Category Archives: Wine

Some Fun for the Foodies

Remember Mad Libs? I had so many of those books, putting in random nouns and adjectives that never made sense when the story was over.

A friend sent me a grown-up version for us foodies, as featured in Food & Wine magazine. (Thanks Katie!)

I think it’s more fun to not peek, so I’m listing the words you have to come up with here first. Then, pop them into the story below and see what you came up with.

Food & Wine is also encouraging readers to tweet a photo of your filled-in page to @fandw using #FWWordGames and they’ll be posting some of them on their website!

Beverage
African Country
Mammal
Bird
Family Member
Piece of Furniture
Body Part
Vegetable
Number
Large Animal
Body Part
Cured Meat
Big-Box Store
Items of Clothing
Historical Era
Reality TV Star
Eastern-European Country
Zoo Animals
Packaged Food
French Pastries
Distant Relative
Foreign Country
Type of Boat
TV Chef
Number Below 10
Medical Device
Number Above Two
Musician
Supreme Court Justice
Classical Composer
Condiment
Number above Four

Got your words? Now fill em in here and have fun with it:

Food & Wine Mad Libs Word Game

I also came across a nifty wine guide as featured on theKitchn. Wine Folly created a great color coded-chart for wine and food pairings.

However, I have to admit that the one tip I inherited from my dad is you don’t drink white until you’re out of red.

Wine Folly’s Guide for Pairing Food & Wine

See more tips from Wine Folly here.

What food and wine tips have you learned/inherited?

Give Gift Baskets … the Right Way

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With Christmas behind us, we have presents we have received that we love, like, and plan to regift later. But as a gift giver, we also have those gifts that we are proud of and plan to repeat, gifts where we just aren’t sure what the person thought, and a few where we know we could have done better.

But a safe bet – whether for Christmas, a housewarming, hostess gift, or any other occasion – is the classic gift basket. And I think, there is a right and a wrong way to do the gift basket (or bag/box/etc.).

The rule of thumb should be, baskets should contain items that people will use. I’ve posted before about wine packages which make an excellent present for any wino – it’s something thoughtful, consumable, and a little high-end. Personally, wine is the best hostess, grab bag, or thank you gift that I could get!

I’ve also mentioned Beecher’s of New York and their amazing cheese boxes which contain amazing homemade cheeses from their shop, paired with perfect sides. (We picked one up for my parents this Christmas – although you can order them online and have them shipped!)

But, I also want to call out my favorites from this holiday, all of which I gifted to some of my loved ones!

Coffee Baskets

A loaded coffee basket from Greene’s Beans in Hackettstown is usually my go-to when it comes to holiday and housewarming gifts. Everyone drinks coffee – and if they don’t they drink tea, or hot chocolate, or chai, or some type of hot beverage. Some specialty coffee from your local coffee shop is a great treat, especially when you’re visiting someone out of town. Our coffee shop does a great job of adding in teas, candies, and some little extras that fill the basket with useful – and delicious – goodies. And, unlike baskets from the chain coffee houses, they are local and unique. Plus, they aren’t stuffed with just filler – what you see is what you get in these gifts.

Coffee Basket by Greene's Beans

Plus, at my local shop, they offer different varieties depending on your needs; they come in coffee-lovers, tea-lovers, chocolate-lovers, and breakfast. You’ll see I chose the latter, which has an awesome mix of stuff!

Kitchen Baskets

This year, we wanted to give my grandparents something special, yet practical. So, we built our kitchen-loving grandma a basket full of goodies that she can use while cooking up her next meal for the whole family. Almost everything pictured – including the box – is from TJ Maxx (which could also be substituted for Marshall’s or HomeGoods). We wanted to get her a new cookbook since she’s been looking for some inspiration lately. And, as someone who is a little recipe-obsessed, I know a new cookbook is an amazing gift, even if it’s just to get a couple of fresh ideas.

So, we found Ina Garten, and wrapped it up with some Italian pasta, quality olive oil, spices, garlic stuffed olives, vanilla, and jam. Topped off with some dollar store cellophane, we built our own gift basket of gourmet – yet useful – ingredients for a fraction of the price.

Mason Jars

This is my original this Christmas – personalized gift jars. Mason jars are trending, and when I found them at the dollar store, I wanted to put together something special for my best friends for our gift exchange. We had a $15 price cap and I usually see that as a bargain hunting challenge rather than a limitation. So, I stuffed $15 worth of goodies into my mason jar, all with sentimental value.

The important thing for me was to add items that they could use, and would like, rather than little trinkets that are actually junk someone would throw out. I also added in a tea light in case they wanted to turn the mason jar into a candle once all of the mini gifts were in use. Some of the stuff I was able to buy in “value” packs (since I know I’ll be using some of these things anyway) so I had some huge cost savings per item. The Essie nail polish was my only splurge, but every girl needs a new color.

Here’s what I included:

Soft lips lip balm (Target, $2)
Palm Rabbit Wine Stopper (HomeGoods, $1.50)
Smirnoff mini ($2)
Essie nail polish (Target, $7)
Chai Tea (Green’s Beans, $2)
Lindt candy ($.75)
Tea Light Candle (HomeGoods, $.50)

And, to make it more sentimental, I dug up some old photos of the three of us and cut them to fit inside the jar lid. The mason jar ring frames and secures the photo perfectly and adds a little extra touch of nostalgia.

