Remember that recipe that triggered a manifestation of my Covid stress for my family to witness? Well, this is the recipe. This salad is a favorite of two of my sisters, and for a while, they made it all the time. It is now on a reasonable rotation. Island Pork Tenderloin Salad has several parts that happen at the same time. It is best if you make this when there are others around to help. Divide and conquer as they say. One person prepares the pork tenderloin, and another makes the salad. It is not uncommon for three people to…
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Before we get to the Pinot Gouges (pronounced pea-no gooj-zz), allow me to share. As you can tell from the subject matter from my blog posts since March, we have been writing mostly about wine as I have not been cooking, baking, or otherwise doing more than boiling a hot dog or melting some cheese on Dorritos. Clearly, the latter two listed are not blog-worthy. In contrast, others are cooking up a storm and creating like never before. I am microwaving precooked bacon or precooked hamburgers. It seems that the stress of the pandemic has affected the creative, adventurous part…
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I have several folks in my sphere in healthcare and public health that are telling us to settle in. That this virus is not going anywhere for at least a year, but if the ‘rona is going to continue to be in our lives so that we need to mask and distance for a year, we will definitely need more wine, and I believe you will as well. That is why I am committed to finding more wineries to partner with us and do more virtual tastings. And that is why I am reaching out to encourage you to participate.…
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This covid-thang has not been easy for any of us. Small family-owned businesses like restaurants have been hit especially hard. Now imagine opening up your longtime dream restaurant Savi Cucina & Wine Bar, that you have been planning for years in November of 2019. Your thought is, the first couple of months will allow us to test our processes and then hit the holidays. Over the winter, we fine-tune what needs adjusting. By spring, we will be ready to kick butt and take names. (at least that is what I imagined they’d do) And then, Covid. If it were me,…
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But before I talk about these two Balverne wines, I want to talk about tasting notes and their value or lack of value to a wine consumer. Within the wine writing community, you will find tasting notes widely used to talk about wine. Many wineries also put their tasting notes on the technical sheet used for “trade and media.” These notes can allow for writing about the wine without ever tasting it. They may also provide insight into the wine for a wine buyer. Although I do not know any buyers that buy wine without tasting it first. So what…
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Summer Season of Rosé 2020 and I love it! This summer has been a real bummer. Travel is restricted. Face masks hide smiles. Eating at restaurants is just not the same without the hustle and bustle. But there is one thing still happening – Summer Rosé Season. The ‘Rona has put a kibosh on much of summer life that seems like it will not end. But no matter what, there is always summer rosé. And this season, we once again have a full refrigerator of just these wines. As a refresher: Rosé wine is primarily* made from red wine grapes…
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Legendary Boutique Napa Valley Winery I first met Stuart Smith, Founder and Managing Partner of Smith-Madrone Winery at WWET 2018 in Napa Valley. He was a presenting winemaker at a couple of seminars sharing his POV, his wines, and his history in the Valley. If you are from Napa, I will venture that you know Stu, as he is known. After the conference, Gary and I stuck around for a couple more days. We intended to make our way up Spring Mountain, where the winery resides. But the road can be treacherous during inclement weather, and the clouds were not…
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Does anyone else agree that boxed cake mixes make lackluster cakes? Yea, me too. I find them crumbly and light in texture and flavor. So light that when you stab it with a fork, the bite falls apart and back on your plate. The only solution is to smash it onto the back of your fork and/or use icing or ice cream to collect the crumbs. Yes, I could make cakes from scratch, and I will now that I got a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. But sometimes you need something quick. Since I started learning how to bake (see past…
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