Cheap Eats

In times like these we can't always eat caviar and drink Champagne. Noel and I are moving in a few weeks and we have to tighten our belts to save some money. Tightening belts does not mean you have to eat or drink crap!! Noel and I came up with a great meal that cost close to nothing. It's a stir fry that you add to ramen noodles. I love ramen, they are 20 cents a package, but they can be pretty boring by themselves. By adding the stir fry to them we had a meal that not only cost less than $10 to make but also put a big smile on our faces. I bought some stew beef that was on sale at Shaws. I got pound and half for around $5 and was able to make two meals out of it. Then when at Russo's Market I bought a stir fry sauce that was $1.45 that I marinated the in beef over night. The next day I cut up some garlic, a shallot, half a yellow pepper, handful of snow peas, small amount of baby shiitake mushrooms and some bean sprouts. All these veggies cost us less than $3.

I started with the beef, cooking it for a few minutes before adding the garlic, mushrooms, shallot and a pinch or red pepper flakes. Then after a few minutes I added the yellow pepper and snow peas. As all this was cooking I started the water for the ramen. Ramen is great because it only take three minutes to cook. As all this was cooking in the bowls I was serving this meal in I added the seasoning from the ramen and the bean sprouts. I poured a half cup of the hot water from the noodles, stirred it all up and added the noodles. Then I topped it all off with the stir fry making sure to get some of the sauce in the soup. The meal came out great, there is a restaurant called Wagamama that makes meals just like this but charges $15 each. I made the same thing at home (Noel even said it was better) and it cost less than half that for two meal. Perfect for any day of the week. 

I picked one of my favorite vineyards for the wine. Viu Manent Reserva Malbec. It went great with the meal especially the sauce. I not a huge fan of Malbec, it can be boring at times. Viu Manent makes great Malbec. Great ripe fruits especially berry fruits, with hints of coffee, and mocha, it's got a great body and nice lingering finish. The people at Viu Manent really put love into all their wines and their Malbecs are not exception    

The trip that lead me to eat a salad.

Hello my loving public. It's been a little over a week since my last post. I was in Chile visiting Viu Manent. I got home from Chile early Saturday morning after a grueling 15 hours of travel. Needless to say I had no want to go grocery shopping Saturday. Sunday was Mother's Day and we went to visit with Noel's mom and grandmother. Well her uncle was there and he forced me to drink three bottles of wine and I was way to intoxicated to go grocery shopping Sunday. So this week we get to go to Whole Foods everyday and buy just enough food for dinner. Last night we were both way too tired to cook so we just got the pre-made food. It's not bad but it's not good. I should have taken Molner up on her offer and got sushi with her and Noel could have been on her own, but I'm a good husband. Today I thought all day of what I wanted to get. While I was in Chile I meet the wine buyer for Milton Market, Tim. Tim is a graduate of the CIA , just like my hero Anthony Bourdain. This guy loves his salad. The Chileans probably eat more cows than the Texans. After a week of nothing but beef, pork, lamb and fish, I needed something different so I came up with a Broiled Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing  in honor of my new friend. I wanted to do something special so I made the dressing myself. It changed it from a salad to A SALAD and was so easy to do.

First I took care of the chicken. I seasoned it with pink, green, white and black pepper corns and a little cumin seeds and put in the broiler for six minutes a side. I then made the salad, I cut up the red leaf lettuce, cut in half a few cherry tomatoes, cut up a carrot, green pepper, cucumber, zucchini and small sweet onions (I wish I could remember the name of these onions I find them at Russos over by the hot peppers all the time and I found them at Whole Foods today. I know the name starts with C and they are a small yellowish onion). As I finished this up the chicken was done cooking so I took the chicken and let it sit a side. Then I made my dressing. I found the receipt from one of my favorite sources, Alton Brown on Foodnetwork.com. He has receipts that are so easy to follow, come out tasting great and make you feel good about your cooking skills. Its real easy, five table spoons honey, three table spoons smooth Dijon mustard and two table spoons rice wine vinegar. Now I changed it a little, I used grained Dijon and I didn't have rice wine vinegar. I had white rice vinegar and white wine vinegar, I wasn't sure what to use so I text Chef Timmy. It's great to know people that went to CIA, he told to mix the two together half and half. Brilliantly!!! I did screw up and only used one table spoon and it asks for two but then again I didn't really measure out the honey or mustard all that well either, I made it more to taste. So as I have said in the past I am not much of a salad person, I am a self proclaimed meatatarian. This salad came out great! The chicken was perfectly cooked and spiced, the dressing was better than store bought stuff and the veggies were the so fresh they need to be spanked. I may eat more salads in the future as long as I make my own dressing.          

