Robert Sinskey and His Fabulous Wines (Tasing)

 

I have never met anyone who has not really liked Robert Sinskey wines except for the print wine reviewers. I don’t know what the current scores are but WS and the like do not give high scores to Sinskey (or did not) but the following speaks of something else. I give 85 to 88 for the Cabs and Merlots I have tasted. That is a couple of vintages back.

Robert Sinskey and his fabulous wines

Host:

Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant

Type:

Party – Bar Night

Network:

Global

Date:

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Time:

4:30pm – 7:30pm

Location:

Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant

Street:

One Ferry Building, Shop 23

City/Town:

San Francisco, CA

View Map

Description

Join us on Wednesday, February 10th, from 4:30-7:30pm, as we welcome special guest Rob Sinskey, Principal and Winemaker at Robert Sinskey Vineyards. Rob Sinskey has been making wine for 20 years. His philosophy is that to enjoy wine to the fullest, it must be considered with food. To that end, the vineyard relies heavily on a grape that supports those beliefs. “Pinot Noir is a grape that requires food,” says Rob, who plants over half of his nearly 200 acres in Pinot Noir.

Since 2001 Sinskey Vineyards has been certified organic. Now they are working toward biodynamic certification. The Sinskey wines have a clean, bright focus that we believe is the result of the winery’s attention to detail in the vineyard and their stewardship of the land they love.

We are sure you will enjoy meeting this charming and witty winery owner and vineyard pioneer and there is no doubt you will love tasting the wines of Robert Sinskey Vineyards at Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant. It’s a Party!!

Super Bowl Party on Sunday as well!!

This Sunday come on down to Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant and join us in watching the Super Bowl. The fun will be starting at 3pm as we show this sports extravaganza on our 2 large flat screen HD TV’s in the Wine Bar. Kick back with your favorite wine or even a tasty draft beer, nibble on some incredible food from the Ferry Plaza and watch the Super Bowl with us.

If the Super Bowl finds you in wine country, swing by our sister store, Oxbow Wine Merchant, where we will also be showing the game on our 52″ flat screen HD TV. We have 5 local beers on tap, plus an array of great wines by the glass at our Wine Bar. Enjoy some tasty treats from our food menu as well. We hope to see you at one of our spots.

Also, for you Olympic fans out there:

The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC, will be featured at both of our Wine Bars from Febraury 12th to the 28th. So come on down and enjoy the excitement. See you there!

 

The featured wines are served as two ounce glasses. If you would like a full glass just ask your bartender. The wines will also be available for retail purchase while supplies last….

The cost of the flight will be $35 and will feature the following wines:

2008 Sinskey Pinot Blanc, Los Carneros (from Magnums, half bottles only for retail sale)

Retail $21 for 375ml, 5oz. glass $13.75

2007 Sinskey Pinot Noir Three Amigos Vineyard, Los Carneros

Retail $57, 5oz. glass $17.50

2007 Sinskey Pinot Noir Vandal Vineyard, Los Carneros

Retail $57, 5oz. glass $17.50

2005 Sinskey Marcien (blend is never revealed), Los Carneros

Retail $66, 5oz. glass $19.75

2005 Sinskey SLD Stag’s Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon

Retail $85.50, 5oz. glass $24.75

Hope to see you all there!

Peter, Bo, Jeff, Debbie and the entire Ferry Plaza team.

Also, don’t miss the complete schedule of our highly popular Ferry Plaza Wine Classes in San Francisco, at 6:30 pm in the Ferry Building’s Port Commission Hearing Room.

Click Wine Bar for the complete Wine Bar Event Schedule. Many of our wines are available online at FPWM.com

Join our Wine Club!

For questions, comments:

call (415) 391-9400.

Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant

One Ferry Building,

Shop 23

San Francisco, CA 94111

*This post belongs to this week’s edition of Wine by Cush Magazine blog and published early in World of Cush also.

[Via http://worldofcush.wordpress.com]

Sumptuous Sundays

If you’re from an Italian family, you know at least 70 times 7 recipes for SAUCE – or as some refer to it, GRAVY! You probably know it by several names! For instance if there is meat or fish it is sugo. Succa and salsa were other names too.

Somewhere right now someone’s mama is making a huge pot of sauce, standing at the stove, gently stirring with a wooden spoon. If it’s Sunday, the famiglia is getting ready to gather together for their mama’s cooking! Someone else is probably trying to sneak around mama trying to dip a piece of bread in the pot already! Nothing says home and love like opening the door and smelling the wonderful aroma of that pot bubbling away on the stove. After all the sauce needs to simmer and bubble for hours to bring out all the robust flavor.

I had always been a great cook. From the time I was a child, I loved to cook. My own mother was a collector of great cookbooks and she was a gourmet chef who could whip up fantastic meals for two to two hundred on practically no money and certainly no effort! So I learned at her elbow and won awards in both high school and college for my skills as well as the accolades of friends! There was never a recipe that I was intimidated by. I enjoyed the challenges.

