Ghost Pines Cabernet Sauvignon – Uncorked!

Well, it’s Friday night and you know what that means. It’s time to uncork a bottle of vino and kick off the weekend.  We’ve been in the whites lately but tonight I’m in a red mood.

Ladies and gentleman, may I present the 2007 Ghost Pines Cabernet Sauvignon!

It’s not very often I get to use a word like scrumptious to describe a wine, but that is exactly what this one is.  SCRUMP-DIDDILY-UMPTIOUS!  It’s so yummy that I’m having to resist the urge the polish off the bottle myself.  The BG was supposed to be flying home from a work trip to Memphis tonight, but he missed his flight and could not get another one before tomorrow morning.  I’m more than a little perturbed and bummed about that.  Did I mention that it has “come a flood” outside (as good Southern folks say), complete with lots of thunder and lightening?  Needless to say am sorely tempted to drown my sorrows in this smooth and velvety Cab.

But, alas, that is not good form and I have to walk 12 miles in the morning.  So, it’s probably a better plan just to have a glass… or two. 🙂

Just look at that color!  And the nose…you had me at first sniff!  It’s a little earthy, but with chocolate, berries, and cinnamon – OH MY!  It’s just so smooth on the way down with hints of vanilla and spice on the finish.

BG found this one when I sent him on a grocery run one day.  I was into it at the very first pour and it is now my go to Cab.

Find it. Uncork it.  Put a straw it.  You’ll thank me later!

Cheers, y’all!
Wine Girl

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Who Says Green Beans Can’t Be Awesome?

A couple of years ago I was at someone’s house for dinner and had some green beans tossed with some toasted almonds as part of the meal.  I just loved it, but somehow got away without asking her exactly how she prepared the green beans.  So when I got home, I decided to play around and see if I could recreate it myself.  It took a couple tries but I finally figured it out and, if I may be so bold, think that my version tops the original that initially inspired me.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 lb of green beans (either pre-packaged or fresh from the Farmer’s Market) **I personally like the French Beans because they are thinner.

~ 1/4 c of sliced almonds

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

~ 1 tsp of olive oil

Salt (preferably Kosher or sea salt) and pepper to taste

**I’ve never really measured any of this.  I just eye-ball it.  This is probably the only recipe you’ll ever find me saying that.  I’m generally a follow-the-directions-to-a-T kind of girl.

Here’s what you do:

You take these green beans

put just enough water in a microwave safe dish to cover the bottom, add the green beans, and pop them in the microwave for approximately 5 min to steam them like so:

Yes, that’s a pie plate.  It’s the perfect size for this dish and I don’t use it for anything else.  I like to cook, not bake.  So, I may as well use it for something!

While the green beans are steaming heat the olive oil over medium heat in a skillet or saute pan.  Throw in the almonds to toast them.

Once the green beans are done steaming, pour off the excess water, add them to the toasting almonds, and throw in garlic, salt, and pepper to taste.  (If you have a garlic press, by all means, use fresh garlic cloves.  If not, the pre-minced jarred garlic that you get in the produce section of the grocery store works just fine.)

I really like garlic.  Looking at that pic, I’m now thinking that my version may actually include 2-3 cloves.  Just use what you like according to your taste preference.

Toss to coat

and serve along side a main dish of your choice.  Tonight I had mine with Chicken Stuffed with Herbed Couscous.

The whole process takes 10 minutes tops.  See, I told you they were awesome!  Give them a try and let me know what you think!

Cheers, y’all!
Wine Girl

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Guilty Pleasures

For some reason I’ve been craving a lot of these lately:

I’m generally not a “sweets” eater.  I’d like to claim that is completely in an effort to be healthy.  But the truth is that I really just don’t have a sweet tooth. On the other hand, I’ve never met a plate of cheese fries I didn’t like.  So, don’t go handing me a medal of honor just yet.  Please don’t misunderstand me, though.  I rarely let myself indulge in something THAT sinful.  I’m just saying if I have to choose between a brownie (sweet) and fries (salty), I’m going for the fries every time.

