Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Somewhat because I am thankful for a lot of stuff, but mostly because I'm a gifted eater and I love to watch football. And it is one of the days in the year I am guaranteed to get to watch football. No work, no BS, just football. If you get between me and the TV while the game is on, I will tackle you.

I haven't posted about food in quite some time, but suffice it to say I love to cook for Thanksgiving nearly as much as I love to eat it! I'll be using a Coke & Salt brine for the turkey since I don't want to fry one this year. I've done this turkey before and it is AMAZING! We'll have a cornbread stuffing, corn, various other cold veggies, a roasted garlic home style mashed potato, sweet potatoes (cheating on these and using store bought ones though), beets, various salads others are bringing, and to top it all off a pear dumpling with home made cinnamon ice cream. I'm not a baker, so some others are bringing pies - Dutch Apple, Pumpkin, and Blueberry!

I know for sure we'll be drinking a couple of bottles of 2006 Ravenswood Old Vine Zin that I have been keeping in storage the last couple of years. I'm sure after dinner that some Scotch will be making an appearance too - for sure some of my Laphroaig 18 year old, and likely a few others from my collection. I also have some Goose Island offerings - both beer and sodas. I have some of their Harvest Ale and some Nut Brown Ale. I have a collection of random beers left over from Oktoberfest that will likely disappear as well.

I seriously may consume 10,000 calories on Thanksgiving day, and I am going to enjoy each and every one of them.

Until I have to burn them off on the treadmill for the next week...

A great wine...

Last night we went out for some pasta after attending a play. We visited one of our favorite pasta places near the local University, a quaint place with reliable service and rock solid food. The last time I was there I had my very first Malbec and fell in love. So in keeping with that as a new tradition, we ordered a bottle of Terrazas Reserva Malbec 2004 and were not disappointed. I've included the relevant wine info for those who care below. We paired it with some lamb, pasta, salmon and chicken and it went well with all. Some people refer to various liquors as "smooth" and that definition fits this wine. It's a wine you could drink all night long (or at least I could!). Wine and Spirits gave it a rating of 92 (for the 2004 Reserve). As a related side note, don't drink anything that gets less than an 80 as a score as a rule of thumb. It wasn't the best wine I've ever had (see Opus One) but for the money it is nearly impossible to beat by my tastes. If you are looking for a nice wine for Easter or just entertaining, give this one a serious look if you can find it.

winemaker's notes:

Colour: intense red with blue shades.

Aroma: powerful and complex. Notes of red fruit can be perceived such as raspberry, red currant and sweet plum. Further hints of vanilla and caramel, stemming from its ageing in oak barrels, add a new level of complexity to this already full and exciting aroma.

Taste: a wine with a magnificent structure that offers a sensational mouth -feel and an intensely rich flavour. Its beautifully integrated tannins make it lively and strong. Its finish is smooth and perfectly harmonious.

Consumption suggestions: a perfect accompaniment to barbecued meats, game meats and pasta dishes. It can be drunk now or laid down for up to 10 years. Serve between 16? and 18?C.

Tried a new sparking wine - it was amazing!

Last night I tried a new sparkling wine that was truly amazing. I will be buying some bottles of this to give as gifts (as well as to drink!). The wine is from Toad Hollow and is the Risqué Methode Ancestrale Sparkling Wine. The taste is outstanding! Sweet with a delightful flavor of apples. There is a hint of pear, but it is overpowered by the apple. The ability to reseal the bottle is fantastic as well! Sparking wine at night, Mimosa's in the morning. For the price, this is a 9+ out of 10. A bottle of this will NOT last long, everybody will be asking for more.

From the Toad Hollow website:

Vibrant! Frivolous! And ... Oo-Lah-Lah ...

When Can-Can was introduced in Paris in the 1830's, it was quickly dubbed, "Le Ballet Risqué" for its rousing energy marked by high kicks and daring naughtiness. Soon it became a symbol for the Parisians' famous devil-may-care attitude.

"Risqué" recaptures that spirit. This "vin vivant" (lively wine) is a crisp and fruity sparkling wine with low alcohol (6%) and the taste of fresh green apples and pears. Softly effervescent with just enough sweetness to seduce your palate as an aperitif or tempt you when you want something perfectly naughty to finish ... or, perhaps ... to start again!

