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Tag: pot luck

  • A Case of Cava for the Holidays

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    Cavas, like this Dibon Brut Reserve, are some of our favorite value sparkling wines.

    Having a case of a good wine on hand during the holidays can save time when you need a gift, have a reason to celebrate, or want to contribute something nice to a pot luck or BYOB party. Having a case of sparkling wine can add even more fun to those events.

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    Cavas come in white and rosé versions. Often, a producer will offer both, as is the case with Grand Sarao. 

    These Spanish sparklers must be made by the traditional method or méthode champenoise, and they must follow the rules of the Denominación de Origen (DO) to achieve Cava status.

    This is a great time of year to attend tastings at your local wine merchant to help you decide which wines are good values and which you would like to have on hand.

    Remember our recommendation from this post about a favorite value sparkler from Italy:

    "Please don't give your clients, business associates, and friends the wines you see in TV ads as holiday gifts. A good wine shop, like Bauer, can recommend a good wine value that you can give with pride. And, it will be one that will please both the occasional sipper and wine aficionado."

    Take the time to find a good wine at a good price and then use sales and case discounts to make that a great buy.

    Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here are three of our favorite wine books.

    The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

    The New Wine Lover's Companion

    The Wine Bible

     

     Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2009-2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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  • American Chop Suey, a New England Tradition

    This is a traditional time of year, so why not make a big pot of this area's American Chop Suey. I like to have old fashioned, comfort food around when life gets busy. This is also a great dish to feed a crowd or to bring to a pot luck.

    If you follow the tips you've learned from watching food shows, you can add a note of refinement – a je ne sais quoi – to your version of this hearty dish.

    For example, I started this batch with this recipe from Saveur Magazine. I love their addition of crushed, red pepper flakes and cinnamon. Neither one of those was in my family's version.

    I used red pepper instead of green. And, after I browned the beef, I used some white wine to deglaze the pan and capture all that lovely caramelization. For macaroni, I did use elbows but I selected the elbows with ridges and a bit of a twist because they seem to hold on to the sauce and meat better than smooth ones.

    DSC_9715 - Version 22012-10-30-American-Chop-Suey-© 2011 Penny Cherubino

    When we have a stock of something like this in our refrigerator, we are most likely to pop some into a bowl and microwave individual portions. This is a great option if you have a bunch of different schedules to accomodate or some big appetites home for the holidays. A meal for some of us can be a between meal snack for others.

    But, if you're feeding holiday guests and want a different look for this dish on day two, put a twist on tradition. Bake this pasta under a blanket of cheese and breadcrumbs and present it with a golden, cripsy top and a melty, cheesy layer.

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

    Related articles
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  • American Chop Suey, a New England Tradition

    This is a traditional time of year, so why not make a big pot of this area's American Chop Suey. I like to have old fashioned, comfort food around when life gets busy. This is also a great dish to feed a crowd or to bring to a pot luck.

    If you follow the tips you've learned from watching food shows, you can add a note of refinement – a je ne sais quoi – to your version of this hearty dish.

    For example, I started this batch with this recipe from Saveur Magazine. I love their addition of crushed, red pepper flakes and cinnamon. Neither one of those was in my family's version.

    I used red pepper instead of green. And, after I browned the beef, I used some white wine to deglaze the pan and capture all that lovely caramelization. For macaroni, I did use elbows but I selected the elbows with ridges and a bit of a twist because they seem to hold on to the sauce and meat better than smooth ones.

    DSC_9715 - Version 22012-10-30-American-Chop-Suey-© 2011 Penny Cherubino

    When we have a stock of something like this in our refrigerator, we are most likely to pop some into a bowl and microwave individual portions. This is a great option if you have a bunch of different schedules to accomodate or some big appetites home for the holidays. A meal for some of us can be a between meal snack for others.

    But, if you're feeding holiday guests and want a different look for this dish on day two, put a twist on tradition. Bake this pasta under a blanket of cheese and breadcrumbs and present it with a golden, cripsy top and a melty, cheesy layer.

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

    Related articles
    Scared of Celeriac?
    Focaccia Croutons Are Tops
    Fartootempting Baked Beans From Breakwind Farm
    Enhanced by Zemanta

  • American Chop Suey, a New England Tradition

    This is a traditional time of year, so why not make a big pot of this area's American Chop Suey. I like to have old fashioned, comfort food around when life gets busy. This is also a great dish to feed a crowd or to bring to a pot luck.

    If you follow the tips you've learned from watching food shows, you can add a note of refinement – a je ne sais quoi – to your version of this hearty dish.

    For example, I started this batch with this recipe from Saveur Magazine. I love their addition of crushed, red pepper flakes and cinnamon. Neither one of those was in my family's version.

    I used red pepper instead of green. And, after I browned the beef, I used some white wine to deglaze the pan and capture all that lovely caramelization. For macaroni, I did use elbows but I selected the elbows with ridges and a bit of a twist because they seem to hold on to the sauce and meat better than smooth ones.

    DSC_9715 - Version 22012-10-30-American-Chop-Suey-© 2011 Penny Cherubino

    When we have a stock of something like this in our refrigerator, we are most likely to pop some into a bowl and microwave individual portions. This is a great option if you have a bunch of different schedules to accomodate or some big appetites home for the holidays. A meal for some of us can be a between meal snack for others.

    But, if you're feeding holiday guests and want a different look for this dish on day two, put a twist on tradition. Bake this pasta under a blanket of cheese and breadcrumbs and present it with a golden, cripsy top and a melty, cheesy layer.

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

    Related articles
    Scared of Celeriac?
    Focaccia Croutons Are Tops
    Fartootempting Baked Beans From Breakwind Farm
    Enhanced by Zemanta