May 29, 2009

Friday Fling - Going Out...I Think...

Yesterday was the last official school day of an officially awful year. I can talk about it, but somehow I don't really want to write about it. At least not yet. In the meantime, a new women's bar has opened up in Denver. It's called "Her Bar" and it's partly owned by a gal that owns another bar called "tHERe Bar." Rumor has it that she's opening a third bar as well. Seriously. My guess on the name is "Her Bar Too." That way when she and her girlfriend are out and about they can go the Her Bar, and then to Her Bar too, and then tHERe Bar... Her's, Her's too, and tHERe's... Okay grammatically and spelling wise that doesn't really work out in writing. But it sounded good in my head! Anyway, I hear they have country western dancing on Fridays, so I may pull on the boots and go check it out.

UPDATE: Two-Stepping canceled on account of the Nuggets playing in some b-ball tournament and ya can't hear the announcers over the music...sigh. Maybe next week.

UPDATE #2: The Nuggets lost badly in their own house. However, the movie "Walk The Line" was pretty good.

May 20, 2009

Wednesday's Wine - Francis Coppola Presents Bianco Pinot Grigio 2006

In honor of the extra warm weather we're having here in Colorado (until this weekend when it will be rainy and cool for the holiday weekend) I'm reviewing a white wine. I picked up a bottle of Francis Coppola Presents Bianco Pinot Grigio, 2006, last weekend for about $8.00. Right now if you buy a bottle you get a glass wine sipping jar type thing. Apparently, these kind of glasses are used in place like Provence, France by the locals. I like them, they hold just enough wine for sipping with appetizers, or a small dinner.

Anyway, this Pinot Grigio is crisp, just the way I like my white wines. It has some nice fruit flavors without being sticky sweet. Also, there's a bit of butteriness as well. Technically, this is a white wine blend. It's 90% Pinot Grigio with 5% each of Chardonnay (there's the buttery...heh) and Sauvignon Blanc. It was a nice counter point to the fish fajitas I made last night.

Here's what the folks at the Coppola's winery said about their wine:

Our Pinot Grigio grapes are night harvested and delivered to the winery in the early morning, where the grapes are cold pressed and fermented under cool conditions.

Our Bianco Pinot Grigio is also fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel to preserve its fresh fruit aromas and flavors. A small amount of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are blended into the final wine to add complexity.

ENJOY!

May 13, 2009

Wednesday's Wine - Back by Popular Demand...

You'll notice that I didn't put the name of the wine in the post title. Yeah, it's not that good. But since I'm an equal opportunity kinda gal, I'm still going to review it. So what's the name of this not quite that good wine? Why it's Sutter Home Red. Yeah, that's the problem. It's Sutter Home. You know when I mentioned that I had a good box wine and everyone said..."ewww?" Well that "ewww" should have been saved for this wine. GACK! It's just too sweet for a red wine. And here's why: it has a sweet white grape in it. Just by including at white grape Sutter Home violated the unwritten RED wine rule that requires that a red wine be a blend of RED grapes...just sayin'... Anyway, I suppose it's okay for someone that prefers their red wines to be more pink and kinda sweet...and chilled. So, you all know who you are...you sweet wine drinkers you...heh. I know I'm being a bit biased here, but I'm not going to post a picture of the bottle or other information on it. You can pretty much find Sutter Home in any liquor store in the U. S. of A.

Of course, you might be wondering WHY on earth I would even buy such a low end wine. Well, I didn't buy it. I was sent home from the previously posted Mother's Day dinner with the remains (half the bottle). I will say, it's kind of my fault that my friend even had this bottle of wine. She went to 3 S Liquors (one of the ones I go to) and asked Joe (one of my wine guys) for suggestions. What's not my fault: she requested a cheap red wine on the sweet side...and that pretty much describes this wine! We had it with her sister's homemade stuffed bell peppers (which were pretty tasty!) and later I had it with cheese tortilla's with avocado. I also had it with meat ravioli. I think it would be better with ham or something else that's kind of salty. Basically, if you buy this wine anyway, serve it with anything that you would serve with White Zinfandel (another "gack"). Anyway...let me know if you try it and actually enjoy it...heh.

May 10, 2009

Sunday Surf - Happy Mother's Day...now watch this...

I was invited to dinner at one of my best friend's house by her mother. I had called to wish her a Happy Mother's Day since she's kind of a surrogate mother as my own mother is WAY down in Texas (and yes, I called my mother, too). Anyway, after dinner we watched a rather disturbing movie called Zeitgeist - the movie. If you haven't seen this...and I tend to think most people haven't...you might want to watch this. It will make you rethink your complacency about the role of religion (Judeo/Christian in particular), banks (and I work part time in finance), and war (WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and the current wars) in our lives and how these are used to oppress people. Then, if you really think about it, it might make you rethink the male of the species (they seem to the the common denominator)...or not.

May 3, 2009

Sunday Surf - Lunch/Dinner

My blog buddy, Citizen of the World, regularly post pictures of her meals. They look yummy usually. I generally don't have the creativity to stop and take some pictures. Especially since I usually eat at my coffee table...heh. Anyway, I finally got around to making a recipe my mother gave me years ago. It's called King Ranch Chicken Casserole. I happened to have the ingredients in my pantry, so I decided to make it. Here's what it looked like out of the oven:

Here's the recipe if you desire to have something yummy with cheese on it.

1 Chicken breast - broiled and shredded

Tortilla chips - enough to layer twice in a 9 x 9 casserole

6 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1 can Rotel

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 4oz. can of chopped green chile

1 cup finely chopped onion

milk as needed (optional)

After cooking and shredding the chicken, place in a bowl and combine with all of the other ingredients except the cheese and chips (add milk to the mixture if baking uncovered). In a 9 x 9 casserole (or similar size oven safe cooking dish), place a layer of chips on the bottom, a layer of the chicken mixture, and a layer of cheese. Repeat the order for a second layer.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove lid and broil for 10 minutes (or until cheese is browning) at 450 degrees. Let casserole stand for 10 minutes uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with a romaine salad or Mexican slaw and a crisp white wine (or lemonade). Serves 4 large portions. The full casserole has about 1540 calories or about 385 for a large serving.

ENJOY!