Blog post #11: Just some good ole fun with food and wine
Today—let’s break from the usual philosophical outlooks on life and psychological biases that cause us to see the glass as less than half (or quarter) full and talk about a surefire way to bring you instant joy: good food, good wine, and good company---and some good quarantine food and wine tips that are worth checking out (at least in my opinion)
Hot take #1: Explore! You’re now Christopher Columbus and the world is your oyster. While Columbus stumbled upon the Americas by accident, we can be intentional about trying out new wines. Let’s say you love pinot noir and you always get it from California (or Red Burgundy is my preference)—then try it from a different region—I discovered last year that New Zealand makes delicious pinot noir –especially from the South Island in a region called Central Otago.
Also, if you’re used to drinking single varietals (Cab, Chardonnay, Merlot whatever)—then start trying blends-- I’m a big fan of blends these days as it really allows the winemaker to exercise his/her artistic creativity in the canvas of the wine bottle.---when I comes to vino, you don’t need a pure-bred to get quality and taste. The most famous blend of ‘em all is none other than Bordeaux. In case you didn’t know—Bordeaux wine is usually a blend of several grapes where Left bank Bordeaux (like Margaux, Pauillac, Medoc) is mainly Cabernet based and right bank Bordeaux (like Pomerol and St. Emillion) is merlot based. Again, there are a lot of other regions in the world that do similar blends—for example, I recently had a Bordeaux style blend from Washington State (Baer winery) that was simply delicious—it was luscious, rich, and well balanced.
Bubbles are more than just to reign in the New Year. In U.S., most of the bubbles we drink (aka champagne—though technically Champagne is only bubbles from a specific region in France) – is enjoyed between Thanksgiving and Dec 31—as we tend to view it as only a celebratory beverage—and the crappy version is used at bottomless brunches. I say it’s time to give it a second look and incorporate them into your regular vino schedule. Also there are so many versions of bubbles---Prosecco (from Italy), Cava (from Spain), Cremant (from France excl Champagne), and the big daddy of them all Champagne (which is only from this region about an hour east from Paris). Aside from bubbles being refreshing and delicious—they are also a great pairing with things we already love---such as 1) rich cheeses like brie, camembert, blue cheese 2) smoked meat—salmon, salumi, prosuitto 3) any egg dish is awesome with bubbles, and 4) anything slightly sweet like a sweet bread!
Hot take #2: no need to spend an hour to whip up something yummy! I’m going to give Rachel Ray’s 30 minute meals a run for her money and offer up some easy things to make that really involves assembling more than anything—like an easy flatbread. I use the Trader Joes Middle eastern flatbread—top it with brie, prosciutto, honey, and apple (or pear) slices and it’s a yummy app or a light meal. Another thing I love is getting high quality bread at a good bakery (like a rustic Italian, an authentic French baguette, or Focaccia bread)—which believe good bread makes a world of difference---you can then make sandwiches, crostinis, bruschettas, use them to dip hummus, etc. Or I love whipping up a healthy salad of arugula, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, and cranberries—and topping it with whatever protein you can find (like a rotisserie chicken, canned tuna, popcorn chicken, smoked salmon, etc). Finally there’s a good column to find simple yummy recipes with the New York Times “Pantry Recipes” section—where as the name suggests, she suggest recipes from common pantry (fridge) items like rice, beans, eggs and staples most people already have lying around.
Hot take #3: Breakfast for Dinner. I personally love brunch food and can eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—can someone please explain to me why when I go to an Italian restaurant, it’s perfectly acceptable to have a panini on the lunch menu but god forbid it show up on the dinner menu or why are egg dished only acceptable during the day but not when the sun goes down? I say time to mix it up—who says that eggs, waffles, pancakes are limited to before 2pm?! I used to host dinner parties of only breakfast foods and it was always a hit. In case there’s still doubt in your mind, there is evidence that supports this—a few years ago, the golden arches (aka McDonalds) was going through a turnaround—the new CEO at the time in late 2015, Mr. Steve Easterbrook (a British man—yes a Brit at the helm of an iconic American company) launched “breakfast all day” as one of his first initiatives—and it was a wild success—turns out we love Egg McMuffins at 8pm. My fave combo is eggs (omelet, scrambled eggs with sharp cheddar) coupled with something sweet like banana pancakes or berry French toast—and while you’re at it, throw it a mimosa to celebrate you being a mini-rebel.
Now please use the next few days and just enjoy some good food and wine---call up friends while you’re at it and have lunch/dinner/wine dates.
