Good Morning!

Fall is finally upon most of the country and I was ask about something new today, what could be served to the adults while the kids are trick or treating? My first thought was a rustic red wine to keep you cozy while passing out Kit Kat or Snickers bars. Then I started thinking about my childhood and what I loved about fall.

We lived in Muncie, Indiana and I was fortunate to live in a house that sat in the middle of 2 plus acres of apple and pear trees. My mother had a kick ass garden that was about an acre and we also raised raspberries. I was raised on fresh food from spring until the freezer was empty late into the winter. We grew 3 different types of apples, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and the bright Red ones, can not for the life of me remember the name of them…anyway, we would start picking apples in early September when it would still be warm and those apples would be for applesauce and pies. Or mom and grandma would freeze then for later in the winter. The rest of the apples we would wait until mid October and it would be time to make cider.

It would take several of weekends to gather all the apples, we had a really old manual cider press, ( I am sure the press would be worth a fortune by now), but both sets of grandparents and my aunts and uncles would come over and the women would triage the picked apples and the men would shake the trees and my brothers and I would gather up the apples and watch Grandpa dump the apples into the press. When I think about this process now, it is no wonder I love making wine…the two are quite similar.

We would save all the plastic milk jugs from the year and wash them for the fresh cider and we would set up a stand in the front yard to sell cider we would not drink right away…This stuff was not pasteurized. The neighbors would bring over jugs and we would fill them up. I remember one family would bring over cake donuts every year and the taste of fall for me is cider and donuts. One year we gave the church gallons of cider for the kids Halloween party and I remember being so proud of all the hard work we did to make the cider.

My great grandmother would come over from Ohio and make Chicken and Dumplings while we made cider and it would be the last time we would all be together again until Christmas, so it was a very special memory of my childhood. Sorry for going on about it, but it brought me so much joy, I had to share it with you!

So when I got the call about what could the adults enjoy while the kids are trick or treating, it made me think of the cider and I found a recipe that takes cider to a new level. Go pick up some spiced rum ( I like Captain Morgan) and a few spices you probably already have in your cabinet and make this great warm cider drink…you can add more rum, but I like the cider taste more than the rum taste!

Spiced and Spiked Cider

Serving Size: serves 4

Ingredients

1 tsp. whole cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
2 whole star anise
juice of 1 orange
4 cups apple cider
3/4 cup spiced rum (use more/less, if desired)
orange peel

What to do:

Add the cloves, cinnamon sticks and star anise to a large saucepan over medium heat; lightly toast the spices in the pan for 1 minute.
Add the orange juice and apple cider, simmer, but do not boil the cider for 10 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low and add the rum.
Ladle the cider into serving mugs and garnish with a strip of orange peel. To keep warm, the cider can stay on very low heat while serving.

I like to make a double or triple batch and keep it warm in the crock pot!

My neighbor boy, has his costume already and he is going to be Spider Man with muscles built in, he told me to make sure not to get candy with nuts because he has an allergy. I will actually be in California over the holiday, but I will make sure I stop by and give Spidey a bag of something special before I head to Sonoma!

Enjoy the Donuts and Cider!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

I received an email this week asking me what is a Super Tuscan wine? I have heard this term used for some time and I thought I would read up about these Super Tuscans and fill you all in on what I have learned. It seems the term Super Tuscan became popular in the 1980’s when several wines from Tuscany started gaining a lot of attention.

Italian wine is governed by Denominazione Di Origine Controllata E Garanitta (DOCG) and Denominazione Di Origine Controllata (DOC) these are the appellation systems in Italy. These “Super Tuscan” wines did not meet the requirements but they were very high quality wines and they could command very high prices. But because many of the wines were blends or grapes not originally from the Tuscany area, they had to be labeled Vino Da Tavola (table wines). There are other reasons that the wines might not meet the requirements, some of the wines were aged in smaller barrels than allowed and sometimes they were aged in nontraditional barrels or unsanctioned methods.

In the 1990’s the Italian government granted some of the Super Tuscans there own DOC. What I learned most about Super Tuscan wines is they are very high quality wines made from nontraditional grapes to Tuscany and they are high sought after. Originally wines from Tuscany were made from 4 grapes Sangiovese ( at least 75%), Canaiolo, Trebbiano and Malvasia. These wines made in Tuscany are normally called Chianti.

