What Was New Last Week?

The goal each week is to try some new recipes and create some more of my own. This past week, I was all about trying new ones, making some favorites and getting comfortable with them, so we don't have to wait until the rare visit to a restaurant.

To that end, I'm going to try a bunch of Greek recipes in the coming months.

What was new?

Cincinnati Chili. This turned out the way I remember Skyline's being, the same texture and consistency. Ed's opinion is that it was probably too cinnamon-y for most people. He also offered that it was more like what you find in the pastitsio than what I used in that recipe. Lesson learned, make a batch of this, then make the rest of the stuff for Pastitsio according to the recipe I found.

Cheesy Rice Pilaf. I know something is a huge hit when Chef asks for seconds and thirds and then says that the leftovers will be his lunch the next day. Too bad he ate so much that there wasn't enough for anyone to have leftovers.

I took an Emeril recipe, subbed Beef broth and doubled the onions and removed the peppers. It was very savory and used a total of four cups of water when the recipe said it'd use one.

Gnocci I love getting this when I dine out because it's something I didn't make at home. Well, now I do. Even though I love the ones I get out (and probably will still do it), the ones at home were melt in your mouth. This is not a quick meal to whip up after work though. It'll be a day off meal when I do return to work. I need to make sure I have basil next time, so I can make some pesto to go with them.

I Know, I Know

This blog fell by the wayside in 2008. There were a couple of reasons-
1. I was busy making sure I fulfilled my Blog365 duties.
2. Life threw us a few crappy curveballs.
3. There hasn't been much wine to talk about in 2008.
4. There haven't been too many new restaurants enjoyed in 2008, either.

Well, on the first front, I've completed Blog365. (Really 366 days, but we won't mention the fact that I refused to take the designated day of rest.) I'm not bound to the same requirements, but I probably still will blog every day. It's so ingrained that I can't see skipping it.

We lost a house, moved, lost a job, and dealt with various financial and health issues. To say that there were other things on my (our) mind this year would be an understatement.

As a result of the things in the previous paragraph, well, the cash flow has prevented wining and dining in the manner we once did. The original intent of the blog was to talk about restaurants and lovely beverages. As you can tell by the crickets chirping at Wine and Foodies, there's been a dearth of either.

However, the lack of dining out means we ate most of our meals at home. I enjoy cooking and had started the year with the goal of entering the Next Food Network Star Competition. Yes, I did. No, they didn't call me. It still feels pretty good to know that I made the tape AND spent most of the year creating new recipes and refining my core meals.

So, I decided that I'll begin anew here on Wine and Foodies. Once I am among the employed again, there certainly will be food and wine reviews and tasting notes. In the meantime, this space will recap what we're eating, the new meals we're trying and tips on making things simpler in the kitchen.

I'm not sure how it's going to play out, but I may start a master post for a week if there isn't a lot to say about each new recipe, and break out to individual entries for those that warrant the extra attention. There will probably be duplicate posts here and at my main blog on Wednesdays, when I focus on What's for Dinner.

So, come along and bring your appetite-there's food to eat!

Lots to update

We have so much we want to write about/review, but December got the better of us. In the not too distant future, look for reviews of:

Giordano's Chicago Style Pizza
Acropolis Greek Taverna (OMG yummy!)
some wines
some other food related stuff

In the mean time, since I had a nice few days off from work, I decided to make a nice from scratch meal for Christmas Dinner. The menu had:

Roasted Garlic Crusted Roast Beef with Cabernet Gravy
Crabcakes with remoulade
Home Fries
Candied Sweet Potatoes

I never did get to the veggies or biscuits, oh well. Everything else was so yummy that it would have been superfluous. The cabernet gravy was the pan drippings with about 2 oz of Ausbruch Cabernet Sauvignon used to deglaze the pan and a little bit of salt and pepper. I could eat it with a spoon.

