Holiday Wine Advice

( Wine? Why yes I think I must! )

No doubt you have sorted through your share of holiday wine pairing and serving advice this time of year for many years. This year’s articles are making their rounds and there are a couple of things I look for that keep me reading. First, a personal story. Who are the people and how does your holiday table work when they all get together? Second, a range of choices for different foods from different places, different tastes as well as something local. And lastly, first hand feedback on what worked and what didn’t.
 
Why? Because I am looking for things to try at home where I get to be in the experience with my guests.

I make a wide variety of wines specifically to have different flavors around to pair with our meals. We also buy many different local wines that work well with regional dishes. We pull out all kinds of gems for holiday gatherings and often decide on making mulled wines, spiced wine punches or fruity sparklers that taste like holiday desserts as well.

When we get together with family for Thanksgiving we pick several white and several red wines to have with dinner. Margot, Celeste, Chris, David, Eloy and Gerry are all over the wine. Oh, and me too. We might warm up with snacks and cocktails and my brother’s-in-law are usually working on the beers. The larger the gathering the more likely it is to be a traditional turkey, stuffing, potato, bread meal which works with both red and white wine. Last year we opened Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet from Sterling Vineyards. Both were good tasters before dinner and were pleasing with dinner, but not blockbusters. I served Pinot Noir from my own collection and a Chambourcin from Connecticut Valley Winery in CT. The Pinot is fruity with some oak and worked very subtly with the food. The Chambourcin was the best pairing with dinner and sadly we only had one bottle. Something about the spiciness of it worked with turkey and gravy. We bridged dinner and dessert with Diamond from Candia Vineyards. By the time we got to dessert my tastes buds had been tweaked with some light white wine and were ready for more powerful flavors. For dessert I opened bottles of homemade Riesling and plum ice wine and served them with apple and squash pies. I don’t actually remember dessert. I was happy.
 

( Early 2010 vintage white wines being served )

Pairing with diverse meals is the ultimate challenge. This year we are going to try some fruitier white wines like a medium dry Riesling, and adding some dimension with a floral Viognier. I may bring some red wine to where we are going this year, but our hosts are not typically that interested. Easier pairing for me! I am planning on serving the sweet dessert wines with sharp cheeses early in the day as a surprise. Coffee with dessert this year, especially for the driver!

For our holiday open house I am making a mulled wine using the following recipe:

Ancient Fire Mulled Wine

1 bottle red wine, good but inexpensive

½ cup water

¼ cup superfine sugar
2 large cinnamon sticks
3 cloves
3 allspice berries
2 lemon slices
1 orange slice
3 dashes orange bitters

Boil the water, sugar, spices and citrus and then take it off heat and allow it to steep for ½ hour. Add the wine and slowly reheat to below boiling. Add bitters and mix. Strain and serve hot.

The aromas from the mulled wine begin to fill the house as soon as it warms up. The citrus and spices hang in the sweet air. It should be semi-sweet with a good sour tang and some heat from the spices.

 
When you get to choosing beverages for your next holiday meal make sure you keep it personal, explore the local choices and have a range of offerings to be served depending on how the event goes.

Here are several recommendations from recent tastings that can be used throughout the holidays:

• Travessia Vidal Blanc – I felt I got some residual sugar off of this and it was just enough to round out the body and immediately made me think of food.
• Piper-Heidsieck Brut NV – a good bottle of bubbly is a must for some. this was light and fruity with a clean finish
• Si Soave – very light making it a great starter and a good match for lighter creamed dishes and seafood
• Red Truck – Big House Red in a box. 3 L of a medium bodied red blend with fruit, wood and a clean finish. We had this at a party and it worked both socially and with the food. Great value!

Here are a couple of holiday wine links that have great stories, tasty options and things to try at home.

Rick Bakas - How To: Pair WIne With Thanksgiving Dinner and his 2010 Picks

eat. live. travel. write. - Mardi share's wine picks from Neil and great dishes for a Canadian harvest celebration

Cheers!

--Jason

Frank Cooked It Up And We Paired It Up!

( Kath and I enjoying the party. )

Kathy Nelson, the owner of Salon Outlooks in Manchester, definitely knows how to plan a fun event. Combine the talents of two of her clients and the energy of quite a few others and what do you get? A great Italian cooking demonstration and a few good food and wine pairings.

On Friday November 12th Frank Carpentino walked us through a selection of Italian dishes using his philosophy of “no recipes”. Margot and I were given a rough idea of the ingredients that would be in the dishes and were challenged to recommend wines to pair with them. Our challenge included making recommendations that would be available from the local liquor store as well as several from our own collection.

We kept with the Italian theme and recommended the following wines available locally:

• Folonari Soave 2008 - very light body, subtle fruitiness, very dry & crisp
• Ruffino Chianti Classico Aziano 2007 - ripe fruit, earth, very complex for a lighter red
• Martini & Rossi Asti NV - sweet sparkler with great fruit flavors

We added the following wines from the Ancient Fire collection:

• 2009 Pinot Grigio - medium bodied, dry, grilled pear/melon flavors
• 2008 Amarone - full bodied, red fruit and oak, unique aromas
• 2009 Riesling Ice Wine (we don’t have any homemade Italian dessert wine)

Frank has an impressive list of food accomplishments and he easily kept the attention of the audience as he prepared his meals.

( A solid base for a great dish! )

Some of his credits are:

• The development and instruction of a Basic Cooking Program as part of the Derry Adult Education Program.
• The development & instruction of a basic cooking program for school age children
• Prior Head Cook for a Middle School with a population of over 1,000
• Cook for Passaconaway Country Club & Hidden Creek Country Club

Frank started with a salad dressed with an oil and vinegar based dressing. I had hoped the Soave might work here but alas it was too light. The Pinot Grigio worked better, but the dressing did have some character and a good wine pairing would be tough.

Moving from salad to the main course Frank prepared pasta and fresh vegetables, which consisted of onions, peppers, mushrooms and broccoli in a light sauce of tomatoes, butter and white wine. Several of us found the Pinot Grigio worked better than the Chianti making my initial recommendation the winner. The score is all tied up!

The next dish was Frank’s North End Pasta, a tomato based sauce with sausage, onions, peppers and garlic over fettuccini. For this dish either of the red wines would work and which one exactly would be the best would depend on individual taste. The Amarone was the winner creating a nice bump for us coming from the homemade collection.

