trip. As we were told, the cooler weather gives them a better balance of fruit and spice. The fog in this region is incredible, sort of like the Smoky Mountain plumes but extending for miles in gray clouds that carry their own little bits of coldness. You can see the clouds in this picture taken over Monterey Bay when Hubby and I were kicked back with glasses of that fabulous Albariño, which we also got a bottle of:</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KviimbML_gI/Ui-vLhNGelI/AAAAAAAABB4/5hLBIvWSvMA/s640/blogger-image-1113207280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KviimbML_gI/Ui-vLhNGelI/AAAAAAAABB4/5hLBIvWSvMA/s640/blogger-image-1113207280.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);">Okay, will post more about the Paso Robles wines tomorrow.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br /></span></div>
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Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-40805742532901574732013-05-05T19:29:00.000-04:002013-05-05T19:30:46.756-04:00Product Review: NewAir AW-181E 18 Bottle Wine FridgeWhen we were first approached in January about reviewing the <a href="http://www.newair.com/products/AW-181E/" target="_blank">NewAir AW-181E</a> 18 bottle wine fridge, Hubby and I had two reactions:<br />
<br />
1. Is someone really going to send us a wine fridge?<br />
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2. How the heck does one review a wine fridge?<br />
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Well, the answer to the first one was yes, rather quickly, and all I can do is apologize for the delay. As I mentioned in my previous post, I got a book contract at the end of January and have been very focused on that. The wine fridge box arrived and hung out in the kitchen for a few months, and we finally just got into it last weekend. At least it gave me time to talk to people and figure out what they look for in a wine cooling device.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hZfAprceknM/UYblg8xRZlI/AAAAAAAAA_k/iJPyIZQuB48/s1600/wine+fridge+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hZfAprceknM/UYblg8xRZlI/AAAAAAAAA_k/iJPyIZQuB48/s320/wine+fridge+2.JPG" width="205" /></a></div>
As you can see, the unit itself is sleek and attractive, and it fits well in the narrow space we have for it in our little Craftsman bungalow, where all the storage is pretty much in narrow spaces. Seriously, you should see our closets.<br />
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The big selling point of this wine fridge is the thermoelectric cooling system, which keeps the wine at temperature and <span style="font-family: inherit;">"doesn't rely on coolants or chemicals that can harm the environment." We have a thermometer in there, as you can see, and it has confirmed the set temperature. The wine has also tasted at cellar temperature, although we haven't measured the wine itself. It's a definite improvement over our usual experience, which, in our aforementioned drafty old house, requires us to use the counter top wine chiller to get our reds to temperature. This can take quite a while during the summer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pros:</span><br />
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It looks nice and fits well in a tight spot.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's super quiet. We can't even hear it running unless everything else in the house, including our ancient refrigerator, isn't. It has also not "traveled" in the week we've had it going, which considering our not so straight floors, is evidence that it is, as promised, vibration-free.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The shelves slide in and out easily.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The unit cooled to the desired temperature quickly, and the temperature display seems to be accurate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Cons:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The racks are a little too close together such that you actually have to pull them in and out to get the bottles out. There are also no catches on the back to keep the racks from sliding out completely, so you have to be careful not to pull them out too far.</span><br />
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While it fits the Bordeaux-style bottles just fine, the Burgundy-style bottles will only fit on the bottom or top. They're too big for the middle racks. Sparkling bottles won't fit at all unless shelves are removed. We don't have any at the moment, but I suspect storage of Rhone-style bottles would also be limited.<br />
<br />
Overall impression:<br />
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A nice wine refrigerator with a couple of design flaws that would be fixed by perhaps changing the spacing between shelves, which would reduce the number of bottles it holds but would make Pinot and Syrah drinkers happy. It's definitely a red wine fridge with its minimum temperature of 54 (maximum 66), so the sparkling bottle limitation may not be relevant, although it would cut down fridge cooling time. Luckily for us, Pinot and Syrah doesn't hang around for very long and isn't the majority of our collection. <br />
<br />
It's quieter and more convenient than our counter top chiller and more accurate than putting the bottles in the fridge. I'm definitely looking forward to having it this summer so that my red wine drinking will be a matter of instant gratification. We may even keep some whites and roses in there so they'll take less time to cool in the fridge.<br />
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<i>Disclaimer: This unit is a sample that was received free of charge from NewAir. This did not influence our impressions or review.</i>Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-71535088785947104182013-04-21T19:49:00.002-04:002013-04-21T19:58:45.068-04:00Pasta Project Parts 2 and 3: It's About More than the Dangly Bits<br />
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I'm making turkey lasagna tonight. We ended up with a little extra homemade
sauce and not much room in our freezer for it, so the next logical step is, of
course, to turn it into something yummy.