So what wine did I serve with this salad? NONE!! I drank water. As I said I was in Chile last week, while in Chile I helped drink some where between 36-48 bottles of  wine plus a dozen or so Pisco Sours. Pisco is a strong, colorless grape brandy that will KICK YOUR ASS all over Chile!!! The wines we had were good for the most part. The Chileans LOVE Sauvignon Blanc. In the kitchen they have a faucet for water and a faucet for Sauv Blanc. We started with a bottle at each meal, well not breakfast but lunch and dinner. After this trip I don't want to see another bottle of Sauvignon Blanc for the rest of my life or at least a week or two. Tim is a HUGE fan of bubbles and Rose. For some reason Chile does not produce a lot of sparkling wine. Chandon happens to make a sparkling wine in Argentina and we had a few bottles over the week, not bad, I even liked it better than the California stuff. We also had a half dozen maybe more bottles of rose. Mostly Cabernet, but we did have a Syrah and a Cabernet, Syrah and Sangiovese blend. I wish I could say they were all great but the Montes Cherub Rose Syrah was not fruity enough for my liking and was kind of expensive. The blend was an 07 from Casa Tamaya Pink Goat  and even though it was old it was still drinkable a little different tasting but good. We also drank a few bottles of Viognier. I love Viognier melon fruit with orange peel and nice body. We had one while at the Hotel Santa Cruz that was amazing. Viu Manent has just came out with a new wine that I few head over heels for El Incidente . This is a $60 bottle of single vineyard Carmenere. “El Incidente” is named after the now-legendary balloon flight I took with some friends over our Colchagua vineyards. The trip ended unexpectedly when we landed in the middle of an open air market in the town of Santa Cruz”,  José Miguel Viu. I can't wait to get my hands on another one of these bottles. We had a Cabernet Franc from Chocalan that I really liked but I do like most Cabernet Francs. There were some wines that we had that we didn't care so much for but for the most part the wines were priced right and brought a smile to my face. In Chile they don't really get a lot of wine from outside of Chile, so by the end of the week I did agree with Tim and Sean that I needed to drink something other than Chilean wine, but I did find a new respect for the Chilean wine industry. 

One quick story before I have to go. Sunday we all got into Santiago around 1030 am. We all went and took time to ourselves. Since May 1 in Chile is Labor Day nothing was open. By about 3pm I found Sean at the bar having a glass of Sauvignon Blanc so I joined him. Soon Tim came down after his run and he joined us. After we finished the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc we took the next bottle out to the porch. By the time lunch was over we had gone through five bottles of wine and a little food. Before we went to dinner I said I needed to walk off some wine. So off we went out into the world of the great unknown. Soon it hit me, I needed to take a leak. We found a bar and I ran in and took care of business. When I came out we all three decided to have our first Pisco Sour. Then we went back to the hotel to get ready and have dinner. I beat both them back down so I stopped at the bar and had a second pisco sour, soon Tim meet me and we had another, as we finished Sean meet us and we a yet another. Then we get to the restaurant, Sean sees a mother and daughter (mother was in her 50s and the daughter was 24) out for a birthday dinner. He calls them over and asks if they would like to have dinner with us. Well we all end up having a blast. I asked for crab legs but got the whole crab. A few bottles more wine and pisco sour or two more later our new friends invite us back to their house to continue the fun. We bought more wine from the restaurant and headed to their house. She gave a tour of her house and it was beautiful. Our new friends weren't from Chile, the mother was born in Belgium and the daughter was born in Spain. They had lived in Santiago for the past 18 years. The mother showed us her wine collection and what a collection it was. She had bottles from the 60s to the 90s, Bordeaux, Rioja and some may others that I can't even remember. I was in love. She opened for us a 89 Rioja and a 90 Bordeaux, again I was in love. Around 2am Tim asked our hosts if they had anything to drink that was not alcohol. The mother made the two of them fresh fruit smoothies. Finally around 3am we called a cab and went back to our rooms. This was an evening for the ages.

Of yeah and in the next year or so be on the look out for a sparkling wine from Viu Manent, it was one of Tim and my "Million Dollar Ideas" we told to Jose Miguel Viu. This whole trip was a trip of a life time. In the words of Tim it was "Excellently"!!  

