PARTY ‘TIL YOUR HEELS FLY OFF: MEGA AUTHOR BLOG HOP TOUR (JUNE 13-20)

PARTY ‘TIL YOUR HEELS FLY OFF: MEGA AUTHOR BLOG HOP TOUR (JUNE 13-20)

WELCOME TO DEMONS AND WITCHES AND FAERIES, OH MY! PARTY, A PART OF THE PARTY ‘TIL YOUR HEELS FLY OFF: MEGA AUTHOR BLOG HOP TOUR (JUNE 13-20)

TOUR RULES:

1)  HAVE FUN!!!

2)  INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!

3)  THIS TOUR STARTS:  Monday, June 13, at Midnight (Arizona Time) THIS TOUR ENDS: Monday, June 20, at Midnight (Arizona Time)

Winners will be drawn and posted June 21st! ***

4)  MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS! EXPERIENCE A NEW PARTY DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!!

5)  PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES. EVERY AUTHOR IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW EVERY AUTHOR SOME LOVE!

6)  DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN?  WHOO! HOO!! HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!

***Authors have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of  win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules***

So welcome to the DEMONS and WITCHES and FAERIES, oh my! Party! Helping me host y’all is Gabriel, the DEMON tribred; Maggie, the WITCH, and Serra, the full-blooded FAE. Gabriel and Maggie are in DEMON SOUL: Serra is the heroine of DEMON HUNT, upcoming in fall 2011.

Ask any questions about demons, witches, and the Fae and we’ll do our best to answer them, and keep you entertained along the way.

WINNERS: There will be winners! An eCopy of DEMON SOUL will go out to a lucky winner for every 20 commenters. My rules are simple: comment! If you follow me on Twitter OR subscribe to the blog, you’ll get your name added in a second (and possibly third) time to up your chances (but you can only win once). And of COURSE I’ll follow you back!

Gabriel Caine stands on the edge of the abyss. A vampire has stolen his soul and if he doesn’t get it back soon, his next step will be into Hell.

Rose Walters has been sent back from the dead to complete one task; save Gabriel Caine. She’s drawn to Gabriel on the most basic level, but restoring his soul may cost Rose her life.

BOOK 2

THE CAINE BROTHERS SERIES

DEMON HUNT

Full-blooded Fae Serra Willows  has come to the Caine Brothers to help them shut down an open portal to the demonic Chaos Plane. But before she can properly introduce herself, she rescues Gregor Caine from a demon hell-bent on having him for lunch and is shocked that he hasn’t ever bothered to learn his Fae or demon gifts.

Gregor is not overly fond of Serra, no matter how sexy the irritating Fae may be. Add her prodding him to explore his bloodlines to her always-being-right attitude and that equals major headaches for the head of Caine Investigations. As they hunt the demons who’ve come through the portal, every woman who helps – including Serra – ends up marked in their palm with a bloody full moon, slowly undergoing a dark eclipse.

Serra is convinced the demon is a breeder, gathering as many women together as it can in order to plant their eggs and ensure survival. Gregor, unable to stay cool as his every conviction as well as his heart comes under fire, vows to keep her safe. Serra knows sometimes you have to fight and risk everything you are for a chance at love. On the night of the winter Solstice, the full moon and the eclipse, it will ultimately take the strength of the entire Caine clan to save their friends; but only Gregor can face down the demon and free Serra from its thrall.

~   ~   ~

Your Next Stop is:

http://www.kathybennett.com/blog/?p=544

Have fun, and drop in at all the parties!

Two (fairly naked) Chardonnays

With all the fabulous vegetables ripening in the garden and the variety now available in the Farmers Markets across town, I’ll continue with a couple more Chardonnays today, especially since I’m celebrating the high school graduation of my youngest son, Timothy! (We thought the day would NEVER arrive, lol!)

First up is a Festival ’34 Collection, Vintage 2009 Chardonnay. Produced by Wine World Estates, Napa, California. The cost was under $10 on sale at BevMo! – I lost the receipt for this one, sorry!

On The Label: It was very uninformative, had nothing about the winery or the wine. I actually don’t mind a label that doesn’t tell me what the wine is supposed to taste like, allowing me to make up my own mind and not be intimidated by the expert.

