Feb 9 – Knob Creek and Food!

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Guy

This show isn’t about wine…but another favorite beverage and it’s food affinities; American Whiskey!

Chef OJ Moore

First up is Executive Chef O.J. Moore who oversees both YaYa’s and Larkspur for Ty Issa.  O.J. is a Wichita native having graduated from Kapaun Mt Carmel and K-State. He has been a Chef for many years and spent several years cooking in The Rockies at Vail and Aspen.  We had the pleasure of putting together a great Whiskey Dinner Menu last week. We’lll tell you all about O.J.’s journey in food and then focus on the menu he is preparing for the American Institute of Wine & Food (AIWF) Whiskey Dinner on February 19 at Larkspur.

You can learn more about the dinner at www.aiwfwichita.org   Make reservations soon, it will fill up fast!

In the second half I’ll be chatting with a representative from Knob Creek producer of premium American Whiskey.  I first had the opportunity to taste Knob Creek Rye in Aspen last June.  That prompted our chapter of AIWF to put together this fantastic Whiskey Dinner this month.  We’ll not only have Knob Creek Rye but several products from Knob Creek and related labels.

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Feb 2 – Build a Better Pie

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Guy

The smell of baking pie is something that can and should be enjoyed year-round.

My guest this week is Millicent Souris, author of “How To Build a Better Pie – Sweet and Savory Recipes for Flaky crusts, Toppers, and the Things in Between.”

Whether you want to try your hand at Apple Pie or Chicken Fat and Pea Pie, How to Build a Better Pie will provide everything you need to know. Learn the skills, practice the techniques, master the recipes, and build yourself a better pie.   Inside, author Millicent Souris shows you:

—Solid foundations: how to make and roll out the crust, including a basic crust and alternative crusts such as crumble, shortbread, and cheddar cheese

—The practical equipment basics and essential pie-making tips that you really need

—The methods behind a lattice and a full top crust, and how to tell which one to use

—Fruit pies, from Rhubarb Pie to Cherry Pie to Apricot Tomatillo Pie, and beyond

—Staple pies, including Walnut Maple Pie, Corn Buttermilk Pie, and Chocolate Olive Oil Pie

—Savory pies, such as Oyster Pie, Lamb Pie, and Chicken Pot Pie

—How to go small: hand pies, turnovers, and galettes

Millicent Souris is a New-York-based, self-taught, homegrown, DIY-driven pie-maker. She’s made thousands of pies in the past 10 years (you may have tasted some of them in places as far-flung as Chicago and Brooklyn). A resident of Brooklyn, she teaches pie-making workshops at the Brooklyn Kitchen, and she can spot a limp crust from 100 paces.  She is also in the process of opening her own restaurant!

Get a copy today!

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2011 Tilia Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza Argentina

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon offers aromas of red fruit, sweet spice and a touch of fresh mint. It is full and soft with layers of red currant and cassis with notes of clove and black pepper. The wine finishes with finely grained tannins that add structure and length. Made with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. WA90

This is a SUPER value wine that retails for under $10 – Traditional pairings such as steak, grilled or roasted beef dishes, wild game, chocolate and cheeses are perfect with this wine

Find this wine at Jacob Liquor Exchange on North Rock Road…
…tell them you heard about it from Good Life Guy! 🙂 

 

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Jan 26 – Gloria Ferrer winemaker Bob Iantosca

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Guy

Guy & Bob at AIWF dinner 2012

Many of you may have had the opportunity to enjoy the AIWF holiday dinner featuring the wines of Gloria Ferrer.  If you did, you had the pleasure of meeting Bob Iantosca, long time winemaker at Gloria Ferrer.  Either way, before Bob left town I had the chance to sit down and chat with him about his interesting journey in wine and to learn about his passion for winemaking…Join us this Saturday and learn about one of California’s finest producers of sparkling wine and pinot noir.

www.gloriaferrer.com

BOB IANTOSCA – Executive Winemaker

Bob Iantosca has created more award-winning California sparkling wines than any other single winemaker. His vision and desire for challenge were revealed to the Ferrer family in the 1980s, when searching for available Pinot Noir clones led him initially to clonal trails on the estate vineyard with VP Production Mike Crumly, and eventually to visits to Champagne for greater research. Twenty years later, he is an undisputed expert in heritage vine selections. With the support of the Ferrer family and their Old World approach to winemaking, complemented by his close collaboration with Mike Crumly, Bob has cultivated Gloria Ferrer’s estate vineyards from 20 to 335 acres, experimented with some 20 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir selections, and led the winery to expand its repertoire to include intensely flavorful cool-climate estate varietal wines.

Bob Iantosca’s wife, Julia, is also a winemaker. They live in Santa Rosa, where their professions extend into their personal lives with the cultivation of more than six acres of Pinot Noir. When not making wine, Iantosca enjoys spending time with their daughters, Catherine and Elizabeth, mountain biking, steelhead fishing, and outdoor cooking.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
NV Gloria Ferrer Brut

TASTING NOTES – Delicate pear and floral notes backed by toasty almond. On the palate, one finds lively citrus, toast and apple flavors overlaid with persistent effervescence, a creamy mid-palate and toasty finish.

WINEMAKING NOTES – The Sonoma Brut has been carefully crafted entirely from hand-harvested Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. Over forty different selections of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are planted on our 340-acre estate in the Sonoma Carneros district. It is this viticultural diversity that allows us to consistently produce cuvées with complexity and clear fruit expression. The Brut is dominated by Pinot Noir, a stylistic decision enabling the complex aromatic and palate profile that this red-skinned grape contributes to Brut cuvées.

