Cline ancient vine zinfindel and dark chocolate: now that’s a Friday night
I don’t ask for much these days. As a mom of an almost-five-year-old who really, really likes me to put him to bed, I don’t get out much. So after a long week, when Friday night finally rolls around, I drink.
I know what you’re thinking, but work with me here. I’m not talking vodka in a secret flask inside my semi-attractive yet hefty mom purse. The perfect wine to match the delectable meal Keith and I have prepared for ourselves, to unwind and satiate — that’s what I’m talking about.
Serving wine with turkey is easier than you might think
Our (apparently coerced) Guest-clacker today is Stephen Degon, a retired manufacturing and engineering executive whose hobbies include food and wine. That means he loves to cook, eat, and drink, but not write about it.
Well, it’s that time of year again, when we all start to think about the perfect Thanksgiving feast. Thanksgiving is such a special holiday because it reminds us of how fortunate we are, even if we are in the throws of a financial downturn. It means family and friends without the need for gifts. This should lead to a no stress holiday right?…WRONG! Everyone feels enormous pressure to make the perfect meal, accompanied by the perfect sides, and served alongside a perfect wine.
Which brings us to what we really want to talk about…wine. Turkey is a fowl, so it should have white wine, right? How about the dressing? Does it contain lots of meats? How are the veggies prepared? All of these questions should factor into your wine selection, but most important is “what kind of wine do you really like?”
Here are some suggestions, depending on your particular leanings.
Ooh, Target boxed wine, you are so fine
I’m not a complicated person. I’m bad at hiding my feelings, and my life is pretty much an open book. So it should come as no surprise to any of you that I’m not what one would call… fancy. I wouldn’t classify myself as a foodie, and I am certainly not a wine snob. When it comes to regular “wine with dinner” type drinking, I’m a $10/bottle girl. When I’m at the grocery store, I’ll go down to about $8 for Yellow Tail Shiraz, or do $15 for Estancia Cabernet. But about $10 is where I want to be.
I’ll admit that there is a certain satisfaction to popping the cork and pouring a glass of wine from a bottle. It somehow makes you instantly feel classy– even if you’re pairing it with leftover pasta. However, I’m practical, and I know that I’m not going to finish a bottle, and in general, I’m going to forget about it, and there’s nothing worse than having to throw away a half a bottle of wine because you didn’t finish it.
So that’s when I turned to the box.
Michelob Ultra Lime Cactus – Brew Review
If I wanted to try out a new beer, I could always head out to the local (and awesome) Julio’s Liquors and spend hours trying to decide what that new something will be. But sometimes the easiest place to find a new kind of beer is at someone else’s house. And who do doesn’t love free beer?
With summer comes parties, and with parties comes beer. Normally I just drink my usual stuff in the cooler, but seeing as I needed to have something to write about, I took one for the team and reached for something I’d never have considered sipping before: Michelob Ultra Lime Cactus.
Bobby Flay’s Red Wine Sangria – Recipe Test Drive
Why is it that summer and booze go together so well? There’s nothing better than sitting outside on a warm day and sipping on a cool drink: a margarita, mojito, mint julep, or one of my favorites… sangria. Poor winter just doesn’t match up when it comes to seasonal cocktails. Unless you really like eggnog, winter just can’t hold a candle to summer in the alcohol department.
My cousin hosted a cookout for the Fourth of July this past weekend and I offered to bring sangria. After all, any reason is a good excuse to make sangria. I turned to one of my favorite recipes: Bobby Flay’s Red Wine Sangria.
Food snobbery translates to booze – Eat, Drink, and Be Snarky
I am a proud, self professed food snob; this isn’t news. The sad fact is that I had no chance. I was born the son of a food snob and the flag was passed down to me at an early age. I think it might even be genetic; I’m just waiting for the scientists to pinpoint the gene. Sadly, it’s way down on the list, after the gene responsible for loud sneezing, but before the gene for droopy ear lobes.
In any case, food snobbery may be a slightly incorrect term, or at the very least incomplete. You see, my food snobbery doesn’t just stop with food. No, no. In fact, I may be even more of an alcohol snob than I am a food snob.
According to Jim: the Brew Review, the conclusion
I promised the review of Land Shark Lager and According to Jim and I finally have time to set down and do it. I don’t normally drink fancy beer like Land Shark because I can get a half rack of Old Milwaukee cheaper than a six-pack of this beer. So with the final episode of According to Jim on the DVR, a Tomb Stone Supreme pizza ready to go in the oven, and the six-pack cold in the fridge … here we go.
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