Raised in Barbados, Paul Yellin is a highly acclaimed chef and author of the popular rum cookbook Infusion! Spirited Cooking with Paul Yellin a work sponsored by Mount Gay Rum to celebrate their 300th anniversary. Published and released in 2003, the book is in its 3rd printing. A fixture among Caribbean culinary professionals, He has been busy for the last few years traveling and working in metropolitan areas and hotspots of the world including opening restaurants in Berlin, New York, Barbados & Jamaica, Executive chef at a resort in St. Lucia featured in Bon Appetite Magazine as well as stints in London ,Paris and Toronto and high – end catering in Washington D.C.

Chef Paul has made a name for himself as The Rhum Chef – the corporate chef for Mount Gay Rum, travelling thru the regional caribbean as well as international cities representing not only the rum brand, but also caribbean culture and cusine with a traditional and classic twist – doing cooking demos, cooking classes and rum tastings – his goal is to be the new face of Rum as the sprirt returns to favorable popularity.

Good Life Guy Wine of the Week:
Some new wines from Chile!

Chef Jacques is the author of several cookbooks and has a bunch of great instructional videos on  youtube, check them out at www.chefjacques.com

The Good Life Guy Wine of The Week:
2008 Domaine Paul Blanck Gewurztraminer from Alsace
Characteristic lychee fruit aromas on the nose, with hints of dried pear and apricots.  Big, well-balanced, and slightly spicy on the Palate, ending with a long, lingering finish.

Can drinking red wine save your life? Scientific breakthroughs within the past several years suggest that it may not be an unreasonable question. Red wine s miracle molecule, resveratrol, has been proven to extend life dramatically in experimental animals, and in the short time since the first edition of Age Gets Better with Wine it has practically become a household word. But resveratrol is only one of a family of compounds called polyphenols that may hold the key to preventing Alzheimer s disease, heart disease, and everything from cancer to the common cold. With new discoveries come new controversies though; Age Gets Better with Wine explores the question of whether the benefits of healthy drinking can be put into a pill, and delves into the science behind the secret to living longer and living better with wine. Dr. Baxter is a well-known plastic surgeon in the Seattle area. He has been interested in the topic of wine and anti-aging for several years and lectured extensively on wine and health. He is a Medical Director for Healthy Aging magazine for physicians, and has published original research on resveratrol and the anti-aging properties of wine.

The Good Life Guy Wine of The Week: 
A Killer Red wine for your health!
2006 Lonko Malbec Reserva, Patagonia, Argentina

The best wine and food pairings create harmony among unexpected flavors. Chardonnay, Riesling, and Merlot are classic pairing choices, but less conventional grape varieties like Albariño, Grenache, Grüner Veltliner, Malbec, and Tempranillo are becoming increasingly popular, coveted by those with curious palates and a taste for good value. In Daring Pairings, the adventurous companion to the acclaimed Perfect Pairings, Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein shows how anyone can bring these emerging, exciting varieties to the table. He ventures into wine’s new frontiers, exploring the flavors and pairing potential of thirty-six distinctive grapes from around the world, including Argentina, Spain, Italy, Greece, and France. In his entertaining and approachable style, Goldstein offers advice on crafting unforgettable wine and food pairings, suggests wines for everyday and special occasions, and recommends producers and importers. Thirty-six star chefs present recipes specially tailored to Goldstein’s wine selections, and full-color photographs display these dishes in delectable splendor. This authoritative, down-to-earth guide reveals that pairing food and wine is no great mystery—anyone willing to explore or experiment can create bold and memorable combinations.  Get a copy today!

Evan Goldstein is a Master Sommelier and a four-time James Beard Award nominee for Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year. He is the author of Perfect Pairings (UC Press) and Five Star Service: Your Guide to Hospitality Excellence, and is President and Chief Education Officer of Full Circle Wine Solutions.

The Good Life Guy Wine of the Week:
2008 Mastroberardino – Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio
100% Coda di Volpe del Vesuvio. A wine with a prestigious name and a history entwined with legend: God cried as he found a corner of heaven stolen by Lucifer. Where his tears fell, there grew the Lacryma Christi vine. Given the extraordinary nature of the territory, where the vine must struggle through terrain rich in ash, lava and volcanic rock, who could ignore such natural force in the expression of aromas and flavors.

The Tears of Christ…whatever, it’s a great wine for the heat of summer.  Aromas and flavors of peach, pineapple and a fair dose of minerality.  Pick up a bottle at Jacob Liquor Exchange and also get a copy of the recipe that Whitney paired with this wine.

In the Sweet Kitchen truly is the definitive guide to the baker’s pantry. While many cookbooks include chapters on tools and ingredients, Regan Daley’s award-winning tome begins with almost 400 pages of introductory information. From her descriptions of ingredients to explanations of food science, it’s clear Daley’s done her research, and she offers a wealth of information as reference for both the professional and the novice. She covers every ingredient in a baker’s pantry, from flours and sugars to eggs, fruits, nuts, spices, and flavorings, in a way that is both interesting and informative. She discusses how to choose them, use them, and why they do the things they do. She’s tested tools and shopped around, and even recommends price points for your purchases. She explains myriad techniques, such as how to cook sugar and icing and assemble layer cakes. The writing is clear and intelligent and the instructions are easy to follow.

