Posts Tagged ‘kara’

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Still Facing My Fear… and ready to #CrushIt!

July 23, 2011

A while back, you read about my life-long hatred of eggs.

What’s that?

You didn’t?

How dare you!

Click here to catch up.

Now as gung-ho as I was about attacking all of the recipes in Jodi Liano’s “Egg” book…

"Eggs" by Jodi Liano. You know what time it is! Yeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh Boooooooooyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!

writing the post about it, and reliving the Hulkster’s Powerful Protein Shake experience was really tough for me. The more I wrote, the sicker I felt.  After I published the entry, I avoided eggs for about a week.

Now look…

I’m not one to give up so easily.  All I needed was a little BREAK from the EGGS (You like that one?).

A few days ago, I decided to jump back on the egg wagon.  Here’s what I made…

Jeff and Kara in a Hole.

I really liked this one.  The letters that I cut out of the bread were a little too small.  As the egg was frying in the hole, a lot of it piled on top of the bread.  This increased the cooking time, and made for a messy presentation… But… It was delicious.

Kara would have liked it to be a little more runny, but I’m beginning to like mine over hard.

This morning, I made this…

Egg, Bacon, and Smoked Mozzarella Panini

Now, in the book, Jodi uses brie, but I had some smoked mozzarella that I wanted to finish off… so I did.  I got the ciabatta and bacon from Trader Joe’s.  One problem was that the ciabatta loaf was too fat, so the panini could not get as flat as I would have liked.  Another issue was the bacon.  Trader Joe’s is a nice store.  I love it.  Their bacon selection, however, is HORRIBLE.  I got this crappy turkey bacon that did not get anywhere as crisp as I would have liked.  Next time, I’m going to Safeway to get me some real crispy pork action.

By the way, the sandwich was f-ing AWESOME!  I can only imagine how good it would have been with better ingredients.

Okay…

So…

Here’s the deal…

Since we returned from Healdsburg, I haven’t tasted any new wines… but I have been reading a lot recently.  I wanted to share some of these books with you.

I know.  I know.  This is a wine blog, so let’s see if we can tie in some wine…

When I was in high school, I was in a punk rock band called The Willies.

I'm the skinny kid, practicing my punk rock jumps with a mic in my hand.

A few weeks back, my old friend and drummer, Nick Thedrummer, suggested that I read “Crush It!” by Gary Vaynerchuk.

“I know Gary!” I wrote back to Nick.  “I’m a huge fan of his video blogs Wine Library TV and Daily Grape.  He even follows me on Twitter.  I just don’t know if I want to read a book about business.”

“Just read it, dude.”

A few days later, I was kicking it with my buddy Dave Thevegetarian when I meantioned Gary’s book.  Dave was all, “I’ve got Crush It right here.  You want to borrow it?”

"Crush It!" by Gary Vaynerchuk... and you should too.

I was all like, “Sure.”

The book is a quick 142 page read (including two appendices).  It’s all about tapping into things that you are passionate about, creating blogs, and using social media to build your personal brand.  This book is very entertaining, and… dare I say it… inspiring.  I was just a few weeks into this blog when I read Crush It, and have since been inspired to take on the world.  If you like blogs…  If you have a Facebook or Twitter account…  If you are passionate about anything… You must read this book!

One of the things that Gary preaches in his book is to become an expert on your passion, by reading as much as you can on the topic.  So last week, I picked up this…

"Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Complete Wine Course" next to some spheres inside some cubes.

This well-written 338 page textbook is the number one selling book about wine in the world.  Kevin takes the reader through a step-by-step guide on getting to know all the wines on the planet.

Right now, I’m in the middle of Class One: The White Wines of France.  I am stoked on the way he presents information in this book.  Zraly makes wine a whole lot easier to understand.  If you like wine, and want to know more about it… Grab this book!

As interesting as Windows on the World is, I’m realizing how much more I have to learn about the subject of French wine (and wine in general).  The good news, according to Zraly, is that the best way to understand wine is to TASTE it.

Looks like someone’s gonna have to make a run to the wine shop and make a raid on the Alsace section.  Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Gris better watch out… None of them are getting out alive!

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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We followed the Wine Road and wound up at a dive bar. Happy Anniversary!

July 21, 2011

Does it get any better than this?

Sit down.  This may take a while…

My wife’s name is Kara.  This past Sunday, July 17th, was our first wedding anniversary.  In total, Kara and I have been in a relationship for almost nine years.  As familiar as we are with each other, in the last year, being married, our love has grown to heights I could have never imagined.  She is my best friend.  She is my heart.  She is my everything.

She already knows all this…  I tell her every day.

When searching for a way to celebrate our wedding anniversary, we knew we wanted to do a wine vacation.  We just weren’t sure where to go…

A while back, Kara’s aunt and uncle introduced us to a neat little book called Bed & Breakfast and Country Inns.  This reference book from American Historic Inns Inc. lists over 1,400 bed and breks from across the country, plus it comes with a one night free gift certificate.

We cracked open the book and started to browse the California section, when it came to us…

Healdsburg!

Healdsburg is a small little town at the center of a BIG wine region… Sonoma County.  Northern Sonoma County is home the Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, and Russian River Valley AVA’s.  These appellations play host to some of the greatest wineries in the world (Ridge anyone?).  As an added bonus, the area is only a two-hour drive from our doorstep.

Once we decided on Healdsburg, I called up the Camellia Inn (from the B&B book), and booked us two nights for the price of one.  Next, I had to pick out which wineries to visit…

Not being familiar with the area, I dove into the internet and stumbled upon a great nugget of information.  It appears that many of the great wineries are members of an organization called Wine Road.  On their website, you will find a bunch of info on the region, the wineries, and lodging.  The best part is that you can also buy passes for tasting online.  A one-day pass is 25 bucks, and three days is $50.  Since we were staying for two nights, we opted for the 3-day pass.

And now, ladies and gentlemen… A trip down the Wine Road!