I have a confession, though… I
will be using boxed noodles.</div>
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"What?" you say.
"You were off to such a great start with your pasta
attachment! What happened?"</div>
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All I can say is that it was a classic case of success
leading to cockiness and then my downfall.</div>
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The second time I pulled the pasta maker out was to make
spaghetti. I figured I'd give the filled
pasta a rest and focus on something relatively simple: noodles.
I think the dough sensed my heightened confidence, as it first decided
to cower in fear in the bowl:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dzKCVIdYr8o/UXR4-oMyuqI/AAAAAAAAA-I/y-f5fT4e3Ks/s1600/Hiding+dough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dzKCVIdYr8o/UXR4-oMyuqI/AAAAAAAAA-I/y-f5fT4e3Ks/s200/Hiding+dough.jpg" width="138" /></a></div>
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Then it huddled among other objects on the counter as it
rested:</div>
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The sheets emerged from the rollers beautiful, long and
silky. The recipe said to let them rest
for a bit, which helped to dry them out.
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Then came the harder part, sending it through the noodle
cutting apparatus. However, again it
went smoothly, and I ended up with gorgeous long spaghetti noodles.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fA6W2-MkkaI/UXR4-4-W1oI/AAAAAAAAA_A/sJ9peEab1pk/s1600/PP2+roller+spaghetti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fA6W2-MkkaI/UXR4-4-W1oI/AAAAAAAAA_A/sJ9peEab1pk/s320/PP2+roller+spaghetti.jpg" width="161" /></a></div>
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The spaghetti was in anticipation of my birthday, which was
at the end of February and a couple of days away, so badass me even made calzones from homemade dough
that night:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-byOhYeZkYrw/UXR4-jW9SwI/AAAAAAAAA-U/5eUg-XJCvSI/s1600/PP2+calzones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-byOhYeZkYrw/UXR4-jW9SwI/AAAAAAAAA-U/5eUg-XJCvSI/s320/PP2+calzones.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yeah, I was rocking the kitchen. I didn't get a chance to blog it for other
reasons, which I will get to, but I was feeling confident. My spaghetti making had gone without a hitch,
and I now had a full set of lovely two ounce nests in my freezer. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CFj27EJ7oDc/UXR4_PM7HCI/AAAAAAAAA-0/mREl-9a27is/s1600/PP2+spaghetti+nests.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CFj27EJ7oDc/UXR4_PM7HCI/AAAAAAAAA-0/mREl-9a27is/s320/PP2+spaghetti+nests.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then, mid-march for Hubby's birthday, I decided to try the
ravioli again. I adjusted the recipe a
little according to directions from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Classic-Italian-Cooking-Marcella/dp/039458404X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366581894&sr=8-1&keywords=essentials+of+italian+cooking+by+marcella+hazan" target="_blank">Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking</a>, adding a tablespoon of milk to the dough and allowing the eggs
to come to room temperature so the dough wouldn't be tough. I also made some of her Ricotta-Parsley
filling for inside the ravioli. The
pasta sheets came out lovely and silky, and I made them a little thinner this
time, taking the rollers to 5 rather than 3, which had made them too thick the
previous time.</div>
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I had my pasta and filling.</div>
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I had my strategy.</div>
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I even had a blog post planned out in my head titled,
"It's all about the dangly bits."
I was going to be witty and clever and compare pasta making to writing
romance and the importance of a certain kind of chemistry between characters. </div>
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That's where it all went wrong. No, I don't have any pictures from this
process. It was too gruesome.</div>
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In an effort to make the ravioli not come out thick and
tough, which they were edging on the first time, I overcompensated. Once I fed the dough into the ravioli press,
the weight of the remaining dough on the sides caused it to stretch, and
therefore only the middle row of ravioli (of three) ended up being completely sealed. The outer two rows were pitiful half-raviolis
that oozed filling. The second sheet
went a little better, but by the time I got to the third, it had dried out too
much. Stubbornly, I pressed on, but it
mocked me, and I had very few keeper ravioli.