Friends, Meatloaf, and Three Wines

Yesterday Noel's friend from high school, Scott came over for dinner. I wanted to make something that was sure to show off my kitchen skills. I came up with meatloaf, but how could I make it special? I know what you are thinking, he used bacon. No not this time. This time I used mozzarella cheese, brussel sprouts, carrots, garlic, pink, white, green, black pepper corns and saffron. I was a little buzzed after a few beers at Savin Bar and Kitchen and a bottle of wine between Tom and I so I don't know the exact measurements of the spices probably tablespoon each pepper and three pinches saffron. First I had to figure out how to put the veggies in without there being too much water. Rebecca to the rescue. She is one of the owners to Beacon Hill Wine and Gourmet in Melrose, MA. Her and I always chit chat about food and she has taught me a thing or two. So when I had to figure out how to put the veggies in my meat loaf I knew just who to call. She came up with the idea to roast them on high heat for about 20-30 minutes. I cut the carrot up into half inch flat pieces, smashed two garlic cloves and de-leafed 6 brussel sprouts. As they were all roasting I made my meat mixture. I had the half pork, half beef meatloaf mix and added a pound of Italian sausage. I had some rolls that I got at Bacco Wine and Cheese that I had left out for a few days, perfect for making breadcrumbs. I cut up half a roll added the pepper and saffron and mixed it all up in the meat. I put half the meat in the pan then covered the meat with half the mozzarella cheese then covered the cheese with the brussel sprouts and carrots and topped with the rest of the cheese and the rest of the meat. Just before I put it in the over I sprinkled a little fresh parmesan cheese, fresh cut pepper, and a pinch of saffron. I cooked it at 350 until the thermometer reached 160. When it got to 155 I put a little or parmesan cheese on top. I wish I took a picture of this when it came out of the oven. Not only did it look good but it tasted amazing!! All the spices mixed together divinely and the veggies were perfect especially with the mozzarella.

I opened three bottles of wine yesterday. Before Scott came over my buddy Tom stopped by to unwind from work before taking the long T ride home. To help him unwind and to celebrate my trip to Chile (in three days) I opened Secreto Viognier, from Viu Manent. I love this wine!! Viognier is one of my most favorite wines. It's floral, with pears, nectarine, lime and a healthy acidity. There is nothing not to love about this wine. Secerto is a fun wine. By law a wine must be 85% of a grape to be put on the label (in California 75%), so 15% can be anything. Viu Manent ran with this and came up with Secerto. Sometimes a winery will put on the back label what has been blended in a wine, but they don't have to. Secerto does not tell you. Each variety has a different label that is painted by Catalina Abbott that shows someone keeping a secret. This is a just a fun wine from bottle to juice. The next bottle was a bottle that Scott brought to our house. I also find it interesting what people will bring to my house. He brought Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon from Columbia Valley. I love Washington State wines. This wine was great! Nice cedar, dark cherry and rose. This wine is made by Charles Smith, he was wine maker of the year 2009 and is the brain behind such brands a Kung-Fu Girl, The Velvet Devil, and BOOM BOOM . I can't wait to try more of these wines, it was a nice change of pace having someone bring wine to my house. I am going to stop telling people not to bring wine to my house. After that wine was polished off I opened Viu Manent Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon knowing that if we didn't finish it I could just show it the next day. I love being a wine rep!!!! I can open a bottle have a glass or two and just show the rest the next day. This wine is one of the best value wines in my company portfolio and may be my favorite wine ever under $15. This is a Cabernet that could battle some of the Napa Cabs that are twice the price. About a year ago I dorked out with my bestie Molner. I opened a very nice Bordeaux, a Sonoma cab and this wine. At first taste Molner asked why my third bottle was a nicer bottle than the second.  I told her it wasn't and that the Chile wine was half the price of the Sonoma wine. We both agreed that night Viu Manent Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon was the winner that night. All three of these wines are must try wines!!

Saturday at 330pm I get on a plane and go to Santiago Chile for a week. I get to visit Viu Manent and their vineyards. I will make sure to post about the wines I drink while down there and maybe a few of the dinners. I can't believe this trip is already here!!

Hello is there anyone out there???

Ok so my wife Noel says I should start a blog. At first I thought who cares what I have to say. Then I asked a few people what they thought and they said do it. So here we go.......

There are two things I love to do in life. Drink wine and cook. I work for a great wine distributor in Massachusetts. I have a love for all that is wine. In the five years since I started working in the industry I have learned you don't need to pay a lot to enjoy a great bottle and that most people that buy expensive wines don't know what they have in the bottle. So I like to specialize in everyday quality wines, wines that have a Sunday to Thursday price but have a Friday and Saturday night taste. One of my all time favorite wine is only $12.99 a bottle Viu Manent Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile.

