by Christine | Life, Wine Friday
While I was at Cypher a couple of weekends ago, the sexy ex-computer-geek-turned-tasting-room-guru T, let me in on the secret of Primitivo. Primitivo is a grape identical to Zinfandel and grown mostly in Italy, Argentina, and Chile.
Bells went off in my head. No WONDER I was drawn to Primitivo! I’d found it at Fresh & Easy, for $5.99 a bottle, and couldn’t understand how I could so love that wine. But it was hiding its true colors; and now that I know it’s a Zinfandel by another name, I’m SO on board. (Of course, the last time I went to Fresh & Easy, they didn’t have Primitivo any longer. Sigh.)
Tuesday night at Casa Ashworth, the Santa Ana winds blew. Hard. They blew hard enough to force our double front doors open wide; they blew hard enough to take lots of white picket fencing off my front fence, leaving an already-worn fence looking like an old woman’s mouth with teeth missing. The winds blew so hard, that it toppled – and split – a 30+ year old tree, narrowly missing landing on the corner of my bedroom. The power went out. I was late to work, disoriented by the winds I could hear in my sleep, and grumpy from lack of coffee.
Landscape with Windblown Trees, by Vincent Van Gogh
That afternoon, with the power still out, I found true parafin lamp oil (the other stuff is crap, don’t buy it unless it says PARAFIN lamp oil) and some new wicks for our many oil lamps. My boss, sensing my uneasiness, let me go while it was still light out, so the hubby and I could get our act together before darkness descended.
Yes, we have battery lanterns. But which would you rather gather around – the mellow yellow light of an oil lamp, or the harsh, blue light of a flourescent camping light? Yeah, us too.
By the time darkness descended, I was happily puttering about in the kitchen with three lamps burning so I could see what I was chopping, what was going into the pot on the stove, and what I needed out of the fridge. (Thank goodness for gas stoves!) I made soup from leftover veggies in the fridge, plus the rest of a Costco chicken. For those who want to know, I sipped on the last of a bottle of La Gioiosia Pinot Grigio ($7.99 a bottle at Fresh & Easy, tiny bubbles but it’s NOT a prosecco), and we opened a bottle of Rose from Adelaida to go with the soup – and that was yummy!
But there was the sense of primitivo about our night. Every room I went into, I flipped on the light – only to remember, too late. We made sure we had flashlights with fresh batteries easily available (our family’s prediliction lately is for headlamps – keeps your hands free), we charged our phones in our cars as we drove during the day, and used them as our morning alarms. It was nice, if slightly surreal. It wasn’t cold and we had water and gas; we weren’t that disabled by lack of electricity (except the hubby and the youngest didn’t get their NaNo words in, and grumped about it all night).
To revel in the winds and the darkness, at about ten I went outside. The winds had died to mere puffs of air; the stars were half-obscured by the bright quarter-moon. And the silence I’d been expecting?
Filled with the hum of generators. I much preferred my lamps.
Next week I promise I’ll get a wine blog together – this week, life’s been kinda crazy!
~ Cheers – and remember to Drink Responsibly! ~
by Christine | Cooking
The lovely author Ashley Cockerill has asked me about my Yummalicious Hollandaise Sauce. I really have to add – it should be called Easy Peasy Yummalicious Hollandaise Sauce. That, as you might imagine, got me to thinking and salivating about weekend breakfast.
Yesterday I stumbled upon another fantastic recipe (thanks to Angela James), and now I have two totally different breakfasts for you to make some super-special weekend. (Also good for relaxing holiday breakfasts, if you’re not the one in charge of the family dinner.)
BREAKFAST #1: Eggs Benedict I love eggs Benedict, mainly for the Hollandaise sauce. Over the years I have strayed from the narrow cook-book definition of eggs benedict – I don’t always use English muffins, I rarely use Canadian bacon, I don’t poach the eggs (don’t get me started about poached eggs!); so how can it be remotely considered eggs Benedict? It’s all about the Hollandaise Sauce, baby. Let me define it before going further:
As eHow.com puts it: Hollandaise sauce is “A hot, emulsified sauce made from egg, butter and lemon juice. It’s one of the five “mother” sauces of French cooking.” (And, apparently, has been around for four hundred years or so. Woof.)
My mom, not being a gourmet cook (but feeding us well and tastily for many years), never made Hollandaise sauce. It wasn’t until I married a man with a microwave that I learned to love it. Since I married that man, we’ve replaced the microwave three times (kept the man!) and the book I learned this recipe from is long gone, but here it is:
Ingredients:
¼ cup butter (or margarine), ¼ cup light cream, 2 egg yolks, beaten, 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon dry mustard
Put your butter in a two-cup container and microwave for 20-30 seconds, until melted. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Cook in the microwave, uncovered, for one minute until thick – stir with a fork every 15 to 20 seconds. And…voila! Makes 2/3 cup sauce, more or less. Perfect!
