furlinedteacup

Great Wines Delivered to Your Door -- That's Progress!

As a non-driver, I am a collector of ways to have the things I want delivered to me in an expedient manner. This is why, to this day, I lament the demise of Kozmo.com and my beloved webvan. I've previously chronicled my favorite grocery delivery resource herein but see I've neglected to mention my favorite place from which to order wine: K&L Wines here in the Bay Area.

This is a store I love to browse when someone else is driving. But it's honestly just as great to order from them online as it is to peruse in person. You see, they have an occasional newsletter with a ton of descriptions, and the website has those same descriptions for every wine. Plus, they allow you to set up keyword based watch lists, to generate an email every time something specific you are looking for comes into inventory. This way, you can keep an eye out for new releases from your favorite vineyard, or just get a feel for when a new vintage of a favorite varietal (say, Santa Barbara County pinot noir) is available.

Now, to get to the good part -- here's what I ordered:

• 2005 Gundlach Bundschu "Rheinfarm Vineyard" Mountain Cuvee. A dependable red table wine.
• 2007 Ridge Vineyards "Three Valleys" Sonoma Zinfandel Blend. Ridge has long been one of my favorite zinfandel producers. And Sonoma zin = win.
• 2006 Rosenblum "Aparicio Vineyard" Amador County Zinfandel. I always have a handful of Rosenblum zins on hand, and Amador/El Dorado County zins are as tasty as more well-know appellations and typically at a lower price.
• 2007 Sobon Estate "Rocky Top" Amador Zinfandel. Sobon has a number of well-priced tasty zinfandels.
• 2006 Quivira Dry Creek  Zinfandel. Quivira is one of those wineries I haven't tasted at very often, but whenever I order a bottle of their wine in a restaurant I always htink to myself I should make ore of an effort to keep up with them. Have I mentioned yet that I am moderately obsessed with zinfandels?
• 2006 T-Vine Cellars Napa Valley Zinfandel. This was a little bit of a splurge, but should be well worth it.
• 2006 T-Vine Cellars Napa Valley Merlot. Many folks are of the opinion that merlot is an easy sipping boring wine best reserved for when your parents come to dinner. I beg to differ -- you just need to be drinking merlots from wineries who make an effort. can't wait to crack this open with a special dinner.
• 2007 Olivet Lane Pinot Noir Russian River Valley. Another winery, like Quivira, that I always enjoy when I buy it in a restaurant. Will hold on to this for a night I make something especially hearty for dinner.
• 2006 Au Bon Climat "Sanford & Benedict Vineyard-Santa Barbara Historic Vineyards Collection" Santa Ynez Valley Pinot Noir. I may have actually made a little squealy noise when I saw this returned in my search results. The Sanford & Benedict vineyard has been a favorite for a decade, with a Foxen Sanford & Benedict bottling having been the first I enjoyed from there if I recall correctly.
• 2008 Au Bon Climat Santa Barbara Pinot Noir. This is my most frequently purchased pinot noir, and Au Bon Climat is one of my top 10 favorite wineries.. If you bring this to a special dinner, you're happy and your hosts know you really like them.
• 2006 D-Cubed Napa Valley Zinfandel. I first tried D Cubed at the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant and keep an eye out for them when I shop for wine. This was an especially yummy bottle that paired nicely with a variety of dinners last week.
• 2006 Kathryn Kennedy "Lateral" Bordeaux Blend. I tried this for the first time at a Family Winemakers tasting some time ago, and have kept it on my short list of red table wines since.

My wine rack and cellar are both full again, and I have a bunch of great wine waiting to be drank over the next few months. This is the good life.

Holiday star cookies

Holiday star cookies, originally uploaded by almostgold.

Starting in on the frosted+sugared cookies now.

chocolate frosted gingerbread

chocolate frosted gingerbread, originally uploaded by almostgold.

The great frosting of 2009 has started. Today, it was the glossy chocolate icing on the gingerbread and the choclated shortbread (the latter adding in some chopped pistachios as well.)

Tomorrow, I bring out the big guns: royal icing on the honey cookies.

Faux Slaw

For the longest time, coleslaw kind of grossed me out. It was always this weirdly slimey mess of vegetables you'd get on the side of your turkey club sandwiches at diners. And not something I wanted to eat.

But at some point, I had some really good tangy, crunchy cole slaw. Probably from East Coast West deli or Max's Opera Cafe. And now, every so often, I get the craving for it. But just for one serving. Last night, I came up with a faux slaw that acted as a coleslaw stand-in snack while I played on the computer.

Faux Slaw

• 1 handful shredded purple cabbage
• 1 handful shredded carrots
• 1 handful broccoli slaw
• 1 TBSP Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
• 3 or 4 turns of the pepper mill

In a small salad bowl, combine the veggies, add the salad dressing, combine until well-coated. Finish with the pepper. Fast, easy, tasty, and a little lower-calorie than a traditional coleslaw.

Surviving Thanksgiving Week

Thanksgiving has long been one of my favorite holidays. But the catch has always been getting through the week without having to go buy a new pair of jeans due to overindulging. Keeping that in mind this year, I planned some easy and low-cal casseroles to get us through the week, and leave me to freely indulge in all my turkey day favorite dishes.

First though, I need to do a shout out for my favorite side dish at this year's Thanksgiving dinner table: Martha Stewart's Sweet Potato and Sage Casserole. And yes, I brought home a hefty glad storage container full of it.