The fourth sheet got turned into fettuccine. Here's the final result. As you can see, there are many fewer usable
ravioli than with my first attempt:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J5FvvqSBUho/UXR4_9YyOoI/AAAAAAAAA-w/ItQLlXsLwBM/s1600/PP3+ravioli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J5FvvqSBUho/UXR4_9YyOoI/AAAAAAAAA-w/ItQLlXsLwBM/s320/PP3+ravioli.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I still succeeded in my carb production efforts with a lovely focaccia,
though:</div>
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And dinner turned out fine:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KgSNun1aGEs/UXR4_JfGk1I/AAAAAAAAA-4/LDPxzDUNZxM/s1600/PP3+dinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KgSNun1aGEs/UXR4_JfGk1I/AAAAAAAAA-4/LDPxzDUNZxM/s1600/PP3+dinner.jpg" /></a></div>
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So yes, I could make pasta dough tonight. Lasagna sheets would be easy, but I'm a bit
demoralized. I'm obsessed with the
ravioli, my little square nemeses, and should I proceed with any kind of
homemade pasta, the idea of ravioli would be taunting me. The rollers would whisper, "We're over
here! Ravioli filling and lasagna
filling is similar. Just make a little
extra and try again."</div>
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Oh, I will attempt them again with fewer recipe tweaks,
thickness 4, and perhaps only two sheets so they won't dry out as quickly, but
not tonight. See? This is why it's a bad idea to mix
perfectionism and pasta.</div>
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However, red wine and pasta always go well together, so tonight, Hubby and I will be partaking of the Mettler Cabernet Sauvignon. It's a good wine for those who love fruity and well-balanced reds, and this cool snap is the perfect opportunity to visit those big reds one more time before we shift to whites and more heat-friendly reds.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KwplDsnJSmg/UXR60ubsHwI/AAAAAAAAA_M/ikoZRebxXes/s1600/Mettler+bottle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KwplDsnJSmg/UXR60ubsHwI/AAAAAAAAA_M/ikoZRebxXes/s1600/Mettler+bottle.jpg" /></a></div>
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And yes, I will remember next time that when it comes to
writing romance and pasta, it's about more than the dangly bits.</div>
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<i>Note as to why I haven't been posting much this year:</i></div>
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<i>Remember how when you were a kid, and there was that one toy you wanted so badly you felt like you needed it? And then how when you got it, you couldn't play with anything else for hours, you were so enamored of it? Well, we have the same strength of desire as adults, but we often don't admit what it is we really really want.</i></div>
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<i>I got it at the end of January when I got THE EMAIL (in this modern age, you don't get THE CALL anymore) that a publisher was interested in one of my novels. I made some minor edits they suggested, signed the contract, and since then have been hard at work on the sequel. I just sent the sequel proposal to the editor, and I'll be getting my major edits for the first novel soon. </i></div>
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<i>So that's where my writing energy has been going. There hasn't been a lot of energy to spare with work being super crazy with major personnel issues, and honestly, writing the sequel has kept me sane. I will get to the samples and wine fridge I need to review soon and will try to post more often.</i></div>
Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-52281201818816480962013-01-02T23:26:00.000-05:002013-01-02T23:29:56.700-05:00The Great Pasta Project: Attempt One<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LvSvxeoHYGs/UOUFzxM-nxI/AAAAAAAAA8k/8tK1tEUoyOI/s1600/ravioli+with+pesto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b3aeW71VC08/UOUFxoK7wnI/AAAAAAAAA78/a1o4CEwvKBk/s1600/clean+mixer+with+roller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b3aeW71VC08/UOUFxoK7wnI/AAAAAAAAA78/a1o4CEwvKBk/s320/clean+mixer+with+roller.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When making pasta, be sure to have plenty of booze on hand.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For those who are wondering, being half Italian does not automatically
confer pasta making skills upon you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
first couple of tries at fresh homemade pasta resulted in thick lumps of chewy
dough with sweet potato in the middle that I euphemistically called
"ravioli."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem wasn't
necessarily the recipe, but rather that I couldn't get the dough thin enough by
hand, not even with a tapered rolling pin, so the texture was off.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm a perfectionist, so this failure to make good pasta by
hand really irked me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I determined that
the fault was not mine, but rather my inferior tools, so I hinted at Hubby that
I would like a pasta making attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was my Christmas present:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JS3KmBaDmmU/UOUFw_EzlJI/AAAAAAAAA7s/9u7kajIO7ag/s1600/Boxes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JS3KmBaDmmU/UOUFw_EzlJI/AAAAAAAAA7s/9u7kajIO7ag/s320/Boxes.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, he likes pasta, too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rather than start with something easy like long noodles, I
decided to dive right in with butternut squash ravioli based on <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/butternut-squash-ravioli-50400000125719/" target="_blank">this recipe</a> from Cooking Light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead
of using wonton wrappers, I made my own pasta dough.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, first step, make the dough itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Kitchenaid recipe that comes with the
ravioli maker is simple enough with just four ingredients:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>flour, eggs, water, and salt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mix for a bit with one attachment, then for a
while longer with the dough hook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
pasta dough, not being in an agreeable mood, attacked the dough hook like
sentient swamp ooze on a tourist:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-796m-DpUYAU/UOUFyW1WTPI/AAAAAAAAA8E/T5BEicPfX90/s1600/dough+attacking+bread+hook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-796m-DpUYAU/UOUFyW1WTPI/AAAAAAAAA8E/T5BEicPfX90/s320/dough+attacking+bread+hook.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Um, yeah, I know what that kinda looks like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoduck" target="_blank">geoduck</a>!</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n8UrV1kobfo/UOUFy3NjPKI/AAAAAAAAA8M/9buRSuUioxk/s1600/dough+ball.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n8UrV1kobfo/UOUFy3NjPKI/AAAAAAAAA8M/9buRSuUioxk/s320/dough+ball.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's resting...and plotting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I rescued the dough hook and took over the
kneading by hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dough took a lot
of flour before it became tacky rather than sticky, or so I thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I let it rest and made the ravioli filling,
then grabbed the pasta rolling attachment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I fitted it to the Kitchenaid on the first try.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My first roll was a bit short, but okay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second one came out perfect:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>long, lovely, and silky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I put it on the cutting board, which I
thought had enough flour on it, and covered it with plastic wrap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I did the third and fourth sheets, also
pretty, but not quite so much.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I let the sheets rest for the requisite ten minutes, switched
out Kitchenaid attachments for the ravioli one, and read the directions
twice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where the dough really
started messing with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first step
is to take a sheet of dough, fold it in half, put the folded end in the ravioli
maker, turn it a little to catch the dough, and then allow the two ends to
drape gracefully over the sides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did
that with the pretty second sheet and got as far as folding it in half and
anchoring it in the ravioli maker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then it
wouldn't unfold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lesson learned:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>when they say to dust the dough with flour,
they're not kidding.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L6NVOm83zt8/UOUFxWn-XRI/AAAAAAAAA70/Q6GcMFDzLR8/s1600/Filling+the+dough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L6NVOm83zt8/UOUFxWn-XRI/AAAAAAAAA70/Q6GcMFDzLR8/s320/Filling+the+dough.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is supposed to make it easy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That sheet ended up being rolled out again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I attempted the ravioli with an adequately
dusted pasta sheet, which anchored and draped as it should have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I started cranking, and the dough started
laughing at me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Okay, not literally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The directions say to make sure the ravioli
are coming through but don't have any tips as to what to do if they don't. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The attachment should make a ravioli sheet of
three across, but only one came out, and I swear it looked at me like a good
kid with two naughty siblings:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"See?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I'm</i> doing what I'm supposed to do."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I figured out that the ravioli had stuck to
the roller closest to me and gently released them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They didn't turn out pretty, but they did
have stuff in them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So those were the first ravioli.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I managed to fix that sheet before it got too
messed up, and then, overconfident, I proceeded with the second.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where I really screwed up, or maybe
the dough got smart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I watched the
roller closest to me, but unbeknownst to me, the ravioli got sneaky and decided
to stick to the other side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By that
point, I was in pasta-making denial:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"I can't really be screwing this up that badly."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Half of that sheet turned into a squashy, doughy mess before I figured out
