Wine Wednesdays

I recently had my cousin over for what we like to call "mezze night".  A smorgasbord of sorts, which can vary in region (Italian, middle eastern, Greek, and almost always hummus).  We sit, we chat, we nibble, we drink wine.  This time we had a mix of Italian meats and cheeses, dried fruits, pistachios, and veggies.

I chose a French white from the Loire Valley.  Reserve Des Cleons "Sur Lie" 2011.  The varietal was Melon, a grape I'd never heard of.  It had a relatively soft palate, slight mineral tones and a burst of effervescence up front.  Overall light and very easy to drink; it paired nicely with our meal.  And for $6.99 at Trader Joe's, I'm sure this will be making it into the rotation often in the future. 

Wine:  Reserve Des Cleons "Sur Lie" 2011
Purchased:  Trader Joe's
Price:  $6.99
Would buy again:  Yes

Baking "firsts"

I recently picked up a couple of ruby red stalks of rhubarb at the farmer's market.  I've never cooked with rhubarb before but I recently remember my aunt making an amazing rhubarb coffee cake when we were kids and I wanted to try and recreate it.  I decided to attempt baking with the gluten free flour I bought several months ago but have been too intimidated by gluten-free baking horror stories to use.  

I used this recipe and altered it slightly, substituting 3 tbsp of coconut oil for the vegetable shortening and you would never know the difference.  Another first as I've had a jar of coconut oil in my pantry for a while now and didn't really know how to use it!  I used Bob's Redmill gluten free flour + xanthan gum

If I do say so myself, these muffins were a success!  You would have never known they were gluten free.  They were best right out of the oven but we kept them in the fridge and popped them in the microwave for the rest of the weekend!

If only you could see the steam rising out of the photo!

Wine Wednesdays

It hit me recently, like a ton of bricks, I graduated college 5 years ago.  FIVE years.  That's not an insignificant amount of time, where does it go??  So much has happened, new jobs, moving across the country, "maturing" and all that.  But the reason I started thinking about this, is that my alcohol habits have changed so much since college (as most have I'm sure).  Gone are the days of Bacardi Limon and diet Sprite (how did I drink that??)  Now it's wine, pretty much exclusively.  And now it's an experience, something I truly enjoy for both the social experience as well as the learnings of new varietals, brands, and that so-called "terroir".  So Wine Wednesdays will be my experiment in documenting new wines, what I'm currently liking, and anything else that might relate (or not, depends on how much wine I consume as I'm writing!)

This week I enjoyed a cold glass of a new and different white blend by Steve Matthiasson.  The 2010 Napa Valley white wine is a blend of predominantly sauvignon blanc, combined with Ribolla gialla (brought over to CA from Italy), Semillon, and Tocai friulano.  It was immediately refreshing on this particularly sweltering day.  The nose and first sip give off a rather strong oak presence, not typical of a sauvignon blanc, but not unwelcome.  I would liken it more to a light chardonnay balanced by the bright citrus and tropical notes characteristic of the sauvignon blanc.  The website sums it up nicely "There is interplay in the wine between lightness and richness, and focus and complexity."  I couldn't agree more.  Definitely something to enjoy this summer!

Wine:  Matthiasson 2010 Napa Valley White

Purchased:  Beatrice Inn

Price:  Retail price $35.00

Would buy again:  Yes

Summer Kickoff 2013!

Despite less than normal temps, we kicked off summer on Martha's Vineyard this past weekend.  I hadn't been in 10 years and Mad Martha's ice cream was just as good as I remembered :-)

We spent the weekend BBQing, playing games, biking, shopping, and eating the largest lobster roll I've ever encountered.  Such fun people and a beautiful setting, even better once the sun decided to come out.  Let the summer begin!

Rainy streets of Edgartown 

Waiting out the storm with a glass to wine......

Who knew fudge was laid out on a marble countertop?

$15 investment against the cold

So happy to be out of the rain and ready for lobster!

Biggest lobster roll I've ever seen, and a bargain at $20!!

Reppin' the MV

Old fashioned game of King's Cup!

The "talking oar" meant for captivating attention and explaining the rules

We made it to the beach! 

Found my house..... 

Life is like a bowl of cherries 

Before...

And after....with home made tortilla chips! 

Pre-dinner whiffle ball

As tempting as that sounds....I didn't try

The sun came out just in time for one last drive around the island......

Holiday Baking

Well, another Christmas is done and another year is on the horizon.  Crazy how time flies!  Every year I use the holidays as an excuse to try out new recipes, I blast my favorite Pandora Christmas stations and get to work in the kitchen.  Below are a few of my recent attempts!

Salted Caramel Tartlets

Salted Caramel and Nutella Thumbprints

Holiday gift baskets for the neighbors

Homemade peppermint bark for my coworkers

Eggnog cheesecake bars for a Bachelorette Wedding viewing party

Buche du Noel with chocolate ganache for Christmas Eve dessert

Carrying on the tradition from last year - a cheesecake for Christmas day dessert.  Although this year's espresso flavor wasn't quite as good as last year's

Homemade maple bars for Christmas morning breakfast

Not pictured - eggnog scones for a work meeting and espresso caramel bars that were added to the gift baskets :-) Now I'll just need to find year-round excuses to try new recipes!

#Tradition

Over the 4+ (insert gasp here) years that I've lived in NY I've created various traditions with friends and family around the holidays.  There really is nothing better than NYC at Christmas time!  This week I celebrated two traditions with two of my favorite people.  Why is it that this time of year always goes so fast??  One week from today I'll be back in California to celebrate with my family.  Crazy how time flies!

Macy's reminds us about the true spirit of the season :-)

My dear friend Sean who has been meeting me for a tree viewing every year for the past 4 years!

Roaring 20s at Bergdorf's

I think we have several photos just like this one year after year!

The 20's must have been the popular theme this year - Sak's windows and light display

I was feeling veggie - brussels sprouts and kale salad at Kingswood post tree viewing

The next night my cousin and I met for our third annual holiday martini dinner at Minetta Tavern - I didn't have time to snap a picture of the venison carpaccio or the burger - they were too good to pause for pics!

New lights in the sky this year - World Trade Tower all light up on my walk home

Exploring

Hard to believe tomorrow is August already!  Every year summer seems to fly by faster, I plan to make the most of these last few weeks of longer days and warm nights!  I spent last weekend exploring the outer boroughs and made some amazing discoveries.

Pink skies at night.....

Greek salad in Astoria

Swarming birds at Rockaway Beach 

Perfect day at the beach! 

A true taste of the old school Rockaways 

Finally got to taste what everyone is talking about, amazing fish tacos!

Playland at the beach!