Then I met Valentino. Oh! How I wanted to impress him – and I was sure that a home cooked meal was the way to do so. After all we all learned the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. So I decided to plan a nice little dinner affair of spaghetti, Italian bread, salad, a little wine! Maybe even a homemade cake for desert. Or maybe homemade minestrone? Then somewhere around there I lost my mind and my nerve. I decided to ask a girlfriend for an “authentic” sauce recipe – after all, she was Italian American so I assumed she would have a wonderful recipe perfect for the occasion. What I didn’t assume was what I spiteful hateful jealous so and so she was and no part of a friend. I was cooking for the man she had a secret hankering for! According to her “Italian grandmother’s old family recipe”, one was supposed to make big round meatballs and drop them into the tomato sauce already simmering without cooking the meatballs first. I asked her if she was sure about that. I certainly had never heard of meatballs done that way. Let me admonish anyone who is questioning this method – it is NOT good! It produced the most horrible tasting concoction I have ever tried. Valentino spit his out and then just sat looking at me for a moment with his huge dark eyes. He finally quietly (amazing for an Italian, huh? Sure sign of SERIOUS) “What were you trying to do? Poison me?” Fighting tears of embarrassment I explained who gave me what recipe. His eyes grew wider and then he exploded in laughter. Seems I was the only person in Rhode Island who did not know how this gal had stalked him at one time! I was played the fool for sure.

He finally stopped laughing and decided to give me an impromptu cooking lesson. A can of black olives, lots of minced fresh garlic, some olive oil and a fry pan – we had Spaghetti Aglio e Olio! That following week he introduced me to his cousin Liz. This dear cugina has spent hours since then teaching me to make many family favorites and the tricks known only to Italian cooks to make sumptuous meals from next to nothing. Later it would be Mama Concetta who visit us for two or three months at a time and take over the kitchen. Then I was able to stand at the elbow of a master chef and learn! We would put up hundreds of jars of tomatoes, pickled eggplants, green beans, jams and more. She taught me to milk goats and how to make our own fresh and hard cheese. And bread! Her daily bread baking would fill the house with a wonderful aroma each morning! Of course I also learned the finer points of pizzas as she spoiled our sons with their favorites. But my lessons did not stop there. Soon my dear sisters in law would share more lessons with me. I learned to travel with a notebook to write down all the recipes and hints and tips. Stuffed breads with spinach or broccoli, leek soup, roasted herbed potatoes, pane di spagna, lasagna, granite, brandied fruits, fried squash blossoms. Even now there is nothing more special than being “en la cucina” with one or more of them as we all laugh, gossip, and cook. Famiglia! Mangia! Buon Appetito tutti!

[Via http://valentinoswife.wordpress.com]

With David Berryhill's new custom outdoor kitchens, Chicagoans may never cook indoors again

Come Spring 2010, with one of my new custom outdoor kitchens, you just may be tempted to never cook — or entertain — outdoors again.

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For example, if you have a small patio but want big cooking and entertaining, we have a design for that.

Looking for a efficient and multi-functional outdoor kitchen to go under a covered porch, yes, we have a design for that, too.

Need a big, expansive outdoor kitchen to cook up a big feast for a family reunion? Yes, you know that you’ve come to the right place…Archadeck of Chicagoland.

Here’s one of my personal favorites, a raised counter with bar stools connected to a highly efficient outdoor kitchen.

Sound good? Well, there’s lot more good news to share. Call me at 847-359-8002 for your free design and planning consultation. We can quickly come up with a perfect solution to extend your outdoor living entertaining hours in beautiful, functional style.

[Via http://archadeckchicagoland.wordpress.com]

wife lessons: patience

the prudent housewife who suspects her husband of breaking her absolute favorite Caribbean blue Le Creuset baking dish does not live by the motto “shoot first, ask questions later.” she simply hightails it to one of her favorite cooking blogs to get the lowdown on how to return the lovely pan. and then she remembers she’s always really wanted these. and her husband, out of remorse, lets her have them.

so.

wait.

why was she upset, again?

[Via http://theradhousewife.wordpress.com]

I Ate Bacon.

And it was good. Better than good, actually. It was eyelid-flutteringly delicious. That salty, pungent taste. That distinctive, mouth-watering smell as it fried.

I blame the Food Network, which I’ve been a little addicted to since Christmas. All the chefs on there describe bacon as the magical flavouring ingredient, and I see them using it in all these tantalizing ways. Oh gad, I just couldn’t take it anymore! So, after reading much Michael Pollan, and after much discussion with Josh, I decided to go ahead and order some happy pig meat from our organic delivery service. That’s our requirement for the meat we eat: that it was raised humanely, and preferably organically and locally, from a farm that we researched and that we felt okay about eating meat from.

So last night we decided to be all ceremonious as we consumed our carbonara: a lovely bottle of Chianti, candlelight, cloth napkins… and pasta full of eggs, peas, onions and BACON!

