Dec 29 – The Joy of Foraging with Gary Lincoff

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Guy

My guest this week is Gary Lincoff with his latest book; The Joy of Foraging.

Discover the edible riches your backyard, local parks, woods, and even roadside! In The Joy of Foraging, Gary Lincoff shows you how to find fiddlehead ferns, rose hips, beach plums, bee balm, and more, whether you are foraging in the urban jungle or the wild, wild woods. You will also learn about fellow foragers—experts, folk healers, hobbyists, or novices like you—who collect wild things and are learning new things to do with them every day. Along with a world of edible wild plants—wherever you live, any season, any climate—you’ll find essential tips on where to look for native plants, and how to know without a doubt the difference between edibles and toxic look-alikes. There are even ideas and recipes for preparing and preserving the wild harvest year-round—all with full-color photography. Let Gary take you on the ultimate tour of our edible wild kingdom! Get a copy NOW

Gary Lincoff is the author of The Complete Mushroom Hunter (Quarry Books, 2010), and the author, co-author, or editor of several books and articles on mushrooms, including The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms. He teaches courses on mushroom and plant identification and use at the New York Botanical Garden and has led wild mushroom and edible wild plant study trips and forays to 30 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and South, Central, and North America. Lincoff chaired the Telluride Mushroom Festival for 25 years (1980–2004), and still participates as its principal speaker. He is also a featured “myco visionary” in the award-winning documentary, Know Your Mushrooms, by Ron Mann. Lincoff also founded and led the New York City Edible Wild Plant Workshop, which featured a once-a-week wild edibles dinner plus a weekend hunt for edible wild plants and mushrooms in city parks. Patricia Wells published his edible wild plant recipes in an article in the New York Times, and he has been profiled in the Village Voice and New York magazine. He lives in New York City. www.garylincoff.com

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
The three FUN blended wines from Ménage à Trois

“Given the choice, would you rather be a party of one…or a Ménage à Trois? In a blended wine, the different varietals each bring something to the table, making for a more complex, delicious wine. As a master chef uses different ingredients to achieve the perfect recipe, a winemaker skillfully selects and blends different grape varieties to create harmonious and intriguing wines. With each of our playful blends of three, there’s no doubt that the whole is greater (and more fun) than the sum of its parts.”

   www.menageatroiswines.com

Red Blend: Zin, Cabernet & Merlot
White Blend: Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc & Moscato
Rosé Blend: Merlot, Syrah & Gewürztraminer

The three blends above are now part of a portfolio that also includes a Chardonnay, Moscato, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir and Cabernet

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Dec 22 – No Show this week! :-(

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Guy

 

 

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night….

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Dec 15 – Cookie Art by Sandra Denneler and Barefoot winemaker Jen Wall

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Guy

My guest this week is Sandra Denneler a local Wichita gal who is a big contributor to www.sheknows.com a cool web site with lots of helpful info, including some great food and entertaining tips.  Sandra has some great ideas for holiday entertaining and gift giving.

Growing up, Sandra Denneler’s favorite book was the 1973 World Book Encyclopedia’s Childcraft Volume 11, Make and Do. She’s been making and doing her entire life. An art director at Wichita State University, Sandra also enjoys creating edible art in her kitchen. Her son, Gus, and daughter, Bea, are completely unimpressed with her crazy baking skills. If given the choice, they would rather eat an Oreo cookie. Sandra and her super-talented, woodworker-hobbyist-husband, Eric, have made a fun home together in Wichita, Kansas and do creative projects that can be seen on their blog, Project Denneler. You can also follow Sandra on Twitter @sdenneler.

Guy & Sandra

Check out some of the latest creations from Sandra

About SheKnows.com:

For more than eight years, SheKnows.com, one of the top 10 most-visited websites for women, has been providing current information on topics relevant to women’s lives.  SheKnows.com knows what women are looking for and has attracted more than 1.8 million monthly uniques with stimulating, up-to-the-minute coverage of health and beauty, personal style, human connections and other highly sought-after topics aimed at providing the visitor with a positive, well-rounded online experience.

Our national content team is well-connected and informed about the most contemporary and relevant topics for women, and shares the voice of all women who are now dominant users on the Internet.  With exclusive articles, columns and video and vibrant message boards, SheKnows.com is quickly becoming the meeting place for women wanting to be in the know.

In addition, SheKnows, LLC’s family of websites, including Reality TV Magazine, Adoption.com, Celebrity Baby Scoop, ChefMom, Child Fun Coloring Book Fun, Fabulous Foods, Families.com, Girl Zone, Hair Boutique, iChef, Main Street Mom, Making Friends, Moms Menu, Points & Prizes, Pregnancy & Baby, Pregnancy Calendars, Pregnancy Fashion, Reality TV Magazine, Soap Opera Fan, and Soaps.com, provides an even wider spectrum of topics of interest to women.   With SheKnows.com’s easy access to multiple top-visited sites, concentrating on a single portal is a cost-effective way to reach the female market.

In the second half, Barefoot Winemaker Jennifer Wall joins us for the Wine of the Week to talk about bubbles for the holidays.  Jenn has been making wine since 1991, and started at Barefoot in 1995.  The Gallo family purchased Barefoot in 2005 and wisely kept Jennifer as winemaker.  The following years saw great expansion in wines produced under the Barefoot label, including the addition of Barefoot Bubbly.  The awards continue to pour in for both Barefoot still wines as well as the sparkling line – with thousands of medals awarded, Barefoot is the most awarded wine brand in U.S. competitions.  One of the most dedicated, award winning winemakers in California, Jennifer’s wines continue to receive  numerous Gold and Double Gold medals along with the adoration of millions of wine loving fans affectionately known as “Barefooters!”

www.barefootwine.com

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
Something fun for holiday entertaining – how about a little bubbly 🙂

Bubbles make anyday a celebration –  If your looking for a great buy to entertain for the holidays, these both have the Good Life Guy seal of approval!

