Category Archives: Food & Wine

Headache city, baby

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I’m going to assume that it’s the excitement of Christmas that is the reason behind my boys being absolutely wild the past couple of days. Seriously, I find myself so frustrated that I feel like a blood vessel is going to burst in my brain. It will all be over soon, though, right? Right.

So this morning we had to venture out to start shopping for Christmas Day dinner. Stop & Shop was bad enough (even though I was extremely oragnized with my list). People seem to think that the middle of the aisle is a great place to have a social hour. Hello? Invite the person over for coffee if you want to catch up. Do not do it in front of the freezer when I need to get in there to grab a bag of shrimp. But we made it through. Not easily, but we did it. Next it was on to Sam’s.

What. A. Nightmare. I drove around for 10 minutes at least before I even found a spot (which is incredibly uncommon). The store was filled with people who were just not at all focussed on the task at hand. They didn’t have one of the items I was hoping they’d have (I was really hoping for some kind of chicken teriyaki skewer from the freezer section, just to save myself a bit of work). I got my container of boccacini, and a big container of peppercorns and one of seasalt, and then headed to the check-out. It took forever to leave because immediately after the exit clerk (or whatever the right name is) had looked at my receipt and was sure I didn’t steal anything, some middle-aged guy tried to sneak out, so the clerk blocked the exit with him while he was getting out his reciept. Of course, I couldn’t just leave — I had to witness this insanity.

Honestly. The best part of the whole outing was the incredibly nice teenagers working at the Taco Bell drive-thru. And for once I am not being sarcastic. They were polite, they smiled, they made me feel better. Taco Bell employees in Kingston — you are the best!

We finally got home and ate and then I made the onion jam for Tuesday. Next year I am making a crown roast, potatoes, a salad, and vegetables. It will be a lot less labor intensive than the eight million things I have to whip up.

Deep breath… deep breath…

Friday Bullets

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I’m thinking this might be a trend I go with for the new year. I kinda like the idea of Friday bullets — easy way to organize my thoughts as I wrap up the week.

  • Today has been crazy busy at the shop. People have been either incredibly nice or incredibly nasty. Luckily the nice people have outnumber the nasties.
  • I’ve just finished making up my grocery shopping list for Christmas Day. Remember my big dilemma? Well, turns out I’m going with finger foods and I scrapped brunch altogether. I think it will be a fun change. I just hope Stop & Shop won’t be too crowded. Yikes.
  • News this week has been pretty eventful, and if I had the time there was a lot I could have commented on. Though I’m not a big sports fan, I’ve found the report on steroids in baseball quite fascinating. Wondering if other muscle-building compounds like creatine ethyl ester are allowed or if they fall into the same category.
  • I feel like my house is a disaster. The snow has really made all the floors messy and I can’t stand it. I am kind of interested in this Making Your Home a Haven Challenge (minus morning devotionals, because that’s just not really my thing). Kind of like a more do-able version of FlyLady to get my house back into shape and help keep me organized. I don’t know… I always seem to fall off the wagon with those kinds of things, but the baby steps is good. Need to do some more purging too. I wish Salvation Army picked up more than just once a month in our area. If I forget to call on the day they schedule, I’m screwed until the next month. At any rate, first of the year I need to get on track.
  • My friend had knee surgery today. I don’t know if he ever really reads my blog, but just in case — Rest up, kiddo, and heal quick!
  • Disappointed that one (well, two) of the gifts I bought for Drew won’t be delivered until the 27th.
  • Really unhappy with FedEx. My friend sent me a package for the boys and it was never delivered. FedEx told her that the house was empty and phone disconnected. She gave them the correct phone number. Yesterday it was delivered, but my husband found it when he got home around 9:30 — it was thrown onto a snowbank between our mailbox and driveway! Now, I got home from picking up Jake around 4 and it wasn’t there. I had the front light on, and there was a clear path to the door. I can’t believe they didn’t even bring it up to the stairs! It was in a thin plastic bag. Luckily, the contents were fine, but how infuriating.
  • Busy weekend ahead, and I hope you have a good one!

Jell-O Margaritas

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Jell-O MargaritasLast spring I bought several packets of limited edition Jell-O flavors, including "Margarita." With the cold and snow outside I’ve been yearning for warmer temperatures, and while I can’t exactly make a tropical vacation happen, I can make something that will remind me of summer: a grown-up version of Jell-O shots.

One box made two desserts. I substituted about 2 oz. of tequila for some of the cold water. (Hey, it’s not like I’m heading to a frat party. I don’t need to pre-drink, so I went easy on the Patron.) We’re having spicy Santa Fe chicken sandwiches tonight (from Balducci’s) and I thought this would be a fun way to end the meal.