that you have to gently fondle the dough as it comes out of the machine to make
sure it's passing through and dangling as it should.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I can offer a euphemism to my romance
writing colleagues, you could refer to…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Never mind.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t0zIbCFMWsA/UOUFzs57XwI/AAAAAAAAA8c/ZkGFbs8r2ag/s1600/finished+ravioli.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t0zIbCFMWsA/UOUFzs57XwI/AAAAAAAAA8c/ZkGFbs8r2ag/s320/finished+ravioli.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At least they're tasty.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I salvaged enough dough to roll another sheet and ended up with
about sixty little ravioli.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Approximately
a quarter of the dough and a fifth of the filling were a loss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time I finished fighting the dough,
cooking it, and making the pesto, four hours had passed from my initial
optimistic mixing of the dough to dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hubby, being the wise man that he is, didn't say anything other than it
tasted good.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LvSvxeoHYGs/UOUFzxM-nxI/AAAAAAAAA8k/8tK1tEUoyOI/s1600/ravioli+with+pesto.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LvSvxeoHYGs/UOUFzxM-nxI/AAAAAAAAA8k/8tK1tEUoyOI/s320/ravioli+with+pesto.jpg" width="303" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, here's what I learned:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Use flour liberally on the pasta, on the ravioli maker, and
pretty much on anything that doesn't move fast enough in the kitchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Okay, maybe not the cat.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Watch the pasta dough at every step.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's sneaky and defiant.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ravioli attachment has plastic guides for the ravioli
that open for cleaning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Watch out, they
bite.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Choose and pour cooking wine ahead of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, I did all this without wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe that was my problem.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L_q35XOJNMo/UOUJKGm2d1I/AAAAAAAAA9M/AELJoBPH_Q4/s1600/the+aftermath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L_q35XOJNMo/UOUJKGm2d1I/AAAAAAAAA9M/AELJoBPH_Q4/s320/the+aftermath.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think I'll make pappardelle next time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-27011728780347583112012-12-16T16:42:00.001-05:002012-12-16T16:47:08.872-05:00Last-Minute Holiday Gift Ideas: Wine! (Yes, you have to share)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PFupJaFzDmI/UM48IQz36kI/AAAAAAAAA6k/Fsj93suncCw/s1600/go%2Bto%2BUGA%2Bsanta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PFupJaFzDmI/UM48IQz36kI/AAAAAAAAA6k/Fsj93suncCw/s320/go%2Bto%2BUGA%2Bsanta.jpg" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luckily these bottles were empty <i>before</i> the SEC Championship.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Typically picking up Holiday gifts at the grocery store is considered, if you'll forgive the pun, in poor taste. What could grocery store shelves hold of any value beyond the tan and gold boxes of candy with maybe two edible pieces in them? Okay, I'll always take a bag of Dove Dark Promises (no Hershey's for this half-Belgian, please), but I'm talking about wine. It seems that there are some hidden gems for reasonable prices out there.<br />
<br />
Our first foray this year into reasonable gift wines came courtesy of some wine samples from Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits. Yes, FCC, these were samples, but as you'll see, their free-ness didn't influence our opinions. We tasted them at a dinner gathering with a couple of friends, one of whom has been in the restaurant/hospitality industry for several years.<br />
<br />
The first wine wins the "most likely to be damned by its label before it's given a fair chance" award. It was pitched in the original email as the perfect gift for "that bubbly person who keeps you smiling! Maybe your girlfriend who brings a smile on your face, or your best friend who is the one you’re sharing laughs with and celebrating life with." Yes, it's bubbly and pink. It also has a kangaroo on the label. We found hints of strawberry on the nose, and the wine itself is off-dry with some strawberry stem, and lots of tropical fruit mid-palate & on the finish. Our friend noted that, if no one ever saw the Yellow Tail label, it could be a good choice for a restaurant house bubbly. I liked it and would give it a good to very good rating. It would also be fun to surprise our wine snob friends at their annual New Year's party. For a suggested retail price (SRP) of $10, it was deemed "Totally worth it."<br />
Region: Southeastern Australia<br />
Varietals: Semillon, Traminer, Shiraz, Frontignac <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5j9FF-fqNzM/UM4_A93jAVI/AAAAAAAAA7M/s12Hdc22hgw/s1600/villa+pozzi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5j9FF-fqNzM/UM4_A93jAVI/AAAAAAAAA7M/s12Hdc22hgw/s320/villa+pozzi.jpg" width="83" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Couldn't resist the Christmas tree shot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The second wine, the Villa Pozzi Pinot Grigio (Sicily), boasted to be "ideal for the modern woman with its refined aromatic, well balanced taste profile and simply-elegant packaging." According to the tech sheet, the nose should be of rose and honeysuckle. Maybe we got an off bottle, but the nose we got was overripe dishtowel, which is a smell typically associated with corked wine. This one has a screwtop, and yes, we checked the dishtowel that had cleaned the glasses. It was fresh. The wine itself fell flat with some floral in the middle, but not much else. Yeah, I'd skip this one, even at its $10 SRP. <br />