NV Barefoot Brut Cuvee
Green apple, jasmine, hints of kiwi and peach flavors bubble up for a crisp finish. Bubbling with aromas of Chardonnay, this is a dry style with solid fruit and unique swallowability .

NV Barefoot Extra Dry
Delightful apple flavors and a smooth finish make for a gold medal winner (seriously).  This sparkler has a hint of sweetness but great acidity and an easy drinking style.

Buy it by the case at Jacob Liquor Exchange!

 

 

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Dec 8 – Art Glass & Wyldewood Cellars

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Guy

 

First up – the folks from Infinity Art Glass in beautiful downtown Benton Kansas.  I finally got around to stopping by this attractive little store front and to enjoy some of the work that glass artist Scott Hartley is producing…WOW!  My timing was good, this weekend Friday and Saturday is there holiday open house.  While not food & wine related, this is truly The Good Life in hand blown glass…the perfect gift idea for family and friends.  Click on the Open House invite to enlarge.

 

Learn more about Infinity Art Glass.

The rest of the show is all about John Brewer and Wyldewood Cellars!  Dr. John has been a busy winemaker, not just making wine but working to change Alcohol Beverage Control laws and bring Kansas in to the future with regards to rules and regulations associated with Kansas farm products, including wine.

Wyldewood Cellars began in Dec. 1994, by the brother and sister team of John and Merry Brewer.  The original site of the Kansas Elderberry winery was in a turn-of-the-century building in the middle of Mulvane, Kansas. The original Elderberry wine list consisted of four sweetness levels of Elderberry Wine; Sweet, Semi-Sweet, Semi-Dry, and Dry. Over time they added Elderberry Dry Reserve Wine, Spiced Elderberry Wine, Blackberry Wine, Elderberry-Blackberry Wine, Sand Plum Wine, and Apple Wine.

On the night of January 28, 1999, a tragic fire broke out next to the winery that ultimately destroyed the winery and three other businesses. Everything was burned to the ground.  Starting all over in November of 1999, Wyldewood Cellars opened their current location near Mulvane, just off the Kansas Turnpike Exit 33. The whole family gathered for Thanksgiving, pitching in to put in the flooring, paint the walls, set up displays, and stock shelves. The new building was finished and ready to open for business the day after.

Wyldewood Cellars now produces over 40 different types of Kansas wine. What began as a small Elderberry winery, has blossomed into an internationally recognized and awarded winery. Since their beginning, they have won over 400 international awards for their Elderberry Wines, Grape Wines, as well as their other Kansas wines. As Wyldewood Cellars climbed the ladder of recognition, John Brewer was asked to become a judge at International Wine Competitions. For many years he was the only international wine judge from the area. Wyldewood Cellar’s Spiced Elderberry Wine was featured and served at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah, and was awarded the Best Non-Grape Wine in North and Latin America, among many other Gold Medals.

John and I will be tasting many of the newer wine and spirits he is producing.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
The many products of Wyldewood Cellars 

 

 www.wyldewoodcellars.com 

800 711-9748

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Dec 1 – Muy Bueno – Authentic Mexican Flavor

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Guy

I love Mexican food!  My Uncle Guy (my namesake) married well and his Mexican wife Rose taught me most everything I know when it comes to authentic Mexican cuisine.  She was an amazing home cook who could whip up a gourmet meal with the most meager of ingredients.  She is the one who spent an entire day teaching me how to make tamales.  She also taught me how to make fresh flower tortillas, and great salsa.

When I got a copy of ‘Muy Bueno – Three Generations of Authentic Mexican Flavor” the recipes and stories brought back many fond memories of my time in Aunt Rose’s Kitchen.  My guest this week is Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack, co-author with sister Veronica Gonzalez-Smith and there mother Evangelina Soza of this great book, a follow-on to the beloved food blog of the same name.

Siéntate a comer, esta muy bueno! {Sit down and eat, it s very good!} This was how Jesusita Mendias-Soza always welcomed guests to her table. The same words served as inspiration for her daughter Evangelina and granddaughters Yvette and Veronica, who wanted to honor her memory and preserve their family’s recipes and stories for future generations. They started the Muy Bueno Cookbook blog in 2010 with this idea in mind, and quickly attracted thousands of fans and followers who fell in love with Muy Bueno’s flavorful Mexican recipes, heartwarming family stories, and beautiful photography. Now they open their hearts and kitchens to an even wider audience in their first cookbook.

Spanning three generations, Muy Bueno offers over 100 recipes: traditional old-world northern Mexican recipes from Jesusita s kitchen; comforting south of the border home-style dishes from Evangelina; and innovative Latin fusion recipes from Yvette and Veronica. Also includes a chile glossary with photos, step-by-step instructions for roasting chiles, making tamales, and red chile sauce.

Learn more and get a copy NOW!

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:  Something fun to go with Mexican Food
2011 Woodbridge Moscato, Western Cape – South Africa

94% Muscat Alexander 6% Chardonnay.  Past vintages were from California, but the majority of the fruit in this wine comes from South Africa.  Fragrant aromas of sweet blossom and citrus,  this Moscato displays lightly sweet flavors with notes of tangerine and spice.  Its residual sugar is balanced by bright acidity, making it an excellent wine to pair with a wide variety of foods.  One of the best Moscato wines tasted this year in the flood of “Bandwagon” wines to join the latest wine craze.

 

I really enjoyed this wine and for the price it is my top pick Moscato at Jacob liquor exchange!

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