Black Bean and Corn Casserole

• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 oz corn kernels
• 3 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1/2 cup ricotta
• 1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed/drained
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 12 tortilla chips, crumbled

Preheat oven to 375. Spray your casserole dish (shallow and wide works better than a deep round for this) with your non-stick spray of choice (I use an olive oil spray.) Using a non stick pan on medium heat, cook the onion, garlic and bell pepper, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until both are softened. Remove from heat and stir in the corn.

Whisk the eggs and egg whites, milk, hot pepper sauce and ricotta together in a large bowl. Add the beans and the cooked vegetables. Spread evenly in your casserole dash, top with the cheese and the crushed tortillas. Bake until browned and bubbly. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and freshly ground pepper on top. Serves 6.

Turkey Tetrazzini

• 1 1/2 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, defrosted
• 1/2 cup frozen corn, defrosted
• 1 lb ground turkey breast
• 8 oz fettuccine, cooked per package directions, drained
• 1 cup red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup ricotta
• 1/2 cup mozzarella
• 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375. Spray your casserole dish (use a deep round if you want it more creamy, a shallow and wide dish if you like the crispy noodles) with your non-stick spray of choice (I use an olive oil spray.) Season the ground turkey with garlic powder, salt and pepper then brown in a non stick pan. Set aside.

Whisk broth and milk together in a medium-size saucepan. Stir in one tablespoon of butter. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until thickened and boiling (8-10 min.) Add salt and pepper, remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and ricotta.

Add your noodles, vegetables and turkey to the cheese sauce. Stir together until everything is coated with the sauce. Pour into the casserole dish. Top with the mozzarella. Bake until browned and bubbly (20-30 min.) Serves 6.

Green Apple Book Binge

I live in a dangerous neighborhood. It's dangerous because Green Apple Books is within walking distance. For over 40-years, it's been San Francisco's best used bookstore. My particular weakness is their robust selection of food lit, and aisles of new nonfiction that appeals to Harper's magazine readers such as myself. My last trip there I was good and didn't bring anything home. This time though, despite my overflowing bookcases, I brought home a few books.

The Omnivore's Dilemma
by Michael Pollan

It's almost embarrassing that I haven't read this yet. I can't count how many times this book has been name-checked in the NPR podcasts I listen to, blogs I read, etc. Although I do indulge in the occasional handful of cheetos and have a fondness for Kraft Mac n' cheese, I've made a conscious decision to try to think both locally and more healthfully about what I am eating. I've heard nothing but praise about how this book delves into the moral and social ramifications of our food choices as a nation.

The End of Overeating
by David A. Kessler, MD

Several of my coworkers have been raving about this book by a former FDA commissioner. Did you know that brand name ketchup served with your salty fast food fries has corn syrup? According to Kessler, these ubiquitous combinations of salt, fat and sugar is no accident. The book presents research and examinations of specific foods produced by giant food corporations and restaurant chains to explain  how the desire to eat—not to be confused with the act of eating—is stimulated in the brain by the unholy trio of salt, fat and sugar.

This Land is Their Land
by Barbara Ehrenreich

I've been a hug fan of Ehrenreich since I read her Harper's essay that became the book Nickel and Dimed (a firsthand account of life in low-hourly-wage America.) This book is a collection of short pieces that tackle current issues that contribute to the growing gap between the haves and have-nots (i.e. what used to be the middle class.)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!
by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Lewis just couldn't resist this one. I'll let you know how it turns out...

Happy Halloween!

Reminding Me of My Priorities

We are in the midst of Noah's Ark conditions here in the Bay Area. Torrential rains since the early morning hours. Storm drains clogged, creating fast-moving creeks in our bus lanes. Winds up to 75mph on the Bay Bridge too.

All of the above contributed to my SO hydroplaning the car into a wall on the Bay Bridge on his way to work today. He clearly used up one of his 9 lives.

It is a miracle, given the conditions, that no other car came around that corner and hit him. It's not like you can get out of your car and wait in safety on the bridge after all-- you have to sit there and wait for the CHP.

I am calmed down now and relieved he is OK. He is still waiting for a tow back to the city, so we can take the car to a body shop and see if the damage is fixable as it appears, or if there is alignment/axle damage that will total it.

It gave me a reality check about what is important to me. The boy is important and pretty much everything else is a spec in the grand scheme of things. The crap I stress about is really insignificant as compared to anything bad happening to him. The online game we play stuff that I am letting myself get worked up about is especially not real important when put into perspective. But how easily we let ourselves get swept up in the passion of the moment!

And it is simply not worth it!

I am shopping around now for a speech-to-text application for work (PC) and home (MAC) so I can get back to writing more without tiring out my wrists. I miss writing and need to give myself a tool to help allow me to get back to doing more of it.

xo

P.S. Gratuitous cat photo:

*crickets*

I hate when an entire month goes by without my updating here.

It's not that I don't have anything to share. I come across things I want to write about here, but by the time I get home from work, I'm tired and just not up for it. And I have these adorable little monsters vying for my attention.

My workplace blocks blogs, so there's no spending my lunch break on it either. Thus, the bookmarks pile up and the blog collects dust. So it goes.

But rest assured I am still reading y blog roll, and I haven't given up on this place.

xo

Gratuitous Kittens Picture

Lots I'd like to write about but not finding much time at the moment. So enjoy another gratuitous kitten photo. They sure are growing up fast!!