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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Nov 24 – This show was Pre-Empted

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Guy

Hope you enjoy the WSU live sports coverage…

…I’ll be back next week 🙂

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Nov 17 – Sandals Ocho Rios – Brewer’s Best BBQ sauce

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Guy

Have you ever been to an “All Inclusive” resort?  I had, and it was OK.  And then, I had the chance to go with a bunch of Wichita friends to Sandals in Ocho Rios Jamaica.  WOW, I’m hooked!  Sandals is a first class operation with 12 resorts located on the best beaches in the Caribbean.  There are great deals year-round, some even include airfare credit.  All include airport transfer to the resort, and when you get there…put away your credit card and cash, it really is all inclusive.  While I could go on and on about the relaxation, beach fun, pools, night life, entertainment, great food & drink, luxurious accommodations all set in tropical paradise…I don’t think I could do it justice.

But my guest Brian Roper can.  Brian Roper is the General Manager of Sandals Grande Riviera Beach and Villa Golf Resort located in Ocho Rios Jamaica.  Our group had the pleasure of spending some quality time with Brian during our stay.  From the glorious reception dinner for returning guest, the private behind the scenes resort and kitchen tour to the day trip to one of Jamaica’s best Jerk-Joints for lunch, Brian was the consummate host and friend to all.

Of course Brian has a lot of help.  The staff at Sandals Grande Riviera is exceptional.  We’ll tell you all about it, but you may want to visit www.sandals.com and start you vacation get away planning now.

Arguably Sandals Resorts’ most personable (and most popular) general manager Brian Roper constantly urges the staff of Sandals Grande Riviera to be the best they can be. With a Sandals association as grand as the resort’s lush expanse, Roper joined the Sandals family in 1981 to work at the flagship resort, Sandals Montego Bay, where he began his tenure as the Food & Beverage Director. Eventually serving as Sandals Resorts International’s Group Director of Operations for 13 years, Roper made the switch to General Manager of Sandals Grande Riviera (then Sandals Grande Ocho Rios) in 2008. Nearly five years later, he and his team go the extra mile to ensure that guests continue to make this sprawling paradise their home away from home.

Brewers Best BBQ sauce

In the second half I’ll be talking to Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer…not about his duties as Mayor, no…it’s all about BBQ sauce.  Our Mayor has long been known for his barbeque and while busy with mayoral duties has always found time to cook, compete and enjoy great barbeque.  In addition to competing and winning many chili cookoffs, his famous BBQ Sauce has generated a lot of buzz.  And now, you can buy it.  Check out this video from KWCH Ch12 and learn more.

We’ll tell you all about this great sauce and where you can get it…join us and get Saucy!

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week: 
2009 Napa Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
“The 2009 Napa Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon has the classic aromas of black currant, fresh blackberry and notes of cocoa powder. The rich aromas lead to a silky mouthfeel with flavors of berry pie, blackberries, mocha and toasted spice pie crust. The fruit is bright and young making this wine very inviting early but the mature structure and supple tannins will allow for excellent aging.”
Joe Shirley – winemaker

One of the BEST value Napa Cabernet’s on the shelf, if you haven’t tasted Joe Shirley’s handiwork lately you are missing out.  This is a big ripe Napa Cab with all the bells and whistles and then some.  Try the Chardonnay too, it’s a winner as well.
Cheers,

Guy

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Nov 10 – Lifesize Portions & Kitchen Moxie

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Guy

This show is not so much about Food & Wine, but how you can enjoy what you eat and drink and stay healthy and even lose weight.  For those of you that know me or have seen me around in person or photos, you know that I have always been BIG.  I love to eat and drink and I’m good at it…too good!  In June I started my own weight loss program that is as simple as it gets…exercise more and eat less.  Sounds easy, but we know it can be hard.   I have lost 30 lbs so far, a good start but only about 1/4 of what I need to lose.

I have been using a great computer and iphone app that helps, it’s called “MyFitnessPal”  www.myfitnesspal.com   This program helps you track calories consumed and calories burned through exercise.  It automatically updates between your phone logging and computer inputs, tracks weight loss, water consumption and offers an easy support system connection to others using the program.  Counting calories isn’t fun and it requires diligent regular inputs while you track all that you eat and calories that you burn through exercise.

I recently received a new portion control kit called “Lifesize – Portions For Life”, a unique set of measuring tools, A portion control food chart, 3 DVD’s and a Quick Start guide to get you going.  You can essentially eat what you want, three meals a day in moderation, using the set of tools provided to control portion size.

Myles Berkowitz

My guest is Myles Berkowitz co-founder (with Steven Kates) of LifeSize.  Myles used this system to take control of his weight and keep it off.  During the program will tell you all about how it works, where you can learn more and order you kit to start your weight loss journey.

“The Lifesize company was created to re-teach people how to eat so that they could lose weight, get down to a healthy weight, and most importantly, stay at their healthy weight for the rest of their lives.  We developed the simplest way for people to track the calories they eat in a meal and in a day, because we believe that if something is simple, people might actually do it.”

“We designed portion sizes of food that are based on calories and over thirty years of studying what and how much people need to eat to be satisfied and also stay at a healthy weight. And we created tools to help people see and understand what their meal plate and what a total day of eating should look like.  The two inventors of the Lifesize tools and the Lifesize Program are Steven Kates and Myles Berkowitz.”  www.lifesizeportions.com

If you like to eat, drink and enjoy the Good Life, using both of these program may be the answer.  What better time to start than now as we head in to the holidays!

 

Tracey Doull

In the second half let’s talk TURKEY…or better yet how to make Thanksgiving easy and stress free.  My guest is Tracey Doull  founder of Kitchen Moxie www.kitchenmoxie.net

“Thanksgiving and other holidays are such family-oriented times, but hosting the family can sometimes turn into a headache,” says Tracey Doull, Kitchen Moxie’s founder. “With some easy tips and tricks,anyone can pull off a great Thanksgiving – and enjoy it at the same time.”

 

Good Life Guy’s Wine of The Week:
Skinny Girl White Wine
A great wine to enjoy in moderation 🙂 and no, you don’t have to be a girl.
This wine will work great with Thanksgiving entertaining too!

 

 

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