Day One:

Kara and I got up at the butt crack of dawn to get our clothes packed, drop off the dog at her mom’s house, and hit the road to our first destination… Sonoma-Cutrer.

Outdoor tasting at Sonoma-Cutrer.

We got to this Russian River Valley winery in Windsor just a little bit after 11:00 am.  Apparently, although Sonoma-Cutrer has been making wine for decades, the tasting room is just about a year and a half old.  I’m glad that this place is now open.  The grounds are beautiful!  Upon our arrival, our server asked us to pick a seat on the patio where he would bring us our wine.

Just below where we sat there was a gigantic croquet court packed full of locals dressed in their Sunday whites to play a tournament.

See!

Here’s what we tasted…

2009 Russian River Ranches Chardonnay ($23): A light style chardonnay with a nice acidity and tropical fruit.  A solid 88.

2007 The Cutrer Chardonnay ($35): For me, this was the pick of the litter.  A classic, rich and viscous, creamy chardonnay.  This guy was big, but not goopy.  The Cutrer showed balance and restraint.  You must try this 91-pointer.

2007 Les Pierres Chardonnay ($32): Plenty of fruit and minerality.  More of an old world style.  Give it 89.

2007 Pinot Noir – Russian River Valley ($34): A nice juicy Pinot Noir loaded with cherry cola.  Good cool climate fruit.  89.

Sonoma-Cutrer is an amazing winery, and a MUST-visit.

Next stop…

Rodney Strong. Not Rodney Weak.

Okay…

So, a few years ago we went on a wine tour with Dave and Kara Thevegetarian and the bus stopped at Rodney Strong.  Since we’d been there before, I thought it would be a good place to revisit.  The last time around, I purchased a bottle of 2005 Symmetry (their Meritage).

This time around, Kara and I each had separate flights.  I did an estate tasting, while Kara tried out the reserves (including the 2007 Symmetry).  She LOVED all the wines she tasted.  I was kind-of like, “Meh”.  Please remind me to do the reserve tasting next time.  Please!

After a quick minute at the Strong, we took a few back roads over to Twomey Cellars…

Twomey? More like For Me! Am I right?

Twomey Cellars is a winery in the Silver Oak family.  They have a winery in the Napa Valley and on Westside Road in Healdsburg.  These guys are most known for their Pinot Noir and Merlot (as opposed to Silver Oak’s Cabernet Sauvignon).

It was a pretty slow Sunday in Healdsburg, so when we got to this tasting room our server lined us up a few verticals of their Pinot Noir and their Merlot.

Here’s what it looked like…

Pinot vertical. Hear no complaints.

Here’s what we tasted…

2010 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($25): Grassy apple sauce.  Lemons.  Limes.

2009 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($50): Musty (in a good way).  Cinnamon.  Leather.  Light bacon fat.  Bell pepper.

2009 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($50): Cinnamon toast crunch.  S’mores.  Cranberry.

2008 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir ($55): Ham.  Raspberry.  Smoke.  Tomato.

2008 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir ($55): Sugar.  Tomato.  Bacon.  Hickory Smoke.

2006 Napa Valley Merlot ($50): Cherry.  Mustard.  Black Tea.  Bell Pepper.

2005 Napa Valley Merlot ($55): Eucalyptus.  Black cherry.  BIG black tea.  Wood.

Here’s what I thought about Twomey…

It’s pretty cool.

It was time for lunch, so we drove up to Lytton Springs Road to another place we’d been to before with the Thevegetarians…

Mazzocco!

They’ve got a nice picnic area, and they ain’t afraid to share it, so Kara and I pulled out the cooler and went to town.

Smoked mozzarella panini, olive oil, vinegar, and a few paper plates.

After lunch, we headed inside for a tasting…

I'm pretty sure that's a Zinfandel.

Mazzocco is a very chill winery in the Dry Creek Valley that specializes in single vineyard Zinfandels.  They remind me a whole lot of Ridge (their next door neighbor).

We got to talking to our server about other wineries we had already visited.  In passing, we mentioned the Pinot Noir vertical we had earlier.  Not to be outdone, he did the same thing with their Zins…

Boom!

Some 14 wines later, we had to purchase their 2009 Thurow Zinfandel.  It has just a touch of Petite Sirah.  In a world of goopy fruit bomb zins, the Thurow shows true restraint and good vegetal characteristics.  Nice!

The last winery of the day was next door at the Ridge Lytton Springs tasting room.  Being members of Ridge, it was nice to finally see where all of their awesome Zinfandels come from.  And, my goodness, did we like what we saw…

Lytton Springs through the looking-glass.

Here’s what we had…

Lookin' good!

2009 Estate Chardonnay ($40): Buttery apple pie.  Peaches.

2009 East Bench Zinfandel ($26): White pepper.  Bell pepper.

2007 Lytton Estate Zinfandel ($30): Tasty new bike tire.  Zippy peppers.

2006 Lytton Estate Syrah/Grenache ($28): Bright tires (I don’t know how else to name it.  Taste it head to head with the 2007 Lytton Estate Zin, and you’ll see what I mean).  Restrained.  Yummy.

2006 Monte Bello ($150): Deep purple tires.  Chalky (I love chalk).  Rich.  Ripe.  Delicious.

I’ve said it before.

I’ll say it again.

I love me some Ridge.  After experiencing the Lytton Springs tasting room, I just love it a little more.

Although we had finished tasting for the day, the fun was just beginning…

Checking in at the Camellia Inn.

We checked in to the Camellia Inn around 5:30.  We went up to our beautiful room and unpacked our junk.

After freshening up, we went downstairs to the pool for their wine and cheese reception.  We had a great time kicking it with the other guests.  The wine wasn’t bad either.

The Camellia Inn is a two block walk from the downtown Healdsburg Plaza, so we were able to walk to our dinner destination…

BarnDiva!

Shakers can't contain this salt and pepper combo.

