Fun Valentines Ideas!
February 13, 2010 - Written by DianaI saw a commercial that showed a man in a grocery store picking out a Valentines card for his wife. She passes by and asks what he’s doing, and he says – nothing. Then they mention the store and say fast, cheap and easy. Well, maybe fast, cheap and easy, but imaginative? Thoughtful? Creative? Depends on what you expect. My husband does buy me flowers because I just love to see blooms on my kitchen table in the middle of winter. I like to make my husband some Chocolate Covered Almonds. They’re so delicious and he’s a lover of nuts, especially those. For my kids I make chocolate bars with fruit or nuts, or in fun shapes. I have lots of ideas and most are quick and easy (though not as easy as running into the store to pick up a card) and they know that I do it because they’re worth the effort and that there’s love involved.
Host a Wine and Chocolate Tasting:
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View from Strongman Mountain I know the postings have been sporadic lately. We went on vacation and my partner (ahem) didn’t find the time to post. We didn’t have any internet or even cell phone connection in our cabin – except one bar on the top floor with the phone up against the top part of the window. It didn’t matter, we were there to unwind, hike, read, have fun and disconnect. It was family time – well mostly. One evening my husband and I decided to take a little time to ourselves. We drove up into Shenandoah National Park for a wine tasting. They have a person from a Virginia vineyard come up and do a wine tasting with a group of about 12 people. You get to sample the different wines, plus their representative tells you about what he thinks you should know about the different wines. They’ll tell you how they think it tastes on the palate, where you’ll get the most taste, what you should be looking for and how to pair it. The restaurant servers …
Merrill was from Texas, the grand daughter of German immigrants. Paul was from New Jersey the grandson of Italian immigrants. They met in Texas, married and started a vineyard that they called Messina Hof. This book tells of their meeting, their families, their traditions. It contains recipes passed down from their immigrant backgrounds, most of which pair up well with or use Messina Hof wines to create. The story continues with their vineyard/winery building and their raising of their son. Throughout the book are delicious sounding recipes. There are guidelines on pairing wines with foods. The Bonarrigos talk about building a community with their vineyard including people in picking the grapes, building a villa, hosting weddings. Cookerati is happy to participate in the Bloggy Giveaways this week. We hope to have a couple of cool products for you, and here’s the first: My husband and I enjoy both wine and new gadgets so we were kind of tickled when we received The Wine Holder to review. The Wine Holder is such a simple design, yet it’s so cool everyone will ask where you got it. In essence The Wine Holder is a piece of wood with a hole on top and a 45 degree angle on either end. These angles allow The Wine Holder to sit on your bar or countertop or dining room table without taking up a lot of room. They’re sturdy enough to hold a full bottle of wine, yet small and lightweight enough to store in your utensil drawer. As you all know I am a true blue carnivore, but every once in while the mood strikes me to not eat meat at every single meal. Like today. Sure, I had some chorizo in the freezer that I could have used, but went for something decidedly different – vegetarian chili. Now had I entered this recipe in a Texas chili cook-off I’d be disqualified for two reasons – no meat and it has beans. I dedicate this meal to our fellow blogger Robin. Ingredients I’m not a wine connoisseur. I understand about wine pairings and I know what flavors I like. But when it comes to bouquets and oak flavors and sniffing corks, I’m lost. There. I said it. I like wine, but I’m clueless. When I taste wine all I taste is wine. I can’t find the hint of apple or barrel flavors other wine drinkers pick out. On the weekends my husband and I enjoy finding new wines and enjoying a glass or two in the evening after our son is in bed. We’re on a budget (renovating) so we’re not shopping for $50 bottles. Instead, we ask our wine distributor for recommendation for wines under $10 or $20. Last year before visiting my mother in Southern New Jersey for the holidays, my family had a discussion about cranberry wine. My older sister suggest we try some at our next gathering. My mother purchased several bottles of Velenzano Red Cranberry Wine for us to try. The vineyard isn’t far from where my mother lives and she wanted to support someone local. We loved the wine! This past holiday, my sister and I were at Mom’s once again and stopped into a local liquor store to purchase spirits for dinner. We came upon a display featuring Valenzano Red and White Cranberry Wines. We purchased a couple of bottles each. My family enjoyed the wine at dinner, the Whit Cranberry Wine was our favorite. I was afraid it would be tart but it was just the opposite. It was sweet, but not sickeningly sweet like the Wild Vines wine cooler type wines. Now, I’m no wine connoisseur, but I do know what I like. Mom does too because the next day she went back down to the liquor store and bought them out of all their cranberry wine. …
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Wine Tasting in Shenandoah National Park
June 15, 2009 - Written by Diana
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Vineyard Cuisine – Meals & Memories from Messina Hof by Merrill & Paul Bonarrigo
October 1, 2008 - Written by Diana
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Kaaterskill Reserve Wine
July 13, 2008 - Written by Diana
Last night, it was pouring rain and my husband and I were supposed to be working on the house but we were just exhausted. I cooked up a fajita salad for dinner, and then we had ice cream in the living room while finishing up watching a movie. So here we are relaxing and eating ice cream and I remembered something we bought last year. It was an expensive small bottle of wine, we bought when we were up in Windham, NY last summer. I had forgotten about it, plus we don’t often get the house to ourselves to hang out. So I got the Kaaterskill Reserve Wine and poured it over our Butter Pecan Ice Cream. It was delicious and sweet and just perfect over our ice cream. A few years ago, my sister-in-law poured Raspberry wine over our vanilla ice cream and that was where I got the idea. Tweet This Post Plurk This Post Buzz This Post Delicious Digg This Post Ping This Post Reddit This Post Stumble This Post
Cool Giveaway: Introducing The Wine Holder
April 21, 2008 - Written by Deb
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No-Meat Chili
April 20, 2008 - Written by Buff
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What I’m Digging…Redwood Creek Merlot
March 19, 2008 - Written by Deb
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What I’m Digging: Valenzano Cranberry Wine
January 7, 2008 - Written by Deb
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