Note: I have never used margarine in this recipe. I’ve varied the light cream from everything to heavy whipping cream, to half and half, depending on what I had in the fridge or what I could afford. For the lemon, MEYER lemons (preferrably home grown) work beautifully in this recipe – but if you absolutely have to use bottled lemon juice, go ahead. Oh, and always save your extra egg whites in the fridge for breakfast the next morning. And do NOT leave out the dry mustard! Wet mustard will not work, sorry.
I have never made this any other way than in the microwave – but when I hear people tell stories about it, there’s usually tears involved. I’ve never cried about the way this recipe turned out.
Poaching eggs: I refuse. (What are restaurants for, anyway?) After many failures and partial eggs, as I was making my breakfast one morning the lightbulb went off in my head – I was making them the way I had been taught by my father when I was a very young ballet dancer – technically “poaching” the eggs without the headache. Let me tell you how.
Hot pan, butter sizzling, crack two eggs in. Let them sizzle for a bit, then add about 3 tablespoons of water, and put the lid on the eggs. DO NOT LEAVE THE KITCHEN OR YOU’LL HAVE RUBBER EGGS. Cook on medium, but check the eggs after a minute. Once the egg whites are set, the egg is done! If you want the yolk hard and not runny, take off the heat, leave the cover on and make the toast you forgot to make earlier, and you’ll have a hard yolk.
So how do I make my eggs Benedict? Either English muffin or a croissant, split in half and toasted. Hollandaise sauce, made in microwave. Bacon, likewise made in microwave (lots less grease to clean up!). If using sandwich ham, I heat it in the same pan as the eggs. If I’m really spiffy and using Canadian bacon, then I gently warm it in the microwave. Or sometimes I’ll use cooked asparagus, but that’s another post. Once your bread and meat are done, plop the egg on top, drizzle the Hollandaise sauce, sprinkle lightly if you wish with Paprika, and serve with a cup of fruit, a cut up apple or a quartered tomato fresh from the garden, plus the perfect cup of coffee or tea to round out your meal. Prepare to go into a food coma after eating.
By the way, I highly recommend ONE egg per person, and loading up on the fruit and fresh veggies. You can always put the asparagus on the side and drizzle Hollandaise on top…
Best Weekend Breakfast #2: This is perfect for that rush rush, gotta get breakfast out
of the way before the holiday begins. It’s also great for a slow weekend, a lazy morning, a cup of coffee and the Sunday Times. It’s called the Maple-Bacon Biscuit Bake. I made it early this morning – my home still smells of bacon 12 hours later.
It’s heaven in a biscuit. Kind of strange, in that you only bake it for ten minutes (okay, at 475 F, but still…) and then leave it in the oven for another ten to 15 minutes with the heat off…but let me tell you, it was love at first bite. Bacon, maple syrup, brown sugar, butter, and a fabulous biscuit recipe (that alone is a HUGE keeper!). What’s not to love? Go to the link above and get the recipe – Angela James put it on Facebook yesterday, which is how I found it (and got all fangirl and STUPID because it was ANGELA JAMES putting it up – sigh!). My Hubby, my two Young Men, and a teen who had stayed the night all declared these biscuits to be the Best. Breakfast. Biscuits. Ever. And they’re easy. You can either use real milk or buttermilk. My guess is, if all you have is half and half that would work just as well.
Oh, and don’t freak when you see Bakewell Cream in the ingredients list. There are directions to use baking powder and omit the baking soda if you don’t have Bakewell Cream…though I’m thinking I need to try it out, and might just place an order for it soon.
So Ashley, there you have it – not only the Hollandaise Sauce to DIE for (terrific on Steak Diane…), but a wonderful breakfast biscuit, too. Enjoy!
P.S. – I know, it’s Monday. But hey, the weekend will be here before we know it – and now you’ve got time to plan! Cheers!
~ ~ ~
Demon Soul is available for the Kindle and the Nook! Get your copy today!
by Christine | Life, Wine Friday
Hi, y’all. I’m on vacation. And I’m tasting wines. Lots of them. All under $10 – okay, I lied. I’m taking some winery wines with me, so not all of them are under $10, but a whole lot of them are.
We’re going camping – yep, even Ms. Broken Leg here. Up to Mammoth Mountain. As a matter of fact, when this gets posted, I’ll be headed home. Sigh…hate to leave the place…
But when I come back, I’ll have lots to talk about and lots of wine to share. And if I get a chance (read: internet connection) to update you, I will, I swear. In the meantime, there are books to write, chipmunks to blast with the super soaker 5000, and wine to sip by the fire.
Not to mention, getting myself lost in the night sky. There are so many stars visible up at that altitude that it fills me with wonder. And tonight the Perseid meteor shower should hit.
Update: Because of the nefarious hackers who cyber-raped me yesterday, I’ve got an update on a wine for you.
Firefly Ridge Syrah 2008 Central Coast (Livermore and Ripon) Alcohol 13.5% by volume. $9.99 on sale at Vons.
On the Label: “Our wines are a symbolic tribute to the mysterious and romantic firefly. The firefly’s brilliant luminescence is reflected in each vintage of Firefly Ridge wines.
