Dec 12 – Dine With Thomas Jefferson & Muffin Tin Meals
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First up is James Gabler with his latest book “Dine with Thomas Jefferson and Fascinating Guests.”
Join Thomas Jefferson and his fascinating guests at 25 fact-based dinners at Monticello, the White House, Paris, London, Philadelphia, and the French wine country featuring three of his passions: wine, food, and travel. The guest list is a who’s who of great people of the time including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John and Abigail Adams, Meriwether Lewis, James and Dolley Madison, John Paul Jones, Marquis de Lafayette, and many more. Jefferson loved to have friends and guests to dinner and no expense was too much. By combining good food, fine wine, and interesting conversation with the three rules of his table, “no toasts, no politics, and no restraints,” his dinner parties were sought-after social events.
In the second half Melanie LaDue joins us to talk about her new book “Super Quick Muffin Tin Meals – 70 Recipes for Perfectly Portioned Comfort food in a Cup.”
Breakfast in the car? Party without plates? Perfectly sized portions without cutting or scooping? It’s a snap with snacks and meals made in a muffin tin.
Super-Quick Muffin Tin Meals are the new way to eat comfort food without the calories. Easy-to-make, one-dish cups mean you can make perfectly proportioned meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks…for the whole family! And you can enjoy your favorite comfort foods in guilt-free, smaller helpings. Melanie LaDue dishes up 70 recipes that are no-fuss and delicious and that get more than muffins from a muffin tin. A few quick tricks and easy preparation turn classic flavors into standout dishes that make eating and cleanup a treat. Start your day with Pancake Bites, serve an after-nap treat of S’mores Bites, or create party Caprese Bites that will make you feel like a superstar. Kids love eating cupcakes for dinner, and now they can with 70 great recipes complete with nutritional information.
This book is great and has many interesting and easy entertaining ideas for your holiday parties.
Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2013 The Pundit Columbia valley Syrah
Wine Spectator 92 – “Shows nice tension between the ripe, dark flavors and crisp, lively structure, featuring a sleek core of plum and smoky tea flavors that carry easily into the long and deftly balanced finish. A little cellaring should soften the tannins. Best from 2017 through 2020.”
#34 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2015
Pick up a bottle at Jacob Liquor Exchange on North Rock Road and join me in tasting this new arrival Washington State Syrah!
That’s right, the Mr. Food Test Kitchen and Wheel of Fortune® have teamed up to bring you the officialMr. Food Test Kitchen – Wheel of Fortune® Collectible Cookbook, featuring more than 160 quick and easy recipes inspired by the show.
Historically, cocktail bitters, drinking vinegars, and even infused syrups were originally used for curing sickness with high concentrations of beneficial (healing) herbs and flowers. The slight alcohol base of bitters kept the often-fragile ingredients from rotting in the age before refrigeration. Bitters in the modern cocktail bar are embraced as concentrated and sophisticated flavor agents, although they are still used in holistic healing by herbalists. Shrubs add both tart and sweet notes to a craft cocktail or mocktail. They sate your hunger and quench your thirst, while stimulating digestion and good health of the gut.
Warren Bobrow is the creator of the popular blog 
A complex assemblage of primarily Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Brut Prestige opens with gorgeous layered white blossom aromas, followed by creamy vanilla, citrus, stone fruit and melon. With elegant acidity and crisp structure, this medium-bodied sparkling wine displays an excellent mousse and a rich, lingering finish. Refreshing acidity and fruit character makes Brut Prestige an excellent food wine. #54 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2014, WS91
Through his work as a food writer, cookbook author and ghostwriter, cooking teacher, and media guest chef, Rick Rodgers reaches countless cooks every day. He is the author of over forty cookbooks on a wide range of subjects including the bestsellersThanksgiving 101 andFondue, 
The predominance of Pinot Noir provides the structure that is so typically Clicquot, while a touch of Pinot Meunier rounds out the blend. Chardonnay adds the elegance and finesse essential in a perfectly balanced wine. Well-knit and balanced, with vibrant acidity framing hints of blackberry, white cherry, biscuit, honey and candied lemon zest. Offers a lightly smoky finish. Wine Enthusiast & Wine Spectator both – 90 points!
At Handley Cellars, we offer a wide variety of wines that complement today’s diverse cuisines. Winemaker Milla Handley seeks to make balanced wines that possess distinctive varietal characteristics, wines that reflect the soil and climate in which they were grown.
Established in 2012, Glen Ellen Star is the culmination of a decade-long dream by Chef Ari Weiswasser and his wife Erinn Benziger-Weiswasser. Resembling a quaint farmhouse while invoking a rural and rustic feeling of California wine country, Glen Ellen Star is a taste of both local and international flavors. It is the Weiswassers’ mission to create an inviting, neighborhood-friendly restaurant that consistently exceeds expectations. Ari has worked at New York’s Restaurant Daniel, Picholine, and Paul Liebrandt’s Corton, where he served as Chef de Cuisine. He also had a long stint at The French Laundry in Yountville, CA. 
I’ll be talking to Kathleen Inman of Inman family winery. “Established in 2000 with the planting of our organically farmed Olivet Grange Vineyard, Inman Family Wines is the result of Kathleen Inman’s love of Pinot Noir and the soil that produces it.