<br />
Finally, the 2011 Ruta 22 Malbec (Patagonia, Argentina), designated the "the gift for the adventurous, travel-lover on your list" rounded off the evening. The nose was a little gamey, which is not unpleasant for a wine that begs to be paired with meat. It was juicy but not jammy with berry and dark fruit. Some found the peppery finish to be a bit much. Forget the travel-lover, bring this as a hostess gift to a meat lover who's serving a nice juicy roast. I feel the SRP of $13 is about right.<br />
<br />
Our other "Go-to Wine" tasting came courtesy of JavaMonkey in Decatur, Georgia, and all of these should be available at the Dekalb Farmers' Market and are all under $15. Since they're fairly reasonable, consider getting a magnum to wield against the pre-Christmas shoppers. Yes, FCC, we paid for this tasting. Fellow blogger Dan Browning and I decided to play off the go-to theme with our comments.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ps9b4i4a0bE/UM49s38kCII/AAAAAAAAA68/rO554C2jt1c/s1600/go+to+notes2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ps9b4i4a0bE/UM49s38kCII/AAAAAAAAA68/rO554C2jt1c/s320/go+to+notes2.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>
<br />
The wines:<br />
<br />
2011 Protocolo Blanco (Vino de la Tierra de Castilla, Spain): 70% Arien, 30% Macabejo<br />
Go to the beach with this crisp, mineral wine with a gardenia nose and lemony finish. <br />
Rating: Good to Very Good<br />
<br />
2010 La Craie (Vouvray, Loire Valley, France): 100% Chenin Blanc<br />
Go to the tropics with a nice, light nose and plenty of pineapple and tropical fruit.<br />
Rating: Very Good<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TqPhbJyuc60/UM49w--KbDI/AAAAAAAAA7E/vJSBPvpHog8/s1600/monte+oton2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TqPhbJyuc60/UM49w--KbDI/AAAAAAAAA7E/vJSBPvpHog8/s320/monte+oton2.jpg" width="201" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love the label!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
2011 Monte Oton (Borja, Spain): 100% Garnacha<br />
Git along little doggie. This wine smells like meat and butter. It starts leathery, but as it opens, more fruit comes out. I'd pair this with a <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/claimed-by-a-cowboy-tanya-michaels/1104500057?ean=9781459219786">Tanja Michaels Texas romance novel</a> and a steak. Yeah, I might have made the comment that it's like licking a cowboy. No, I don't really know what that's like. Moving right along…<br />
Rating: Good<br />
<br />
2010 Santa Ema Merlot (Peumo, Cachapoal Valley, Chile): 100% Merlot<br />
Go to the housetop. Yep, it's got some clove and a little cedar on the palate. It's medium-bodied, but still has a lot of nice, dark fruit. Santa might prefer this one to milk.<br />
Rating: Good<br />
<br />
2010 Castaño Monastrell (Yecla, Spain): 100% Monastrell<br />
Going… (No, I'm not sure how that one tied in) A little funky and bitter at first, which was disappointing after the nice dark fruit nose.<br />
Rating: Okay<br />
<br />
2011 Château Pesquié Terrasses Red (Ventoux, France): 70% Grenache, 30% Syrah<br />
Vas-tu au Ventoux! Hubby and I discovered wines from this sub-region of the Rhone Valley on a trip to Belgium a few years ago, and we snap them up when we do. This one had a funky French Syrah nose, and was dark and smooth with just a hint of frizzante (mild fizziness). This would be a great one to take to a party.<br />
Rating: Very Good<br />
<br />
Whatever you happen to be drinking this holiday season, I hope you enjoy it and stay safe. Happy Holidays from me, Hubby, and the blog cats!Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578601952263548395.post-66173038860744174732012-11-04T11:16:00.000-05:002012-11-05T10:36:47.236-05:00Book Review: The Curious World of Wine<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-40DeWKW-OGA/UJaRx_Z5huI/AAAAAAAAA5E/VySpnHGU2Ko/s1600/Curious+world+of+wine+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-40DeWKW-OGA/UJaRx_Z5huI/AAAAAAAAA5E/VySpnHGU2Ko/s320/Curious+world+of+wine+cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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On the eve of the Decatur Wine Festival, I brought Richard
Vine's <i>The Curious World of Wine</i> (Perigee/Penguin, 2012) with me to <a href="http://www.cafelily.com/" target="_blank">Café Lily</a> in case I had time to
read the end of it before meeting a friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Allen
Sanders, the wine expert, noticed it, and we had a great conversation about
Zinfandels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, if you want to look like you know something about wine:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>buy this book.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Those who actually want to know something about
wine are in luck, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I've played
trivia a few times with friends, usually in pubs for prizes or credit, and the secret of a good trivia team is each person has a
specialty area like sports, popular culture, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don't feel very competent in any one area,
although I'm a decent fill-in for addictive substance-related science questions
like "What does THC stand for?" and "What is the maximum
International Bitterness Unit level the human palate can discern?"*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After reading The Curious World of Wine, I
