Hosting A Wine Tasting Party
July 31, 2007
As your love and knowledge of wine grows, it is inevitable that you will want to share your revelations with friends and family. Hosting a wine tasting party is a great way to do this.
When planning a wine tasting party, some obvious questions about parameters arise. How many people should you invite? What types and how many wines should you pour?
It is my opinion that an informal gathering should be kept to 12 people or less. This ensures that conversation and dialogue will be much more conducive than with a larger group.
Blind tasting is the most fun and informative. Wrapping bottles in bags will negate past preferences and prejudices. You may be surprised what you “like” without access to the wine label.
Focus on a relatively specific style of wine. Within this framework, some variations should be considered. I recently hosted a wine tasting party where we tasted Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons.
To make it more interesting, we tasted two wines from Rutherford, (valley floor) two from Stags Leap, (east hills) and two from Mount Veeder (west hills). This was a pleasant and educational mix: a consistant varietal, but different styles from different regions. Another option is to taste the same varietal from the same region, but in different price ranges.
Tantalizing Turkey
July 30, 2007
You too can make a spectacular turkey dinner!
TT has what you need to help you at every step. You even get carving directions with graphics, guidance about the best way to thaw, stuff and roast your turkey, recipes and more. See what’s inside.
Get answers to your most pressing turkey questions about how leftover turkey can be stored properly and what do you need to do to a turkey just before roasting it. Pick up invaluable Turkey Tips about Thermometer Placement and even how do you will know when the turkey is done. Learn about thawing your turkey using both the refrigerator and the cold water methods.
Not sure how to “Get Stuffed” the right way? Never fear, follow the Tantalizing Turkey’s simple guidelines and you are on your way! You even get complete details (with approximate cooking times) for the Open Pan Method of roasting your turkey.
Once your turkey is roasted to perfection, don’t mess up the meal with poor carving, follow the easy to understand carving instructions (complete with diagrams).
Taste The Difference When You Use A Coffee Grinder
July 29, 2007
Taste The Difference When You Use A Coffee Grinder
by: Clinton Maxwell
We all enjoy a good cup of coffee to keep us refreshed and alert, but in today’s world of freeze dried and instants it is difficult to get that real coffee taste and aroma - in fact some people have never experienced anything other than instant, thus missing out on a truly rich and flavorsome taste. A coffee grinder is a piece of equipment that can put an end to the need for tasteless, weak drinks, enabling you to enjoy a taste that is full bodied and full of flavour. You can get a wide range of grinders these days to suit all sorts of tastes and budgets, and by investing in a good quality grinder you can start enjoy the aroma and flavour of real coffee within your own home. Anyone that has tried the real thing compared to instant and freeze dried will be well aware of the taste difference - and you will find that the low cost of this type of equipment is well worth it for the incredible taste and flavour that you will enjoy.
No kitchen should be without a good quality coffee grinder
Why Do We Love To Eat Chocolate?
July 29, 2007
Why Do We Love To Eat Chocolate?
by: James McDonald
Do you ever wonder why we love chocolate so much? The answer may seem as simple as because it tastes good, but there may be more to it than that. There are actual studies to back up some of the physical effects you can experience while eating certain kinds of chocolates. The stimulation your body gets provides a pleasant feeling to your taste buds, making you always come back for more.
Chocolate is known to be a mild mood elevator, stimulating brainwaves and pushing your stress levels down. This is probably why alot of people will stuff themselves with sweets when they are angry or upset. Little do they know it, but they are actually helping themselves out by eating chocolates. When your stress levels lower, you become more relaxed which in turn is beneficial to your health.
Chocolates also raise antioxidant levels in the blood, which in turn help fight any foreign bodies that can cause illnesses. With healthier levels, you are much less likely to come down with viruses or other things that could affect you at various times of the year.
Two for One Dinners: Ham
July 28, 2007
If you find leftovers boring, uninviting or downright “yuck,” then here are some ideas to put the “zing” back into mealtime. With a little creativity your home-cooked meal can easily become a delicious meal another night. There are a six articles in this series, today we are going to look at what you can do with ham.
DINNER - NIGHT ONE: Baked Ham
Using a basic ham (which is also more cost effective), add some zing to the flavor by glazing it with a sauce of whisked-together mango chutney, orange juice and red pepper flakes. Serve with braised artichokes and pureeed cauliflower for a dinner fit for company. If you do not like cauliflower, any winter vegetable would work. Remove the leftover ham from the bone and store in a tightly sealed contained in the refrigerator or freezer.
DINNER - NIGHT TWO: Cheesy Potatoes with Ham
Chop the leftover ham into cubes. In a glass baking dish layer sliced potatoes with the ham, milk and Cheddar cheese. Serve with a green salad. You can also use a blend, or different cheeses, such as gruyere or fontina. This dish is also great served as a leftover as the flavors just keep getting better and better.
The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Experience
July 27, 2007
Just about everyone loves freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Many of us have fond memories from our childhoods of the aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies filling up the house. Our eager little eyes anxiously awaiting their arrival from oven to countertop.