A shrimp scampi pasta dish came out next. My initial pairing advice was toward the white wines and the Soave primarily. It worked and people agreed. Score one more!

The last dish was chicken, vegetables in a rose (white and red wine) sauce. I didn’t actually eat this one because I was too busy serving wine. I think both of the whites and the Chianti were pairings people enjoyed, but I wouldn’t declare a win here since I didn’t work hard enough on it.

At this point everyone was feeling pretty full, but there was one last dish. Dessert. Cannoli to boot. Frank enlisted help from the audience to get these made and I prepared the ice wine and Asti for accompaniment. Both wines paired well with the lightly sweet dessert, but I think folks enjoyed the wines more on their own. Points for everyone.

This was a hugely rewarding experience for Margot and I. We got another chance to try our hand at food and wine pairing and in the process we created a bunch of smiles. Frank was commanding in the kitchen, with his passion and energy showing through.

Renee thanked us profusely for introducing her to Amarone, a style of wine she had yet to have enjoyed. We received other feedback which was truly humbling. We make wine at home for fun and always enjoy the fact that it brings others happiness when we share it.

Food and beverage pairing is a combination of art and science. I am always willing to to be wrong as long as I learn something in the process. Tonight I did OK, and learned that salad dressing can be a formidable adversary and that the the sauce of an Italian dish really makes the difference, almost without regard to whatever else is in the dish.

(The Outlooks crew with food and wine smiles! )

Cheers!

--Jason

Beerfest! Twenty Five Beer Samples in Less Than Four Hours

Twenty Five Beer Samples in Less Than Four Hours!

Sounds easy right? There’s a couple of things that turn out to make it not so easy.

• The beer is good. Craft and small batch beers with lots of character and higher alcohol content.
• Evaluating each beer while enjoying them does take time.
• Meeting other beer geeks really gets the conversation stories going!

My friend Richard and I attended the New Hampshire Brewers Festival in Manchester yesterday. Quite a few local and regional breweries were on hand pouring an incredible lineup of beers. Each attendee was given 12 beer tickets which taken literally meant you could try 12 beers. Richard and I took a more tactical approach and combined our tickets, splitting each sample allowing us to be able to try up to 24 beers. There were enough choices that this was a very good plan.

I’m not going to bore with tasting notes on the all the beers I ended up trying but I will list their brand and style so that folks can lookup them up if they like. I will provide notes and food pairing considerations on several of the highlights. Where noted the breweries are based in New Hampshire.

1. White Birch Belgian Style Pale Ale (NH)
2. Portsmouth Brewing Black Cat Stout (NH)
3. Long Trail Blackberry Wheat
4. Woodstock Brewery Wassail
5. Sam Adams Holiday Porter
6. Moat Mountain Cask Drawn Imperial Stout (NH)
7. Milly’s Infamous Pumpkin Ale (NH)
8. Gritty Christmas Ale (NH)
9. White Birch Indulgence (NH)
10. Long Trail Pale Ale
11. Smuttynose IPA (NH)
12. Sebago Local Harvest Ale
13. Brooklyn Local 1
14. Brooklyn Imperial Chocolate Stout
15. Brooklyn Local 2
16. Brooklyn Brown Ale
17. Brooklyn EIPA
18. White Birch Elysium (NH)
19. Flying Goose IPA (NH)
20. Milly’s Oatmeal Stout (NH)
21. Shipyard Prelude
22. Sebago Frye’s Leap IPA
23. Peak Organic Espresso Amber Ale
24. Narragansett Lager
25. Run of the Mill XPA

Best Beer of the Day – Brooklyn Local 1

Local 1 is a Belgian Pale Ale in the strong category due to the 9% alcohol content. This beer is bottle conditioned which means a bottle fermentation that introduces additional flavors and textures while carbonating the bottle. The aromas and flavors of this beer are distinctive against a lineup of typical American beers, but when cast in the shadow of its Belgian relatives is not unique. The flavors are of yeast, bread and malt with a nice fruity/hoppy finish and a bitter cleansing hit at the end. Some alcohols is noticeable.

This beer was used in the cheese pairing with Cabot Pepper Jack. It definitely worked quite well, but was not the best beer and cheese pairing we tried. I believe this is a very food friendly beer and would be the beverage end of many great pairings.

Best Stout – White Birch Indulgence / Elysium

Indulgence is a jet black stout (although not according to the WBB web site) with the best aroma of a stout that I have ever smelled. The coffee and chocolate flavors were so amazing that Richard said “it has a shot of espresso in it.” I called it coffee on steroids.

We didn’t get confirmation of this but we believe the Elysium was a barrel aged version of Indulgence. The aromas and flavors of coconut and vanilla were present something I suspect comes from the influence of the wood.

Both of these beers are excellent but not something you would drink a lot of in one sitting. I do believe both of these beers would be excellent with dark chocolate desserts.

Best IPA – Flying Goose IPA

This beer was recommended to us by Bert from Bert’s Better Beers and his friends. These guys know beer so it is no surprise that we found their tip a hit!

The aromas from the beer made me think of what it would be like to stand in a hop patch. The color is a beautiful orange/gold. Lots of pine and citrus flavors in each sip and a clean finish.

I could see pairing this beer with salad with a citrus-infused dressing or stuffed baked squash with savory herbs, nuts and dried fruit.

Best Seasonal Beer – Milly's Infamous Pumpkin Ale

This was another beer that was recommended to us. We got to talking about seasonal and flavored beers with a couple guys we were sharing a table with. Shipyard Pumpkinhead was bandied about as the best of the pumpkin beers but due to high demand they wouldn’t be serving this day. Milly’s Tavern was serving their pumpkin beer and with a sugar and spice rimmed glass it didn’t disappoint. It has a slightly sweet and malty aftertaste with plenty of pumpkin flavors, more so than I had recalled in any pumpkin beer I had ever had. The sugar and spice rimmed glass was a nice touch.

This to me is a steller drinker on its own, but paired with some squash pie and whipped cream might take both to another level.

( The line at White Birch began early and was ever present. )

Best Brewery – White Birch Brewing

I can never say enough the beers from White Birch. I started buying them in 2009 at Jasper’s Homebrew in Nashua and I have yet to have a bottle that I didn’t think was some of the best beer I had ever had. White Birch beers have big aromas and flavors and require attention to take them in. I like this in a beer, but truly understand that these types of beers are not for everyone.