That’s Danielle, Nicole, and me in summer of 2002 on our school trip to Quebec. Funny to think that 10 and a half years later, we’re getting ready for Nicole’s wedding! Despite our horrible fashion sense at 13, I guess I should have known that we would be bridesmaids one day.

Topped off with some ribbon (also a dollar store find), I knew this was a gift worthy of memories with my childhood friends.

Doggie Basket

For the loved one who has a furry loved one, a pet basket will make them say “awwww.” We put this together which is a combination of a Christmas present for Olive and a “welcome home” present for our newest addition, Rosie.

Most of the items are from HomeGoods/Marshalls/TJ Maxx (noticing a pattern here?). This basket includes a dog bed ($15), dog bowl ($5), treats jar ($8), and gourmet dog cookies ($12) as seen on Urban Olive!

And of course, this gift got the ultimate approval from Olive herself (although Rosie and Lily forced her to share).

What’s the best gift basket you’ve given or received?

DIY Wine Cork Board

Sweet Revenge

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The Friday before the storm hit, Tom and I decided to take advantage of one of the few days we didn’t have plans and have a date night downtown. We met in TriBeCa at a restaurant we found on Restaurant.com called Trattoria Cinque. Their philosophy is the five best of everything in Italian cuisine, so the menu has five pastas, five dinners, five appetizers, etc. Tom and I both ordered the specials. I had Malfacti – a large gnocchi-type pasta with spinach and a cream sauce. It was a heavy meal, but delicious. (The picture doesn’t do it justice although I did do a double-take when I first saw it.) Tom had the Papardelle of the day, with oxtail ragu. It was very different, but very good – kind of tasted like a sauce made from beef stew.

Malfacti at Trattoria Cinque

Overall, the meal was a little pricey even after the Restaurant.com gift certificate, but it is TriBeCa and the atmosphere was great.

Afterwards, we had to walk to SoHo to refill our Nespresso pods (I know, very high class errands to run) so we stopped at a dessert place on the way home that I wanted to try for so long.

Sweet Revenge

Sweet Revenge is a wine and cupcake bar that was featured on Food Network. The menu matches your cupcake to the perfect wine pairing.

Wine & Cupcake Pairings at Sweet Revenge

I had the “Sweet Revenge” cupcake with chocolate and peanut butter, paired with a Malbec. Tom had the special, Pumpkin Spice, paired with a Malbec as well. (He didn’t opt for the suggested pairing since it was a white wine. You know what they I say, you don’t drink white until you’re out of red.)

Cupcakes and Wine – what more do you need on a Friday in NYC?

It was also the perfect location to get inspiration for my entry in the Cupcake Vineyards “Share Deliciously” contest. I snapped this for Instagram.

The “Sweet Revenge” Cupcake paired with Malbec

I loved the atmosphere – very yuppy and open to the street, with adorable rustic décor. The place was crowded, but they did a great job shuffling people in and out so you had just enough time to sit and enjoy your dessert. And of course the food was great. It was towards the end of the night so I’m sure we didn’t get the freshest cupcakes, but it was still a great way to end a foodie-filled Friday.

Sweet Revenge | Soho

Some Wine Tips and a Summer Salad

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I’m a self-professed wino and despite my family’s impeccable taste for wine, I tend to find something affordable and stick to it. I consider myself to have decent taste (well, at least for my age) and I’m a HUGE fan of Trader Joe’s Two Buck Chuck. My sister and I recently realized that it tastes significantly ~~more expensive~~ better on the second day so I try to open the bottle and let it decant for as long as possible. I recently bought an aerator and this is one wine where it truly makes a difference.

Anyway, my sister sent me an article from the New York Times on Memorable Bottles of Wine for $20. I actually haven’t tried any of these, but it’s definitely a good reference guide! My top picks for affordable wine (just from my own experience) are below. (Prices are just estimated.)

Layer Cake – ($15) the Primitivo is an excellent Italian wine that proves screw-top wine can be classy.
Apothic Red – ($11) this California blend is my favorite wine, prices aside. It has that thick blackberry taste and I’m pretty much in love.
Dogajolo Toscano – ($10) characterized as a “super Tuscan” this is one my family has been drinking for a while and it never disappoints.

Disclaimer: I clearly don’t drink white wine … unless it’s in sangria or I’m using it to cook. My father always told me: “You don’t drink white unless you’re out of red.” It’s just the way I was raised.

What are some of your favorite budget-friendly wines?

On to today’s recipe….

My cook book shelf is not very diverse. In addition to my personal compilation of recipes, I have 2 of Giada’s books and 2 from Barefoot Contessa – what can I say, I know what I like! So, rather than turning to Pinterest for the latest dinner ideas, I pulled one of these off the shelf and made one of the recipes I’ve been meaning to try this summer – Barefoot Contessa’s Watermelon & Arugula Salad. I only made slight modifications, which are included below.

Watermelon & Arugula Salad

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa’s How Easy is That?

Ingredients

1/2 pound baby arugula leaves
2 pounds seedless watermelon, 3/4-inch-diced (I used ¼ of a large watermelon)
1/3 cup good olive oil
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1 tbsp honey
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2-pound chunk Parmesan cheese

Directions

Place the arugula and watermelon in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper. Pour enough dressing on the arugula to moisten. Toss well and place on salad plates.

With a very sharp knife or a vegetable peeler, shave the Parmesan into large shards and sprinkle them on the arugula and watermelon.

*If the watermelon tastes too salty, sprinkle some additional lemon juice on top.