If she’d stopped at 400 pages, this would already be a must-have for anyone at all interested in the sweet side of the kitchen–but there’s more. Daley’s collection of recipes follows, and they cover the gamut from simple and straightforward to seductive and exciting. Some are actually quite complicated, but her explanations and descriptions of each step ensure success. Many recipes feature a flavor twist that will take your breath away, such as the Sweet Potato Layer Cake with Rum-Plumped Raisins and a Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting, Lemon Anise Churros, and Caramelized Banana Tart with a Lime Linzer Crust and a Warm Caramel Sauce. Other recipes bring back childhood memories, such as her All-in-the-Pan Chewy Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Butter Icing (mixed right in the baking pan) and Wild Blueberry Pie. This exhaustive volume was the 2001 IACP Cookbook of the Year, an award that it richly deserves. Make a place on your kitchen bookshelf for In the Sweet Kitchen–it’s one cookbook that you shouldn’t live without. –Leora Y. Bloom - Amazon.com

In the second half I’ll be talking to Jamie and Carter Green, husband and wife members of “The Mudbugs” a local Cajun and Zydeco band that is taking the Midwest by storm.  You may have seen them at the Wichita Riverfest this year and if your lucky you got one of the just released CD’s - get you one now at: www.mudbugsband.com

Band members are:
Carter Green – Fiddle, Vocals
Greg Ewing – Accordion, Vocals
Erin Craddock – Triangle, Vocals
Brian Cochran – Guitar
Adam Ewing (AKA Ea$y Money) – 5 string Electric Upright Bass
Jaime Green – Drums
Juliah Ewing – Washboard

The Good Life Guy Wine of the Week:
2008 Wallace Brook Pinot Grigio from Oregons Willamette Valley
White-gold in color, the wine abounds in citrus, mineral and floral aromas. The fruit is nicely lean and tart, with some citrus flavors. It’s steely personality and good acidity make it an elegantly austere winer in a European style.  Perfect with a little spice and cajun food

In the second half Lucy Baker joins us with fresh off of her appearance last week on the Today show with her new book, The Boozy Baker – 75  Recipes for Spirited Sweets.

The Boozy Baker is a fun collection of recipes for cakes, pies, tarts, cookies, and more, all of which contain a healthy dose of alcohol. Home bakers will recognize classic treats such as profiteroles, peach cobbler, and spiced Bundt cake, and be delighted by the ways they are reinvented with chocolate stout, almond liqueur, and even Jägermeister. Featuring more than 30 full-color photographs, the book also includes sidebars throughout with instructions for preparing funky cocktails that add a punchy compliment to many of the recipes.  Whether you are a pastry perfectionist or a one-bowl beginner, a bonafide mixologist or just looking for a way to polish off a few dusty bottles, this cookbook is sure to become a favorite, its pages splattered with chocolate, sprinkled with sugar, and garnished with a twist.      Learn more about Lucy at www.abookintheoven.com
    

Most people who enjoy wine would like to know more about it, to feel confident in what they like and why, to know the “lingo.” Wine lover and writer Wes Marshall helps readers explore the world of wine, offering plainspoken explanations to wine questions that most people have but are hesitant to ask—no question is too simple, no answer too advanced.

Like earlier titles in the series, such as the best-selling What’s a Cook to Do?, this book offers empowering information in question-and-answer format with pronunciation guides, charts, maps, and step-by-steps—plus the best-bang-for-your-buck wine recommendations from well-known experts. Is Barolo a grape or a place? What do wine scores mean? What about sniffing the cork and which glasses to use? In this newest book in the What’s a … to Do? series, Wes Marshall presents his years of wine experience and insider tips in everyday language that makes wine approachable and knowable.’

In the second half I’ll be telling you about one of my “Old Wine Friends” from Chile, Concha y Toro and Marques de Casa Concha.  One of the first and certainly one of the biggest South American wine producers, CYT continues to bring some of the finest wines to American wine lovers.  When you compare price, availability and wine scores…you can’t go wrong with CYT and the Marques de Casa Concha tier of wines!

The Good Life wines of the Week: 
2008 Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha
Chardonnay and Carmenere

Food, Wine & Fun for your ears…
…now during the lunch hour!

The Wholesome Junk Food Cookbook is a cookbook devoted to wholesome eating. It satisfies our desires for snacks while keeping us healthy. With more than 100 snack recipes from cookies and cakes to ice cream and smoothies, Dr. Laura Trice is on a mission to make healthy eating more fun with treats such as lemon pound cake, Boston cream pie, and chocolate-banana milkshake. While in medical school, Laura saw how people suffered due to illnesses that could have been prevented with better nutrition. Like her patients she realized that she only ate the food that tasted great to her.In 1997, while working on the set of 7th Heaven, Dr. Laura would bring snacks to the set from time to time and was inspired to make her snacks available on a large scale when she noticed that some of the truck drivers on the set were actually eating her cookies for breakfast instead of donuts! This passion for healthy and great tasting food led to Laura’s Wholesome Junk Food, est. 2001. Her wholesome “junk foods” are distributed nationally in Whole Foods and Harris Teeters as well as numerous health food stores.An introduction explaining the importance of eating healthy and promoting a healthy lifestyle and two full-color photographic inserts complement the text. Each chapter includes a sidebar with nutritional and cooking tips.

www.lauraswholesomejunkfood.com

Then it’s off to wine country for a chat with Zaca Mesa president and CEO Brook Williams

Zaca Mesa Syrah & Viognier

President/CEO of Zaca Mesa Winery since October 2003, Brook has extensive and varied wine industry expertise. he oversees all aspects of the winery including national sales, marketing, hospitality, vineyard and winemaking teams to ensure the highest quality wines are produced from Zaca Mesa’s estate vineyard.

The Good Life Guy Wine of The Week:
2005 Zaca Mesa Syrah & Z-three
Pickup some Zaca Mesa wine at Jacob Liquor Exchange and join us Saturday Noon to 1 p.m.

www.zacamesa.com

Watch the Wine of the Week Video