It is a gorgeous late-January day as I write this. Clear blue skies, a crisp breeze, plenty of sunshine. I love this time of year, when there are still pleny of chilly nights ahead but a few hardy plants are beginning to show signs of the coming Spring, like this teacup magnolia tree in my [...]
Read more →January 26th is Australia Day (Australia’s version of July 4th), and as part of the festivities, Wine Australia is hosting a “Taste & Tweet” event going on at #AussieWine. Here’s the schedule: 10am – Noon EST —– Focus on Aussie Bubbles and Whites Noon – 2pm EST —– Focus on Aussie Weird & Wonderful 2pm – 4pm [...]
Read more →My friend Julie recently asked me to send her the details of a trip I did a few years ago to Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail, and I realized that somehow this info hadn’t migrated over to this site. (I cringe to think about how many other articles I’ve missed…) So here it is. It’s been about five [...]
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Grüner Veltliner. Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, does it? In fact, unless you speak German, you’ll probably never get it exactly right. But the English-accented version goes something like: GROO-ner Velt-LEEN-er. (Though it seems that most every English-speaking person misses that accent on the second word and goes with VELT-leen-er, instead. Just try to correct [...]
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Here’s an easy recipe for a flavorful roasted sea bass recipe. You just precook a few potatoes, then slice them into a roasting pan, top with the other ingredients and pop in the oven for 20 minutes or so. The result is tender pieces of glistening, herb-flecked fish and you barely had to do anything [...]
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A couple of weeks ago, I roasted a whole duck for the first time ever. I’ve cooked plenty of chickens in my life, but never a duck. I love ordering duck in restaurants — confit, grilled, Peking, whatever. If it’s got crispy skin and tender duck breast/leg meat involved, I’m typically interested. But I guess I’ve been [...]
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