But sometimes there is just nothing better than some warm cookies and an ice cold glass of milk. Since I only get a “cookies and milk” craving about twice a year, I generally roll with it when it comes.  A girl’s got to live a little, right?

My warm cookie of choice is the Nestle Ultimate with chocolate chunks and mini peanut butter cups.  (I’m a firm believer that the chocolate and peanut butter combo was sent to us directly from heaven.) Couple that with a glass of Horizon Organic Fat Free milk and I’m good for about 10 minutes of sheer bliss!

You wouldn’t know it from most of my posts lately, but I really do try to eat healthily most of the time.  But every now and then you need a little treat, right?  So now that you know my secret, what about you?  What’s your guilty pleasure?

Cheers, y’all!
Wine Girl

Permanent link to this article: https://kitchendoesnttravel.com/archives/191

Rodney Strong Sauvignon Blanc – Uncorked!

Happy Friday to you all!  I hope you are all as glad to be home from work as I am.  I don’t know about y’all but it’s been a crazy busy week for me.  I’m exhausted with no end in sight as I have to work tomorrow at 7 am!  (There are so many things wrong with that statement that I don’t even know where to start.  It’s wrong, I tell you.  Just wrong.)

For now, though, let’s uncork a chilled bottle of Rodney Strong Sauvignon Blanc and relax.

My go to vino is usually a Pinot Noir, but it’s just too dang hot outside.  I need to drink something chilled.  So, I’m on a whites kick right now.  This one is from Rodney’s Charlotte’s Home Vineyards.  Just looking at mellow straw-like color of the pour in the glass cools me off.  It is so lovely and fragrant with hints of pear and pineapple on the nose.  It is light and crisp and, although it is generally dry, there is a slight sweetness at the finish.

Those are my thoughts.  If you are interested, see what more seasoned wine reviewers at the Vine Republic and Snooth have to say about it on their sites.

One thing I don’t like…it’s got a screw cap.  (I know, I know.  Technically that means I didn’t “uncork” it.  Rather I unscrewed it.  But I can’t have a regular blog spot called Unscrewed!, can I?)  I ordered it online with my groceries and I couldn’t tell from the picture that it was a screw cap.  If I had noticed that I probably wouldn’t have ordered this one.  (Yes, I’m THAT shallow.) I know that some legitimate Rieslings, Sauvignon Blancs, and Pino Grigios are being bottled with screw cap these days, but I don’t like it.  I just don’t like it.  It makes me feel like I’m opening something that I bought at a convenient store, not something as artful as a beautiful bottle of wine.

There, I said it.  I’m prejudiced against a screw cap.  So sue me!

But, on the bright side, it was on sale for $9.99 at my local grocery store and it went VERY NICELY with the Roasted Salmon with White Wine Sauce and broccoli that I had for dinner.

Overall, despite the screw cap, this one’s a winner!

Cheers, y’all!
Wine Girl

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Feel Free to Hate Me

because THIS is what I had for dinner last night:

One of the doctors that I work with is retiring.  So the six of us that work with him most closely  took him out for a celebratory dinner at The McNinch House Restaurant in Uptown Charlotte.  And, no, your eyes are not deceiving you.  That’s SEVEN courses you are seeing on the menu.  There were three different entree options, everything else was a Prix Fixe menu.  I had the Moorehead Estate Coffee Rubbed Grass-Fed Beef.  (This is where you should hear the Hallelujah Chorus ringing in the background!)

Sorry, I was too busy enjoying and eating to take pictures of all the food.

Oh, and there was a different wine to compliment each course, hand picked for our menu by the sommelier.  Small pours, of course.  (Otherwise, none of us would have made it home!) The vino hailed from France, Spain, Chile, California, Oregon and Italy.  SOOOOOOO YUUUUMMY!!! (Heaven…I’m in heaven…)

The meal lasted for 4 hours!  Did you notice details in the menu pic like “White Truffle Oil,” “Chevre Mousse,” “Praline Peppered Bacon,” and “Housemade Buttermilk Ice Cream?”  SHUT. UP.

There are no words!  (I wonder if they’d let me move in?  What?  It’s a house.)