And then on Alton Brown’s show “Good Eats” (I told you it’s the Food Network’s fault!), he demonstrated the innovative method of frying your bacon on a waffle iron or griller, which Josh enthusiastically offered to do. Very yum. Very good idea. I highly recommend it. (We even had a little dish for the drippings – I’ll have to find something delicious to do with those!)

So there we go. Many new doors of meaty possibilities have been flung wide open. I still don’t know if I want to sink my teeth deep into a steak, but give me a few days and see if I’ve changed my mind.

P.S. Since when did this become a food blog? I’m all about the food entries lately. Maybe it’s because making food is an act of creation that I can be certain to include in each day.

[Via http://glowbuggirl.wordpress.com]

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Looking for a quick, easy weeknight meal that’s DELICIOUS? I got  it right here! I’m (obviously) a soup lover, and we usually make some sort of soup about once a week. It’s great for leftovers and for a quick lunch. But it also makes a fantastic dinner (and it’s usually pretty filling, too!). I got this recipe from my friend Helena and I’m definitely going to be making it often! It’s super easy to just toss it all in the slow cooker in the morning and let it cook all day. You can easily modify the spice of the enchilada sauce to control how much heat you want in the soup. And it’s blissfully perfect for a rainy evening! You can have with quesadillas or the like, but we just had a big bowl each and it was plenty! YUM!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Serves: 8

Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com

2 frozen chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained

1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (I used medium; had some great kick to it!)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 14.5-ounce cans low-sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 bay leaf

1 (14.5-ounce) can corn kernels, drained

1 (14.5-ounce) can black beans, drained

1 avocado, diced, for topping

1/2 cup shredded cheese, for topping

1/2 cup sour cream, for topping

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

7 corn tortillas

Vegetable oil

1.      Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, black beans, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours. One hour before soup is served, remove chicken breasts and shred, then add back to soup.

2.      Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

3.      Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.

4.      Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup. Top with avocado, cheese, sour cream, and chopped cilantro, if desired.

[Via http://spontaneoustruth.wordpress.com]

The Count of Brunchy Goodness

Have you ever had a Monte Cristo sandwich?

I haven’t.  In fact, I still can’t think of it without Alexandre Dumas coming to mind. . . I’d never even heard of such a dish  until just a few years ago – I was cooking in a restaurant, and occasionally, “Monte Cristos” were on the menu as a lunch special.  Since I didn’t start until dinner, well, I was kind of out of luck for the lunch specials.  So, if you’re as uninitiated as I am, Peeps tells me that a “Monte Cristo” is ham, turkey and Swiss cheese on white bread, dipped in egg batter and griddled like French toast, then served with maple syrup.

Sounds kinda weird, doesn’t it?  At least I know it does to me, so I’ve always kind of taken a pass whenever I’ve seen it on the menu at a random diner or “family restaurant.”

Then things changed.  As you know, Peeps and I ran a meal-prep business a few years ago, and, though we lost an awful lot, one thing we gained was an understanding of how to put together a meal that can be made ahead, frozen, then enjoyed later.  .  . granted, this is something we’d already been doing for years, but this experience brought it to a whole new level.

What if, instead of frying each sandwich individually, we incorporated the ingredients into a casserole?  A brunchy-type strata sort of thing?

You know, that could work.  And, as it turns out, it does.

Our “Monte Cristo Casserole” is a favorite among all who try it – and with good reason!

We start with about half a loaf of French bread (what else?), cut into 1-inch cubes – you’re going to want 4 cups of bread cubes.

To that, add 2/3 cups each of diced ham an turkey.  Honestly?  We went to the deli and asked them for a half-inch slice of each – that was just about right.  Why make it complicated?

Stir the bread cubes and the meat cubes together with a cup each of shredded mozzarella and Swiss cheeses – the Swiss for the flavor and the mozzarella for the cheesiness!

Then you’ll need your liquid mixture.

Beat together about a dozen eggs (more or less), two cups of milk and some parsley – a teaspoon of dried (if it’s winter) or a Tablespoon of fresh (if it’s available).

Pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture and stir well, being sure to moisten all the bread.

Doesn’t that look . . . moist?

Yeah.  At this point, you can either shove it in the fridge for a day or so, or you could dump it into a gallon-size zip-top bag and freeze, to thaw later.

Or if, say, there were only two or three of you, you could divide it in half and put it in two bags to freeze and enjoy later.  Twice.

We actually made this during the holidays when Surly Boy and my brother were both here, so we opted for the whole-pan scenario.  After all, three guys can get mighty hungry. . .

Pour the whole mess into a 9×13 pan.  Bake, covered, in a preheated 400° oven for 20 minutes, uncover, and continue baking another 20 minutes, until the cheese is all melty and bubbly and the top starts to brown.

Cut into about 6 chunks and serve with warmed maple syrup and maybe some fresh fruit . . . mmmmm. . . .

Printable version is here.

[Via http://darksideofthefridge.wordpress.com]