The crabcakes were my usual maryland/n'awlins hybrid recipe. However, there were no breadcrumbs in the pantry so I used the trick I've heard for years and pulverized some Ritz crackers. Nope, not nearly as good as italian bread crumbs. Live and learn. Ed and Chef Jr really loved them, I was meh.

I was all set to do mashed potatoes, but Ed asked for home fries. About the same amount of work and three of us really love them. I made a baked potato for the one who doesn't appreciate good diner style potatoes.

Except for Gameboy, none of us really had room for the candied sweets. Just as well, as they're one of the few dishes that get better the more you reheat it.

Chef Jr asked for ham for New Year's eve...another nice and easy meal. Perhaps we'll try the Alton Brown crusting technique with ginger snaps and southern comfort for the glaze.


My resolution for the new year is to get at least one post a week on Wine and Foodies. If you've got ideas or recipes you'd like me to share, feel free to let me know.

One Last Fling With An Old Flame - PRP's Egri Merlot 2000

When Sue and I first became involved with PRP International Wines, our main focus was on German White wines, mostly in the sweeter vein like Rieslings. Eventually over time, our palates matured a bit and we began 'experimenting' with reds. Our wine consultant Rosie knew our palates well, and suggested that we start with some of the later harvest reds, since they were less dry.

One of our first purchases in this vein was a Hungarian red from 2000. Made of Ausbruch grapes grown in the Eger region of Hungary, the grapes were picked in late October, fermented and then oaked for only 8 months. The combination of the late harvest and the limited oaking let the wine retain it's natural fruityness, yet the initial impact would fade to a lovely tanin and oak finish, as if the wine were confused as to it's purpose.

We initially bought half a case, which we consumed rapidy. Egri Merlot 2000 (or Schizophrenic Red as we began calling it) quickly became our favorite wine.

When it was time to place our next order, we were saddened to find that PRP had sold out of our beloved Egri Merlot 2000, but Rosie had other wines for us to try which we ended up buying and enjoying. But, we always hoped that more Egri Merlot might find it's way to us.

Eventually, we attended a warehouse sale and were giddy to find that PRP had received a pallet of Egri Merlot. However, Rosie advised us that buying it would be a crap shoot - the natural cork in the bottles had begun to force their way out of many of the bottles that they had examined. Normally I wouldn't have considered buying wine like this, but Rosie offered to buy back the wine if we got it home and it was 'corked'. Thus, we picked through some boxes and found 6 that appeared to be fine and hoped for the best.

When we opened the first bottle, it appeared fine - color was good, aroma was good, yet it just didn't taste 'right'. It was good mind you, just not as good as it used to be. A second bottle opened a few weeks later was the same, if not just a bit 'funkier'. We decided to just cut our losses and return the remaining bottles to PRP and take something else, which we did. Somewhere along the line, we exchanged 3 bottles of the Egri Merlot 2000 for some Travicello (sp?) and were happy.

Later on, we discovered that we had left one bottle of the Egri Merlot 2000 in our non-functional wine fridge (by non-functional, I mean that the internal temp only goes down to the mid 50's when on full blast - it's more like a wine humidor). It was removed and put into a 6 bottle wine holder placed in the middle of our dining room table and ignored.

Today, we ran out of things to drink. I mean, there ain't nothing here to drink except Milk dated 11/12 (today's the 18th) and tap water. Finding neither to my liking (and not wanting to drink any of the 'good stuff') I looked around for something to imbibe. I discovered the 'corked' Egri Merlot 2000 and decided "Why not? I can always add sangria mix to it!" and prepared to open it. The cork appeared to be completely inside the bottle, not slightly ejected like the others we had returned, yet the foil had a dark ring around the inside and the cork itself looked cracked and stained. Not a good sign. Use of the rabbit revealed a different story completely - the cork was completely intact, and what looked like a crack was a natural fault in the cork itself. Could it be?

Color is perfect, smells sweet and wonderful. First sip....

Yum.

Ooooh baby I've missed you so. I know you're only in town for one night, so lets make the most of it. It'll be just like old times...