Go on, admit it. You hate me just little bit, don’t ya?

Cheers, y’all!
Wine Girl

Permanent link to this article: https://kitchendoesnttravel.com/archives/184

Now THESE are Shrimp & Grits…

Y’all remember how I lamented the  Shrimp & Grits I had last week from Charlotte’s Bite Your Tongue, right?  I can’t help it, though.  You see, I’m spoiled…but let me back up.

I told y’all I went to Ole Miss, didn’t I?  Ole Miss is located in a town I love like no other – Oxford, Mississippi.  For a small Mississippi town, Oxford has a lot of culture and virtually nothing embodies local culture like food!  So it almost goes without saying that Oxford, the quintessential Southern town, is bursting with restaurants full of great Southern food.  During my tenure at Ole Miss and in the years I’ve returned to visit, I’ve seen many Oxford restaurants come and go, but there are a few that were there long before I got there and will probably still be there long after I’m gone.  One of these Oxford staples is City Grocery…and she makes some mean Shrimp & Grits!

Loving City Grocery’s Shrimp & Grits is actually how I learned to like grits period.  (Forgive me for I am about to speak, um write, Southern blasphemy!) I actually didn’t like grits until I got to college, fell in love with Shrimp & Grits, then decided I’d try them one day minus the shrimp.  Since I had never heard of or had Shrimp & Grits anywhere before City Grocery, I just assumed that this was a creation unique to this Oxford eatery.  It wasn’t until I moved to North Carolina that I discovered that Shrimp & Grits is actually cuisine straight from the South Carolina Low Country.

Nevertheless, I first came to love this dish at City Grocery and never eat it without thinking of my beloved Oxford.   So like any self-respecting Ole Miss girl, there will always be a soft spot in my heart (more like tummy) for City Grocery’s Shrimp & Grits.  It shouldn’t surprise me, then, that my Ole Miss friend and fellow blogger, Carmen from Keeping Up Klapper, left this comment on my Supper from N’Awlins post.

“It’s nearly impossible to find shrimp and grits as good as they make them at City Grocery in Oxford, right?! “

Little did she know…

I HAVE CITY GROCERY’S RECIPE FOR SHRIMP & GRITS!!!!  And here’s the proof:

The recipe is included in this cookbook put out by the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council.

As you can see from the cover, it is “A Collection of Recipes from Oxford, Mississippi.”  For my fellow Rebels, not only does it have the recipe for City Grocery’s Shrimp & Grits, it includes several recipes from Yocona River Inn, Downtown Grill, Ajax Diner, and Bottletree Bakery, just to name a few.  It’s also peppered with Grovin’ Tips, recipes for Grove food, Mississippi art, and essays from famous Mississippians.  If you went to Ole Miss, you need this cookbook!

To get one for yourself, just stop by the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council website and get one for yourself here.

But enough about books…let’s cook!

First you cook up some of these…

then mix in butter, sharp white Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses, cayenne pepper, paprika, and Tabasco sauce until they look like this:

Then you take  1 1/2 lbs of these…

and cook them up in some olive oil with some bacon, mushrooms, garlic, lemon juice, and white wine like so:

I should tell you (as if you haven’t inferred it already) this is not a low-calorie dish.  Anything that has this much bacon in it should be eaten sparingly.

But when you do eat it…man, oh man, is it good!  (Side note- The recipe says to cook all that bacon in with the shrimp and mushrooms, but I find that makes the bacon get a little wilty again after it’s already been cooked.  So I reserve a couple crispy tablespoons to spinkle on the top of the finished product.)

I should also warn you that it’s got a kick!  I actually only put in half the Tabasco sauce the recipe calls for when I make it and I still need plenty of this to wash it down

along with plenty of water, of course. 🙂

Now THESE are Shrimp & Grits!

Cheers, y’all!
Wine Girl

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Paella’s Key Ingredient

Consider this post to be an addendum to my initial Spanish Cooking Saturday’s post on paella.  When I made it at home for me and the Beer Guy, I did it for two reasons: 1) I’d been wanting to make it for over a year and I finally had the pan to do it, and 2) I needed a trial run before I made it for my family while we were at the beach.