I must say that this place is the bomb.  This restaurant’s focus is American cuisine featuring only the freshest local ingredients, served in a hip atmosphere.  BarnDiva is all about detail.  Not just detail in the preparation and presentation of the food, but also detail in the way they treat their customers.  I mentioned that it was our anniversary when I made the reservation, and from the time we entered until the time we left EVERYONE (from host to waiter to busser) made sure to congratulate us.

We began our BarnDiva experience with one of their specialty cocktails.  Delish!  We each had an Heirloom Beet and Endive salad…

Just a dope salad.

This is possibly the best salad I have ever had.  You see those brown balls on diagonal corners of the plate?  Those are warm croquettes of chevre.  They were so f-ing good.  So good!

For the main course…

Local beef filet with lobster risotto and deep-fried squash blossoms for Jeff. Rad!

Some fresh ass pasta for Kara. Rad!

Did we save room for dessert, you ask?

A big mound of chocolate awesome with a scoop of lemon ice cream.

Yes we did!

Was it good?

Mmmmmmmmmmm...

Yes it was!

Kara and I were having such a great time, we decided we should go out somewhere to get a drink.  The problem with Healdsburg is that the town kind of shuts down around 7:00 pm each night.  I decided to ask our waiter for a suggestion of where to catch a drink as we were settling the bill.  He started talking about a sports bar, but I really wanted to experience the local flair of the city.

“Are there any dive bars around here?” I asked him.

“Well, I always like to hit up the B & B Lounge.”

“Perfect!”

The only picture I took at the B & B, and it's a bad one. It was a long day.

The B & B Lounge was a great bar, complete with a pool table, red leather booths, and cheap drinks.  The best part, however, was the same thing that we had experienced all day… the locals.  From the bar tender, to a group of field workers, to a dog named Marley.  We made plenty of friends in the brief amount of time we spent there.

Once they found out it was our anniversary, it was on.  We didn’t pay for a single drink the rest of the night.  See those wooden nickles in the picture?  Think about it.

Then we walked back to the Camellia Inn.

Then we went to bed.

Day Two:

We woke up at 12:00 pm the next day.

We missed breakfast.

No breakfast, but we did have coffee.

We didn’t leave out the front door until 1 o’clock, so we walked right over to the Healdsburg Plaza to have some lunch.  We decided to eat at Bovolo.  At first glance, the restaurant looks like a cafeteria in the back of a book store.  Looks can, however, fool you.  Bovolo specializes in the “Slow food… fast” concept.  After we placed our order at the counter, we made our way to the back patio.

Here’s what I had…

Half-order of Caesar Salad. No joke. Those are the best croutons I've ever had.

The world-famous pork cheek sandwich. Amazing!

After lunch, we made our way around the Healdsburg Plaza.  We checked out a few shops and boutique tasting rooms.  Here’s where we went…

Topel Winery: A cute little tasting room with a very nice staff.  I just didn’t like their wine.  Any of it.

Vintage Wine Estates: Another cute boutique tasting room.  These guys carry wines from several small wineries, including Windsor Sonoma, Sonoma Coast Vineyards, and Stonefly Vineyards.  The wine was okay, but nothing  special.

Trying some Windsor Sonoma at Vintage Wine Estates.

Kendall-Jackson: You’ve heard of these guys.  You’ve seen it in your local grocery store.  They make some good chardonnay.  As far as the experience at their tasting room, they gave off an attitude like they are doing you a favor by letting you taste their wines.  Look… It was interesting to taste some of their single-vineyard chardonnays.  They are not available anywhere else.  A wine, however, can only be as good as the time you have while drinking it.  In spite of some huge scores they had printed for some of their wines, I was not impressed.  Not at all.

Seco Highlands Chardonnay by Kendall-Jackson. Would have tasted better without the attitude.

In all, I’d say that I wasn’t very stoked on the tasting rooms around the plaza.  Maybe it’s a little premature, but it seems to me that most of these boutique tasting rooms are not worth your time (especially when there are amazing wineries just a few miles away).

Planning dinner in Healdsburg on a Monday can be tricky.  Many restaurants are not open on Monday nights.  We decided to hit up the Healdsburg Bar and Grill.  This is not your typical bar food.  Word on the street is that the HBG is owned by the folks that brought you Cyrus (A fancy schmancy restaurant with two Michelin Stars).  This restaurant also made the Food and Wine Magazine’s list of the 25 best burgers in the United States.  Guess what I ordered…

HBG Burger. A delicious burger with these amazing pickles. The best pickles in the world!

We both had cold cucumber soup to start. Yum!

Kara got a seared tuna sandwich... That basically means I got half of that sandwich. Double yum!

It's not only recommended that you share the truffle oil and Parmigianno-Reggiano fries. It's mandatory.

The HBG was amazing.  You should go.  Now.

After dinner we walked back to the Camellia Inn.

Then we went to bed.

Day Three:

There was no way we were going to miss breakfast again, so the next day we woke up EARLY.  I sure was glad we did.

Breakfast was great.  The inn had set up a serve-yourself spread.  Water.  Tea.  Coffee.  Coffee cake.  Orange juice.  Breakfast smoothies.  Toast.  There was an amazing farmer’s souffle with egg, potatoes, and sausage.  Great.  Just great.  It was all great.

After our checkout, we hit the road.

On our way down 101, we were all like, “Look.  We’ve got one last day of free tasting on our pass.  Let’s use it!”  So…

We had to make one last stop.

Can you guess where?

De Loach Vineyards!

We arrived at this Russian River Valley winery at 9:45 am.  Since the tasting room wasn’t scheduled to open until 10, we took some time to enjoy the view (That’s what Whoopi always says).

De Loach... De Lish!

Much like our first day of tasting, we were very stoked on the folks that worked at De Loach.  Our server poured us a bunch of their single vineyard Pinot Noirs side-by-side.

Double vision.