I have not spent much time tasting and educating myself to Italian wines, but I am gonna change that. I will keep you posted as I try wines that are reflective of Italy.

Ciao!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

I had a wine this weekend that surprised me; Pullus 2009 Sauvignon Blanc from Slovenia. I am pretty sure I had never had a wine from Slovenia and I was pretty sure, I was not certain where Slovenia is even located. I ordered this wine totally by accident. I ask the man sitting next to me what he was drinking and he said Sauv. Blanc and it was good. Well, I guess the bartender heard me say, I will have to try it sometime, and he just brought it over to me.

I ask to see the label and read a little bit of the label and thought, hmmm, I have no clue about the wines of Pullus or Slovenia. I found out Pullus is the oldest winery in Slovenia dating back to 1239 (that’s really old in my book). I did a quick search and found out they make Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and several other varietals. The price range was $15-35 on their wines and are easily found in wine shops and the grocery stores around here.

I have only tried the Sauv. Blanc but I will search out the others for future fun and tastings. The 2009 Sauvignon Blanc has a steely sharpness with out being “pointy”. I am not sure that is a wine term, but if you have had a white wine that is too acidic you will know that feeling in your mouth when a white wine is out of balance and the wine is too sharp. As I sat there enjoying the wine, I ordered, spinach dip and the two worked nicely, the creaminess of the cheese and the bitterness of the spinach was cut easily by the wine. As I was thinking about pairings, I thought of several fish dishes that would be awesome. I would make Tilapia broiled with lemon…that would be an amazing flavor profile with this wine.

I am going to be on the hunt for Slovenia wines and will do some research on the area and as I educate myself about the wines and culture, I will keep you posted!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

This morning was a rare occasion, I was home working and had the TV on and on the local morning show Chef Anne Burrell was cooking with the host and they were talking about her new cook book and she would be signing books later today. Chef Anne Burrell is on Food TV and the Cooking Channel and I remember seeing her as a Sous Chef for Mario Batali on the show Iron Chef. You will recognize her from her signature blonde spikey hair and she always wears skirts when she cooks. On her new show How to Cook Like a Restaurant Chef…she is witty, relaxed, informative and fun.

Her food always looks amazing and when she makes it, she shares tips and insider info about ingredients and cooking techniques through the show. She makes cooking and being happy seem effortless. I like to cook and I love being happy so in some way I feel like we are two of the same kinda spirits. She is probably in her mid 30’s and I have no idea if she is married, owns a restaurant, lives who knows where, probably New York…but I decided since she was in town, I would go and check out the book signing.

I arrived at the store at 11, she would start at 11:30 and I was about 15th in line and within a few minutes the line started expanding and I bet there were at least 75-90 people behind me by the time she started. They folks from the store ask you for the name you wanted her to sign and they wrote it down on a post it note and that way she could just open the book right up and sign and be on to the next person.

When she walked out the energy was crazy good. She is a walking smile. She was engaging and funny and spent a few minutes with each person and took pictures. There were two little girls in front of me and they were twins, about 9 years old and they walked up and they stood there and chatted with Anne, one little girl ask her to come over for dinner…she said Oh, I wish! We could make dinner together and hang out…If I could I totally would. The little girls hugged Anne and stood to the side for a few minutes taking more pictures and hugging their newly signed cookbooks. She honestly seemed like a really fun Aunt to the twins.

Then it was my turn…She was funny and engaging and we spoke for a few minutes and I wished her luck on the new show Next Food Network Chef that she is competing on and she said thanks for the good vibes girl…these chefs are good and I am loving the experience, but the food is no joke, we are seriously cooking! We laughed and I told her how touching it was to see how many folks are here with kids. We hugged and I headed to the check out to pay for my cookbooks and there were the twins in line and they were giggling and talking about what to make for dinner. They were with their dad and he was trying to be “cool” but they were so wound up he was exhausted.