“Firefly Ridge Syrah is a smooth red wine with exotic aromas and flavors of blackberry, spice and pepper. Velvety tannins, a hint of smoke and long, spicy finish make this an ideal pairing to grilled steaks or hearty pastas. This Syrah is delicious now or can be put down for up to 5 years to develop additional complexity.
My take: Definitely smooth. It goes well with campfire smoke, the sounds of a guitar, and sons squabbling good-naturedly as they play horseshoes. This bottle, however, was destined for great things.
I took a glass to the hubby to sip between songs. His eyes lit up, however, and he proceeded to transfer all the wine from the bottle to a plastic water bottle. The neck fit his finger – he was eyeing it as a potential slide for his cigar box guitar, as he’d left all his own slides at home.
(To break the neck of a wine bottle: douse approximately 7 inches of twine in lighter fluid. Wrap twine tightly around neck of bottle, tie off. Light the twine on fire, and twist bottle to make sure all the twine is burned and the bottle heated. When the flame goes out, dunk bottle into bucket of cold water for up to 2 minutes. If it cracks, good for you! If not, the bottle won.)
The bottle broke, instead of the neck coming off smoothly; and so we drank the wine in homage to the lost bottle. Being in plastic did nothing to mar the wonderful flavor. We had it with chicken-apple sausages, roasted potatoes with onion, and green beans.
My Rating: ~Very Drinkable~
So, summer’s almost over and I’m finally getting a vacation. If you want more of me today, head on over to Flirty Author Bitches and see my post, also hitting today. You’ll find out just why my family hates chipmunks.
Peace out people, and remember – drink responsibly!
~ Have you read DEMON SOUL yet? Head on over to Crescent Moon Press and pick up your copy today! ~
by Christine | Life, Observations, Writing
Sometimes, a girl just needs a place to put some random and stray thoughts down, you know? So here goes.
~ No one should bomb Norway. No way, no how. Too, too sad. I wish I could hug everyone there.
~ No one should go past the barriers at Niagra Falls. No way, no how. Too, too sad that they died.
~ Amy Winehouse. Too, too sad. Finally bought her Back to Black cd…but that’s me, all over it – but only when it’s all over.
~ Google + Well, from everything I’m hearing – I’m glad I didn’t jump on that bandwagon. I still may, but they’ve got a lot of ‘splaining to do.
~ Hey Mambo Red – Just bought another 3 bottles of it. 2 for camping. Truly. No joke. Stop it! (sipping on the 3rd bottle as we speak…)
~ Speaking of wine – hubby picked up two more bottles of the Ironstone Symphony. One’s in the fridge. We don’t go camping for two more weeks. May just have to pick up another bottle.
~ even though she spelled my hero’s name wrong, Eva’s Sanctuary gave DEMON SOUL a 4.5 stars out of 5. Can’t complain!
~ Didn’t see Deathly Hallows part 1. But LOVED part 2. Alan Rickman is the man. THE MAN! Best of luck to the three main kids. Whatever they do, they’re set for life – monetarily. I hope.
~ Don’t understand folks putting their first – or subsequent – chapters of their works in progress up online. If it’s bad, um, oops? And if it’s good – same go. As someone else’s gramma used to say about premarital sex – why should I buy the cow when I get the milk for free? (Even if the milk (book) is bad.)
~ Love the supportive writer community. I don’t know – is it just the folks I’m connected with on Twitter/Facebook/email? Or is it all writers? Don’t care. Love it!
~ Why is it you replenish a drink, but you never plenish it?
~ Borders closing. My heart breaking. School kids everywhere losing a place to be tutored. Writers everywhere losing a place to write. Readers everywhere losing a place to get lost in a book. Lose/lose proposition. Damn you, Amazon.
~ Yay for young people willing to join the Peace Corps after college. Shannon D, I’m so proud of you.
~ Hate politics. Doesn’t matter which party at this point. It seems it’s “party above country” – and that’s just WRONG. #governmentfail
~ Still love Joss Whedon. How can I not? Buffy 4-Ever.
~ Having a broken leg sucks. Going on vacation with a broken leg is better than not going on vacation – even if it’s camping.
MASHUP OF AWESOMENESS:
Below are some of the wonderful places I’ve been in the last week or so. Hope you enjoy.
Visit a different side of Paris with John Sealander. I’ve been there in the snow. It’s another world, totally.
If you haven’t discovered Eden Bradley/Eve Berlin yet, you should. She writes fantastic, sexy, intelligent books.
Susan McMartin suffers for beauty, after an enforced absence. Truly funny.
Les Floyd discusses the weekend’s news in this heartfelt and inspiring post. He’s my new hero.
If you haven’t heard of Savvy Authors yet, and you’re a writer, then you need to go there. Now. Tons of helpful information no matter how long you’ve been writing.
Don’t forget to pick up your copy of DEMON SOUL. Just got a 4 star review in September’s Romantic Times Book Reviews, and a 4.5 star review at Eva’s Sanctuary. Try it – you’ll like it!
That’s all for now, folks. Remember, summer is about half over. Have fun, love much, and drink responsibly!
by Christine | Cooking, Observations
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!