Nothing like fresh bread

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Rosemary bread The other day I was inspired to pull our breadmaker out from hiding and rev it back up. I found a recipe for rosemary bread and threw all the ingredients into the machine. Three hours later I had the most delicious bread I’d tasted in quite a while. The small loaf lasted us three days (and I had cut pretty thick slices and kind of pigged out on it). Yesterday I decided to make another one and while I was putting the ingredients together I realized that in the time it took me to measure out everything and put it in my breadmaker, I could maybe have gotten the boys ready and in the car to go and get a loaf of bread. OK, now granted, I don’t usually run out just for bread, but my point is that it is really no trouble at all making my own. And I know what I’m putting into it. I’m not saying that I’ll never buy another loaf of bread at the grocery store again, but I do think that I’m going to try to bake my own whenever possible. For the little effort it takes, the result is way more rewarding.

Oh Winter, won’t you go away?

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I’m sitting here listening to ice pellets (sleet, but I prefer the term ice pellets – sounds more dramatic) hit the windows and house. I didn’t mind it so much when I was snuggled up in bed, but after two days of getting up at semi-normal times, Noah decided today was a great day to be up and at ’em at 4:30. The good news is that I believe it’s supposed to turn to rain later today. Hopefully it will melt away some of the snow at the same time.

Jake’s Nativity play was cancelled this morning (his CCD teacher called last night), so at least we don’t have to worry about going anywhere. It was rescheduled for January 6th, so hopefully the weather will cooperate then!

No big plans for the day, especially since it looks like we’ll be housebound. I should probably finish wrapping presents, and if I have time I still want to knit a pair or two of these super cute, super tiny mittens. I might even bake the brownies I was going to make for the post-play party. I’m trying very hard not to go overboard with baked goods or anything high in carbs, but I’m finding it hard this time of year. Once Christmas is over, I know I’ll be able to keep my focus again, especially since I know vacation is coming in February and I’m going to allow myself a lot of leeway. At any rate, we’ll see how the day unfolds!

The Mighty Bean

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So I’m back on coffee again. When I was pregnant with Noah I gave up coffee for tea and barely had coffee unless I was at a restaurant. But over the past few months I’ve been indulging again. I decided that I really want to start making lattes at home like Drew and I used to do in the pre-kid days. We would often enjoy us some frou-frou coffees on the weekends while cozying up and watching movies. (Aww, I know, aren’t we cute?) At any rate, for my bridal shower we got a great espresso machine, but I can’t seem to find all the parts to it, thanks to kitchen stuff being packed away. I still have one box it could be in, but when I saw the Black Friday flyers, I noticed that some of the stores had espresso machines on sale. In particular, I was interested in one that Kohl’s had. However, Kohl’s was a lunatic bin at 5 AM and there was no way I was waiting in line for a sale on an espresso machine that was probably good enough, but not great.

After coming home and discussing it, Drew and I figure that if we can’t find all the parts to the espresso machine we have, then we are better off ponying up for a really good one. Clearly I’m not shelling out a whole lot, but I do believe that quality is worth it and a good machine should last a while (provided I don’t lose any parts, of course). I’m going to keep my eyes on the sales flyers between now and Christmas, too. Hopefully a great deal could still show up. (Or else I’ll find what I’m missing and it will be a moot point!)

Brunch Dilemma Update

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Wow, thanks for everyone’s input on my Christmas brunch/dinner post! The suggestions have been really helpful. As of right now, this is what I’m planning:

– Baked French Toast (Thanks for the recipe, Christina!)

– Sausage Strata

– Special Potato Casserole (I saw this on Richard’s site the other day and then he suggested the recipe to me over on Twitter. I love pretty much anything with goat cheese, so I think this one will be a winner.)

– Lemon Chicken (maybe… friend’s sister is a caterer so we’re going to see how much it would be for half a tray)

– Pear Salad with Cranberries, Walnuts, and Chevre

Everything except the salad can be prepared the day before, which is perfect. I’ll delegate out the dessert. Currently I’m trying to decide between cheesecake (only because I want cheesecake) and Buche de Noel (because it’s festive). Just have to consider which wines to serve. Drew can’t understand my urgency in figuring out a menu and I think maybe I just need to obsess over something, so this is it. I feel pretty good about this menu. Hopefully we’ll be able to swing the lemon chicken. It would be a nice change and one less thing for me to worry about.