My take: A hint of oak makes this Chardonnay for me. It’s *not* big and buttery and in your face; those of you who like more “naked” Chardonnays will like this one I think. It has a nice, fresh first taste with the hint of oak hitting mid-taste.

The scent is of peach and vanilla, light and crisp. It would go well with any hot-weather meal based around vegetables, or with brunch with a seafood quiche as the star. Also a great sipping wine as you read pool-side this summer. It’s an unpretentious, very drinkable wine and good to share.

I rate this wine ~Very Drinkable~ .

Next we’ve got Toasted Head Barrel-aged Chardonnay 2009 Regular price, $16.99; on sale for $9.99 at Vons.

On The Label: “Toasted Head is named for the age-old practice of toasting barrel heads with fire, which is what helps to create the distinct, toasty flavor in all our wines.

Our Chardonnay is 100% barrel fermented and aged for eight months, imparting a unique richness and complexity to the wine, complemented by tropical fruits, peaches, and pineapple on the palate. The finish is well-rounded with toasty coconut and butterscotch notes.”

Well. Talk about a label shoving the wine down your throat. I am learning to be suspicious of labels that go into such detail about how the wine tastes and smells, as if needing to explain the wine or else it would maybe not taste good? I don’t know.

Anyway – it was a good wine. Not, in my opinion, worth $17; but not bad for under $10. I can smell the pineapple, when I concentrate very hard; but a wine shouldn’t take that much concentration to enjoy. I wonder if perhaps my sniffer isn’t up to par? A complex wine can be a joy; this wine, while perfect for summer, made me work too hard. Again, it’s light and non-oaky – those of you who like your nakeds will enjoy this one, too.

My rating: At $17 a bottle, ~Drinkable~ . At $10 a bottle, ~Very Drinkable~ . But don’t take my word for it – taste for yourself (hopefully at the cheaper price) and let me know what you think.

I’m curious – do you like a chatty label that goes on and on about the wine? Do you prefer a label that sticks to the facts? Or do you like something in between – informative, but not in your face?

And now in most of the country, school is out and summer is upon us.  Next week I’ll be hitting up Merlots. Forget what the movie Sideways taught – there are good Merlot wines out there, and I’ll be bringing them to you. For under $10 a bottle.

Happy sipping, and remember – your taste buds may vary!

~   ~   ~

Have you read DEMON SOUL yet? You can find it at Crescent Moon Press or Amazon.com. Happy Reading!

Artichokes are Silly

Artichokes are Silly

Artichokes are silly. What I really want to know is who was the first brave soul to try to eat one? And did they use melted butter, or ranch dressing, or hollandaise sauce for dipping, or did they just start munching away without bothering to even cook it?

I caught a TV show today as I flopped on the couch, exhausted from the gym. It was some famous Italian cookbook author showing what to do with artichokes. I finally got up, got my notebook and a pen and took notes, since I have a forest of artichokes in my back yard – no kidding.

Now, I’m a good cook, but I often look for shortcuts that mostly involve the microwave. Not the pressure cooker, because the damn thing scares the bees knees out of me if you get my drift. (I think fear of the pressure cooker was passed down to me from my mother’s very DNA. Her mother apparently had a traumatic experience with one…) My best friend swore by her pressure cooker for artichokes, but it’s so totally against my grain that I found a shorter short cut in the microwave.

Normally I trim the stem so it’s flat, I cut the tops off so I don’t poke myself, then I wash them and, still dripping, pop them into a ziplock bag without closing it all the way. Then I put them in the microwave, hit the “fresh vegetables” button, and away they go.

(By the way, before I had a fresh vegetables button, I’d cook them for six minutes, twist them around so the inside was to the outside, burning my hands in the process, and put them in for another 4 to 5 minutes depending on size. )

But the lovely Italian chef wanted me to peel the fairly long (2″) stem until bright green showed. Then, after trimming as above, she suggested cutting them in half and putting them in a large pan. Add chicken stock, water, fresh chopped mint and parsley, and garlic and then cook away until they’re done. (I didn’t ever hear a time. Just “until they’re tender and cooked”. Um, okay.)