Methode Ancestrale

Oxford Companion to Wine - This method is rarely used and results in a lightly sparkling, medium sweet wine. It involves bottling young wines before all the residual sugar has been fermented into alcohol. Fermentation continues in the bottle and gives off carbon dioxide. The wine is designed to be sweeter and less fizzy than a champagne method sparkling wine and no dosage is allowed.

Alcohol: 6.0%
Acidity: 4.5 g/l
Residual sugar: 7.0%
Grape: Mauzac
Appellation: Limoux
(Region in the south of France)

Related Tags: Toad Hollow, Wine, Sparkling Wine, Champagne, Risque, vin vivant, lively wine, Methode Ancestrale, aperitif, Sweet wine, Sweet Champagne, Vino, Alcohol, Acidity, Residual sugar, Grape, Mauzac, Appellation, Limoux, France, California

Selling and Serving Wine

With Christmas coming, and New Year's just around the corner, I thought I would review a few wine related fundamentals for those who might be interested.

Eight Ways to Maximize Wine Sales

1. Speed counts. Once the order is taken (and this goes for cocktail orders, as well), get the bottle to the table as fast as you can.
   
2. Make the word “wine” slip into every single first approach to a table, whether it’s a single diner or a crowd. Practice this approach on friends and family. “We have several new wines on the list, my favorite is…,” or “I’ll be right back with your cocktails, and I will leave the wine list with you to select something for your dinner.”
   
3. Always assume that your guests want wine. It’s only a matter of which one they want. “Would you like a red or a white this evening?” Or how about “…wine for this evening? I love this Sauvignon Blanc with our mussels,” or “the veggie pizza is great with this Zinfandel — would you like to try a bottle?”
   
4. Up sell the two glasses to a bottle. “We offer the wines by the glass by the bottle as well, and they are a great value when you’re both having the same thing — shall I bring a bottle?”
   
5. When emptying a bottle, (always to the host) ask “would you like another bottle of the same or would you like to see the list again?”
   
6. Don’t spend too much time worrying about what goes with what. Everyone has their own taste, and while there are good choices and great choices, screwing it up entirely is rare.
   
7. Be aware of any wines that may be unavailable, so that you may inform the guest at the moment they order it, and suggest an alternative. Again, avoid delays; they cripple your sales.
   
8. Even if you don’t drink wine, you can sell it. Find some wines with which you are familiar. Selling is storytelling, and remarking to a guest that the owner loves a certain wine or that the winemaker recently visited the restaurant for dinner can sell a bottle. Don’t be afraid to be creative.

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Wine Service 101

How to remove a cork intact, and a bunch of other basic rules of wine service that every server and manager should know are listed below. Copy this list and hand it out to your staff at your next lineup.

1. The bottle is presented to the host. The host is whoever ordered the wine. Pay attention to this — don’t present the bottle to the gentleman if the lady ordered it. Say the wine’s name and vintage, confirming their choice, before opening.
   
2. The bottle may be set on the table or a geridon (a French term for a side table), or opened “in the air.” Make this determination based on your style of service and set a policy for consistency.
   
3. The server shall have a clean folded cloth napkin in hand. Cut the capsule cleanly below the second lip, and wipe bottle with napkin. The cut capsule goes into servers’ pocket, and never on the table or in an ice bucket.
   
4. Insert the corkscrew, but not dead center, or the opener will spiral down to one side. Look at the top of the cork like the face of a clock and insert it between the center and 1 o’clock (11 o’clock if you are a southpaw).
   
5. Withdraw cork using the action of the opener as a lever. Avoid pulling the cork to one side as it comes up. When the cork can easily be removed, twist the cork with your hand and remove. Avoid popping the cork out. Place cork on table next to host’s glass.
   
6. Wipe the bottle top again.
   
7. Pour 1 to 2 ounces for the host to taste.
   
8. Upon acceptance, pour clockwise (label facing guest) all women first, and then gentlemen, and then host last (male or female). One 750-ml bottle is 25 ounces, and serves four, with wine left over in the bottle. Do not try to empty on the first pour – it looks pushy. No matter what your glass capacity, serve no more than 4 or 5 ounces. You may have to stretch a bottle for 6, but do not short anyone on that initial pour.
   
9. Wish the party well by saying “enjoy” and remove the cork, unless they would like to keep it. (Never re-cork the bottle on the table.)