Shingetsu New Moon Japanese Restaurant, Lakeland

This past Sunday, Jane decided she was going to treat us to dinner at her favorite Japanese restaurant. Never one to turn down a free meal out(*), we of course accept her offer. We then find that this is the place that she got the sushi.

Last week, when we were visiting, she brought out a to go box of sushi and both boys consumed, with Chef Jr practically inhaling the box. It was love at first sight for the child who eats anything and everything from the ocean. Gameboy also had a few pieces, which both shocked an impressed me. He is beyond picky, hates proteins and has texture problems. Perhaps wrapping things in rice is how to get the child to eat them?

We travel down to South Lakeland, only to end up at the shopping center where Mugs and Movies is located. We were there the night before to see Harry Potter (and have nachos and beer while seeing HP) and had no idea this gem was hidden in a strip mall.

Entering the restaurant, it was deserted. Several servers and the owner hopped into action. On the way in, we pass the sushi bar-there is nothing premade up, just a refrigerated case of some beautiful looking fish. We are seated and then the fun begins.

Chef Jr sat at one end of the table, next to Jane. They immediately start their plotting, the majority of which I miss, because I'm trying to decide what I will eat. I've never consumed sushi because I am a shellfish fan and even that, I limit my intake due to the iodine allergy.
Thankfully, there are many things for me to choose from. Do I have Tempura, Teppan Yaki, Katsu or Shoga Yaki? Ultimately, I decide on the Pork Shoga Yaki and Ed picks the Katsu Donburi.

On the Scorecard O Sushi, the list is long, but Jane and Chef seem to have found some things they would like. Holy cow, did they find stuff. Jane offers the list to Ed, to get what he wants. Does she realize that each one she's chosen means four pieces? He asks, and she says she means to get what she picked: Eel, Tokyo Roll, Spicy Crab, Bang Bang Rolls, a Volcano roll and some smoked salmon and sashimi tuna.

We place our orders, Ed's mom getting the tempura, Gameboy some Gyoza. The dinners three of us have ordered come with miso soup. My experience with Miso in the past tells me I'd rather have the wonton soup.

Appetizers of Gyoza and spring rolls come out. This kitchen knows how to lightly fry-the spring rolls are quite flaky, the dumplings delicate and crunchy.

Next, the soups. The Miso has cubed tofu floating in it, so I'm happy I switched. I don't mind tofu but find it in it's unadulterated state bland and chalky. However, I had some of Ed's soup. It's quite flavorful. The wonton has those same Gyoza in a beef broth with plenty of green onions and tempura batter in it. Very light.

We also get salads. These are cabbage salads with a savory ginger dressing. Think cole slaw on steroids, which makes me think the next batch of coleslaw I make probably will have copious amounts of ginger added. We share dishes around, as there is so much food and we all want to try each other's meals.

The entrees come out, as does this HUGE tray of sushi. The picture above is everything except the volcano roll. The owner is a sushi chef, and in fifteen minutes, she rolled all of that (remember, there are only ingredients on that bar), the volcano roll AND served a couple who sat down at the bar for some sushi and drinks. Brava!

Chef Jr and Jane had a ball, chatting away the whole time. The child is fearless, he ate everything! I think his favorite is the eel. I tried a piece of the spicy shrimp. It was delicious and I will have some again. The only difficult thing of it for me is trying to fit the whole thing in my mouth!

We continued to sample around, with Ed's mom's tempura rather yummy, my Shoga Yaki fantastic (its in a ginger sauce, but there is a distinct mustard flavor, too. loved it) and Ed loving his Donburi, but deeming it cannon fodder in the face of all that sushi.

The whole time, the owner and staff were most attentive. There were finally four other tables of diners, but the owner chatted with us several times. She and Chef Jr talked about fish for a bit. Honestly, I was surprised that a place this fine wasn't filled to capacity. Even I know that to find sushi done properly is something to celebrate.