feel able to offer a trivia team more wine-related knowledge.</div>
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This one little book covers a range of topic areas from wine
history to people to expressions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had
a few "oh, so that's where that came from!" moments such as when
reading about the Chateauneuf de Pape region of France.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like wines from this region because it's
fun to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was a perfect example
of how bits of knowledge floated around my brain but never got connected until
I read this book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyone familiar with Church
history remembers that in the early 1300's, the Pope moved from Rome to Avignon,
and it took the influence of Saint Catherine of Siena to get it all
straightened out and move the pope back to Rome in 1376.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I took French in high school and know the
words Chateau (house or home), neuf (new), and Pape (pope), but I never
connected the Chateauneuf de Pape – or "new home of the Pope" – name
with the Avignon papacy period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
hills around Avignon overlook the Rhone River and grow Syrah, Grenache, and
other reds, and now I have an interesting historical tidbit to relate in
addition to the fun of saying Chateauneuf de Pape.</div>
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The book is loosely organized into chapters, some of which
have clever titles like "French Connections."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I sometimes found my head spinning a
bit with the time-hopping within the chapters better
organized by topic area (e.g., different wine areas in France). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, the Chateuneuf de Pape story came
after a World War II champagne story. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was kind of like if disorganized time-traveling British science fiction
character Doctor Who decided to lead a wine tour.**<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That said, when dealing with this kind of
material, it can be tough to figure out the best order, and I
appreciate Dr. Vine's challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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On first glance, this handsome little hardcover is
appealing, and it's apparent someone spent a lot of time making it look
pretty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon opening it, I couldn't help
but think they couldn't decide whether to go with a regular nonfiction format
or a coffee table book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The text inside
is presented in double columns, which I found annoying until I got used to
it, and bordered by nice little designs in the corners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The enclosed text boxes with very
short items are in regular format.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Illustrations add to the text without being distracting, and the editing
was almost flawless with no typos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An index would be nice for when I'd like to reference these
stories in future blog posts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As it is,
I'll have to flip through the chapters to find what I'm looking for. If you're not looking to use it as a reference, this will probably not matter as much.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lovAYJIBt4Q/UJaRyeR7nzI/AAAAAAAAA5M/eEhgan-wKXk/s1600/Curious+world+of+wine+inside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lovAYJIBt4Q/UJaRyeR7nzI/AAAAAAAAA5M/eEhgan-wKXk/s320/Curious+world+of+wine+inside.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Although the text is presented like a textbook and written by an academic, it's very
easy to read, and the tone is light and conversational.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The humor contributes to the stories without
prompting eye-rolling or groans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After reading it, I would love to go to dinner with
Doctor Vine and hear more of his wine stories, especially ones related to his experiences researching this book, and to find out what he couldn't include within the time and space restraints. I thank him for providing
a resource that will help with my blogging, my own dinner parties, and, of
course, impressing random wine experts and trivia teams.</div>
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<b>FCC Disclosure: This was an advance review copy (ARC) provided to me free by the publisher. This did not affect my opinions or review in any way.</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">* Answers: THC, the
active molecular component of marijuana, stands for Tetrahydrocannabinol. I know this from my required psychopharmacology course in graduate s<span style="font-size: x-small;">chool.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">IBUs are the measure of how bitter beer is, and typically
this flavor comes from hops. The human
palate can discern levels up to about 90.
My palate can tolerate levels up to about 25. Yep, I'm a wine drinker and hop wimp.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">** I would totally sign up for this.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photos: </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Top: The book on my wine rack nestled in between a couple of bottles of Canadian wines, which, sadly, are not mentioned in it.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Above: The inside of the book. Yes, it's blurry. If you want to read it, please buy it. </span></i> </span></div>
Cecilia Dominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.com0