Wine Tasting Adventure: Root: 1 Carmenere

Root: 1 Carmenere ($9.77, Wal-Mart)

"Carme-huh?  Never heard of it!"  That's what I thought when I spotted this dark red in the local Wal-Mart's recently (and impressively) upgraded wine section.  My good friend and fellow wine lover, Keziah, had tried Root: 1 Cabernet Sauvignon and liked it; I was searching for some to try for myself when I accidentally stumbled across this.  It turned out to be a happy accident, not unlike the re-discovery of the grapes that it's made from.

Root: 1 Carmenere is a Chilean wine.  The grapes it is made from originated in Europe, and in the 1800's  they were exported to South America.  The European climate was all wrong for these grapes, and they eventually died out there.  They were thought to be extinct, but it turns out that for over a century, these grapes were growing happily in Chile and being mistaken for Merlot grapes due to their many similarities.  They were being mixed in right along with the Merlot grapes, and they are the reason that Chilean Merlot had a notably unique flavor.  In 1994  some smart fellow in a lab coat did some testing and discovered that these grapes were indeed the Carmenere variety, and since Chile has the perfect climate for growing them, Carmenere has become Chile's signature wine.

If you enjoy Merlot, you will undoubtedly like this one.  It is probably one of the deepest, purplest wines I've ever tried.  Dry, dark, smooth, slightly spicy and peppery. Delicious!  Probably not going to be a favorite for those who don't often venture beyond the White Zin, but any red-wine lover should give this one a try, as well as anyone who is looking to venture into the red-wine zone.  This would be great paired with smoky grilled meats and anything with a little spice.

Come with me on a Wine Tasting Adventure!

Do you ever have the hankering for a delicious glass of wine, only to become befuddled by the endless choices at the market and apprehensive as to which bottle to spend your hard-earned money on?  I too have faced vast volumes of vino with fear in my heart.  Why is this one twice the price of that one?  What is a Sirah and why is it so petite? And why is a Petite Sirah not a Syrah, but a Syrah is a Shiraz? If malbec and merlot are so good on their own, why blend the two in a Meritage?  What the heck does Meritage mean, anyways?  It's all enough to drive a girl to drinking!

Well, friends, fear no more.  I am going to step up and take one (or several) for the team.  I am making it my mission to step outside my Clos Du Bois comfort zone (their reds are really delicious!) and branch out into the unknown.  I am going on a wine-tasting adventure this year and I am taking you along with me.  The clerks at World Market will know me by name. No wine is safe!  I will buy them ‘cause they’re pretty (c’mon, admit it, you know you judge a wine by it’s cute little label!) and do the sampling for you. Oh, and I may even take into consideration the alcohol content like my Sweet Mama taught me.  I don't plan to become a wine expert, but I will share whatever wisdom I find, and if you stop by the house, I'll share the wine.  Cheers!

Let's begin this journey with a Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé by Mulderbosch Vineyards,  South Africa.  I saw this in World Market and was drawn to its label. Yes, I am a sucker for packaging. Aesthetics aside, I liked that it was totally different from what I would normally buy.  Definitely out of my comfort zone. The little info card displayed with the wine announced that it was a new "customer favorite" that should be served well chilled.  This is the first rosé I've ever purchased and in the back of my mind I had visions of cheap White Zin. But the fact that it also had the words "cabernet sauvignon" on the label gave me some comfort, so I stashed it in the fridge and waited for it to cool off.  Let me just say that I was pleasantly surprised when I finally opened up the screw-top lid. 

This is not a super sweet wine, which makes me very happy.  The label pairs it with crab, chicken, turkey and pork, among others, and because its flavor is not overwhelmingly strong, I think it would be hard to find a food pairing that it wouldn't mesh with.  It is very crisp, refreshingly fruity, and just the right level of dry.  I am not used to drinking cold wines, and this was a very nice change.  I can see this being really great for a picnic lunch at the lake or a summer evening in the backyard tiki bar.  It is what I would consider "easy to drink", so those who are fairly new to wine or who are not fans of darker reds might enjoy this. I will definitely buy it again, and I think it would make a good gift wine for just about anyone from the experienced wino to the White Zinfandel swilling beginner.  Priced at $11.99, it won't break the bank.  If you decide to give it a try, let me know what you think! Oh, and Mama, it's a 12.5-percenter. Pretty good stuff, huh?

