Another Indulgence.... Red Velvet Wine

A huge shout out to my good friend Jen H who, knowing about my quest for the perfect Red Velvet, discovered a Red Velvet Wine by Cupcake Vineyards, out of California.
And even better - found an awesome website that shows where it (and just about every other type of wine and spirit) is sold in Alberta!!!

Here is a description of the Cupcake Vineyard's Red Velvet wine from their website:
Red Velvet is a smooth creamy blend of Zinfandel, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It's reminiscent of a blackberry chocolate cupcake with a mocha coulis.  Shows an incredible nose of chocolate, deep rich blackberries,  red fruits and a creamy mocha finish that is unmistakable in its intensity and length.

She picked us up a bottle, and because my husband is out of town tonight, we had an impromptu girls night... actually it was more of a girls late afternoon/early evening, because we had our kids with us, and needed to be responsible.
ANYWAYS...

The label says the wine pairs well with dark chocolate fondue, bacon cheeseburgers or sweet and spicy hoisin steaks... (talk about a mixed pallette)...So, because the sun was still shining at dinner time, and DESPITE the piles of snow that still blanket my back yard, I decided to fire up my bbq and comprimise on the label's recommendations by making some homemade Hoisin Hamburgers on wholewheat buns to accompany the vino.... 

We were a little wary of the wine at first, afraid that it might not live up to our expectations (much like my first impression of the Red Velvet Cupcake from a few posts back), but I'm so happy to report that I think I've found a new favourite red wine, perfect for summer (if it ever gets here).  The wine is light, but has a beautiful rich red colour.  It went wonderfully with our dinner, but I think I could easily nurse it on it's own too.... always a good sign :).

Thanks for searching it out Jen!!!!  Here's to keeping a stash of this new indulgence on hand - and continuing to discover new ones of course :)

That's all I've got to say about that for now.... maybe tomorrow I'll post my recipe for the Hoisin Hamburgers... they were delish too, if I may say so myself.

As Always,  Dayna 

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #8

PKNT Gold Carmenere
(PNKT is prounounced "Picante")

PKNT Gold Carmenere - a Fabulous new red wine

Last night I brought a bottle of PKNT Gold Carmenere to self-indulgence #7.  It is a wonderful Chilean red wine that I discovered while cruising the aisles at one of our local liquor stores.   This time, I didn't just choose by label - I was looking for something different that would go good with our indian feast, and that I hadn't tried before.  What a wonderful surprise I had when we opened the cork. 
I don't have the wine vocabulary to describe it "Properly", so here is a link to a blog I found that describes it better: PKNT CHILEAN WINE


I decided to research it a bit more for this posting and found that the Carmenere grape variety actually has a pretty interesting story.... According to Snooths.com:
Carmenère (aka. Cabarnelle, Carbouet, Carmenelle, Grande Carmenet, Grande Vidure) Carmenere is a rediscovered grape variety that’s beginning to make waves in California. Eclectic producers, such as Guenoc, are blending Carmenere with Bordeaux grapes such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot as part of traditional Meritage blends. Forgotten for over a century, Carmenere had become a viticultural dinosaur. But then Carmenere was found anew growing abundantly in Chile....  Read More....

This wine has a fabulous dark red colour, and a smooth but full body with hints of cherries, figs and vanilla. The wine pairs very well with spicy foods, and would probably be nice with strong cheeses too... hmmm I'll try that next time.

Meanwhile, stay tuned as I continue to indulge in counting-down to the end of my thirtys at the end of this week.

As Always, Dayna

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #7 (UPDATED POST)

GOBLOOS!!!

When I was a little girl, living in Ottawa, we had some family friends who were from India.  Every now and then, we would go over to visit them for a playdate and dinner.  Unfortunately, I've only managed to hold on to a couple of bizzare memories of those dates:
1) I remember Monika and Susan had a really fun puzzle with unusual shapes mixed in with the traditional puzzle shapes (i.e. cats, stars, boats, people etc); and

Gobloos (aka gulab jamun, aka the BEST dessert ever!!!)