The highlight of our stop at De Loach was their Zinfandels.  We didn’t even know they made those.  After buying a bottle, we got back on the road.

We returned to Morgan Hill around 1:00.

Hungry, we decided to get sandwiches at Ricatoni’s and have a picnic at Guglielmo…

Taking a vacation from the vacation.

After lunch we came home to find our first ripe cherry tomato of the season in our garden…

A tomato built for two.

Does it get any better than this?

No.  No it does not.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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When the wife’s away, I drink her wine. Go Giants!

July 15, 2011

So…

Tonight, my wife went out to dinner with a few of her sorority friends from San Jose State.  I was invited, but it just seems more like a “girls night” type of thing.  I decided to skip it.

Tomorrow, she’s going to Napa with some other friends.  Again… it’s a girl thing, so I’m out.  Don’t trip, though.  Come Sunday, Kara and I will be heading up to Healdsburg for a few days in celebration of our first wedding anniversary.  Believe me… I will have my wine time.  I will have my food time.  I will have my Kara time.

There are three things I must do when Kara is away.

1)  I must eat greasy food.

2)  I must watch tv that she rather would not.

3)  I must open up her wine and have a taste.

So, earlier I made myself a greasy plate of red, white, and blue potato hash (She took the camera with her, so you’ll have to trust that it looked delicious).  Right now, I’m watching the Giants beating the Padres 2 to 0.  And here’s the wine…

Redtree 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon. When the wife takes the camera, I steal pictures from the interweb.

Kara decided to pick up the Redtree 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon at the BevMo 5 Cent Sale.  Cecchetti Wine Company, the producer of this California red wine, gives a suggested retail price of $8 a bottle.  BevMo is selling it for $10 during the 5 Cent Sale.  My guess is that you would normally be able to get the wine for 6 or 7 bucks (Let’s all check BevMo.com after the sale is over).

Wilfred Wong (the resident wine taster for BevMo) gave the 08 vintage of this wine 88 points.  The Wine Enthusiast gives the current vintage an 85, calling it “A great wine to buy by the case for a house red.”  The wine maker pitches this screw-top cab as being both fruit-forward and food-friendly (They are also, apparently, fans of alliteration).

On the real, though… We both know you’re reading this to know how I feel about it…

Color:  Rose bush red.  It is light in color.  I can see my fingers through the wine.

Nose:  Chalk dust (I do love chalk!), orange peel, cocoa, and a little bit of tomato.  Not bad at all.

Taste:  There is some fruit at the beginning, but not what you’d expect.  It tastes a little like a cranberry, orange, and lime zest cocktail.  There is some nice acidity that would go nice with pasta, pizza, and pistachios (I can do it too, Redtree).  The only drawback with this wine is that it is extremely thin.  There is not much of a backbone at all.  I would drink it now if I were to buy it again…  I mean… If Kara buys it again.

Score:  83.  Pitched as a value red table wine, I can’t see the value in spending any more that $6 a bottle for it.  I’ve paid less for better (L’Authentique anyone?).  Again… It’s not bad.  It just ain’t that great either.

Well, look what happened…

I start writing, and the Giants extend their lead to 4 – 1.  I should do this more often.

Did I mention that the wife will be away tomorrow?

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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Facing Your Fear: Over Easy

July 14, 2011

I hate eggs.

HATE them!

Eggs. Yuck!

My list of hates is pretty short.  There are birds, and there are eggs.

The bird thing has everything to do with the time I got attacked by a crow (a story for another day).  That’s understandable, right?

The egg thing requires a bit more history…

When I was in elementary school in the 1980’s, I was a HUGE professional wrestling fan.  Every Saturday morning, I would wake up bright and early to watch WWF Superstars of Wrestling on TV.  On the show, big time wrestlers like “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Andre the Giant, and King Kong Bundy would take on jabronis (bad wrestlers hired to lose matches) like Leaping Lanny Poffo, The Brookly Brawler, and Barry Horowitz.

My favorite part of the show was not the actual wrestling.  It was the interviews.  This was where the personality of the wrestlers was exposed to the audience.

Like most kids my age, I was a big fan of Hulk Hogan.  In retrospect, his wrestling skills were not that great… but his interviews… those things were epic!

Hulk Hogan back in the day.

So one day, my folks took me to the video store, and I saw that there were a few tapes all about Hulk Hogan.  I was very stoked that they let me check all of them out and allowed me to spend the entire day watching clips of his matches and interviews.  There was one segment in particular, where Hulk Hogan showed Vince McMahon and Lord Alfred Hayes how to make “Hulkster’s Powerful Protein Shake”.  All the ingredients that he threw into the blender seemed pretty normal (milk, bananas, protein powder, etc…), but to finish the shake off he added two raw eggs (shells and all).  While sipping on the shake, Hulk said something like, “If you want 24 inch pythons (arms) like me, brother, all you need is your training, your prayers, your vitamins, and Hulkster’s Powerful Protein Shake!”

That gave me an idea…

I ran up to the kitchen to raid the fridge.

Milk?  Check!

Banannas?  Check!

Chocolate Sauce and Cream Soda (Hey!  I was eight!)?  Check!

Raw Eggs?  Check!

I didn’t know how to use a blender, so I just started throwing all of the ingredients into a tall glass.

“What are you doing?” my older sister asked.

“Making a power shake.”

“Are those raw eggs?”

“Yup.”  I threw spoon into the glass and began to stir.

“You’re gonna get sick if you drink that.”

I took my first sip.  “It’s not bad,” I told her.  “You want some?”

She took a sniff.  “If you drink any more of that I’M gonna throw up!”

“In that case…”  I put the glass back to my lips, and chugged the rest of my “shake”.

For a while after I drank the shake, I was feeling great.  The kind of feeling that a kid gets when they have a new pair of shoes… You know… How they think they are instantly faster.  Now that I had ingested my “power shake”  I was instantly stronger.  I ran around the house trying to pick up every heavy object I could.  For a good ten minutes, I was Hulk Hogan.