Best Food Pairing – Cabot Horseradish Cheese with Sebago Local Harvest Ale

The cheese and beer pairing hosted by DrinkCraftBeer.com and Cabot Cheese was a lot of fun. With a lubricated audience the hosts had a tough time delivering their information, but they pressed on. Four pairings were offered and the best was the Cabot Horseradish cheese with Sebago Local Harvest Ale. The freshness of the well hopped beer was a great opposition to the spicy horseradish flavors in the cheese. The creamy cheese and a citrus finish from the beer created wonderful bite.

Biggest Surprise – Narragansett Lager

With a 120 year story in each can of Narragansett Lager I had no idea what to expect. I’m too young to have enjoyed any of the production prior the closure of the original incarnation of the brewery, and this event was the first time I had actually come across any from the new version of the brand. Pouring as a light golden colored lager I was unsure as to whether the same old Bud/Miller/Coors tastes were awaiting me. But not so! This beer is very bright and refreshing with flavors of grains and a nice clean finish. Very smooth and definitely drinkable. I would recommend this to folks who want to drink a little piece of New England beer history.

( Do I look like I'm having fun? )

About halfway through our adventure we checked out the BBQ and Sesame/Ginger chicken tenders from the Pattie Shack which is located on Elm. The Sesame/Ginger paired nice with the flavors in the Brooklyn Local 1. The Local 1 also helped temper the heat from the BBQ tenders. From the looks of it the Pattie Shack makes burgers, tenders and fries with flavor combinations and topping to satisfy everyone.

We also ran into Joan from The Drinkery, our new beer and wine store in Londonderry. She was on the hunt for new beers to stock. Doesn’t homework suck?

This event delivered on its advertised promises with lots of beer, decent food and entertainment. Richard and I both had a lot of fun and were exposed to quite a few new styles of locally made beer for future enjoyment. If you haven’t ever attended this type of event before and love great beer, keep an eye out in the Hippo Press for future activities.

 Cheers!

--Jason

Slow Cooker Pork & Ethos Merlot

( Hungry? )

A few years back Margot and I both used the Weight Watchers program to lose weight and get to a manageable food lifestyle. Writing a food and wine blog makes that hard, but we are much more capable of intertwining healthy eating now so we no longer actively count points. During that time Margot picked up the “In Good Time - 123 Slow Cooker Recipes To Come Home To” Weight Watchers recipe book. We’ve used it so many times it has pages falling out of it! The recipes are really that good and when I work from home on Wednesdays I have plenty of time to have something going in the slow cooker.

This week I picked a recipe we hadn’t yet tried for Braised Pork Loin with Port and Prunes which can be found on page 47 of the book. We pick our weekly menus on Sunday to aid in the grocery shopping, but this also gives me time to think about beverage pairings. As I thought about what to drink with the pork I remembered we had a bottle of Ethos Merlot that we brought back from Chateau Ste. Michelle in May. We tasted it during the wonderful private tasting we had and it knocked both of our socks off! This is the best Merlot I have ever had, and one of the best bottles of red wine I have ever had the privilege to taste. We’ll get back to the wine in a minute.

A few weeks back Margot took advantage of a buy-one-get-one deal on pork loin roasts. It ended up being for the big ones so we have adapted this recipe for a roast 1/3 larger than the recipe called for. We also used two homemade wines instead of port. For the sweet component we used a wine we made in 2007 that we called Dark Magic made from grocery store grapes. Early on it was very funky, but it has mellowed now and the residual sugar makes for a great taste. We added some depth with some 2010 Chilean Malbec. This is from an early bottled 3 gallons that ended up being a bonus from the batch. It is young and not refined yet, but it is very drinkable with distinctive flavors and aromas. The color is very dark and I thought the richness would be fantastic in this dish.

Braised Pork Loin with Port and Prunes

1 (4½ lb) boneless pork loin
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp ground mustard
1 ½ tsp dried sage
¾ tsp dried thyme
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 ½ cups sliced onion
2 leeks, sliced thin (white part only)
2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
½ cup dry red wine
1 cup sweet red wine
1 dry red wine
2/3 cup vegetable broth
20 pitted prunes
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp water

The process is pretty simple. The pepper, salt and spices are used to create a rub for the roast which should be cut in half crosswise. After applying the rub, heat the oil in a large pot. Once the oil is hot, brown the roast pieces on all sides. When browned move the roast to the slow cooker. I usually spray my slow cooker insert with some cooking spray to prevent sticking.

I added some additional oil to the pot used to brown the roast and then added the onion, leek and carrot, sautéing them for about 8 minutes. Add the wine and stock and scrape the bottom of the pot clean. Pour the wine and vegetable mixture over the pork in the slow cooker, add the prunes and bay leaves and cover. I cooked this on high for two hours and then low for another five hours. Make sure to remove the bay leaves before continuing.

( Ready to cook! )

When you are ready to serve it remove the pork to a heat-proof dish and keep warm. Transfer the contents of the slow cooker to a large pot and bring to a boil. Use the water and cornstarch to thicken the sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

( This is what it looked like after I took it out of the cooker and it had sat in a warm oven for a few minutes. )

This dish was a jackpot. The pork was so tender that removing it from the slow cooker was a challenge. The combination of flavors was wonderful with the prunes and red wine providing a clear foundation of fruit and subtle sweetness. We served it alongside baked acorn squash that had been basted with olive oil and maple syrup. Incredible!

The wine didn’t fail us on our second taste. From the moment we smelled it we recalled our mutual agreement from the tasting. This bottle is from the 2005 vintage and my understanding is that it should be tough to find these days unless you are in Woodinville, WA! It has intense aromas of cherry and plum. You’d have to have the worst cold in the world not to be able catch the aromas. It is mouth-coating and silky, something I could sit and savor for far too long. The fruit flavors are what you notice first and there is slight gaminess to it that went really well with the pork. The wine is very balanced with noticeable tannins, but not in an overpowering way. The wine enhanced the perception of the spices and flavors in the food without losing itself. I don’t think I could easily have picked a better wine to pair with, although I am up for the challenge!

Cheers!