Since we were on the coast and I had access to more beautiful, fresh, local seafood,  I decided to add a few ingredients that I didn’t have in my first batch.  In doing so, I realized there is one ingredient that you should never make paella without.

Was it these beautiful scallops…

or these meaty little mussels…

or the smoked sausage (the shrimp, lobster, and peas were in my first batch)….

or the moonlight under which it was cooked?

Nope.  While all this ingredients definitely added more depth and ambience to my seafood paella, none of them are essential as paella can be made with any kind of meat/game, chicken, duck, or seafood.

The key ingredient to paella is COMMUNITY!  I mentioned in my inaugural paella post that real Spaniards eat the paella right out of the pan.  While BG and I had a blast doing that very thing the first time around, my pan holds 8-10 servings.  So the first night we had it, we got to eat it out of the pan  but the subsequent nights we had to dish it out in to bowls and reheat it.  That, of course, dried it out a little.

But to sit it in the middle of a table, encircled by my family, was priceless!  We had a little pan con tomate on the side too.  (I was too busy eating to get a pic of that.)  The fact that we were doing this seaside, poolside, and under the stars wasn’t too shabby either!

We neatly avoided the whole reheating-and-drying-out issue by eating it until there was nothing but empty lobster and mussel shells in the pan.  🙂

This is how this dish was meant to be served – IN COMMUNITY.  Lesson learned – Never make paella without loved ones around you!

Cheers, y’all!
Wine Girl

Permanent link to this article: https://kitchendoesnttravel.com/archives/165

Toad Hollow’s Erik’s the Red – Uncorked!

Uncorking a bottle of wine is typically the first thing I do when I get home from work on a Friday night.  So I have decided that my Uncorked! segments will be regular Friday night segments.

Tonight’s Uncorked! is dedicated to Toad Hollow’s Erik’s the Red.

Consider yourselves introduced.

We got this as part of wine club shipment that I think we will be canceling soon because we haven’t really loved any of the wines we’ve gotten with it.  It is a red blend of 18 different grapes, none of which really stand out in the flavor.  Maybe that’s a good thing in a blend.  Who knows?  (I’ll be sure to look into that for you guys.)  You can check out Toad Hollow’s description of it here.

In the glass it’s a lovely dark currant color, but it’s got pretty thin legs when you swirl it around.  Upon first sniff it was a little too peppery for my taste, but I could definitely smell more cherry/berry as it opened up.  To me, it tasted a little bitter and my taste buds could never pick up on the cherry/berry flavor I assumed would accompany the opened aroma.  It generally had a smooth but thin texture, and the finish – I lie to you not – seemed soapy.   I know that may seem ridiculous, but I had a distinct “soapy” after taste in my mouth after each sip.  It was just odd.

Since I’m really trying to learn and hone my tasting skills, I’m always interested to see how my personal notes on a wine tasting stand up against those of other wine lovers.  A quick Google search of this wine led me to a tasting site called Cork’d, of all things.  Wine lovers on this site used words like “disappointing,” “flabby,” “metallic,” and “weird” to describe this one.  A couple reviewers enjoyed it, but for the most part the wine-o’s either didn’t love it or weren’t sure exactly what to make of it.  Check out the Cork’d reviews for yourself here.  In fairness, I should mention that someone known as The Wine Curmudgeon seemed to really like it.

My final thoughts on this “vintage” are… Meh.  It smells better than it tastes…and it tastes kind of cheap.  I don’t think I’ll be uncorking another bottle of this one.

Sorry I don’t have a better review for you tonight.   If any of you have tasted this one, I’d love to know what you think of it too.  Don’t forget to stop by and see what I uncork next Friday night!

Cheers, y’all!
Wine Girl

Permanent link to this article: https://kitchendoesnttravel.com/archives/154

Surprise Supper from N’Awlins, Y’all!

Beer Guy surprised me by bringing home dinner tonight.  On his way home from getting a haircut he popped into a Queen City eatery called Bite Your Tongue and grabbed some yummies for dinner.