Then…

Then things started changing.  My stomach started turning and growling like crazy.  I didn’t throw up, like my sister had warned.  It was much worse.  I was woozy for hours.  I couldn’t see straight.  I couldn’t think.  The only thing I could do was curl up in a ball.  It was a BAD feeling.

Ever since then, eggs and I have not been on the best of terms.

Look… I know that eggs are in a lot of products.  I’ve got no problem with bread and baked goods.  I’ll mack a quiche.  I’ll even eat an omelet or a scramble.  The problem for me is when the egg looks, or tastes, “like an egg”.  Specifically raw eggs, fried eggs, poached eggs, and especially hard-boiled eggs (yuck!).  Even the thought of eggs makes me sick.

There comes a point, however, in a 32-year-old man’s life when he has to grow up.  I’m tired of avoiding certain foods.  I’m tired of making funny faces every time someone mentions eggs in front of me.  I’m tired of asking people to make sure to scramble my eggs.  It’s time for me to face my fear.

Yesterday, Kara and I went to the mall together.  I broke off on my own for a little bit to get her a gift (our anniversary is this Sunday).  Since I don’t have a cell phone, we arranged to meet up at Starbucks at 2 o’clock.  I finished my shopping around 1:30, so I had some time to kill.  I peeked my head in Williams-Sonoma and found this book…

After flipping through the book and seeing some delicious pictures (and many disgusting ones), I decided to pick it up.  My goal is to read through the whole thing, and eventually make all of the dishes (like in that one movie) from front to back.

Today, I had my first test…

Fried Eggs!

The most difficult part for me, was learning the difference between sunny-side up, over easy, and all the rest.  I’m sure you’re probably yelling at me through the internet right now.  “How could he not know what over easy means?!?!?!”  You have to remember that I’ve been avoiding fried eggs my entire life.  They all seem gross to me.

After reading through the fried egg section, I decided to go for over easy.  Runny, but not a yellow ass yolk looking like it’s gonna blow up on you.

Here’s what I made…

Fried eggs over easy with sweet pepper piperade. One for me. One for Kara.

Piperade is a spanish style of sauted onions and peppers made with a little sugar and vinegar.  Immediately, when I sat down to eat this thing, I broke open the egg to let the yolk out to mix around with the peppers.  The egg was definitely rich, and went well with the sweet and tangy peppers.  The egg was good, but I still don’t know why anyone would ever go out of their way to eat one.

I asked Kara what she thought, and she wants me to make it for her again, so I guess I made it right… maybe.

The next recipe sounds a little bit more up my ally:  Egg, Bacon, and Brie Panini.

I’m glad I made these eggs today.  Mainly, because I know that a fried egg will not kill me.  It really was a test for me, but I think I made a little progress in overcoming my fear.

So maybe I can get over this whole egg thing… but birds?  That’s another story.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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Two wines. Two days. Can you dig it?

July 11, 2011

Sometimes, you decant a Trader Joe’s 2010 Grower’s Reserve Zinfandel for 3 hours.

Sometimes, that’s a bad idea.

Sometimes, you use the word “sometimes” at the beginning of a sentence, to set a mood.

Trader Joe's 2010 Grower's Reserve Zinfandel. Sometimes, you just gotta.

Look.  We got this Paso Robles zinfandel on Sunday afternoon for $4.99.  Kara asked if she should decant it.  I was like, “Sure”.  She popped it and poured it into the decanter.  Then I looked at my watch.

It was 2 o’clock.

We weren’t planning on having dinner until 5 at the earliest.

Listen.  I know that it never hurts to decant a wine.  It always helps.  Many times I’ll leave a bottle open overnight, and see improvement the next day.

But if you don’t know the wine…  It’s structure…  How it changes….  If you’re not sure about how it will last…  I would never go longer than an hour.

Eventually, all wines will fall apart.  The better the wine, the longer it takes for that to happen.

Do you feel me?

After making a T-Joe’s type of dinner, I sat down to try the wine.

BBQ pulled chicken w/ dijon broccoli slaw. Montel Jordan would be all, "Shadadada dap dabadahhhh. This is how we do it!"

Color:  This wine was straight purple.  When pouring it into the glass, I noticed that it was almost a light pink.

Nose:  Dusty strawberries and wood.  Hmmmmm.

Taste:  Jammy fruit.  There were these mouth-coating smooth tannins, a sharp cranberry, and a touch of cherry fruit roll-up.  Not bad.

But then…

I started diving into the food…

The dish I made was quite sweat in nature.  A Texas style, if you will.  After going back to the wine, the sweetness of the BBQ wiped out the jammy fruit.  What was left of the wine was this unpleasant acidity.  I figured that maybe it was just a bad food pairing, but after the meal, I went back to the wine and all I could taste was that same hollow gross acidity.

Score:  I was gonna give it an 86, but had to change it to an 84.

Sometimes, decanting is a good thing.

Sometimes, food and wine go together.

Sometimes, a wine falls apart on you.

Sometimes, food reveals flaws.

Shall we move on?

Today, Kara whipped together a really neat looking and tasting dinner…

Tabouleh cucumber romaine split and a simple salad w/ goat cheese. Pee Wee Herman would be all, "Mmmmmmm. Vegetably."

With it, she served up the Bruzzone 2009 Estate Chardonnay from the Santa Cruz Mountains.  This wine was a gift from Thevegetarians for Kara’s birthday, so I didn’t bother looking up the price (that’s rude).  I’m sure you can find out how much it was by clicking the link on the wine.

Bruzzone 2009 Estate Chardonnay next to some balls.

Color:  Light gold.  This wine looks like chardonnay.

Nose:  Pear.  Apple.  Petrol.  Toast.  Not bad.