The Lust List: 3 More Things

Wesco Spaceboy Waste Bin

WESCO SPACEBOY WASTE BIN

Once upon a time, long, long ago, I fell in love with a trash can.  I know, it's ridiculous.  And its price of around $450.00 is definitely out of this world.  I don't even know if you can still buy them in the U.S., but they seem to be hard to keep in stock on the U.K. websites where I've found them, so obviously I'm not the only one who's in love.  You have to admit, they are pretty darn cute.

1967 PONTIAC GTO

My Sweet Mama bought one of these in 1967.  She said there was no glitz or glamour to it, just pure hot rod.  I can just see her, all young and sweet and quiet, pulling up next to somebody's Mustang in that thing and then blowing 'em away when the light turns green.  This one is for sale at the St. Louis Car Museum for a mere $146,000. Maybe one day I'll be able to afford the blue-collar model, aka The Cloned LeMans.  Until then, may as well drool over outrageously priced and perfectly restored beauties like this.

Le Creuset Cast Iron Casserole in Powder Pink

LE CREUSET POWDER PINK CAST IRON CASSEROLE

Oh how I wish I'd never learned of these!  I do not need another cast iron 2 quart casserole.  I already have one that's heart-shaped, one that's pumpkin-shaped, and one that's just plain round.  I do NOT need another.  Especially when the jerks at Le Creuset, makers of my very favorite cookware in the whole wide world, decided to make them available only in Japan.  JAPAN!  C'mon, that's not fair!  And in PINK no less.  I need one of these.  Every now and then, they show up on Ebay at an exorbitantly high price. On the Le Creuset Japan website, they are available in 5 different colors!  And I can't have any of them!  Oh, the lustful anguish.  

A Cup O' Breakfast Goodness

Over the Christmas holiday, my cousin Jennifer baked up a wonderful breakfast of Prosciutto Egg Cups for the whole family.  I am a huge fan of breakfast, and these were even delicious reheated the next day.  Rachel Ray has a recipe for them here. 

These can be done in muffin tins, which is very handy when you're cooking for a large group, or individually in ramekins, which is very handy when you're cooking for just yourself.   I decided to give them a try a couple of mornings ago.  I was in the mooda for Gouda, so I used it in place of the Mozzarella.  And skipped the basil since I forgot to buy some, but it woulda been better with basil. In the interest of fat reduction, I thought about subbing turkey bacon, but one slice of prosciutto is only around 30-40 calories, so it's really not too bad, as long as you don't overdo it on the cheese. 

Fresh from the (toaster) oven.

Nice and simple, just coat your ramekin with a little cooking spray, layer in your prosciutto and cheese, crack in your egg, squeeze in a little more cheese because cheese is yummy, pop it in the oven (the toaster oven is perfect for this!) and bake until the egg white is set.


After they have had a chance to cool a bit, use a knife to nudge them from their cups and slide them out onto a plate.  A dash of salt and pepper and they are ready to enjoy!

New Year's Eve Pot Roast

If you've read much of this blog, you know I'm a big fan of the comfort food.  If you've ever seen me walking down the street, you know I'm a big fan of the comfort food, hahaha!  As I told my good friend JunBug a long time ago while in the process of ordering a huge breakfast at Peggy's Place at 2 a.m. after a little light beer drinking, (in a screeching, slightly defensive voice) "I didn't get this way by eatin' salads!"

This year for New Year's Eve, instead of going out on the town and ringing in 2012 with friends and booze, I opted to stay home and ring it in with dogs and food.  I had watched "Julie and Julia" for the first time that day, and I was tempted to try Julia Child's recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon.  But once I read the recipe, I realized that 4 p.m. was probably not the time to start such an undertaking.  I hadn't even been to the grocery store yet.   Plus I wasn't sure I would be able to find chunk bacon for the lardons in Podunk, USA.