As for the cooking side Noel and I have been stepping up our game.We live in Beacon Hill Boston and our rent is a bit on the high side so we don't always have money to go out and enjoy the local restaurants, so we went out and bought all kind of pots, pan, dutch oven, spices, herbs, salts, peppers ect, ect, ect. Our kitchen may be tiny but we have everything we need to be our own chef. We could use a dish washer!!!!

Now tonight I have tried for the first time a meat loaf. It's the perfect comfort food. Last night I started by making my own pasta sauce. It's so F-ing easy to do and cost half as much as store bought sauce. A can of diced tomatoes, large can of ground tomatoes, small can of tomato paste, half a bottle of wine (I like to us Italian wine in my tomato sauce a cheap chianti works great!!! This time I didn't have one so I used a nero d'avola which is a great wine from Sicily dark fruits and sweet tannins.),half a carrot shredded (helps cut the acid of the tomato) herbs, pepper, a dash of salt.....careful with the salt its easy to add but impossible to subtract or so I found out the first time I made a tomato sauce. So this only takes about 20-40 mins to make. I made it a day early because the sauce taste better the next day.

So today I took my ground beef/pork mixed it with two sweet Italian sausages, a cup of tomato sauce, one egg, herbs, and  bread crumbs (again I made these myself. Easy to do and again cheaper than store bought. Just take bread cut into cubes blend in some herbs and let sit out.) and mixed them together in a bowl. Then I cooked up chunks of bacon.................... Ok lets take a minuet and talk about bacon.

I F-ING LOVE BACON. I love bacon. Have I told you I love bacon??? It is not a meat its a seasoning!!! I would stuff bacon in bacon. Noel and I do not buy regular bacon. We buy double smoked bacon that has not been cut into tiny, skinny, useless slices. We get a BIG SLAB of DOUBLE SMOKED BACON. Did I tell you I love bacon???? There is nothing that could not be better with bacon. So you take this bacon and you can cut it into small cubes. You take a cast iron skillet and melt the fat off the bacon usually takes 5-10 mins and you have the start to bacon HEAVEN    

So this time instead of cutting it into small cubes I cut it into two inches by one inch rectangles. I cooked it just enough to sear them. Then I took about 10 asparagus in a big bowl, mixed it with olive oil, salt and pepper, then put them in the broiler. **SIDE NOTE** Noel hates, HATES, she really hates, I mean she dis-likes when I use the broiler. I like it!! As I said I live in a wicked small apartment in Beacon Hill. We don't have a back yard, we don't have a front yard and the roof, I WILL NOT GO ON OUR ROOF so we don't have use of a grill. The broiler is the closest thing to a grill!

Ok back to the meat loaf. So after roasting the asparagus for about 10-20 minuets I took them and cut them in thirds. Then in a loaf pan I filled half of it with the meat mixture (not to be confused with what they use at Taco Bell) then put a layer of the YUMMY DOUBLE SMOKED BACON....did I tell you I LOVE BACON??....then a layer of the roasted asparagus and filled it with the rest of the meat mixure. I topped it with a few chucks of yes you know it double smoked bacon and coated it with my tomato sauce. I then stuck it into the oven at 350. Now when I looked this up online it said 45 minuets or 155 degrees. Lucky for me, Noel and I have had made sure that we have everything we need to make us our own CHEF so we have a meat thermometer it took longer than 45 minuets to cook this loaf. I then let it sit for a while before we cut into to it.

This was my first Meat Loaf. There are a lot of different things I would have done (this happens every time I cook something new!!). It came out well but as Noel said it smelled like cat food. It did however taste better than it smelled. I could have used cheese, not used asparagus, used garlic, added wine to the "meat mixture" it's endless.......

So after previewing this post a few time I realized I didn't talk that much about wine.Any fuller body red wine would have paired well with meat loaf. Tonight I drank a Viu Manent Single Vineyard Cabernet.  I love this wine. This is about a $19 bottle and let me say it does not disappoint!! I adore this vineyard and it's not just because I am going to Chile the first week of May to visit this vineyard. Chile has a great climate, good soil, long growing season which all help in making great grapes. Great grapes help make great wine and take that the value of their currency is low makes for great wine at an even BETTER price!!!

So this is my first post. Now I can't promise all the post will be about wine and food. Some post will be mostly what wine I have drank and some will be about what food I cooked. Just remember I love cooking with wine sometimes it even makes it way into the food.