If you live in Lakeland, there is no reason to purchase those Okami packages in the supermarkets! You can get exactly what you want made to order. As for Chef Jr, I now see lots of visits to Shingetsu in our future. They'll probably involve getting Jane to go with us. What I didn't consider is that sushi is one meal that doesn't have to be altered by her dietary restrictions. Pretty neat that she can have something she loves and not regret it later.

I'm sure Ed will fill you in on his experience. He about died and went to heaven!

Hazlett Vineyard's Red Cat

Ed and I ventured over to Total Wine and More the other day(see post below for his review of the Raspberry Weiss concoctions). My purpose for visiting was to pick up some more bottles of Pindar's Sweet Scarlett (also posted below), as well as to get him some more of those delicious Leines.

I love the place. They ensure their employees are well versed in the product by giving each one a case of wine each month. What better way to learn what you like and what you don't, and to understand what the customers are asking for. (yes, I *have* contemplated working there, folks!). What is amusing is that when I visit, I end up passing on a morsel or two of information that I've learned in our explorations.

Most are not aware of Pindar, so when I speak glowingly of them, it allows their staff to provide another offering to their customers (or try it themselves). When we visited this time, there weren't any bottles of either Pindar varietal (Pythagoras or Sweet Scarlett). This time, the employee helping us had the distinct "Lawn Guyland" accent. She had tasted both and offered an alternative selection that she felt we'd like for it's similarities.

She suggested Hazlett's Red Cat, explaining that it is Total Wine's most popular wine. Her reasoning is that if we like it, it doesn't suffer the distribution and inventory issues that a small LI winery does. It's a semi sweet red, so we figured 8 bucks (cheap!! lol) was reasonable to try it out.

The bottle copy cracked me up. "Red Cat is a semi-sweet, fruity blend. It is best served chilled. Try it with hamburgers, pizza or chicken wings. It is a great hot tub wine, too!" Once I read this bottle copy, I was reminded that I visited the winery in 1992 when visiting a Prodigy buddy in Elmira. He was kind enough to take me and the ex on a winery tour of Seneca lakes. I have vague memories of the names after the second one, but it was a great day, let me tell you! :)

Getting back to the wine. we cracked it open today, because frankly, it's been a day. The only negative I can say about this bottle is that the label is a decal. This definitely impedes my label plans of soaking, mounting and framing with tasting notes.

The inital nose of this wine is sweet, but with an acidic back, almost chemical smelling. However, the taste is completely different. It starts very sweet, stays sweet and then has a tart end. I would love to know what grapes they are using. I'd say there are concord grapes used extensively in it. Now, most people think Concords are very sweet because of all the sugar that accompanies concords in jellies and juice. If you've ever had straight concord grapes, they've got a very tart flavor, almost like kiwi fruit.

This one is almost too sweet for me now. Two years ago, it'd been deemed awesome by either one of us. It's a great wine to counter some extra sharp cheddar and a salty brie, maybe a spinach dip. It's really smooth throughout, though. It goes on my list to definitely pick up again, thanks to that smoothness. Just note that it is definitely sweeter than most, with just a hint of pucker at the end. Good stuff.

Want a good semi sweet under 10 bucks? Check this one out.

Now that we've got Ed's member status fixed and he's posting, perhaps he'll insert his comments here...

My Current Fascination With Berry Weiss Bier

It's funny how my first post to this blog will not be about either of the two things this blog is supposed to be about - food or wine. While beer is neither of those two things, I will make this post because I believe that it is appropriate. Besides, both Sue and I have relatives that basically live(d) on a steady diet of beer their whole adult lives, and continue to do so today in some cases...

When I lived for a couple years in Northwest Chicagoland, I was introduced to the local beers. Okay, not truly local, but brewed in the nearby state of Wisconsin. In the state of Wisconsin, if you don't live in or near one of the major cities (Milwaukee or... uh... I can't think of another. Hmmm...) there isn't much to do. This is a major farming and dairy state, and is one of the most green and lush places I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. Needless to say, the lack of entertainment led to the development of some really great breweries. Of those, my favorite is Leinenkugel.