Taste:  The first thing I noticed was the mouthfeel.  This wine is THICK!  Very viscous.  It’s almost oily.  Also… this wine is a spicy oak bomb.  There are nice notes of apple and peach.  Like the zin from yesterday, I’m also noticing a fruit roll-up flavor in there.  There is a little custard on this wine.

This is a BIG chardonnay.  Almost too big, but not.

It did not pair well with the tabouleh.  I would love to try it with some vanilla ice cream.

Score:  I’m not going to give this wine a score, since it was a gift.  I did like it, however.  If I were going to score it, I’d give it an 87.

So there you have it.

Two wines in two days.

Sometimes, that’s how I roll.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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The House of Thevegetarian: A Bordeaux Vertical w/ Enough Food to Make a Man Grow Horizontally.

July 10, 2011

Remember when I asked you to pick which wine I should drink?

Fine then!  Go here to refresh your memory.

One of the wines I featured was this guy…

Chateau Ballan-Larquette 2006 Bordeaux

At the end of the post, this guy (the winemaker for Chateau Ballan-Larquette) asked me to let him know what I thought about it.

Well…

The other day at BevMo, I was checking out the wines for the 5 Cent Sale (again… a total scam), and I found that they had the 2007 and 2009 vintages of the exact same wine I already had.  I decided right then that I had to purchase those other vintages and do a vertical tasting.

The problem is, 3 bottles of wine is just too much for one man to drink alone (1 bottle is too much).  So I needed to make an event out of it.

That’s where the Thevegetarians come in.

Dave Thevegetarian has been my best friend ever since we were in third grade.  Third grade, man!  If you want to figure out how long we’ve been friends, take the age that you are supposed to be when you’re in third grade (I’m too lazy to ask my Kara.  She teaches third grade.) and subtract that from 33.  That’s about how many years we’ve known each other, or something.

Dave and his wife, Kara Thevegetarian, both happen to be vegetarians, coincidentally.  They love throwing dinner parties.  I would invite the Thevegetarians over for dinner at my house more often, but I doubt they would eat my Blue Cheese Burgers.  They had us over for dinner last Friday.

“You bring the wine,” Dave told me, “and I’ll make some dope food for you, home boy.”  In spite of Dave Thevegetarian’s odd choice of words, I pulled my three bottles from the old wine fridge along with a little bubbly, grabbed Kara by the hand, and headed over to the House of Thevegetarian.

“It’s on!” I shouted.

“Oh brother!” Kara responded.

We arrived at 6:30 pm to a table loaded with vegetarian hors d’oeuvres and a cork screw.  I opened up the three bottles of Chateau Ballan-Larquette and arranged them thusly…

Chateau Ballan-Larquette 2006, 2007, 2009, and vegetarian goodness.

While waiting for the wine to breathe a little, Kara Thevegetarian poured us each a glass of this…

Clos La Chance 2009 Central Coast Sauvignon Blanc. Why it was kept in the vegetable crisper is beyond me.

I’ve always been a fan of Clos La Chance.  So much so, that KaraIsRad and I were married there.

See! I told you!

The Clos La Chance 2009 Central Coast Sauvignon Blanc is a grassy lemon/lime machine.  The perfect aperitif on a hot summer day.  I’m not giving you a score for this one, ’cause I didn’t take any notes on it.  Let me just say that I recommend it.

On to the vertical tasting…

The Cateau Ballan-Larquette is a “value” Bordeaux.  The list price for this one is $19.99.  At BevMo, you will pay that much for it during the 5 Cent Sale, but when it’s not on “sale” you should be able to get it for about 15 bucks.  This wine is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc.  It spends 12 to 18 months in steel and cement tanks.

Up first…

2006

Color:  Ruby red with a little rust.

Nose:  Chalk (I love chalk), Cola, Green Bell Pepper.

Taste:  This wine is GREEN!  Bell peppers for days!  There is also a spicy black pepper component.  Good acidity.  There is a little bit of bacon fat in this one which really brings the whole thing together.

Score:  A solid 88.  Solid!

How about some food?

Roasted Asparagus Soup by Dave Thevegetarian.

Up next…

2007

Color: Same ruby color as the first.  Maybe a little darker.

Nose:  Bright Cherry.  A little wood shop action too (Strange, since to my knowledge this wine is not oaked).

Taste:  Very green with some SHARP tannins.  Sour Cherry.  Acid.  A little rubbery bike tire thing.

Score:  I originally gave this one an 87, but after the tasting was completed I gave it a retaste.  It just doesn’t hold up to the other two wines.  I now give it an 86-.

Note:  I bought this wine two weeks ago at the 5 Cent Sale.  All of the vintages at Bev Mo were 2009, but I found this one tucked in the bin.  At Bev Mo, they display their wines upright at room temperature.  There is a strong possibility that this bottle was sitting around the store for two years before I bought it.  Not being stored properly, this bottle may not represent the 2007 vintage properly.  Two questions:  A) Have any of you tried the 2007 Ch. Ballan-Larquette and have notes to share?  B) Would any of you ever buy an odd-vintaged wine that was not stored properly?

What?  You want more food?  Okay…

Stuffed Zucchini Crumble. It tasted WAY better than it looks.

Alright.  More wine…

2009

Color:  Same as the rest.

Nose:  Blueberry.  Cocoa.  Chalk (I love chalk).  I’m looking at my notes from Friday.  It says “DOPE!”

Taste:  Bell Pepper.  There is this sweet lacquered wood taste to it.  See that table in the picture above.  Imagine taking a bite out of that, but in a good way.  There is also a cranberry and white pepper component.

Score:  The 09 was my favorite.  It edged out the 06 because it was a little more complex.  Give it an 89+.

For fun, I also had the other folks rank the wines before I revealed my scores.  Here’s what they said…

KaraIsRad: She liked the 07 the best.  It was followed closely by the 09 which barely edged out the 06.

Kara Thevegetarian: She also thought the 07 was the best, but she liked the 06 better than the 09.

Dave Thevegetarian:  He was very much in my camp, scoring the 09 as the top wine (followed by the 06 and 07).

