There are many excellent wines coming out of Washington and Oregon. Last year I had the opportunity to visit a number of Washington wineries and I brought home some of their wines. (I will actually be reviewing one of them very soon). In the future I do hope to visit Oregon as well. But, these wines are not as well known as they should be. So, I wanted to bring your attention to a free tasting tommorrow concentrating on these wines.
On Saturday, August 18, from 4-7pm, The Spirited Gourmet will be holding a tasting of wines from Washington and Oregon.
The wines will include:
Whites
Columbia Winery Cellarmasters Riesling (Washington) 2006
Cuvee A Amrita White (Oregon) 2006
Anne Amie Pinot Gris (Oregon) 2005
Reds
Underwood Pinot Noir (Oregon) 2005
Flying Fish Merlot (Washington) 2004
Gordon Brothers Cabernet Sauvignon (Washington) 2004
The Spirited Gourmet
600 Main St.
Winchester, MA
Phone: 781-721-WINE
Friday, August 17, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Poll #4 Results
Poll #4 has now ended and the poll question was: What is your favorite type of California wine?
There was a tie for first place, between Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, each with five votes. But, Zinfandel, with four votes, was a very close second. And not a single vote for Chardonnay. Red wines certainly dominated that vote.
So, onto Poll #5 & #6. Following up on the last poll, let us pit California vs France and see what happens.
Poll #5: Would you rather have a California Cabernet Sauvignon or a French Bordeaux?
Poll #6: Would you rather have a California Pinot Noir or a French Burgundy?
Let the battle commence!
There was a tie for first place, between Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, each with five votes. But, Zinfandel, with four votes, was a very close second. And not a single vote for Chardonnay. Red wines certainly dominated that vote.
So, onto Poll #5 & #6. Following up on the last poll, let us pit California vs France and see what happens.
Poll #5: Would you rather have a California Cabernet Sauvignon or a French Bordeaux?
Poll #6: Would you rather have a California Pinot Noir or a French Burgundy?
Let the battle commence!
Restaurants Cost More
Dining in Boston at restaurants has gotten more expensive lately, at a rate higher than the national average.
The Boston Herald had an interesting article today concerning statistics on restaurant costs from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The price of dining out has increased 4.5%, up from the 2.9% increase last year. The national average is only 3.6%. The increases are primarily due to higher costs for food and fuel.
But what is most interesting is the identity of the restaurants most prone to raising their prices. Who is it? Chain restaurants!
Independent restaurants more often absorb the increased costs to keep their prices at a certain level. Obviously they too have to raise prices at a point, but they do tend to be more consumer friendly in such regards. Chain restaurants tend to pass their increased costs directly onto the consumer.
I guess that is another reason why many chain restaurants are not good values. That is certainly not true of all chains, but one should be very particular of which chains you frequent.
The Boston Herald had an interesting article today concerning statistics on restaurant costs from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The price of dining out has increased 4.5%, up from the 2.9% increase last year. The national average is only 3.6%. The increases are primarily due to higher costs for food and fuel.
But what is most interesting is the identity of the restaurants most prone to raising their prices. Who is it? Chain restaurants!
Independent restaurants more often absorb the increased costs to keep their prices at a certain level. Obviously they too have to raise prices at a point, but they do tend to be more consumer friendly in such regards. Chain restaurants tend to pass their increased costs directly onto the consumer.
I guess that is another reason why many chain restaurants are not good values. That is certainly not true of all chains, but one should be very particular of which chains you frequent.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Wine Spectator: Cooking Issue
In keeping with the theme of cooking, I received my copy today of the September 30th issue of Wine Spectator. This is their annual Food issue, their third year of such annuals. This issue concentrates on "How To Cook" providing helpful advice on a wide variety of cooking techniques. I have enjoyed their last two food annuals and this issue is no different. If you enjoy cooking, definitely pick up a copy. There are even recipes from some famous chefs such as Daniel Bouloud, Mario Batali and Alice Waters.
Are Cookbooks an Endangered Species?
I have long been a voracious reader. I love to hold an actual book in my hand. I am not a fan of E-books, online books, as reading them is not the same, having to spend hours staring at a computer screen. I do use the Internet for research but I still buy plenty of books.