Alas, when I moved to Maryland, I was separated from my beloved Leines. After a brief flirtation with Red Dogs (back when Plank Road Brewery wasn't part of Miller Brewing and Red Dogs were actually good) I cut back on my beer consumption a lot. Why bother drinking beer when all you can get is Bud or Miller or Coors? YUCK!

After a few years I noticed in the supermarket that they had Leines, but they had the Leinenkugel's Red Lager - one of the brews that they make that I didn't particularly care for. After asking and shopping around, I found that all they were exporting from the Midwest was the Red. Oh well...

After moving to Florida, I happened upon the new Sunset Wheat Beer from Leinenkugel's. Though expensive ($8/6) I picked it up, hoping it would be like the Honey Weiss Bier I used to enjoy in my apartment in Schaumburg. Not so - it was BETTER. It has a wonderful citrus flavor to it that is so refreshing it is wonderful. Oddly, this isn't a true 'Weiss' beer - it's a combination of Wheat and Pale malts which really creates a great smoothness to it. In addition, coriander is added to provide the citrus flavor. This works really well despite what you might expect. Sunset Wheat quickly became my new favorite beer.

Then, about a month ago - there it was on the shelf in the refrigerated aisle next to the Sunset Wheat - my old favorite. Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss Bier. Needless to say, it came home with me and didn't disappoint in any way. Now I have a choice!

This past Saturday, I took my Mother grocery shopping in her town. In passing, we went down the frozen aisle which happened to also be the beer aisle. I noticed a gap next to the two Leine's on the shelf and became curious. Looking deep into the shelf I saw it - Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss. There was only one six of it left and I had to have it. My memory of Berry Weiss was such that I knew that I had to have it and that if I didn't get it it would be gone long gone. When I lived in Chi, I had tried a six of Berry Weiss and thoroughly enjoyed it, only to find that it was a seasonal beer that was available for only a month or so in early fall, replaced on the shelf by their Oktoberfest Lager. I only ever had that one six pack, but it made quite an impression.

I arrived back at my Mom's with the Berry Weiss and immediately cracked one. It isn't what you would expect from a flavored beer. The difference between the Leine and other flavored beers I've had is like the difference between Sugus (a Swiss fruit flavored chew candy) and Starburst. Sugus is a fruit flavored square waxy fruit chew wrapped in wax paper that come in bags, and Starburst is a fruit flavored square waxy fruit chew wrapped in wax paper that come in logs or bags. The difference is that the Sugus have a gentle (by current candy standards) fruit flavor and sweetness, whereas the Starburst beat you over the head with the sugar and fruit. The same for the Leines. They are the Starburst of the beer world - there is nothing subtle about the berry flavor. Despite this, I like them very much. I was very pleased to read on the Leinenkugel web site that Berry Weiss is now available year round. Hopefully it will remain on my market's shelves as well.

Yesterday, I decided to put two berry Weiss beers head to head, purchasing another six of Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss Bier and a six of Abita's Purple Haze Raspberry Weiss 'Brew'. Or is it Beer? I don't know - the six-pack container says Beer and the bottles say Brew - very odd. I hadn't had the Purple Haze 'Brew' before and was pleasantly surprised - they're the best Abita beer I've ever had, possessing a smoothness that is lacking from the TurboDog. However, from the raspberry side, they are very much Sugus - hardly noticeable in fact during consumption, though you can smell it in the head and taste it in the aftertaste. The Leine's are definitely very Starburst like in their berry content. I find myself wanting to drink the Leine's while eating something peanut butter laden (cookies? Reese's Peanut Butter Cups or Pieces? peanut butter cheesecake or fudge?).

Do I think that these beers will become my daily drinkers? No. But they are a great addition to my palate and should be considered when I go looking for beer at the store.