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June 14, 2009
Winey Words
 We picked up a California Chardonnay (blend) the other day because I realized that we hadn't tried one in a LONG time. So we chose one more or less at random at Trader Joes, just by reading the descriptions on the labels. (We like to live in the fast lane - LOL.) Here's a snip of the lucious text: "Opens with the intense, signature tropical fruit and citrus aromas typical of our terroir. Flavors of pineapple, fresh peach, lemon zest, and mango are augmented by good weight and perfect acidity." Yes, just because it's on the label doesn't mean it's TRUE - we know this - at least we didn't choose it because the logo was cool - ha! (Although it was rather nice.)
So... Well... the ACIDITY was good. But otherwise, despite our best efforts, we couldn't make out any distinct flavors. It just tasted like a basic "Chardonnay". No peach, or zest or this or that. Yes, it was a blend, but we've had blends before that were more "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" rather than a homogenous mix.
Oh, well - win some, lose some! And no, we're not mentioning any names. ;) We just wanted to discuss the disparity between the description and the actual taste, which we haven't actually experienced much of until now, which is, overall, a credit to the wine industry.
[Tags: white wine, chardonnay, california, wine, review]
posted by Kristen at 1:27 PM
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June 09, 2009
Pound Cake with Raspberry Sauce
 I'd never actually made a pound cake from scratch before so I looked around online for a few likely recipe candidates - finally settling on a few from allrecipes.com, and adding my own little tweaks. This isn't a loaf pound cake, but a tube pan pound cake - MUCH bigger. And taller. And excellently dense, of course. I'm also glad I had the foresight to pull out our extra huge bowl to mix this in too - not surprising though, once you see the ingredients list! (Sorry - forgot to take an in-progress photo of the bowl of batter and beaters, etc.)
The batter was so thick that when I was putting the batter into the pan, it was much less of a 'pour' and more of a 'scoop and drop', but it worked out fine, as you can see:
The cake came out really tall too, although that's hard to see in the photo.
While the cake was cooling, I made an easy raspberry sauce - nicely raspberry-ish, but not overly sweet:
After the sauce was done I put it through a small strainer to take most of the seeds out so it was very smooth.
And the serving suggestion - slice a nice hunk of that cake and drizzle the raspberry sauce over it just before serving - yum! Would probably also be good with a dark chocolate drizzle or the like. Take a small slice unless you're REALLY hungry - as with most pound cakes, this is very dense and filling.
Click here for the full recipe.
[Tags: pound cake, raspberry sauce, recipe, food, food follies]
posted by Kristen at 2:03 PM
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(2) comments
May 26, 2009
Pessagno Pinot Noir (California)
After watching the movie Sideways I decided that I had to try a Pinot Noir and see what all the fuss was about. We picked one from Pessagno Wines because it came from a local winery and they actually differentiated between the various vineyards the grapes were grown in. Ours was from the Central Avenue Vineyard, vintage 2006.
We weren't disappointed. Now I understand why in the movie Sideways, Miles was so crazy about it. The wine was very rich with a complex taste that really challenged the tastebuds to define it. There was a subtle cherry flavor followed by a bit of pepper that left the tip of your tongue feeling slightly hot.
We had the wine with some smoked gouda and they paired very well together. At first I thought the smoky flavor of the cheese would overwhelm the wine's flavor, but they complemented each other nicely. We're definitely going to have to include Pinot Noirs in our regular wine rotation.
[Tags: wine review, pinot noir, sideways, red wine, california]
posted by John at 11:17 AM
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May 04, 2009
Wine Flu?
 First off, let me say that I think people are doing a good job of keeping the public informed about the spread of swine flu and steps to take care of yourself while it's flitting about. Secondly, and a however, I also think the media has taken advantage of the situation a little to enhance the drama a SMIDGE beyond what's necessary - heh. So this new Wine Flu t-shirt is just a funny joke about the media hysteria, not about the virus itself! Besides I can't resist a good play on words - you should all know that by now.
Wine Flu is available on all kinds of t-shirts and sweatshirts - click the image to browse!
[Tags: swine flu, wine flu, humor, funny, tshirt]
posted by Kristen at 10:23 AM
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April 01, 2009
What Day is Today Anyway?
I agree with the experts that say Rick-Rolling has been done to death, and wouldn't be funny as an April Fool's Joke anymore anyway. So I'm going in a different direction that works with the topic of this blog... but to find out, you have to click this link - do you dare? The little icon at the top of this post will give you a hint, if you're getting nervous. ;)
[Tags: april fools day, cake, funny]
posted by Kristen at 12:38 PM
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March 24, 2009
Leave It To Cleaver - Not Just an Apron Anymore!
We've had our "Leave it To Cleaver" apron available in our shop for a while now, as it's been a definite favorite. Recently it was brought to our attention that this design would do well offered on our other products as well - seeing the good sense in this, heh, we added them to the shop immediately! Click any of the sample images below to look at the entire selection - great for cooks and chefs, or people who just like to chop things with gusto!
  
  
[Tags: funny, humor, food, t-shirt, pun]
posted by Kristen at 1:21 PM
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February 23, 2009
Tropicana Relents!
 Yay! Tropicana has decided to go back to their old packaging! When I first saw the new packaging, the word, "generic" came to mind immediately, even before I discovered that's what happened when MOST people saw the new packaging - LOL.
Perhaps the color of the orange juice just paled in comparison to the actual orange we were used to. Or maybe the font they chose just didn't stand out as special like the old one. Or maybe both! Click here for short article and side by side comparison.
[Tags: tropicana, orange+juice, packaging, generic]
posted by Kristen at 11:59 AM
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