Christmas Dinner/Brunch/Whatever

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So I’m trying to figure out what to make for Christmas Day brunch. In previous years I’ve done a spiral ham, spinach and gruyere strata, potatoes, a variety of muffins/scones, carmelized squash and apples, and a salad. But D. seems to be a little bored with this lineup so I’m trying to figure out some other options. For sake of ease I’ll probably still do a ham. And I’d like to do an egg dish, but maybe something different. Fritatta? I’m thinking of trying these Carmelized Onion and Blue Cheese Tarts, maybe. I need some ideas. Everything just seems so boring, or else way too much work. I don’t know… I need to dig out my cooking magazines and hope for some inspiration, I think. What will you all be making?

Gold Medal Wine Club

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IMG_6673 As you know, from time to time I get products to review. As you also know, I am a wine enthusiast. So you can just imagine how thrilled I was when I was asked to receive a sample shipment from the Gold Medal wine of the month club. The Gold Medal Wine Club features wines from small-production vineyards – no mass-market stuff. Immediately my interest was piqued. When I received my shipment via FedEx, I immediately noticed how well-packaged the wines were. They were snugly placed in protective Styrofoam wine shippers. There was no way the bottles were going to clang around, even during a bumpy ride. The Styrofoam shipper was then placed in a tight-fitting box. Having worked in the wine and liquor biz, and having received other wine samples for writing assignments, I’ve seen packaging from good to bad to ugly, and I was very happy with the quality and care placed into getting these wines from California to New York. The bottles themselves were wrapped with tissue paper and a bow. Also included in the shipment was a gift card and a newsletter. The newsletter contained tasting notes and details on the wines in this shipment. Since I usually end up checking out the vineyard’s Web site any time I try a bottle, I was happy to get the information at a glance without even having to boot up my laptop. Nice presentation, all around.

IMG_6675 But now on to the important stuff, right? The wines. In my shipment I received a bottle of Bradford Mountain Grist Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2004 and a bottle of Belvedere Russian River Valley Chardonnay Sonoma County 2005. Both of these bottles are higher-end offerings from both vineyards. The Bradford Zin retails for around $35 and the Belvedere Chard retails for around $20. Both of these wines are classic California — full flavor, big oak. My husband and I were pleased with both of them. The nose on the Chard is delicious, toasty almond. After a few swirls the fruit starts to come up, but the oak doesn’t retreat. There’s a bit of honeysuckle there too, but it’s subtle. On the palate, this Chard is all wood with a bit of spice and butter at the end. It had a nice mouthfeel and a medium finish. Don’t get the impression that this is over-oaked — not at all. The oak is gentle and well-integrated.

The Bradford Mountain Grist Vineyard Zin also would be considered “big oak,” but really it’s a classic example of a great Zinfandel. Cedar and dark fruit on the nose with the tiniest bit of anise showing up to the party. Right out of the bottle, the wine is totally wood-dominated, but after about 20 minutes, the fruit started to come through. I think that if I had decanted the bottle it would have helped. The wine needed some time to open up but when it did – wow! It also was a star with the filet mignon we ate with it. The wine could benefit from a little time in the bottle — it’s a little young, I think so I’m interested in getting another bottle and holding off for a few years. But it shows a lot of promise and with time I think the fruit will come out a bit more.

The sample subscription I got was from the Gold Tier, which costs between $39-$43 per shipment. Considering the retail value of the wines I received, I think it’s a great deal and I’m actually considering joining. This is definitely a club for true wine lovers — the wines have a lot of character and aren’t the typical mass-market bottles you’re going to find at every Liquorama-type box store. A subscription would be a great gift idea for someone who isn’t afraid of trying different wines and prefers to drink “boutique” wines (like me!). The choices were great, the packaging was top-notch, and the newsletter was informative and interesting. All in all, I was really impressed with everything about the Gold Medal Wine Club.

Friday Bullets

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  • I like doing entries bullet-style
  • My stuffy nose is clearing up, thankfully. I have a bunch of wines I need to taste over the next few days, so I’m glad I’ll be able to smell again.
  • Jake suddenly has all these girls giving him things at school: stickers, shells, pictures they’ve colored, books they’ve made… He is such a ladies’ man.
  • He is really into making books these days, especially counting books and books about food.
  • Noah is way into Moon Sand (it used to be one of those as seen on tv products, but you can get it everywhere now, it seems), coloring, Legos, and Playmobil.
  • He also knows most of his colors too. Except he says “chocolate” instead of “brown.” That makes me laugh.
  • I wish my Christmas cards were done.
  • I have absolutely no idea what to make for dinner.