--Jason

Sorority Sisters and Wine, The More things Change…

The more they stay the same. Only now rather than standing in a fraternity house basement and drinking Boones Farm we are in the wine tasting room at Chamard Vineyards. We still laughed and had a good time but the talk was more about careers, kids and husbands instead of dating and campus gossip (okay there was still some gossip). The wine had changed quite a bit too. Gone was the $1.99 bottle of Snow Creek Berry or Strawberry Hill Boones. Now we were enjoying our $10 tasting of Chardonnay and Merlot.

Located in Clinton Connecticut, Chamard Vineyards planted their first grapes in the spring of 1984. Their first wine, a Chardonnay, was released in 1988. Since then they have expanded to Cabernet, Merlot and some Pinot Noir, which is used primarily for blending. Our wine server explained that the non-estate grapes are sourced from Long Island. Currently the vineyard produces 6,000 cases annually. The vineyard was beautiful especially on a gorgeous fall day.

The tasting room was quite packed when we were there. We waited a bit to get to the bar, but the service was excellent and the atmosphere perfect. The $10 tasting consisted of five wines and we evaluated each. Those that are listed as “Estate” are from grapes grown on the premises. My primary co-taster was Julie, who along with her husband John, has become one of our wine buddies over the past few years.

2004 Chardonnay: With a fruity aroma that had a hint of honey this chardonnay has a “touch of oak”. That oak comes though as a slightly bitter vanilla taste. Julie was surprised that the finish reminded her of one that would be expected of a Shiraz as it was somewhat spicy and acidic.

2005 Estate Reserve Chardonnay – As advertised this has a very beautiful gold color. The aroma was of butter and dried apricots. The group agreed that this was a good “back deck” Chardonnay, meaning it is light and easy to drink. Though not overly memorable on its own, this is an example of a good delicate food pairing wine.

2006 Cabernet Franc – Both Julie and I were surprised by the brick red almost brown color of this wine. It had aromas of dark berries and chocolate and reminded me of a strong stout. This was very hot, almost to the point of overpowering the flavors. The body of the wine was quite thin. After our tasting many of us ordered a glass of the hot mulled wine which was delicious. We were surprised to find out that this was wine was the base for it. Everyone agreed that when used in that manner it was much better.

2006 Merlot – With a wonderful red color and strong aromas of licorice, leather and tobacco this wine appeared promising. The strong tannins and thicker body lived up to the aroma and color. This was a nice table red, but both Julie and I agreed that we would not have guessed it was a Merlot.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon – With an aroma of dark cherries and a pleasant amount of spice this was the highlight of the tasting, to which everyone agreed. This would serve as an excellent pairing wine but also had the strength to stand on its own.

Overall this was a nice way to spend a fall day. We finished the outing sitting at a picnic table and talking. With a chill in the air, good friends and a warm glass of mulled wine we could not help but reflect how far we had come, and how much better this was then a fraternity basement and a bottle of Boones.

Cheers,

Margot

Foodie Night In Dessert Party

I don’t make Foodie Night In (#FNIChat) every Monday but every occasion I do it is a great time. I took an early bus yesterday and was able to check in after I finished up some work stuff. The topic was desserts. I know a few things about dessert and can even attest to having lost quite a few pounds that were 100% dessert based!

I was following the tweets and answering some of the questions when one came by about the best gourmet dessert ever. It’s a hard question, but for me #1 is warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream. Always loved it, always will. The best part is that I make it so I know what to expect. I followed that up with two cheesecakes, both of which Margot is the master maker of, Triple Citrus with an Orange Liqueur Sauce and Peanut Butter Chocolate with a Fudge Sauce. That got the tweets going. Recipes were demanded! I promised I would dig them up when I got home and post them.

Both of these cheesecakes were first made years before we started our blog and Margot hasn’t revisited them since. Thus we don’t have any pictures. You will have to imagine them for now.

Triple Citrus Cheesecake with Orange Liqueur Sauce

1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs (crush with a rolling pin & crackers inside zip-top bag)
½ cup melted butter
3 packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp each of lemon, lime, orange juice (fresh)
1 Tbsp each lemon, lime, orange zest (try not to get white pith when zesting)
3 eggs

Mix the butter and cracker crumbs. Press into the bottom of a spring-form pan.

Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together until very well blended. Mix in juice and zest. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing each until incorporated.

Pour filling over crust. Bake in a 350 oven for 45-50 minutes. Also place an oven safe bowl containing hot water in the oven with the cake. This will help keep the top from cracking. Cool completely.

Orange Liqueur Sauce

2 tbsp brown sugar
1 freshly-squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp Grand Marnier
1 tbsp Cointreau
1/2 tbsp brandy

Melt the sugar into the orange juice over medium-low heat. Add the liqueur’s and cook until thickened, only a few minutes. Drizzle over a slice of the cheesecake and serve!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake with Fudge Sauce

2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (we use Oreos)
½ cup melted butter
3 packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
3 eggs
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, warmed

Mix the butter and cracker crumbs. Press into the bottom of a spring-form pan.

Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together until very well blended. Mix in chocolate. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing each until incorporated. Blend in the peanut butter.

Pour filling over crust. Bake in a 325 oven for 55-60 minutes. Also place an oven safe bowl containing hot water in the oven with the cake. This will help keep the top from cracking. Cool completely.

Fudge Sauce

4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups of white sugar
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)

Melt the chocolate, butter and salt together as you normally would. Some people have a traditional double boiler, some people use the microwave and then a sauce pan. Add the sugar in six shifts, mixing it in completely each time. Slowly mix in the evaporated milk until the color and texture is consistent. Watch the heat during the whole process so you don’t burn the chocolate. Drizzle over a slice of the cheesecake and serve!

OK, we admit the two cheesecakes above are rich and decadent and the additions of the sauces makes eating them something to plan time for, but the question was best gourmet desserts, right?

Cheers!

--Jason

The Drinkery - Local Source for Great Wine & Beer

On Wednesday when we are out with the MYPN crew we met Kristen Vanhorn from Martignetti Companies, a distributor of beer, wine and spirits to New Hampshire businesses. During the conversation I mentioned my challenge of not having (or so I thought) a local shop with a good craft beer selections. Not so, said Kristen. Have you checked out The Drinkery in Londonderry, right next to the Tupelo Music Hall? Nope!