The twins were having a ball and I said to the dad, you know they will talk about this for years…he said I had to take the day off for this. When they found out she (Chef Anne Burrell) was coming here 2 weeks ago I have not had a minute of peace. I laughed and said well, you are awesome for taking the time off and creating a special experience for them.

I am back at home and looking over the cookbook and thinking about what I will make first and of course which wine I will pair with it. It was inspiring to meet a self made woman with a love for life that is contagious. I will keep you posted when I make one of her dishes and what I pair with it.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

A friend of mine was having a housewarming party and he ask me to help him pick out some “different” wines and cheeses. My first question is what do you mean by different? He said, I am tired of Cabernet and Merlot and jack cheese and Swiss. I have a new place and it is time to try new more exciting things. Then I said, I like the way your thinking!

We went to the wine shop first and started looking around for new wines. He said, I want to drink wine I have never heard of and probably can not even pronounce. Since I have trouble pronouncing most of them as well, we were ready for some fun. He said there will be 20 folks at my place and I want to have red, white, pink and bubbles available. He also said cheese and wine would be the focus, since he would not want to hang out in the kitchen all night making heavy appetizers.

He wanted 4 wines and four cheeses. The cheeses needed to be one hard, one soft-ripened, one semi-soft and one blue cheese. We had our work cut out for us. But we were both excited to see how it turns out.

We got a cart and started through the shop and I said best way to try new wines is look for the countries you are less familar with and he said let’s start with France. He said I know nothing about French wines and The first thing we found interesting to him was a Mourvedre, which is a red wine, but it can also be a rose’. As we were walking through the store I had my iPhone out and was reading to him about the wine. It is basically a wine that without blending it, can be, well, too powerful just for drinking and you will need food to tame it down for enjoying it. We ended up buying a Mourvedre Rose’ and the cheese was a Camembert from France. The wine came from an area called Bandol and it was not cheap. $60.00 per bottle and the cheese was $22.00 (remember we are feeding 20 folks).

Next we started looking for a new white wine from Argentina called Torrontes. (Many of you know my love for this wine is MASSIVE). This light, crisp white would pair very well with a cheese called Port Salut. The Torrontes sells for about $12 a bottle and we had $18.00 in cheese. I knew that if someone is not a huge wine drinker this easy sipping wine would suit them well.

Then we started looking for bubbles! We found ourselves in from of the Prosecco and Italian affordable bubbles are awesome. He was taken aback at the price point being $14.00 a bottle and we paired this wine with a hard aged cheddar. The bubbles and slight sweet finish will work perfectly with this cheese as a yin-yang balance thing! The cheese cost about $17.00.

Now we were looking for a new red wine and a blue cheese combination that would be daring and new. We found a Tempranillo from Spain. This is the most important grape of Rioja Spain and this wine to me is like a the love child of a Syrah and Pinot Noir. Lovely, medium bodied, with a full blast of fruit. I have some great ones and some lame one…studs and duds and well, we all take chances and we both thought this would be an interesting wine for our red wine lovers. We paired the wine with a Germany blue cheese called Cambozola. I have to be honest the cheese expert helped us with this pairing. We spent $20 a bottle on the wine and another $36 on the cheese.

As we were starting to head out of the store the cheese expert suggested we pick up some meats. We let the guru of thin sliced cured meats pick a selection for us. I am not going to go into the meats, it is not my forte and I will just “butcher” all the names.

We headed back to the house and of course we purchased an extra bottle of each wine and we opened the cheeses to try the pairings and wines. After we tasted the wines we started tasting with the cheeses we had paired at the store. We did VERY well. Thanks to my iPhone and some quick research in the stores we where impressed. Then we got creative and started trying some wines with cheeses that we had not a clue how they would react. That was awesome! I learn everyday about my palate, my reactions to pairings, what works for me, what does not and my pal and I laughed the afternoon away and that night he had a smashing successful housewarming. We put out cards with the names of the wines and cheese pairings if anyone wanted to take it home and they did take them and a few folks ask me to help them with their next gathering, so I was happy, he was happy and the guests loved the night.

In case you wondered the Prosecco and Aged Cheddar was the biggest hit of the night.

I thought I would share my wine and cheese adventure with you!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi