Aug 9 – Steven Raichlen & winemaker Carol Shelton

Good Life Guy likes to cook outside, there is nothing like the smell of grilling or slow cooking meat over a wood or charcoal fire.  My guest this week is the KING of Outdoor cooking and Bar-B-Que, Steven Raichlen with his latest book “Man Made Meals – The Essential Cookbook for Guys.”

Steven really knows the pleasure men get from cooking, the joy they take in having the skills, the need to show off a little bit. His Barbecue!
Bible
 books have over 4.7 million copies in print—and now he leads his readers from the grill into the kitchen. Like a Joy of Cooking for guys, Man Made Meals is everything a man needs to achieve confidence and competence in the kitchen.

Man Made Meals is about the tools and techniques (guess what, grillers, you still get to play with knives and fire.) It’s about adopting secrets from the pros—how to multitask, prep before you start cooking, clean as you go. It’s about understanding flavor and flavor boosters, like anchovies and miso, and it’s about essentials: how to shuck an oyster, truss a chicken, cook a steak to the desired doneness. It’s about having a repertoire of great recipes (there are 300 to choose from), breakfast to dessert, to dazzle a date, or be a hero to your family, or simply feed yourself with real pleasure. These are recipes with a decided guy appeal, like Blowtorch Oatmeal, Fire-Eater Chicken Wings, Black Kale Caesar, Down East Lobster Rolls, Skillet Rib Steak, Porchetta, Finger-Burner Lamb Chops, Yardbird’s Fried Chicken, Blackened Salmon, Mashed Potatoes Three Ways, and Ice Cream Floats for Grown-Ups.

Image of Steven RaichlenSteven Raichlen is a multi-award winning author, journalist, television host, and now novelist. His books include the international blockbusters The Barbecue Bible and How to Grill and the New York Times bestselling Planet Barbecue. His new novel, Island Apart, tells a story of love, loss, redemption and really good food set on Martha’s Vineyard. Translated into 15 languages, Raichlen’s books have won 5 James Beard Awards and 3 IACP-Julia Child Awards and have sold more than 4 million copies. Raichlen also hosts the popular TV shows, Primal Grill and Barbecue University on PBS, and a French language show called Le Maitre du Grill. He lives and writes in Coconut Grove, Florida, and on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Learn about Steven: www.stevenraichlen.com
Learn about Steven’s TV show Primal Grill: www.primalgrill.org
Sign up for Steve’s Newsletter “Up In Smoke”: www.barbecuebible.com

Carol SheltonIn the second half I’ll be chatting with Carol Shelton “Zin Master” about her journey in wine. Ms. Shelton is widely cited as the most awarded winemaker in the United States. She has won countless medals for her wines and has been honored as Winemaker of the Year numerous times. After years of working with some of the industry’s top winemakers and wineries, Carol continues to win awards and accolades for premium Zinfandels produced under her own brand, Carol Shelton Wines.   www.carolshelton.com 

Of course we will finish up with the wine of the week  🙂

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2011 Carol Shelton “Wild Thing” Mendocino County Old vine Zinfandel

Old Vine Mendocino Zinfandel is a treasure. Grown on the benchlands and slopes of mountainsides — this wild-looking old vine Zinfandel offers fruit that winemaker Carol Shelton, with her 35+ years of experience and creativity, has transformed into a wine that is concentrated yet soft, creamy and full of flavor. Our Wild Thing Zinfandel was named for these wild- looking vines and also for the uninoculated, or “wild,” yeast ferment that was used to create it. It takes a lot of effort to tame this wild fruit, but it is worth all the trouble.  

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes:  77% Zinfandel, 9% Carignane, 8% Primitivo, 2% Alicante Bouschet, 2% Syrah, 1% Barbera, 1% Petite Sirah. Aromas of black cherry, plum and raspberry fruit combine with a beautiful hint of vanilla-oak loveliness, smoothly textured in mouth, very creamy and round, the finish is long and has lush jammy fruit — this wine is dangerously good! Remember – you are what you drink ….

If you have never had any of Carol’s Zin, you are “Out were the buses don’t run!”  Fix it today, stop by Jacob Liquor Exchange and get a bottle

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Aug 2 – Homemade Lunches and Great Wine

My first guest is Laura Fuentes with her new book “The Best Homemade Kids’ Lunches On The Planet.”
OK, the book is for kids, but if you ever pack a lunch, want to eat healthy, and eat well…get a copy and make your co-workers jealous!