I stopped in at The Drinkery on Friday hoping to find Joan, the owner, and check out the selection. If she was agreeable I was also hoping to get some backstory, photos and write up a post. For me this will be a new favorite destination and I hope I can spread the word, because the selection really is that good. Rogue, Sierra Nevada, Brew Dog, White Birch (NH), Victory, Dogfish, Ommegang, Brooklyn Brewery, Allagash, Unibroue and the list goes on. Many of the familiar beers from Sams, Smuttynose, Woodstock, Shipyard, etc. are also in stock.

( The welcoming committee is very friendly! )

Joan opened The Drinkery in the current space in April of this year after Bella Vino (a wine shop) moved to Windham. Previously Joan had been working for the Tupelo Music Hall in Salisbury, MA. When things changed there she found she had extra time and asked her husband what he thought about her opening a wine and beer shop. If only everything was that simple!

( A view of the main shop. )

Joan said the key to her steady increase in business is the BYO policy of the Tupelo Music Hall. And the key product is great beer. On show night she has a good deal of traffic and the selection creates return visits and solid word of mouth. She is also advertising in the Hippo Press which does have food & beverage readers and is pretty much the only reason I pick it up every week.

( Gotta love the fact it's called the "Beer Cave"! )

I asked Joan what here vision for the store was and got a fantastic quote. “To keep as much good beer and wine in the smallest space I can!” Spoken like a true New England small business owner. Joan is planning on focusing on as many local producers as she can, especially for food products which as classified as a convenience store she must carry. Gotta love rules!

( A selection of newly arrived products, food and beverages. )

The Drinkery has a web site which lists the brands/producers of the beers they carry. I personally saw the unopened cases of holiday beers including several of the sought after styles. I’ll be going there before you will to get mine. Hands off!!

( One of my mystery beers. A sour rye beer made in Hooksett, NH. )

If you sign up for the newsletter on the web site you will be notified in advance of special events and deals. For example the recent special has been mystery cases of 750ml craft beers for $50. What, twelve large format bottles of really good beer from all over the country at almost 50% off? Joan expects specials to run seasonally, but their form and price is subject to change as the business evolves. She had a few cases left, one of which I liberated, and expected they would be gone in a few days. Sign up for the newsletter so you don’t miss out!

( Another mystery beer. Haven't cracked this one yet. )

The Drinkery is located at 2 Young Road in Londonderry, NH. They are only open Wednesday through Friday from 1 PM into the early evening Wed/Thu and 9 PM on Fri/Sat. They are also open for every Tupelo Music Hall performance.

Cheers!

--Jason

MYPN Presents Liquid Kitchen

The Manchester Young Professionals Network (MYPN) is a Manchester, NH area networking group that been in existence since 2004. I have been an inactive member for a number of years, but we fixed that this week. MYPN hosted an event entitled Liquid Kitchen, part of their Better Living Series, on November 3rd at the restaurant XO on Elm. Kristen Vanhorn from Martignetti was on hand to show us how to make some cocktails from several new products available through the New Hampshire Liquor Stores and Martignetti. XO also whipped up two different appetizers that were definitely not the “same-old-thing”, but I couldn't tell you what they were now! A capacity crowd packed the XO conference center for some networking and drink talk!

Margot doesn’t like networking events. With her very outgoing personality many people wonder why. I on the other hand am very comfortable at these types of events, but my normal mode is much less social. I guess that is why we match, we are both weird.

We checked in, found a placed to sit and struck up a conversation with the first folks we made eye contact with. Stupidly I didn’t get names, our friends Wayne & Meredith are going to be pissed at us, and I should have because one of the ladies we were talking too is friends with them through the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). We laughed that we know Wayne & Meredith through my being a co-worker of his a few years ago but have never hiked with them, something we also do, nor met their AMC friends. Small world.

Kristen (to the left) fired up the cocktail machine and served us the following drinks. We asked permission to reprint her recipes so that you all could try them or make variations to see what happens.

Her cocktails contained two recent additions to the Martignetti product line including the Cold River Gin and Vodkas produced in Maine, and the Cabin Fever maple flavored whisky made nearby in Chester, NH.

Nor’easter

1 ¼ oz Cold River Gin
4 oz tonic water
¼ simple syrup
2 orange wedges
1 lemon wedge
6 mint leaves

Muddle the mint and orange wedges lightly with gin. Add ice, lemon wedge, tonic water and simple syrup. Mix. Garnish with a mint sprig.

This drink was made in small plastic cups which made the proportions hard to get right. If I made it again in a single serving size I am betting I would have a much better impression of it.

Blueberry Fog Martini

1 oz Cold River Blueberry Vodka
1 oz Cold River Vodka
½ oz lemon juice
½ oz lavender simple syrup

Combine ingredients in a shaker and shake with ice. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with fresh Maine blueberries.
This drink was the hit. The combination of flavors and the balance between the sour and sweet were fantastic. Getting or making some blueberry vodka is now on my list!

Maple Mint Fever

1 ½ oz Cabin Fever Maple Whisky, warmed

Dollop of fresh mint whipped cream

This one didn’t work for me. The whisky on its own is interesting, but something I would end up wanting to mix a drink with rather than drink straight. I have wanted to try it so this was a great opportunity. I think I am going to get some inexpensive bourbon and good maple syrup and make something similar to explore drink recipes with.

The rest of the evening was solid networking. Our note taking and snapping of pictures garnered us some attention, resulting lots of folks hearing about Ancient Fire Wines and me running out of cards. We talked with Kristen for a few minutes and she shared with us the name of new wine & craft beer shop in Londonderry, The Drinkery. Check back tomorrow for a post on the Drinkery and some info on their incredible selection and prices. All and all we made great new connections that will likely get us exposed to more local events that we participate in and can share with all of you.

( Out enjoying some cocktails! )

( Smiles are a good thing at a networking event. )

If you live in the Manchester area and are looking to get out and network with young professionals working nearby you should definitely check out MYPN.

We'd like to thank Taylor Fetterman for taking some of the pictures. He is a the current Chairman of the MYPN Social Committee and had a camera malfunction before the event. He was very happy that we let him roam with the camera to get some shots for the group. We ended up with excellent photos for both of us!

Cheers!

--Jason

Election Week Beer Pairings

Everyone is drinking this week. Some in sorrow, some in celebration. No matter your politics this week we offer insight on several beers (some new to us) and how we paired them some grub!

First the beer notes.

La Chouffe Golden Ale with Spice

• A beautiful orange color with a sizable head that dissipates quickly.
• Pungent citrus aroma that was enhanced with air
• The body is creamy and the beer has medium carbonation
• I found the spices in the aftertaste whereas the malty and sweet flavors are easily found and were enhanced with a bit of air; a slightly sour aftertaste was identified
• Margot said the thought it smelled like orange/cranberry muffins

I picked the La Chouffe up at Boston Wine Exchange on Devonshire Street in Boston. They have a great craft beer selection. They also have wine and spirits and enough to look at that you might spend more time than you expected!

Ancient Fire 2009 Belgian White (homemade)

• Margot’s first comment was ginger aroma; I found citrus as well
• Very cloudy; by design
• A healthy head, also dissipates quickly
• A lemon/orange color with a creamy body and spice and orange flavors
• Moderate maltiness with a smooth finish 

Dieu du Ciel! Rosee d'Hibiscus

• A wonderful pink/red color with fruit and floral aromas
• Unfiltered; moderately crisp with a smooth finish
• Slightly bitter with flavors or cherry; minimal malt flavor

Our dinner consisted of honey/ginger chicken drumstick and curried baked sweet dumpling squash. We picked the beers specifically for spice or other flavors we thought might match well with the flavors in the food. We also picked lighter styles, wheat or golden ale beers that wouldn’t have massive flavors of their own that could drown out the food. Here’s what we experienced.

With the chicken the spices in La Chouffe were extended and more noticeable and the sweetness was enhanced. The malty flavors in the Ancient Fire Belgian White popped with the chicken and the overall creaminess of this beer created a wonderful smooth combination. The hibiscus beer was interesting because the floral aromas and fruit flavors added complexity to the honey and ginger.

With the squash the sour flavor in the finish of the La Chouffe was more prominent and was coupled with more citrus. The Ancient Fire selection presented an odd sharpness up front when paired with the squash, but it retains it flavors throughout. I found that the hibiscus beer was a bit more acidic/bitter with the squash and its flavors were lost. Margot felt that the beer balance the spicy and sweet flavors with the squash well.

I picked the La Chouffe as my best overall beer and pairings and Margot picked the Dieu du Ciel! As her best. The great thing about this type of experience is that unless you find serious contentions or flaws in the beers or food there really aren’t any bad pairings, just better ones!

Earlier in the week I met Cathy Huyghe from RedWhiteBoston at Bukowski’s (downtown Boston) for a couple of beers and to attempt some pairings. I started with the South Hampton Double White, a double strength white ale from NY State, and Cathy had the Great Divide Claymore Scotch Ale in hand. We talked about the similarities between beer, wine and cider and how pairing beers requires the same food and beverage knowledge as you need with wine. We looked over the menu and choose a couple of items and two new beers to pair with them. Cathy selected the Peanut Butter & Bacon burger which would be paired with the La Fin du Monde produced by Unibroue in Quebec. I chose the Stuffed Acorn Squash which was stuffed with couscous, candied walnuts, ginger, apple and herbs. To pair with the squash we selected the Founders Red Rye, a rye beer made in Michigan. The burger and La Fin du Monde didn’t end up being a great match, but when you still get to eat a burger and drink a beer does it really matter? The squash and rye beer pairing on the other hand worked really well. The spiciness from the rye matched well with the flavors in the stuffing and the sour flavors opposed the sweetness in the squash nicely. One out of two ain’t bad!

I would definitely recommend Bukowski’s for a beer. With over 100 selection and a rotating specials offering there is plenty to try. The food is good for a small bar, so stop by for a good time!

Cheers!

--Jason

The Myth about Social Media & Wine

OK, so anyone who is connected up with any measure of social media these days and also cares about wine is seeing a lot of chatter. All sorts of virtual events, TweetUps, reviews flying fast & furious, Facebook Like links everywhere, wineries schlepping for followers and the list goes on.

You may also be seeing lots of links being shared about how social media is changing the game and getting on board as a must do for wineries, distributors, stores, event promoters, bloggers, etc. What sense should be made of all of this?

First off, the only new things here are the communications technologies. The concepts around identifying a market, engaging that market, converting the associations into value and retaining the relationships are well heeled and something all B-School grads should be able to go off on a mile a minute. Not new, not game changing. Myth dispelled. Now to the real work.

That said, the advice is simple and clear. Add social media to your overall marketing plan, assuming you have one and if you don't; build one, to both cover the segment of your market that isn't old-school media focused AND to benefit from what the new technologies offer. At the end of the day no matter what method you use, engaging your customer will still be about getting their product or service into their hands. The true strength of any relationship is still going to involve one on one contact. Social media technologies help promote face time at events better than e-mail, the phone and flyers do. These technologies have the viral component as well, which might be a curse if your events have limits on attendance!

Twitter and Facebook have membership, but you still need to understand who you are targeting, why you are targeting them and what the specific message is. Your audience is still going to have stratifications requiring different messages and different methods of contact and relationship management. Social media also lets you watch your competition even more. Do that. See what they are doing well and determine for yourself if you think it would also work for you. Once again, not a new concept, just an old one made easier.

I have a day job, but I'm a food and wine blogger after hours. My marketing plan is fast and loose, but includes social media. I host wine tastings at my house as a way to engage my audience to share my wine-making and food & wine pairing knowledge with them. Where is all of this going? I surely don't know yet, but I can tell you one thing. I have lots of peers doing lots similar things and connecting with them (and keeping an eye on them) is all part of the game.

Cheers!

--Jason

Here are some recent links that came by that reinforce what I have observed and how all of this boils down to core business strategies for marketing and customer relations.

**VinTank Social Media Report - Nicely researched paper from May 2009

http://www.vintank.com/VinTank_SocialMediaReport.pdf

**Bakas Media - this guy has the chops and some good data.

The ROI of Social Media in the Wine Industry (pt. 1 of 2) - http://bakasmedia.com/?p=47
The ROI of Social Media in the Wine Industry (pt. 2 of 2) - http://bakasmedia.com/?p=72

**HubSpot - this isn't about wine specifically, but the title says it all!

Why Social Media is BS! - http://ht.ly/33MTb (There is a webinar on Nov. 5th if interested)

** New Yorker Article about Gary V - always gets a conversation going!

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2010/06/07/100607ta_talk_friend

** Steve Heimoff (Wine Enthusiast write) -  Not a fan of Social Media & wine

http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2010/02/09/backlash-against-social-media-gathers-steam/

**VinTank Report on Wine Apps for the iPhone - big topic these days

http://www.vintank.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/iPhonePulseReport.pdf

The Great Ancient Fire Cider Experiment

( I hope they enjoy what I am going to do with them! )

I first made hard cider in 2005. I had tried to make an apple wine the year before and it came out so badly it was never consumed. There is one bottle of it in my wine cellar though. I keep it there hoping it will be the worst bottle in my collection and everything else we make is better. It's not a very high bar though.

In 2007 I made 10 gallons of hard cider using a cider blend from a local farm-stand. Finding unpasteurized juice for retail sale took some looking, but in the end I found it. The recipe was pretty much thrown together from a few web sites and I was a bit hasty with it, although I was happy with the result. The cider ended up being dry, quite tart but with ample apple flavor. My choice to carbonate resulted in some fun times when some of the bottles really built up pressure. Needless to say the bottles we did get to drink were a hit and the batch didn't last long. I didn't make cider in 2008 which netted me some nasty feedback from the guys. Such is life!

In 2009 I hatched a plan for a bigger and experimental run at cider. I ended up with 7 buckets full of freshly pressed, unpasteurized cider from Lull Farm in Hollis, NH. Dave, one of the owners of Lull, returned my called specifically to tell me how special (and secret I guess) their cider blend was and that he was very excited that I was interested in using it for hard cider. I had a good feeling already! Buying in bulk didn't hurt either, the price was much better.

I also decided I would make the cider still (sans carbonation) to ensure I didn't lose any of it to over charged bottles. I then set about acquiring my yeast. The local homebrew shop, Jasper's in Nashua, carries traditional cider yeast during the fall and I popped in to pick up enough for the project. It turns out that I was coming in a bit late and they only had a couple of packets left. I of course took those and then inquired as to what other styles I could consider using. I ended up with several packets each of Sweet Mead and Rudsheimer yeasts, both of which were explained to have excellent potential for a good cider. What the hell, this project just keeps getting better!

My cider base consisted of 5 gallons of fresh cider, sugar (to a gravity of about 1.080 or 19-20 Brix), wine tannin, acid blend, and pectic enzyme. I also sulfited my cider for 24 hours to ensure any microbes and such that I didn't want in my fermentation are killed off. With a yeast pitch the 7 buckets were off and running. As a matter of course I taste my batches of wines, beers, and ciders at many points through the process. This helps me understand their development. The starting base tasted exceptional and as the yeasts starting doing their work the differences between them were easy to detect. The most prominent difference was the nutty undertones produced in the batches infused with the Rudsheimer yeast. These differences persisted through the fermentation and are still accessible when tasting them side by side, albeit not as distinct or potent as they were early on. This time I was much more patient, letting the batches rest and clear after the stabilization for several months. This paid off. Every batch was a beautiful golden color and crystal clear.

( This is our wine cellar circa October 2009. In the kiddie pool in the foreground are 7 glass carboys

in the outer ring that contain the cider. The rest of what you see are various red, white and fruit

wines that were fermenting or aging during the same time. As you can see, we have wine! )

With so much cider available I decided that I would make several split batches with fruit flavorings made from locally picked, cherries, strawberries and raspberries. For some of the non-fruit flavored batches small additions of sugar and/or apple juice concentrate was needed to balance out the tartness. I expected to do more of this balancing but the different yeasts created varying levels of residual sweetness, making it unnecessary in some cases. Between the yeast differences and the fruit flavors we ended up with 7 distinct styles all with different aromas, flavors and textures.

Bottling began in the middle of winter and proceeded slowly. In April we had a cider party where we put a bucket with a spigot up on the counter and got out the party cups for guests to enjoy as they wished. We shared two styles this way and got people talking about the differences. It was great fun to explain the process to my friends and share the wonderful outcome.

The cider has been greatly enjoyed all year. We headed off to summer parties with coolers full of it. Making friends was pretty easy that way! I have cooked with it and made a few cocktails with it as well. It really is a delight to be able to go to the basement and pick from one of seven varieties. It won't last forever though!

This year I entered my hard cider in the Northeast Regional Homebrew Competition. I entered bottles from one of the buckets infused with the Rudsheimer yeast. I felt its overall balance was excellent and flavor profile was interesting enough to throw my hat in the ring. That choice paid off big, really big. I took First Place in the Common Cider category for having the best traditional cider in the entire competition. This is my first win for cider and now means I have awards for wine, mead and cider. Beer is next! A great experiment turned into a great reward and some wonderful recognition.

I didn't make hard cider in 2010 on the count of having so much around still, but it is likely that I will make it again in 2011. If I do I am hoping to search out pressed cider from a blend of cider-specific apples or we may even get the apples and press the blend ourselves. The idea would be to recreate an older style of hard cider made from apples traditionally cultivated for just this purpose. Will we be able to find what we need, who knows?

Cheers!

--Jason

Global Champagne Day

Thursday October 28th was Global Champagne Day and the tweets were flying fast & furious. Vintuba was the organizer of the event providing links to meetup.com groups, classic pairings and educational facts about champagne. Sign us up! The Twitter hashtag #champagne was used to tag tweets during the event.

( Getting ready to party! )

One thing that was clear from several of the web sites advertising the event was that we were talking about real champagne, from the Champagne region of France, made in the traditional style. A link for a petition from the Office of Champagne USA was circulating before and during the event. The petition was entitled “Demand Truth-In-Labeling” and was intended to represent the protection of places of origin in the wine world. The Office of Champagne USA is the domestic representative of a champagne focused trade group in France. Reading the list of regions being represented I was a bit suspicious. I held off trying not to mix my politics and fun.

Leading up to the event I learned two things about champagne. First off, grower produced, often considered artisanal champagne, selections can be even more interesting than the mass produced named brands that we all know. And secondly, my local New Hampshire Liquor Store does not have a great selection of real French champagne, and no grower produced bottles that I could see. I went with the Piper-Heidsieck Brut and Moet & Chandon Imperial Nectar instead. We had never had either of them so at least they were new to us!

