Wine Food Pairing - Off the HOOK with Capt Brien

Wine food pairing goes "off the hook" with Capt. Brien's on Marco Island.



Summer time in Florida means that you can always get a great seat at all the terrific eateries without a wait. What better place to go hang out than Capt. Brien's comedy club?

The cool "club" atmosphere was just perfect on a brutally hot humid Florida afternoon. James, our waiter, was terrific ... friendly, knowledgeable he made the afternoon a treat!

I went for the house pinot grigio, chilled and crisp it was the perfect compliment to my shrimp and avocado club sandwich.

BigAl decided on his standard fare of grilled chicken Caesar ... mmm ... crispy lettuce and a tangy dressing.


We were much too early for the entertainment ... Capt. Brien's is famous for his "off the hook" comedy club ... so we just had to keep ourselves entertained ... oh my!

A great afternoon with super wine and food ... two thumbs up for Capt. Brien.

Wine food pairing on a Saturday afternoon. CHEERS!

Wine Food Pairing Attention Cork Soakers!

This is purely an education video that is presented by wine food pairing ...



Oh my ....

CHEERS!

Wine Food Pairing - Red is BEST!

A study has been concluded in Copenhagen and the results are out ... consuming red wine on a daily basis leads to a longer life! Even 3-5 glasses a day. YIPPEEEE!

This is my kind of study!

(CBS) This story was first published on Jan. 25, 2009. It was updated on May 21, 2009.

Eighteen years ago, 60 Minutes first examined the so-called French paradox, which suggested that the French - despite a high fat diet and high consumption of wine - had a remarkably low incidence of heart disease compared with Americans. Most researchers agreed that there was something in the wine that offered protection, and a few years later, even the highly cautious federal dietary guidelines say that moderate consumption of red wine can be beneficial.

As 60 Minutes reported in January, scientists across the country have identified a substance in red wine called resveratrol that they believe might do more than just protect the heart, but could in very high concentrations significantly extend life by preventing a number of age related illnesses.

If they're right, we all may soon be taking a pill that could give us an extra decade or two of healthy old age.

Wine food pairing ... here is to your health. CHEERS!

Wine Food Pairing - Enjoy Favorite Wine Country

Now is the time to travel to your favorite European Wine Country.  Wine food pairing in Austria this time of year is superb!

When you arrive ... have a glass of wine for me. CHEERS!

Wine, Food and Humor ... the BEST!

AHHHH .... wine food pairing ... it is all about the great food and wine .... but don't forget a good dash of humor! BTW I'll have the Chianti with the lasagna that I didn't order ... LOL!

Cheers!

Wine Food Pairing - in Florida it is Hot, Hot, HOT!

Wine food pairing ... right now in South Florida, where I live, it is HOT ... up in the 90's already .. YIKES!!! Who wants to eat heavy food and sip on a full bodied red ... not me, anyway ...

I barely can stay out of the sprinkler in the yard ... LOL!

So ... for an appetizer that substitutes for a dinner down here, I have chosen to do peel and eat shrimp that I can prepare ahead of time. I like my shrimp with a bit of zip to them ... so many times you get them already steamed and the only thing you taste is the cocktail sauce that you dip them in ... a real thumbs down for me ... so I do it myself.

Large shrimp that I have peeled, de-veined with the tails still on .... I would rather have the mess of peeling at the kitchen sink and I also like the seasonings to actually season the shrimp.

ingredients:

* 1/2 cup water
* 1 pound shrimp 1 pound shrimp
* 4 teaspoons Old Bay® Seasoning
* 1/2 cup vinegar
* 1/4 cup beer
* 2 teaspoons Tony Chacheres Original Creole Seasoning .. for the "zip"

I put all of the ingredients in the pot, stir well and bring to a boil ... then turn off the "fire" and add the shrimp, cover for about 2-3 minutes and you should be good to go! Check the shrimp for a nice pink color ... you don't want to over cook these bad boys and get them chewy. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I dip in Thomas Fish Camp Cocktail Sauce ... with a tangy taste of horseradish and mustard it is the perfect cocktail sauce!

Now, we all know that we need some fresh veggies to go with our "dinner" and to avoid getting silverware out on the table, a quick platter of crudites that you can pick up with your fingers, is the way to go ... I usually go for the baby carrots, some "negative calorie" celery and a cherry tomato or two and to dip ... I mix up:

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 4 oz. Bleu Cheese crumbles

Stir together all ingredients, adding cheese last. Refrigerate to blend flavors ... YUMMO!
this is a quick tasty dipping sauce for the veggies and you can place it in the middle of the platter to make it easy for everyone!

One of my very favorite drinks on these hot, muggy days is a white wine spritzer .... I like to add a personal touch to these traditional drinks and make them extra special.

Start with lot's of ice, then add pinot grigio, club soda and xango, to taste. Xango is a mangosteen based juice ... not only does it taste great, but it has tons of antioxidants so it is good for you, too! With a squeeze of fresh lime ... oh MY! Life is good!

With food and wine like this, it almost makes you wish for summer days everyday.

Wine food pairing ... fun in the sunshine. CHEERS!

Wine Food Pairing visits Freddie Mitchell BBQ

Wine food pairing will always jump at the chance to have some lip smackin', bone suckin' BBQ!

We recently stopped in at Brother's BBQ, owned by former Philadelphia Eagle Freddie Mitchell ... what a treat! The restaurant serves a large plateful of delicious meaty ribs for under $10 and this comes with a choice of 2 homemade side dishes.