We first heard about Bite Your Tongue from the realtor who helped us find our townhouse 2 years ago.  He had a penchant for showing us as many good places to eat as he did good places to live.  What’s neat about this place is that it is owned by Katrina refugees that relocated to Charlotte.  The owner’s apparently had a similar business in New Orleans.   So when they found themselves in a new city they decided to make this their home by doing what they knew how to do best.

It’s located in a little, nondescript,  hole-in-the-wall building just a few blocks down the street from us.  The only reason we know it’s in there is because of folding sign they sit outside the door.  We’ve tried to go a couple times, but they’ve been closed every time we tried.  They are only open until lunchtime Monday-Friday and, unfortunately, we’ve only tried to go for dinner or lunch on Saturday.  They serve breakfast, lunch, “gourmet to go” take home dinner, and offer catering services.  (Much to my dismay, begnets are not included on the breakfast menu. Of course, that’s probably good for my waistline as this establishment is located just down the street.)

Happily, the sign caught the BG’s eye during their actual business hours today so he seized the opportunity and grabbed us some dinner.

He brought home some Gumbo “Lulu”…

and some Shrimp & Grits…

and picked out a beer with an appropriate Louisiana-esque name to accompany  this Cajun cuisine – the Abita Andygator!  You’ve gotta love that name!

(I certainly enjoyed it, but I’ll let him give you his thoughts on that later.)

Like any good Southern girl, I had some biscuits in the freezer.  So I popped those babies in the oven, divvied up the entrees so we could each have a little of both and… Ta Da!

Dinner from N’Awlins in a flash, y’all!

I LOVED the gumbo!  But, frankly, I’ve had better Shrimp & Grits.  That’s to be expected, though.  Shrimp & Grits is a Low Country thing…not a NOLA thing. (Not to bite the hand that fed me, but if I had been choosing the entrees I would have chosen the gumbo and another signature New Orleans dish like jambalaya, shrimp creole, or crawfish etouffee.  But I’m not complaining…)

Mmmm…Shrimp & Grits.  Oh, how I adore them!  I’d love to expound upon that, but that’s a post for another day.

Like the building that houses them, their website leaves a little to be desired.  But who cares what their website looks like as long as they can cook, right? I didn’t love their Shrimp & Grits, but I’ll give ’em props for their Gumbo!  I’m willing to bet that their signature N’Awlins dishes (which, according to the website, change daily) are pretty awesome as well.  So if you are in the Queen City, are craving a little Cajun cooking, and can get there when the doors are open, go ahead and Bite Your Tongue!

Cheers, y’all!
Wine Girl

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It’s The Little Things

The Beer Guy’s birthday was this weekend. It was a milestone birthday. I always try to make a big deal out of his birthday, but since it was a milestone I had wanted to make this one EXTRA special. We talked about a road trip through the Outer Banks to see all the lighthouses, but with a recent beach trip, having friends in town, and a busy work schedule we never got around to actually planning the trip before his birthday.  So that was out for the official birthday weekend, but WILL be happening soon.

Not only did we not go on a birthday trip, but I also did not have a big gift idea lined up. The BG is not one for frequently listing things that he wants…unlike myself. 🙂 What he DID want was for me to rent a bike (since he has one and I don’t) and spend all day Saturday biking around Charlotte with him, stopping occasionally to sample a few new brews. So, we did that and it was a heck of a lot of fun…but we were EXHAUSTED at the end of the day.

But his ACTUAL birthday was Friday. Not wanting his true birthday to be a dud, I tried to think about something special I could feed him. I thought long and hard about what meal he would enjoy the most…

Filet mignon? Nope.
Foie gras? Huh-uh.
Duck a l’Orange? Negative.
Baked Alaska? Nothin’ doin’.

Try Sloppy Joes with frozen Tater Tots and a store-bought Key Lime Pie.

All childhood favorites of his and he was GIDDY! Hey, it ain’t fancy, but it meant something to him and that’s what counts.

So here’s to the little things!

Cheers!
Wine Girl

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