Cookerati

I 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:

You can tell by my posts that I am a wine lover.  I still don’t know a lot about wine, other than I like what I like because it tastes good.  At one of our wine tastings we were getting ready to taste raspberry wine when the server gave us some dark chocolate chips and told us to take a sip and then eat the chips.  The combination was fantastic.  I have an online friend, who regularly snacks on a few chocolate chips with her wine (Andrea, you need a search for your site). Turning Leaf sent us suggestions for pairing chocolate with wine for Valentines Day.

Dark Chocolate, paired with Turning Leaf’s 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon

   o  The richest of all the reds, this wine boasts notes of vanilla and brown that perfectly complement the bitterness in darker chocolates.

Milk Chocolate, paired with Turning Leaf’s 2008 Merlot

    o  The fruitier character in this Merlot brings out the natural, bright flavors in classic milk chocolate.

White Chocolate, paired with Turning Leaf’s 2008 Chardonnay

    o  A twist on the common red wine & chocolate pairing, the acidity level in drier whites, such as Chardonnay, cuts through the sweetness of white chocolate making for a more balanced bite.

I’ve tried these pairings and they’re terrific.  Instead of chips, I like to do squares, arranged on a platter or a plate.  You could place a separate glass for each person by each wine.  Then fill small plates with Chocolate squares, some nuts, maybe some fruit and pour a little wine into the glasses for the tasting.  This is great for a gathering of friends.  I really liked Turning Leaf’s 2008 Chardonnay paired with some Hazelnut Milk Chocolates. That was my favorite pairing.

Fondue:

Pairing the wine with chocolate fondue is great too.  Fondue is basically heavy cream and chocolate melted over a sterno – or it can be an electric fondue.  Add a little liqueur for flavoring.  Then use strawberries, pineapple, pound cake, apple slices, pretzels, etc for dipping.  Reserve some cream to thin the fondue as it thickens. Great with wine or for your wine tasting instead of squares. 

Make your own hearts:

I have Cookie cutters from Ann Clark.  They really are sturdy and sized nicely.  I’ve used my heart shaped cookie cutter to make iced birthday cookies for my mother in law, heart shaped pancakes for my daughter, and now heart shaped chocolates for my husband and son.  I melt the chocolate in the microwave and pour it into the heart mold on a flat pan . You can top with nuts, raisins, pieces of candy, then place it into the fridge to harden. It’s difficult to wait for it to be totally cool, but you have to do it.

Play a Game:

The most appropriate adult game (kid friendly house, no nudity involved) for Valentines Day is Wine Wars. It’s a trivia game for wine experts and lovers of wine information, but if you’re new to the wine world, or not an expert, you can still attempt the questions.  You’ll definitely learn as you go.  The game gets better with glasses of wine though, so be ready to sniff, swirl and sip (no spitting- we’re not wasting any of the good stuff).

The game comes with trivia cards, small boards to place little colored wine bottles into as you get an answer correct, a colored die and a wine map, all packed in a small box.  This is a very packable game if you are going to a cabin for the weekend or to have fun with friends.

The categories are:

Vino to Vino – Growing grapes, making wine, and world production.

Grapeosphere – Grape varieties, their wines, and their geography.

Wine Cellar – Selecting, storing and tasting wine.

Cork Culture – Wine people, business, arts and sciences, and trivia. 

I’m still a learner, not a geek – this is a cool way for me to do it and I’m definitely one of those sip and learn types.  We had fun guessing at the answers, and sometimes we even got it right.

In the interest of full disclosure  – I was sent some of the items for review, ie.  Wine Wars, Turning Leaf 2008 Chardonnay and Turning Leaf Cabernet Sauvignon, also the Ann Clark cookie cutters.  The chocolate, pancakes and cookie dough was all mine.  I was totally sober when writing this review  and the thoughts are all mine, though I did have to put down my wine glass in order to type with both hands.