The real treat was the special BBQ sauce ... I asked Freddie, yes, he was passing through the restaurant keeping the diners entertained ... what was in the sauce. He wouldn't give me the secret recipe, but would say that it was mustard based ... I bought some to take home and I still haven't come close to duplicating it with its depth and richness...

It was a terrific meal and next time we pass by Lakeland, Florida we will be sure to stop in again ... the only thing missing was the wine list ...Wine food pairing with sweet iced tea ... LOL:-)

CHEERS!

Happy Mother's Day Thoughts ... CHEERS!

Wine food pairing wishes all the Mom's out there a Happy Day!

My Mom passed away almost 7 years ago, but it doesn't matter because she is never far from my thoughts and I always get a bit teary eyed for a moment on Mother's Day.

So from Deenie, and all my "friends" some 50 years ago ...

Happy Mother's Day, Mom ...

lot's of love ... d

CHEERS!

Cinco de Mayo ... the Sequel ... no Wine!

Wine food pairing, minus the wine equals Cinco de Mayo ... the sequel! It seems that we simply began where we left off after last years May 1st Pelican street event ...lol!

Aunt Patti put on her apron and got busy making all kinds of Mexican inspired treats and goodies. Uncle Brewski cranked up the industrial sized Margarita maker ... everyone in the room stopped talking while the sharp blades chopped up the ice for our favorite beverage of the night. I'm not sure if that was due to awe of this magnificent machine or the fact it was so darn loud that the neighbors across the bay could hear it working ... lol!

Jean brought a camera and her party hat ... that hat went a long way in our entertainment factor for the evening ... perhaps it was the hot peppers she had tied to the brim at a sporty angle! Even Bentley Brown got into the action ... he looked might handsome ... too bad he is only a consultant, "golden"girls ... lol!

Homemade guacamole, salsa's added to this traditional ... er ... non-traditional feast ... only to be topped off with Joanna's obscenely wonderful candy bar brownies ... OH MY!!!!

Everyone had a few too many icey beverages and ate a lot of great food. Only Jim drank wine ... a nice Chilean red ... otherwise it was a non wine food pairing event!

Cinco de Mayo on Pelican street ... Ole` !

Pizza Party and Wine Food Pairing ...

Aunt Patti and Brewski had a terrific, low key wine food pairing event for the friends in the neighborhood ... what a terrific idea they came up with ... make your own pizza!

All the toppings were sliced and diced ready for everyone to pick and choose from. Aunt Patti had already rolled the pizza dough out and we were green for go!

A crispy green salad was a great side ... of course this was dressed with pumpkin seed oil from Austria and then a pomegranate vinegar ... YUMMO!

I had a nice Cab from Chile and everyone else chose their favorite beverage ...

Wine, food pairing in the "hood" ....

CHEERS!

In Wine there is Wisdom...CHEERS!

To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine.... And those who don't.

As Ben Franklin said:
In wine there is wisdom,
In beer there is freedom,
In water there is bacteria.

In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated
That if we drink 1 litre of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli,
(E. Coli) - bacteria found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.

However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.
Remember:
Water = Poop,
Wine = Health.

Therefore, it's better
To drink wine and talk stupid,
Than to drink water and be full of shit.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information:
I'm doing it as a public service.... LOL!

Wine food pairing ... always an adventure. Cheers!

Wine Food Pairing - What will They Think up Next?

Wine food pairing ... I just ran across this article and What will they come up with next?

By HANK SCHOUTEN - The Dominion Post | Thursday, 18 December 2008

Chinese scientists zap wine-ageing process

It is not quite up there with the biblical miracle where water gets turned into wine but Chinese scientists say they have developed a technique for turning undrinkable plonk into a nice drop of vino.

Their idea of passing wine through an electric field to soften and age it has sparked the interest of one of New Zealand's leading wine scientists.  New Scientist magazine reports on trials done by a team led by chemist Xin An Zeng at South China University of Technology in Guangzhou.  The team found that a few minutes of exposure to an electric field can soften harsh red wine and produce the hallmarks of ageing - a more mature "nose", better balance and greater complexity.

Auckland University wine scientist Paul Kilmartin was interested in the Chinese study, saying he had been doing some work along the same lines.  In his case they put carbon electrodes and very low electrical charges into barrels of wine for 12 weeks to slowly mature the wine, replicating the oxygenation process already used by winemakers to get their wines ready to market more quickly.  Dr Kilmartin said a lot of maturation and softening processes that normally take months and years could be accelerated. "But winemakers are very worried about putting in large doses of oxygen or something where things change too rapidly."  They could give the impression of an aged wine but could generate aldehydes - chemicals that give wine an "off" flavour. He said the Chinese technique could improve aspects of a wine that made it difficult to drink otherwise but it might not work for all wines.

Alan Rimmer of Stonecroft Winery in Hawke's Bay was sceptical of the Chinese research, saying electrical devices that claimed to speed up the ageing process had been around for some time and had never really taken off.

Meanwhile, an Australia doctor has created what is claimed to be the world's healthiest wine by boosting a naturally occurring antioxidant said to clean blood vessels and reduce the risk of heart attacks.

Sydney's Phillip Norrie says they have put 100 times more resveratrol than is normally found into each bottle. By keeping arteries free of fatty deposits the wine infused with the odourless, tasteless anti-oxidant acted as a "vascular pipe-cleaner".

Wine food pairing ... it is all about the wine and food .... CHEERS!