The theory went that, after you cooked them that way, the tough hairy choke would just pop out with the slightest pressure from a spoon. I’m sure it would; I’m also sure a lot of the nutrients of the artichoke would get left behind in the water it’s cooked in. But of course she had a suggestion for that as well – use that liquid as a kind of sauce over the artichoke.

And that’s where I kind of lost my patience with her. I mean, come on. Artichokes are a delivery system, pure and simple. They deliver either melted butter to your tongue, or freshly made hollandaise sauce (I’ve got an easy-peasy recipe, if anyone wants it). Maybe a ranch dressing. The nub of the artichoke is a bonus bit of tastiness.

Yes, the way I make artichokes means you have to physically cut out the choke; but really, it’s not so bad; just be careful with that sharp knife, especially if you’ve been drinking wine. And then you have more yummy artichoke to dunk in whatever butter may be left. (Not that I favor salty, yummy, melted butter with artichokes. Not at all. Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my chin.)

Artichokes, if you live in a temperate climate, grow like weeds. I planted a couple of plants several years ago. If you knew me, you’d know that often things die in my garden because I forget to water. Hey, it gets hot here in summer, and when it’s over 100, I don’t go outside except to slip into an air-conditioned car. But these babies, once they’re established, don’t need any kind of regular watering. My garden is proof of that; if they did, I wouldn’t have a single artichoke plant out there by now.

The biggest of my plants is a globe artichoke, and it’s threatening my Bearss lime tree. It’s also spawned smaller plants. Those smaller plants are quickly growing big. We’ve taken eight artichokes off the plant this year so far and there are still four left. And that’s from one plant – we’ve now got six that produce, which makes my friends very happy.

So that’s my wisdom for today. Artichokes are silly. Hard to kill once established. And very good with hollandaise sauce! (Or butter. Seriously.)

~   ~   ~

Have you read DEMON SOUL yet? You can find it at Crescent Moon Press or Amazon.com. Happy Reading!

 

 

Today it’s Chardonnay

Today it’s Chardonnay

I know that last week I promised you three Chardonnays today, but I’m only hitting one. Hubby was skeptical that I’d find three under my $10 price range, but BevMo! came up trumps – they were having a good sale. I’m still only giving you one, though, lol!

Liberty School Chardonnay, 2008, Central Coast Regularly $12.99, on sale at BevMo! for $7.99

The Label: “Partially barrell fermented, this Chardonnay is rich in character and is a skilled example of what the Central Coast has to offer. While pleasing to the connoisseur, it’s fruit-driven style makes it purely unpretentious, gratifying and easy to enjoy with food or by itself.” Paso Robles, CA Hope Family Wines since 1978.

My take: If you’re looking for a big, oaky Chardonnay (I’ll get into THAT subject later), this isn’t it. It’s slightly fruity and not offensive on first taste. It had no real mid-taste, and it had a weak and inoffensive aftertaste. My hubby thought it went slightly sour at the end. What’s funny is their website says they age their Chardonnay in 50% French Oak and 50% American Oak. I didn’t get the slightest hint of oak in this wine.

We drank it with a dinner of chicken burgers (Costco – very yummy!) and citrus-roasted veggies. The wine went well with the meal, but it could have been so much better.

I rate this wine ~Drinkable~ . But find a nice Port or digestif to finish off your meal.

Regarding the trend away from big, oaky Chardonnays, I’ll stick my neck out and say, I don’t like it. I don’t like a limp Chardonnay that may as well be a Pinot Grigio. I don’t like thin Chardonnays, I never have. I adore the big, oaky, buttery Chardonnays that will go with any chicken or fish dish and do well with fruit and cheese after the meal, too. A Chardonnay like that will stand up to winter, as well as make you feel chill in the depths of summer.

The last couple of times we’ve been wine tasting in the Central Coast, we’ve been very disappointed in the thin “nakedness” of the Chardonnays. Aging them in steel isn’t doing the wine any favors, winemakers. If you must fool around with wine, fool with Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc or even, help me, a nice Chenin Blanc (very underrated and very hard to find).

If ANYONE still makes a nice, big, oaky buttery Chardonnay that doesn’t cost the earth, please let me know. I’ve been woefully disappointed in what I’m finding in the stores as well as at the wineries.

That’s all for now – more Chardonnay next week!