The takeaway for me was that this is a wine that can be consumed young.  If you are going to hold it for a while (I had mine for 3 years), make sure that you store it properly.  Put it in a cool place if you do not have a wine fridge, and keep them on their sides.  Decanting for 15 minutes to a half and hour is a good idea.  The 07 did start tasting off after a few hours, but again… I think it was doomed from the start.  I am looking forward to tasting more wines from Ch. Ballan-Larquette.

What?  MORE FOOD?!?!?

Baked ziti of smoked mozzarella. Like a circus, this dish was "in tents"!

After the business of the night was done with, we had a really fun time hanging out.  We even had a dance off.

Here is what my camera saw…

Sparkling white wine paired with sparkling bon fire.

Emile's California Champagne by Guglielmo.

Croatian Fig Brandy. Yikes!

Good times, but now I’m hungry…

Dave called my bluff and brought me some fruit. What a sweetheart.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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I took a shot in Reno, ’cause I had time to kill.

July 7, 2011

Over the 4th of July holiday, Kara and I went to visit my folks in the great city of Reno, Nevada.

Kara’s birthday was on the 3rd, so to celebrate, my parents took us out to a great restaurant called the Stone House Cafe.  This Reno hot spot has a beautiful outside dining area and a great staff of servers working there.  Kara and I shared a plate of oysters on the half shell as an appetizer.  For dinner, Kara had “The San Diego” (a seared Ahi Tuna sandwich) and I had the half roasted chicken (Why they didn’t roast it the whole way?  I’ll never know.  Heyoohhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!).  It was all delicious!

The next morning, I woke up early to watch this thing with my dad…

After a big barbecue feast, my dad dropped Kara and me off in downtown Sparks so we could watch the only 4th of July fireworks show in the greater Reno area.

While waiting for the fireworks show, Kara and I popped our heads into a few of the local bars to get some good drinks at a good price.

At The Alley, Kara was able to get a fresh watermelon shot, while I had a tall can of PBR.  At the Victorian Saloon, we reacquainted ourselves with a local named John.  He bought us each a shot of Jagermeister… or maybe we bought him a shot… I’m not sure.

Anyway…

The fireworks were really cool.

We took a cab home.

The next morning, we slept in.

For lunch on the 5th, we hit up Kokopelli’s Sushi inside the Circus Circus for some all-you-can-eat sushi.  Again… Delicious!  We got so stuffed full of amazing sushi that we had to go back to my folks house to take a nap.

After waking up, we decided to go explore the Grand Sierra before having another dinner with the folks.  It’s a gigantic casino in between Reno and Sparks.  Formerly known as the Reno Hilton, the Grand Sierra is home to a really crappy mall.

Why would we go?

Well…

In the past, we found a gem of a wine bar called The Reserve.  The wine bar is loaded full of REALLY good wines that are available by the taste, half glass, or full glass using the power of the Enomatic Wine System…

It took us a while to find the wine bar, because Reserve has been moved closer to the Charlie Palmer Steak House.  Once we got to the wine bar, we were stoked to discover that on Tuesdays from 5:30 to 6:30 they have an event called 60 Minute Grape.  For 20 bucks, you get to taste 4 wines poured by the Charlie Palmer sommelier paired with an amuse bouche, plus you get 10 dollars credit on the wine machines.

Kara was all like, “Should we do it?”

And I was all like, “I’ll give it a shot.  I’ve got time to kill.”

While waiting for 5:30 to roll around, we started tasting some of the wines in the machine.

I started with a taste of the Rombauer 09 Carneros Chardonnay.  It had a classic nose of vanilla, oak, and butter.  On the palate, there was a beautiful taste of sweet cream and apple pie.  I gave it a solid 90.

Next, I moved over to the Hedges 08 CMS.  It’s a Washington state blend of chardonnay, marsanne, and sauvignon blanc.  Get it?  C.M.S.!  There was a smell of apple and flint to go along with a tongue tingling acidity and minerality on the palate.  There was a nice hint of pear and lime on this one.  Give it an 87, foo.

After we wet our whistles, the sommelier came out with his first wine for us…

Sin-ley Valleclaro Rose. I can't read the vintage from the picture and I didn't take good notes, so I'll let you guess the year.

The Sin-ley Valleclaro Rose is a Spanish wine made from the prieto picudo grape.  The nose was buttery and smokey.  It had flavors of rich cream and crisp lime.  A very nice rose that I gave an 87.

As we were finishing the rose, we were brought our amuse bouche.  A delicious black bass ceviche for the rose, and caprese salad of fresh mozzarella for the next wine.  Speaking of…

THE Four Graces 2010 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris. I can read this label.

THE Four Graces 2010 Pinot Gris from the Willamette Valley was all about being light and full of minerality.  A perfect pairing for a caprese salad, but at $18 a bottle I wouldn’t buy this 86-pointer.

Next, we tried…

Carrefour Napa Valley Pinot Noir. 2006? What year does that look like to you?

The Carrefour Napa Valley Pinot Noir was okay.  It was nice and light, which I like.  There was a hint of strawberry, but it also had this weird soapy thing going on.  Give it an 85.

Finally…

Opolo 2005 Grand Rouge. Or is it 2006?

The Opolo Grand Rouge is a Rhone style wine from Paso Robles.  It’s a blend of counoise, grenache, and petite sirah.  It gave a nose of black licorice and chalk (I love chalk!).  On the palate, there was plenty of dark red fruit, but it wasn’t goopy by any means.  It was a solid 88.

After finishing the tasting, we ended up being late for dinner with the folks.

I explained that we were at this awesome wine tasting at this awesome wine bar.

They were unimpressed.

Stay Rad, Reno.  I’ll see you soon,

Jeff

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It’s all good: A two day extravaganza @ #RidgeVineyards

July 6, 2011

Chillin' on the Ridge.

I’m just gonna say it.