2) I remember gobloos... gobloos were what I called the little balls of fried dough soaked in sweet cardomom and rosewater syrup that Mrs. Chadha always served.
Anyways, we moved away when I was 9, and I never saw the Chadhas again - but I never forgot those gobloos.  It wasn't until many years later, while travelling in India, that I learned this isn't the correct name for the dish.  They are actually called Gulab Jamun.  (Imagine how cool I sounded asking if there were "gobloos" on the menu in every restaurant I went into for the first 3 weeks of my trip - the looks this crazy backpacker got were priceless!!!)

This evening, I went over to my friend Jen H's house with a couple of other girlfriends, for indulgence #7 - an indian feast and a movie.  When she was planning the evening, and asked what we should have on our menu, OF COURSE I had to include Gulab Jamuns.

Channa Masala

The rest of the meal was a combination of take-out (raita, butter chicken, chicken tikka masala and aloo gobi), store bought (Papaddum and Punjabi mix) and homemade (I've got my slow-cooker simmering up a bunch of channa masala as I write this).... all some of my favourite foods, rounded off with a bottle of PKNT Gold Carmenere but it's the Gobloos that finished off the meal perfectly in my mind....

After dinner we curled up with an appropriately themed girly movie - Bride and Prejudice.  It was a very light-hearted Hollywood-Bollywood crossover - probably not a movie I'd recommend to everybody, but a perfect compliment to a curry dinner girls night.

So I must say a BIG THANK YOU to Jen, Sandra and Annette, for the fabulous evening.  We had such a nice time that we talked about doing it again - next time experimenting with another type of international cuisine..... I think if we can get our acts together to dine like this on a regular basis we should call ourselves the "Nanton International Cuisine Epicure Girls" (N.I.C.E. Girls for short)... what do you think???

As Always, Dayna

P.S. The PKNT Gold Carmenere was so good, it has to qualify a self-indulgence (#8).... I"ll post about it separately....

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #3

MMMMMM Chocolate

Tonight's self-indulgence: Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie and raspberry fruit wine from Field Stone Fruit Wines in Strathmore, Alberta
They were particularly special self-indulgences because I brought them over to celebrate a good friend's birthday.
The fruit wine was a little weak to be the perfect accompaniment to the decadence that defined the chocolate brownies.  In retrospect, I think the wine would be better served on a hot summer day - served over ice, in a spritzer with a fresh mint leaf or in a fruity punch.
The brownies deserved to be accompanied by something a lot richer - perhaps with a raspberry liqueur (i.e. Chambord) drizzled over them....... now that would have been DE-CA-DENT!!!!
Still as far as self-indulgences are concerned, I'm not too disappointed.
The companionship, movie (The Social Network) and conversation more than made up for the weakness of the wine.... besides, I still have 12 more days of self-indulgences to look forward to.

As always, Dayna

PS Happy Birthday Jen!!

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #2

Cats Pee (and I don't mean weak tea)

CONFESSION TIME - I know it's so not right to judge a book (or anything else) by it's cover, but I'm a sucker for a good wine label.
A couple of years ago, on a trip home to Ontario, I was browsing the LCBO and came across a funny label that I just couldn't ignore - Cat's Pee on a Gooseberry Bush.  Justifying the purchase with the thought that a portion of the sale would go to support the OSPCA, I took the plunge.  Whether it's because the wine's name makes my inner 8 year old giggle, every time I see it,  or whether it's because the wine truly deserves my praise, I found a new favourite indulgence... it qualifies as a self-indulgence, because I'm the only person in my household who drinks wine.  (It's my self-indulgence #2, because conveniently I already had a bottle of it in my fridge and it was way too cold out today to head out looking for something new)

A crisp Sauvignon Blanc from Coopers Creek Vineyard in New Zealand, Cat's Pee on a Gooseberry Bush is a dry and light white wine that makes a perfect thirst quenching spritzer on a hot summer day (sigh - I MISS summer).  It also goes well with cheese, crackers, a comforter and a good book or movie.

I plan to spend this evening curled up with my family and a glass of self-indulgence, watching a movie that's m'eh (Inkheart - the movie has nothing on the book), but totally worth it for the cuddles and the Cat's Pee.

As Always, Dayna