But what about a specific type of book, the cookbook? Is it an endangered species?
The Internet probably contains hundreds of thousands of recipes. For example, All Recipes contains over 40,000 recipes. Examples of other sites containing numerous recipes include Epicurious, Recipe.Com, Recipe Source, and Cooks.Com. You can find recipes for all types of cuisines, using any type of ingredient.
So, with all these recipes available, why would anyone want to buy a cookbook?
First, it can be difficult sometimes to search for a particular recipe online. It may take a lot of time to find exactly what you want. Thus, it may not be as convenient as just checking a cookbook. The recipe websites seem most useful for experienced users. For a casual searcher, they can be frustrating. A good cookbook can also give you several recipes for the same meal, from appetizer to dessert. Easier to find than searching online for all the different courses.
Second, if time is short, cookbooks are probably quicker and easier to use than checking the Internet. Check a cookbook index and find a recipe. Less than a minute. Turn on the computer, let it start up, do a search for a recipe, print it out. Much longer.
Third, and what is important to me, is the issue of credibility. Who do you trust to give you a recipe? Some of the online recipe sites are compiled by voluntary submissions. Yet you may not have much information on the background of the contributor. So, how do you know you can trust the recipe? How do you know it will be good? With a cookbook, you usually have much more information on the author/chef. So, you can better judge their credibility. To me, that is an important reason for a cookbook.
Fourth, good cookbooks give you more than just recipes. They often discuss cooking techniques, ingredients, suppliers and much more. All this in one book. Online, you might have to go to multiple sites to find all of the same information. Or on one site, you might have to journey to various pages.
Other reasons include that cookbooks can be visually stunning and cookbooks can contain recipes that you won't find anywhere else.
No, cookbooks are not an endangered species. Or at least they shouldn't be. I'll keep buying cookbooks and hope others do as well.
Part of what generated this topic is that I have received a few review copies of some new cookbooks from Random House. If I like any of the cookbooks, I will review them here. I am under no obligation to review them. It is solely up to me. And I will only review them if I think they will benefit my readers.
But what about a specific type of book, the cookbook? Is it an endangered species?
The Internet probably contains hundreds of thousands of recipes. For example, All Recipes contains over 40,000 recipes. Examples of other sites containing numerous recipes include Epicurious, Recipe.Com, Recipe Source, and Cooks.Com. You can find recipes for all types of cuisines, using any type of ingredient.
So, with all these recipes available, why would anyone want to buy a cookbook?
First, it can be difficult sometimes to search for a particular recipe online. It may take a lot of time to find exactly what you want. Thus, it may not be as convenient as just checking a cookbook. The recipe websites seem most useful for experienced users. For a casual searcher, they can be frustrating. A good cookbook can also give you several recipes for the same meal, from appetizer to dessert. Easier to find than searching online for all the different courses.
Second, if time is short, cookbooks are probably quicker and easier to use than checking the Internet. Check a cookbook index and find a recipe. Less than a minute. Turn on the computer, let it start up, do a search for a recipe, print it out. Much longer.
Third, and what is important to me, is the issue of credibility. Who do you trust to give you a recipe? Some of the online recipe sites are compiled by voluntary submissions. Yet you may not have much information on the background of the contributor. So, how do you know you can trust the recipe? How do you know it will be good? With a cookbook, you usually have much more information on the author/chef. So, you can better judge their credibility. To me, that is an important reason for a cookbook.
Fourth, good cookbooks give you more than just recipes. They often discuss cooking techniques, ingredients, suppliers and much more. All this in one book. Online, you might have to go to multiple sites to find all of the same information. Or on one site, you might have to journey to various pages.
Other reasons include that cookbooks can be visually stunning and cookbooks can contain recipes that you won't find anywhere else.
No, cookbooks are not an endangered species. Or at least they shouldn't be. I'll keep buying cookbooks and hope others do as well.
Part of what generated this topic is that I have received a few review copies of some new cookbooks from Random House. If I like any of the cookbooks, I will review them here. I am under no obligation to review them. It is solely up to me. And I will only review them if I think they will benefit my readers.
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