What I mostly wanted was something involving beef and wine, and my big red dutch oven.  Enter Guy Fieri, and his recipe for his Mama's Pot Roast.  It turned out to be the right choice, even though it was almost 2012 by the time I got it finished.  Normally I do a pot roast in the slow-cooker with a little broth, carrots, onions, and potatoes.  But here, the addition of beef stock, wine, mushrooms, and shallots make it AMAZING!

The original recipe and instructions are here:   Guy Fieri's Family-Style Pot Roast Recipe.

Browned on all sides and ready for a long nap in the oven.

It all starts with a beautiful Chuck Roast.  The local supermarket had two different cuts of Chuck Roast; I opted for the Certified Angus Brand because it was a noticeably better looking cut of meat.  Probably quite a bit fattier, but absolutely delicious.  I threw some butter and olive oil in the Dutch Oven and browned the roast on all sides. Guy says to truss it up all fancy-like with some butcher's twine, but I just slapped it in there and let it sizzle.

Looking tasty with the addition of wine, beef stock and veggies.

Then I removed the roast and carmelized the onion & shallots, then added garlic & baby carrots.  I'm not a celery fan, so I skipped that part.  Stir in some tomato paste, deglaze with a little Zinfandel & beef stock, throw in some baby portbellas & fresh thyme, and you're ready to roast.



Finally, I put the roast back in and added some Baby Reds.  Shoved it in my poor old avocado green oven and said a little prayer as the oven rack bowed under the weight of all that cast iron.

Baby Reds, ready for the oven.

A little over 2 hours at 325 and it's cooked to comforting perfection.

Veggies instead of gravy. 

Guy tells you to blend the veggies and use them as gravy, but that sounded yucky to me, so I just skipped that part and dished it up as is.  It's plenty juicy and delicious. Yummy!!  Give it a try, and enjoy!

I Love Mason Jars

I love Mason jars.  They conjure up images of lightning bugs, moonshine, and unidentifiable vegetables stacked in somebody's root cellar, floating in cloudy pickling juice for who-knows-how-many years.  I love the different shapes and sizes; the short, squatty jelly jars, the fat pint jars whose mouths are bigger than their bodies. They are just so simple and old fashioned. 

When I was a kid, we had little Mason jar salt and pepper shakers.  For my birthday this year, I got a "RedNek" Mason jar wine glass, which is put to good use several times a week.  After putting up some pickled eggs in quart jars recently, I got the urge to find a cute, crafty idea for making Mason jars into something worthy of Christmas gift-giving.

There are hundreds of ideas out there, and several caught my eye (lighting for the backyard!!), including this one.  I love how painting on the inside makes it look milky and creamy, while at the same time preserving the depth and beauty of the writing on the outside.  I originally intended these to be gifted as flower vases, but in the end I decided to fill them with bath salts, dress them up with tissue paper, and let the recipients decide for themselves what life the jars would end up with.  Here's what I did.

Make sure the jars are clean and dry, then choose your paint and a narrow brush.  I simply used leftover latex wall paint that I had stashed in the garage. 

Painting in Progress

In order to cover them well, you'll need to use more than one coat of paint, because although the paint is thick, you will have brush marks. Try not to use so much paint that it pools in the bottom. Let them dry upside down on a baking rack atop some newspaper, or something else that will let the excess paint drain out. I did three coats of paint. It is very important that you let them dry fully between each coat. 

I also baked them in the oven between coats for 30 minutes at 325 degrees just to ensure that the paint will last.  Be sure to let the paint completely dry before baking, or the damp paint will bubble.  I learned this the hard way.  Let's just say, some of  my jars had marks of extra character.

The final product, a pretty little Mason jar that has endless uses.  Of course you wouldn't want to use these for anything food related, but they make adorable vases, toiletry holders, utensil crocks, pencil caddies, candle jars.... use your imagination!