90 POINTS “A wonderfully drinkable sparkling wine that appeals immediately for its balanced texture and rich flavors.” – Wine Enthusiast

 Any time is the right time for great bubbly – Get a bottle of this wine at Jacob Liquor today!

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Jan 19 – Uncle Al Capone & “The Good Stuff”

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Guy

This show is sure to be interesting!

Up first is Deirdre Marie Capone, grandniece of Al Capone with her new book; “Uncle Al Capone – The Untold Story from Inside His Family.”

Get a copy of the book now!

 

Dramatic, unyielding, and provocative, Uncle Al Capone by Deirdre Marie Capone, Al Capone’s grandniece, is a fascinating memoir and engaging biography. This moving, highly readable portrait of the Capone family and its mob trade examines what it has meant to survive the storied legacy of the family’s forbearers. As Capone traces the arc of regret and what fuels the Capone myth, she finds redemption and a way to coexist with her legacy. In seventeen chapters with titles like “The Making of the Mafioso,” “Trading the Chicago Outfit for the Chicago Cubs,” and “The Saint Valentine’s Day Truth,” Capone outlines organized crime in Chicago and offers vignettes of American history during the early and mid-twentieth century. Using years of research and exhaustive interviews with her aunts, uncles, and cousins, she weaves an engaging anecdotal narrative of what it meant to be a Capone, what it meant to lose her father to suicide, and what it meant to have a mother who lived in constant fear. She offers compelling evidence that Al Capone was specifically targeted for prosecution by law enforcement agencies assisted by the media, which made gross exaggerations of her uncle’s exploits and fueled a phenomenon of half-truths and utter falsehoods. From the family’s roots in Angri, Italy to the author’s ongoing investigations today, this debut offers a comprehensive and moving portrait of an iconic American family and one woman’s efforts to make peace with the past.

Al Capone’s drink of choice, affectionately known as “The Good Stuff” – was Templeton Rye, a prohibition era recipe small batch whiskey made in Templeton Iowa.

In the second half, Scott Bush from Templeton Rye joins us to talk about the history, flavor and style of this Iconic Whiskey.

When Prohibition outlawed the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in 1920, many enterprising residents of a small town in Iowa chose to become outlaws – producing a high caliber and much sought-after whiskey known as Templeton Rye, or “The Good Stuff” to those in the know. Based on the original Prohibition era recipe and aged in charred new oak barrels, Templeton Rye provides a smooth finish and a clean getaway.

Click here to learn more about Templeton Rye Whiskey history

Or visit www.templetonrye.com

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Jan 12 – Bengali Five Spice – Poets Leap Riesling

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Guy

I love the aromas and flavors of Indian cuisine!  Always on the hunt for new books that offer insight and recipes for the tantalizing world of flavors that Indian food offers.

My guest this week is Rinku Bhattacharya with her new book The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles – Exploring the Cuisine of eastern India.
Bengalis have been compared to the French in terms of food-obsessed peoples, as dining and entertaining are such an integral part of the culture. The book begins with a thorough introduction to Bengali culture and cooking, including sections on spices, ingredients, and equipment. Following are recipe chapters (incorporating a balance of traditional and contemporary recipes) on Rice & Breads, Lentils, Fried Vegetables and Fritters, Vegetarian First Courses, Vegetarian Entrees, Eggs, Fish, Chicken & Poultry, Meat Dishes, Chutneys & Relishes, Drinks & Snacks, and Desserts. Includes 180 easy-to-follow recipes, plus sections on spice pastes, spice blends, and essential tools, and sidebars with family anecdotes and historical and cultural information.

Rinku Bhattacharya is a daytime financial professional, who spends the rest of her time immersed in food. Rinku is the author of the blog, Cooking in Westchester, where she shares her life experiences, original recipes that combine Indian flavors with produce from her backyard and local farmers markets. Rinku is blessed with a gardener husband, who always surprises her with a prolific and fresh supply of produce to keep her creative instincts flowing. Rinku has been teaching recreational cooking classes for the past six years, and has found her classes a great way to teach and learn. Her cookbook the Bengali Five Spice Chronicles, shares over 180 recipes made simple. Rinku can be found on facebook, twitter and pinterest.

Check out Rinku’s Blog    Get a copy of the book today!

Then Allen Schoup one of the founding fathers of the Washington wine business and the founder of Long Shadows Vintners joins us in the second half.  Long Shadows brings World Renowned winemakers to the Columbia Valley to make distinctive wine using the best of Washington grapes.  This week’s featured wine is one of those distinctive wines.  Inspired by the great wines of Germany and crafted by Armin Diel, proprietor of the renowned Schlossgut Diel.

Long Shadows is a collection of ultra-premium wines created by internationally acclaimed winemakers from the major wine regions of the world. Each winemaker is a part owner in this unique winery dedicated to producing individual wines that showcase the viticultural excellence of Washington State’s Columbia Valley.

www.longshadows.com

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2011 Poet’s Leap Columbia Valley Riesling
Expressive aromatics of white peach, sweet jasmine flowers and a hint of flint introduce this vibrant, fresh wine. With its bright acidity, the 2011 Poet’s Leap Riesling dances on the palate and continues across a long, lively finish, enhanced by a persistent undercurrent of minerality.
Wine & Spirits 93 – Wine Enthusiast – 92


Something FUN and a perfect match for the aromatic flavors of Bengali Cooking!  

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