Related Tags: Wine, Wine Service, How to serve wine, Opus One, Selling Wine, How to sell wine, Increase wine sales, Increase sales, Restaurant, Food Service, Bar, Bartender, Waiter, Waitress, Server, Red Lobster, Wine List

Best Lasagna of my life (thus far...)

This is probably better suited for a blog about Olive Garden (another Darden Restaurants owned chain).

I made some lasagna the other day from a recipe I got at epicurious.com. Epicurious is my favorite source of recipes on the internet. I kinda followed the recipe, but also added my own flair to it for my own tastes. You can see my changes and notes in RED below.

We paired this with a 2004 Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc before the meal and a 2003 Da Vinci Chianti (DOCG approved) during the meal. For more on the Blanc click here. I really like the Blanc (and Mondavi is by far one of my favorite wine makers), though the pear flavor is pretty strong in this showing. The Da Vinci was new to me, and performed brilliantly. The flavor pair was amazing. I will likely buy a couple more of these Da Vinci Chianti's to just keep on hand for future use. The Chianti was an A and the Blanc a B on my grading chart. Our guests both liked both wines as well. Both wines also fall into a very nice price range.

THREE-CHEESE LASAGNA WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

SAUCE
1 tablespoon olive oil (I added a 2nd tablespoon, seemed a bit dry)
1 cup chopped onion (I used 1/2 cup not liking onion that much. I also food processed it)
3/4 cup finely chopped peeled carrots (food processed it)
2 tablespoons minced garlic (used 3 large cloves and it wasn't enough)
8 ounces lean ground beef (used 12oz. of Mild Italian, 6oz. of Spicy Italian Sausage. I would use all Spicy next time)
6 ounces spicy Italian sausages, casings removed (see above)
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added puree (used organic as they don't have such a strong canned taste)
1/4 cup tomato paste (I went over this amount to pump up the tomato flavor. Probably 3/8 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I used more than 1/4 cup, and it still could've taken more)
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar (bumped up to 2+ tablespoons)
1 tablespoon dried oregano (definately could have used more of this)
1 bay leaf (I used 2 large ones, but probably could've used a bit more)
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper (I felt it needed a bit more heat after eating it last night, so add more to your own tastes)

LASAGNA
15 lasagna noodles -about 12 ounces

2 15-ounce containers part-skim ricotta cheese (I used whole mike ricotta)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese -about 3 ounces (I doubled this)
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained,
squeezed dry (I hate spinach so I skipped this)
2 large eggs

4 3/4 cups grated mozzarella cheese -about 1 1/4 pounds

FOR SAUCE: Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and garlic; sauté until softened, about 12 minutes. Add beef and sausages to pan; sauté until cooked through, breaking up meat with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer until flavors blend and sauce measures about 5 cups, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Cool.

FOR LASAGNA: Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Drain; cover with cold water.

Combine ricotta and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese in medium bowl. Mix in spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in eggs. Drain pasta and pat dry. Spread 1/2 cup sauce over bottom of 13x9-inch glass baking dish. Place 5 noodles over sauce, overlapping to fit. Spread half of ricotta-spinach mixture evenly over noodles. Sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella cheese evenly over ricotta-spinach mixture. Spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce over cheese, spreading with spatula to cover (sauce will be thick). Repeat layering with 5 noodles, remaining ricotta-spinach mixture, 2 cups mozzarella and 1 1/2 cups sauce. Arrange remaining 5 noodles over sauce. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese evenly over lasagna. Can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake lasagna 40 minutes; uncover and bake until hot and bubbly, about 40 minutes. Let lasagna stand 15 minutes before serving. (The last 40 minutes I set the oven at 400F instead of the suggested 350F. Because I made extra sauce through adding more ingredients, I added that to the bottom and top layers of sauce.)
Serves 8.

Other notes - I used extra meat and some extra parmesan cheese and this barely stayed in the dish when cooking. The original recipe is probably the perfect amount for a 13X9 glass dish.


Related Tags: Lasagna, Lasagna recipe, Olive Garden, Olive Garden Lasagna, Darden, Darden Restaurants, DRI, Italian Sausage, Pasta, Italian food, Italian Restaurant, Mondavi, Robert Mondavi, Mondavi Vineyards, Wine, Wine pairing, Wine Lasagna, White Wine, Red Wine, Sauvignon Blanc, Chianti, Da Vinci, Da Vinci Chianti, Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc, 2003 Chianti, 2004 Sauvignon Blanc