Chocolate chip cookies are the ultimate comfort food. There’s just something about them that makes us feel warm and fuzzy. The chocolate chip cookie has evolved over the years into a mouth-watering variety of textures and flavors.
If you’re a fruit lover you’ll enjoy banana chocolate chip cookies or cherry chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate lovers will delight over chocolate chocolate chip cookies, double chocolate chip cookies and white chocolate chip cookies.
Another popular variation is the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Who knew that oatmeal would taste so good with chocolate?
If you want to spice up your favorite chocolate chip cookies even more, you can add tasty morsels like mint chips, craisins, candy bars, espresso beans, m&ms, candy cane, walnuts, peanuts, macadamia nuts, dark chocolate or big chunks of milk chocolate.
Some folks love eating gourmet chocolate chip cookie bars and even chocolate chip cookie pie!
Italian Food…Buon Appetito!
July 26, 2007
Italian Food…Buon Appetito!
by: Juliana de Angelis
The pleasures and love of Italian cuisine are known the world over. Italian cookery and recipes vary from region to region, and on the whole it is very healthy and nutritious, using natural ingredients that are in season.
Most traditonal and ’speciality’ dishes as we know today, are on the whole derived from simple peasant cookery, for example the Pizza, which could be found a couple of centuries ago on the streets of Naples being sold by street vendors to those that had no cooking facilities of their own at home.
Although there are essential ingredients that every Italian kitchen should have, (including basil, garlic and olive oil!), the most important ingredients are passion and creativity.
Italians take great pride and pleasure in their food, and cooking and eating habits can vary from region to region, even from village to village. Each place has their own unique dishes and ingredients, and even the traditional dishes that are so popular all over Italy are cooked in different ways depending which region you go to. For example, if you eat a lasagne from Naples, it doesn’t have the bechamel sauce as you would expect in the more traditional lasagne. It also has small meatballs (or polpette)as oppposed to mince, and also salami and eggs.
How to Choose the BBQ That’s Right for You
July 25, 2007
How to Choose the BBQ That’s Right for You
by: Richard Cussons
No matter what kind of food you want to barbeque, there is a barbecue out there that is perfect for your needs and budget.
When it comes to outdoor entertaining, or just enjoying a hot summer’s day, the barbeque is an important part of the whole experience. Whether you’re looking for portable and disposable models, or a stainless steal, state-of-the-art appliance with all of the latest gadgets, there are always a swath of different barbeques for your perusal.
Remember, it isn’t just your cooking skills that will dictate the success of your barbequed meals, but also choosing the proper barbeque to cater to your outdoor cooking needs and desires.
After all, little is more wasteful than paying good money for added features that you’ll never use, or having to try to make dinner for fifteen people on a one square foot grill. Therefore, before heading out to the barbeque store, or even before shopping around online, you will need to consider the different elements that should dictate your final BBQ decision.
Among the most important factors to remember are:
Syrah and… the Sex Appeal?
July 24, 2007
Syrah and… the Sex Appeal?
by: David Roberts
It is a well established standard practice to apply all sorts of descriptors wine that go well beyond simply describing the taste, aroma, and texture. Indeed it has become somewhat of a tradition to characterize wines with such adjectives as bold, timid, dramatic, subdued, flagrant, and so on. So much so, in fact, that to the novice many adjectives may seem to say a little too much about a wine and even come off as downright humorous.
Are critics in earnest when they use these expressions? Doubtless there are some charlatans out there in the wine community who use colorful descriptions of wines to conceal their own lack of knowledge, but in general, the more one tastes wine, the more one begins to understand how some of these words actually might apply.
In that case, how far does it go? Can a wine be tragic? Angry? Maybe that’s too far. What about sexy? Some people certainly think so. The Syrah grape (also known as Shiraz) for one produces deep, intense wines that are often referred to as such.
Shake Things Up With Fun Milkshakes
July 24, 2007
Milkshakes have been around since the old days of drugstore soda fountains. Now days we tend to drink milkshakes mainly when we go out for a bite to eat at a fast food restaurant.
Milkshakes are healthy (they contain calcium) and delicious. The most common milkshake flavors are: strawberry, vanilla and chocolate.
But you don’t have to wait for your next fast food trip to enjoy a frothy, cold milkshake. Why not whip out your blender and make your own?
Milkshakes are extremely easy to make and only take a minute or two. Kids especially love milkshakes. What a great way to get them to drink more milk.
If you’re bored with the regular strawberry, vanilla and chocolate milkshakes, try these mouth-watering variations:
Blueberry Breakfast Milkshake ? with fresh blueberries and apple juice
Peanut Butter Cup Milkshake ? with peanut butter cups and chocolate syrup
Jello Milkshake ? with any flavor jello and vanilla ice cream
Chocolate Cherry Milkshake ? with cherries and chocolate syrup
Chunky Monkey Milkshake ? with bananas and chocolate chips
Vanilla Vision Milkshake ? with vanilla pudding
Pumpkin Pie Milkshake ? with canned pumpkin and cinnamon