We all know that kids need to eat right and get the nutrition they need to be their best all day long. So why not make lunches that will power their growing brains and bodies? Making lunches at home is a great way to keep your child healthy. Not only does it allow you to nourish your child with the most pure and wholesome ingredients, but it also gives you the peace of mind of knowing what has gone into every bite your little one takes. Full of recipes to suit every age and stage, The Best Homemade Kids’ Lunches on the Planet shows you how simple and easy it is to prepare food that’ll be the envy of the lunch table. The 200+ adorable and inspiring recipes in this book are just as much a joy to make as they are to eat! There are even entire lunchbox meals that are gluten-, soy-, and/or nut-free. Make your own super-delicious, super-nutritious homemade lunches today–it’s guaranteed to be at the top of the class!  Get a copy NOW!

Laura Fuentes is the founder and CEO of MOMables.com, where she helps thousands of parents every day make fresh school lunches and real food kids will love.
Laura is a speaker, recipe developer, and lover of all things mom. She partners with major real food brands to promote healthy school lunches, reduce childhood obesity, and teach healthy family eating.   In her personal blog, Laura writes about motherhood, good family food, managing deadlines, and keeping her cool, even when her kids super-glued her hair. Above all, her most important job is caring for her family.

To find out more about Laura, visit www.supergluemom.com

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2007 Le Chemin Des Reves “UTOPIE 3”

Le_chemin_des_reves_utopie3_2007_rouge_LRGMade from 25% each: Carignan, Cabernet, Grenache, and Syrah the 2007 edition had 3,500 btls produced. Hand-harvested, severe selection. Low yields; vine age: 50 years old.  The grapes from each plot are vinified separately in small vats; punch-downs of the cap and temperature control provide gentle extraction, smooth tannins, bright freshness & beautiful purity.  Blended in February, the lots are assembled and stabilized for 6-12 months in cement. No oak.
TASTE PROFILE: Very dark red robe, opaque, unctuous, concentrated but still holds up its structure
nicely; a grand vin, long, rewarding finish; great hypothetical blend of exotic fruits and luxurious
breed.

This wine is on SALE at a great price at Jacob Liquor Exchange on North Rock Road

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July 26 – Ultimate Dining Hall Hacks & Elk Cove Pinot

Are you or someone you know headed off to college soon?  Whether a freshman or seasoned university veteran, you need a copy of “The Ultimate Dining Hall Hacks” by my first guest Priya Krishna.

Dining Hall HacksTransform your dining hall meals into gourmet feasts! Ultimate Dining Hall Hacks offers 75 amazing and creative recipe ideas that use items readily available in your college dining hall. Any night of the week, you can dine on tzatziki chicken salad, quesadillas, sloppy joes, lemon-pepper pasta, fried rice, scalloped tomatoes, chicken and waffles, Asian nachos, or bruschetta. You’ll also discover how to create mouthwatering custom desserts, from peach cobbler and chocolate bread pudding to peanut butter mousse and sweet potato pie. And don’t skip breakfast, when you can savor chilaquiles, avocado toast, eggs carbonara, or mango parfait. Make the most of your college meal plan withUltimate Dining Hall Hacks!

priya

Priya Krishna

Priya Krishna grew up in Dallas, Texas, and is a recent graduate of Dartmouth College, where she became adept at assembling meals from the a la carte items available at the dining hall through a weekly column she wrote for her school newspaper. Priya contributed to the Small Kitchen College website and wrote a dining column for The Dartmouth. In 2012, she was an intern at the Food Network, where she wrote daily content for the Dish blog and other parts of the website. She works for Lucky Peach, a quarterly journal of food and writing. She lives in New York City.

 

Then it’s all about Oregon’s Elk Cove winery located in the Willamette Valley.  Elk Cove Vineyards was founded in 1974 by Pat and Joe Campbell. Winemaker Adam Campbell joined forces with his parents in 1995 and Elk Cove remains proudly family owned.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2009 Elk Cove Pinot Noir, Willametter Valley

Elk-Cove-2009-Willamette-Valley-Pinot-Noir2009 was a vintage of abundance. Ideal springtime weather led to a hot summer, which gave us a beautiful, uniform and potentially prolific crop. Harvest went off without a hitch and we picked the grapes at a deliberate, but frankly leisurely pace, wich allwed focusing on retained acidity. So, vintage 2009 may be remembered as one of those rare combinations of excellent quality and quantity, with the wines showing flash.

“This fresh red is inviting and invigorating for its juicy black currant, plum and white pepper flavors, playing with zest against polished tannins and lively acidity. Drink now through 2019. 14,000 cases made.”
91 Points Wine Spectator

You can taste this wine for FREE Saturday July 26 between 2 – 6 p.m.
at Jacob Liquor Exchange on North Rock Road, Wichita Kansas
Bring your checkbook, you’ll want some!

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July 19 – Blue Berries & The Big Fat Surprise!

chautauqua hills logoUp first is Lance Chastain from Chautauqua Hills Farm in Southeast Kansas.  My friend and neighbor is the producer of some of the finest blueberries and more and this years harvest seems to be better than ever.  He brought me a sample and I ate a a bunch by hand while we talked…YUM!  You can buy these magnificent blueberries at the Old Town Farmers market but if you want to have some fun, go to: www.chautauquahillsfarm.com and schedule a picking time.  Take the family and enjoy this mild weather as you bring home FRESH, high quality fruit.