My plans up front were to pair the champagnes with a several different foods and make two different kinds of cocktails. I gathered smoked salmon pate, smoked oysters, gorgonzola cheese, potato chips, crusty French bread and dark chocolate. We’d be leading off with hot buttered popcorn, a go-to casual pairing for a sommelier friend of ours. We hadn’t tried that or fresh French fries with bubbly yet and I guess we would find we were missing out.

( Did somebody say champagne with potato chips? )

Piper-Heidsieck dates back to 1785 and currently produces over 5 million bottles of champagne each year. They own no vineyards of their own and source grapes from 60 vineyards around the Champagne region, making 6 styles of champagne including vintage offerings in the very best of years. The Remy-Countreau wine and spirits group acquired Piper-Heidsieck in 1990.

The Piper-Heidsieck NV Brut has some grapefruit on the nose, citrus flavors and a long smooth finish. The balance of tart and sweet reminded us of Granny Smith apples.

Moet & Chandon is one of the largest champagne producers with annual output of 26 million bottles. Established in 1743 the house currently owns 2,500 acres of vineyards. Dom Perignon is made by Moet and is the most recognizable champagne label in the world. Moet & Chandon are co-owners of the Moet-Hennessy / Louis Vuitton company, supplier of other fine spirits and luxury goods.

The Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial is a demi-sec (semi-sweet) champagne. The aromas were focused and the flavors of honey and dried fruit were easily detected. It is sweet, but not so much so that the crispness is lost.

Both champagnes were great with the hot buttered popcorn. Something about the warm butter makes this work really well. The pairing with the potato chips didn’t evoke the same feelings but was not terrible. We could see where french fries would come into play here.

( A TV time snack goes on a date with champagne! )

The gorgonzola cheese was overpowering for the Piper, but was an average match for the Moet. Not a big player in the pairings, but we sure enjoyed eating it!

Neither of us actually liked the smoked oysters and the champagne didn’t help with that based on our experience. The smoked salmon pate however was fantastic with the Piper and a of touch of creamy dill mustard brought out a bit of the sweetness in the champagne.

The Imperial Nectar found a good pairing with some homemade raspberry jam on crusty French bread. So simple. The crispness of the champagne stood up to the combined sweetness and the jam was along for the finish. Neither champagne was a stellar match for the dark chocolate covered caramels, but the Imperial Nectar stood up to the sugar the best. No surprise.

I made two cocktails, both of which came out great. The second is one of my best tasting cocktails ever.

Ginger Lemon Bubbles
1 oz sweetened ginger-infused vodka
2 healthy dashes of Angostura bitters
Moet Nectar Imperial
Lemon twist & lemon on the rim of the coupe style glass.

Mix and serve.

Off To The Islands

1 oz St. Germain
4 dashes Scrappy’s Grapefruit bitters
Piper-Heidsieck Brut
Lemon twist

Mix and serve.

The “Off To The Islands” has an incredible balance of crisp and sweet with flavors of island fruit and citrus. The "Ginger Lemon Bubbles" has a warmth from the spicy ginger with nice vibrant flavors from the citrus and bitters. The sweetness from the champagne was a nice foundation. We'll be making both of this again soon!

We very much enjoyed learning a little bit more about champagne and trying a few new to us bottles for Global Champagne Day. These online wine events seem to be quite popular and clearly give folks in disparate locations a way to share what they are drinking, where they are drinking and a bit of their lives with each other in celebration of beverages we all love!

Cheers!

--Jason

Victory Tastes like Blackberry Cabernet!

I have always been a huge supporter of Jay and his wine and food ventures. Nothing makes me happier than to watch his hard work pay off; whether the payoff is a delicious meal, amazing wine or accolades from others for both. You could not have found a wife more proud of her husband than me as he walked to the podium over and over to receive his medals at the WineMaker Magazine awards dinner in May. But from that pride for him plans were hatched to get one of those sweet medals for myself!

I am humbled to say that those plans have paid off. As I posted a few months back I had worked under the tutelage of my husband (or as we Star Wars nerds say: the Padawan Learner to his Master Jedi) developing a Blackberry Cabernet. This idea came about when Jay had some Cabernet juice left over and I eyed a few large bags of blackberries (look at them above just waiting to be turned into award winning wine!) picked at our house in Vermont. The resulting wine was wonderful, the blackberry enhancing the berry flavors from the Cabernet juice without overpowering it. Both red and fruit wine drinkers alike gave me good feedback. Still, you never know with the judges.

This past weekend we found out that my wine had taken a Silver Medal in the Amenti del Vino 2010 Competition. To say that we were thrilled with this news is an understatement. Though I deeply appreciate being recognized by the judges it does not compare with allowing Jay to feel a little bit of the pride that he has given me the opportunity to feel over the years.

Now….only 26 more medals and we will be tied with Jay. I may not get there but it will be fun trying!

Cheers,

Margot

Don’t Know Until You Try

Anyone that is married to a creative Chef has had those moments. The one where said creative Chef throws out a recipe idea and all you can think is: you’re making what, and I have to eat it? But then, every person married to a GOOD creative Chef knows that those moments are often followed with amazing, delicious experiences. This is a story of one of those moments…

My only request for dinner was that it be pizza, most likely due to the Travel Channel show I had just watched devoted to the subject. Jay has come up with some wonderful pizza ideas in the past when issued this challenge. (Pulled Pork Pizza and Hoisin Chicken Pizza being two of my favorites.) As always when faced with a dinner challenge he went to the kitchen and pondered the ingredients we had on hand.

Two items caught his eye: first the home made dill pickles, second the package of bacon. When he came back with the idea of Bacon Pickle Pizza I was a little skeptical. As always I should have known better!

The resulting pizza was better than I ever could have imagined. The crunch and light brine of the pickles mixed with the salty goodness of the bacon was so perfect.

Both the toppings played so well off of the standard red sauce and mozzarella cheese and the flat bread crust was the perfect conveyor. It was like all the best things about a bacon cheeseburger without the burger overpowering the other flavors. (Though you could add beef as an additional topping I think that it would take away from the other flavors).

Never doubt a creative Chef… It pays to just go with the flow and enjoy the delicious ride.

Mangia,

Margot