Somebody has to.

It may as well be me.

Ridge Vineyards is the raddest winery in the history of all that is awesome.

A couple of months back, after visiting their Monte Bello tasting room in Cupertino, Kara and I decided to become members.  The membership allows us free tasting, discounts on wine, and the ability to buy futures of their Monte Bello at a DEEP discount.  One of the really neat things we’ve discovered since joining Ridge is how many cool members-only events we get to take part in.  Recently we were able to go to two different events on back-to-back days.

Here’s the rundown…

July 1st: First Friday at Monte Bello

During the summer season, the Monte Bello tasting room will serve a special flight to club members on the first Friday of each month.  Although Ridge is most known for their zinfandel and Bordeaux blends, for July, they offered a vertical tasting of chardonnay.

Who says white wine can't age?

The tasting consisted of the 2003 and 2004 vintages of the Monte Bello Chardonnay, as well as the 2005 and 2006 vintages of the Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Charonnay.  The great part about this tasting was seeing just how well chardonnay can age.  The two Monte Bellos were very much smooth and balanced.  They both had really nice acidity.  The 2005 Estate was a crowd-pleasing chardonnay with a beautiful creamy finish.  The 06 Estate had this amazing smell of figs, but the taste did not live up to the nose.  The winner of this throwdown was…

The 2003 Monte Bello Chardonnay. Class in a glass.

After the chardonnay vertical, I had a hankering for a zinfandel and a picnic.  Now, if you’re talking zins, Ridge has ’em.  Based on a recommendation, we got a bottle of this bad boy…

Ridge 2007 Carmichael Zinfandel and a picnic.

This zin had a nice spice and ripe fruit, without being too jammy.  It was a great way to cap off the day…

Okay…

Seeing this thing on the road on the way back was pretty cool too…

If my car were just a little bit smaller, I'd have tried to drive under this thing.

July 2nd:  Zins, Blends & BBQ

For an early 4th of July celebration, the next day, Ridge offered barbecue paired with many of their fine wines.  Here’s what we had…

Check in with a glass of 2009 Mikulaco Chardonnay. Don't mind if I do.

2009 Geyserville paired with a bomb ass North Carolina Pulled Pork sandwich.

2006 Mazzoni Home Ranch with Kansas City Baby Back Ribs and a bunch of forks.

2007 Lytton Estate Zinfandel w/ California Tri Tip and Blue Cheese Potato Salad. Yum!

I found this 2008 York Creek Zinfandel hiding in the corner with Texas Beef Brisket. This York Creek has become one of my favorite zins in the Ridge collection.

After these pairings, there were three more wines for us to try in the main tasting room…

"Would you like to try our 2009 Jimsomare Chardonnay?" "Does a bear poo in the woods?"

The 2009 Buchignani Carignane. So nice, I had it twice... You'll see.

2006 Lytton Estate Syrah done in the true Côte-Rôtie style with 8% viognier.

We were such fans of the Buchignani Carignane that we got another bottle to have with our picnic leftovers from the day before.

I told you.

And there you have it!

13 wines.

4 barbecue dishes.

2 picnics.

1 dope time.

The shadows of Kara and JeffIsRad on the Ridge.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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Leftovers on a hot day? Kara-gria!

June 20, 2011

Kara and I got back from a quick trip to Capitola Village to a HOT ASS HOUSE.

We didn’t have much left in the fridge, save for a few half full bottles of Rose and Chardonnay and a GANG of PRODUCE!

So…

Kara made a dope Sangria.  Let’s call it a Kara-Gria:

In a large pitcher add:

1/2 a bottle of chilled chardonnay

1/2 a bottle of chilled rose

1 bottle of sparkling apple juice

1/2 cup of gin

1 whole orange… sliced

1 diced nectarine

hella sliced strawberries

Stir that sucka up.

Chill in the fridge.

Enjoy responsibly.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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Bundled up in Gilrory. Music by Naked in Vegas.

June 18, 2011

Sarah's Vineyard is in Gilroy... but not really.

On Friday, Kara and I decided to head over to Sarah’s Vineyard in Gilroy.  Sarah’s is a small winery, tucked into the Santa Cruz Mountains.  The breezy climate makes it perfect for Burgundian and Rhone varietals.  I am a big fan of their light style of wine making.

The reason for the trip was to attend their Summer Music Series.  They have a neat patio and lawn area where different local bands will come to play.  The tasting room stays open late to sell their wines by the bottle to enjoy with the music.  You can bring your own picnic, or buy something to eat from whichever catering company is there (it changes from week to week).

Kara and I brought homemade Brie Paninis with Mango Chutney, Turkey (for me), and Spinach.  We also bought a bottle of the Sarah’s Vineyard 2006 Central Coast Pinot Noir for $15.

Sarah's Vineyard 2006 Central Coast Pinot Noir and Kara's foot 2011.

Color:  This Pinot had a cloudy dull red color.  You could recreate that color by mashing a bunch of over-ripe roma tomatoes into a paste and adding water and a pinch of dirt.  I know that doesn’t sound very appetizing, but I must say it looked fantastic.  See…

Tomatoes and Dirt and Awesome!

Nose:  There was a nice whiff of smoke, butter, and pepper.  As I took a bit more in, I noticed a rubbery cola aroma.  Nice!

Taste:  This Pinot Noir had a very meaty and buttery taste on the palate, rounded out with a touch of cherry cola.  On the finish, a touch of cranberry and walnuts became present.

I really liked this wine.  I also appreciate that Sarah’s did not jack up their prices for the event.  I give it a solid 87.

As the sun began to set, the wind really started to pick up. It got hella cold, hella quick.  The cover band, Naked in Vegas, was alright.  They were not, however, good enough to keep our cold asses at the vineyard after we had finished our bottle of Pinot Noir.

Naked in Vegas? More like bundled up in Gilroy!

Don’t worry, Sarah’s Vineyard, we will be back.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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