 

Then it’s all about FAT…I’m talking Butter, Meat and Cheese and how they belong in a healthy diet.  Journalist and Author Nina Teicholz joins us to talk about her new book “The Big FAT Surprise”   www.thebigfatsurprise.com

In The Big Fat Surprise, investigative journalist Nina Teicholz reveals the unthinkable: that everything we thought we knew about dietary fat is wrong. She documents how the low-fat nutrition advice of the past sixty years has amounted to a vast uncontrolled experiment on the entire population, with disastrous consequences for our health.

For decades, we have been told that the best possible diet involves cutting back on fat, especially saturated fat, and that if we are not getting healthier or thinner it must be because we are not trying hard enough. But what if the low-fat diet is itself the problem? What if the very foods we’ve been denying ourselves—the creamy cheeses, the sizzling steaks—are themselves the key to reversing the epidemics of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease?

big fat surpriseIn this captivating, vibrant, and convincing narrative, based on a nine-year-long investigation, Teicholz shows how the misinformation about saturated fats took hold in the scientific community and the public imagination, and how recent findings have overturned these beliefs. She explains why the Mediterranean Diet is not the healthiest, and how we might be replacing trans fats with something even worse. This startling history demonstrates how nutrition science has gotten it so wrong: how overzealous researchers, through a combination of ego, bias, and premature institutional consensus, have allowed dangerous misrepresentations to become dietary dogma.

With eye-opening scientific rigor, The Big Fat Surprise upends the conventional wisdom about all fats with the groundbreaking claim that more, not less, dietary fat—including saturated fat—is what leads to better health and wellness. Science shows that we have been needlessly avoiding meat, cheese, whole milk, and eggs for decades and that we can now, guilt-free, welcome these delicious foods back into our lives.

Marty Johnson stops by for a brief chat about Midnight Madness at all Johnson’s Garden Center Locations
This is a great shopping opportunity!  www.johnsonsgarden.com

 20th Annual Johnson’s Moonlight Madness Sale!
July 19 – Noon to Midnight 
 

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
Something big bold and red to go with Meat and Cheese…
2010 Revelry Vintners Columbia Valley Merlot
revelry merlotThe Merlot grape is responsible for establishing Washington State as one of the preeminent growing regions for Bordeaux varieties the world over.  It was also the initial and most influential variety in the founding of Revelry Vintners.  Merlot is all about balance, silky smooth mouthfeel, and well rounded flavors, that when done right linger on and on.  They source this Merlot across the Columbia Valley, finding sweet spots for the grape on consistent soft grades, with moderate heat and good air drainage.  This is the sole recipient of American Oak barrels in our lineup of wines, as Merlot tends to be accepting of the big sweet flavors that those barrels impart from their firing. 

Learn more!

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July 12 – Spices & Seasons and Mercer Estate wines

First up is Rinku Bhattacharya with her new book; Spices & Seasons; Simple, Sustainable Indian Flavors.  Loaded with great tips, technniques and great photos to help you create healthy Indian influenced meals.

 

Inspired by the bounty of local produce, mostly from her own backyard, Rinku set out to create recipes for busy, time-strapped home cooks who want to blend Indian flavors into nutritious family meals. Arranged in chapters from appetizers through desserts, the cookbook includes everything from small bites, soups, seafood, meat and poultry, and vegetables, to condiments, breads, and sweets. You’ll find recipes for tempting fare like Mango and Goat Cheese Mini Crisps, Roasted Red Pepper Chutney, Crisped Okra with Dry Spice Rub, Smoky Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Puree, and Red Harvest Masala Cornish Hens, to name a few.

As exotic and enticing as these recipes sound, the ingredients are easily found and the instructions are simple. Rinku encourages readers to explore the bounty of their local farms and markets, and embrace the rich flavors of India to cook food that is nutritious, healthy, seasonal and most importantly, delicious.

Guy & CallyIn the second half I’ll be talking to Cally Mercer of Mercer Estate wine in Washington’s Columbia Valley.  This family run winery is one of the oldest to produce high quality wine since planting Cabernet in what is now known as the Champoux Vineyard in 1972.  From the first release of the 2005 vintage the family has continued to grow and expand while winning awards for well made wine from the Columbia Valley.
Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:

mercer 09 red blend2009  Mercer Canyons Columbia Valley Red Blend
84% Merlot, 8% Syrah, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Petit Verdot – This wine is deeply complex with notes of ripe black cherry, cocoa powder, warm spices and char. On the palate the wine is full and rich with supple tannins and lush fruit. The balanced acidity and tannins lead to a lingering finish of dark fruits, earth and spice.

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