Aug 25 – The Hamptons and Long Island Homegrown Cookbook & Layer Cake wines

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Guy

Up first is Leeann Lavin with her new book; The Hamptons and Long Island Homegrown Cookbook: Local Food, Local Restaurants, Local Recipes.

As the movement to eat what is grown locally gains momentum, there is an increasing awareness of how best to incorporate this philosophy into our everyday lives. We can grow our own food and buy food grown locally at food cooperatives and markets, but what happens when we eat out? There are a number of chefs around the country dedicated to using only the freshest, locally grown ingredients in all the dishes they prepare and serve. This book takes the reader on a private tour of outstanding chefs of the Long Island area and their gardens. Each profile reflects the chef’s personal style, cultural background, desire for healthy, just-picked ingredients, and gardening philosophy. Recipes, plant lists, garden layouts, and color photos are included.

Local – Seasonal – Sustainable – Farm fresh
Restaurants all over Long Island try to boast at least one of these adjectives, but to the farmers and chefs profiled here, these are more than just buzzwords. They are a way of life. These farmers rise before the roosters to bring fresh produce, meats, and cheeses to area farmers’ markets. These chefs kick off the day with an early trip to the market and wrap it up in the wee hours of the night after feeding hundreds of appreciative diners.

In the second half I’ll introduce you to Chris Radomski.  In 1999, Radomski partnered with fellow Canadian Jayson Woodbridge to create a winery in Napa . Their goal was to produce a great Cabernet Sauvignon.  Hundred Acre Winery has enjoyed great success and high ratings…a cult wine that most of us can’t get even if we could afford it.   But the story gets better…

According to Chris, the success of Hundred Acre led the pair to consider other opportunities in the wine world. They felt that, while it was great to make a wine for the elite, they would also like to try their hand at making global wines that would be affordable enough for everyday drinking.

If you’ve been enjoying wine for a few years, you surely remember when Layer Cake Shiraz showed up in the Midwest.  A killer red from Australia with all the bells and whistles for a great price.The first vintage sold out in a very short time!  Chris and Jayson wanted to do more…

Off to the Puglia region of Italy where they found Primitivo grapes from 100-year-old vines to produce the Layer Cake Primitivo.   This is the Italian grape genetically the same as Zinfandel – another great new world wine takes the upper 48 by storm.   Not content to sit back and relax, the dynamic duo sourced Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina and set out to make a high quality Layer Cake Cabernet from Napa.   Their success continues with high ratings, and lots of happy wine drinkers.

Chris, Kay and Guy

We’ll tell you about Chris, his journey in wine and taste some of his wine available here in the Midwest.  I had the pleasure of meeting Chris and his wife Kay in Aspen this year.  By the way, the fun continues.  Chris has yet another label to offer you a splendid Italian IGT Red blend with a label inspired by Kay.  The catchy name….”If You See Kay”  🙂   This wine is a full throttle red, from Lazio, the blend is primarily Cabernet with some primitivo and petite verdot.  Not yet available in Kansas but it can be found on line.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
Fun stuff from Layer Cake

Many of these are available at Jacob Liquor Exchange!

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Aug 18 – Chile Fest 2012, Dave DeWitt

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Guy

LIVE this week from Johnson’s Garden Center at 6225 Shadybrook Street, Wichita, KS – Southeast of the intersection of Woodlawn and East 21 St. North.  It’s all about the 11th Annual Chile Fest Augest 17 – 19; featuring fresh fire roasted Hatch Green Chiles.

We’ll tell you all about buying, roasting, storing and enjoying Green Chiles from Hatch New Mexico and the many fun Chile related activities all weekend at Johnson’s.  Stop by and be a part of the show, taste some of Good Life Guy’s Green Chile Casserole and sample a little wine of the week.

Dave DeWitt

I’ll be talking to The World’s Supreme Chile-Head; Dave DeWitt. Dave is an internationally known chile pepper expert and the author of more than fifteen books about chiles. The founder of the National Fiery Foods Show, Dave is the editor and publisher of Fiery Foods magazine.

Learn more about Dave at www.dave-dewitt.com and check out some of his videos and other fiery fun stuff at his Fiery Foods & Barbecue Supersite

We’ll also be talking about one of Dave’s earlier books Barbecue Inferno: Cooking with Chile Peppers on the Grill. Combining fire with flame, chile experts Dave DeWitt and Nancy Gerlach present a collection of recipes designed to bring your grill alive and set your taste buds ablaze. BARBECUE INFERNO covers the basics of cooking with chile peppers on the grill and in a smoker, offering up fiery recipe after recipe for meat, seafood, and vegetable dishes. From Margarita-Grilled Shrimp and Avocado Quesadilla to Thai Ginger Pork Steaks; from Armenian Spiced Lamb Brochettes to Southwestern Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with Chile-Dusted Croutons, the authors draw on cuisines from around the globe in their gastronomic quest for fire.

This book is a must have for those of us who cook with fire and love any type of spicy food featuring an array of Chili Peppers!   First published in 2001 you can get a copy at Amazon.com

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2011 Mochetto Delle Venezie Moscato Rosa
A new blend of Italian Moscato-90% and Brachetto-10% grapes called “Mochetto.” This light pink, “gently sweet” and slightly effervescent Rosato wine is showcased in a clear attractively-shaped bottle with a silver “M” dominating the lower half of the bottle. The grapes were sourced in the delle Venezie ITG of the Veneto wine region of Italy. The Moscato imparts the bright pink color of a fresh and refreshing blush wine, as well as fruit flavors, while the Brachetto adds a little richness and weight. In the nose and mouth, it has the delightful aroma and taste of dried peach and berries, with a hint of roses in the background.  All that and low in Alcohol…only 5%ABV

Stop by and have a taste during the show, then you’ll want to head to Jacob Liquor Exchange on North Rock Road to pickup a few bottles for the weekend!

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Aug 11 – Chef Salt, Wicked Good BBQ and Charles Krug Sav Blanc

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Guy

Up first is Andy Schloss from Chef Salt a company founded by Andy and his partners Dave Joachim and Mark Bitterman.  www.chefsalt.com

Chef Salt was conceived when Andrew Schloss and David Joachim, who make a living as award-winning cookbook writers and chefs, met international salt expert Mark Bitterman. The three of us instantly found common ground on the subject of flavor. We agree that the best flavor comes from ingredients carefully grown and harvested in small batches by experienced farmers. We also agree that there are tricks to making these ingredients work together to achieve the best results. Everyone wants the flavor of great restaurant food in their own home, but many people lack the time, experience, or expertise to make it. After hours of riding bikes, tasting salts, cooking food, and sipping Scotch, the three of us had an idea for a line of seasoning blends that would match the world’s most majestic salts to equally magical combinations of herbs and spices. Each blend would bring the art and craft of professional cooking into the home kitchen. Our thought was to put the chef in a jar.

Each product is a careful blend of herbs and spices to enhance Chef Salt - sophisticated, Unrefined Seasoning

Products currently available:

*7 Salt
*Bacon BBQ
*Bamboo Curry
*NY Steak
*Tunisian fire
*Tuscan Herb

Visit www.chefsalt.com to learn more about each of these fine seasonings and for a good selection of recipes to try when you order your Chef Salt.

There are some great combo-gift packs too!

How about using some of your Chef Salt for a Wicked Good Summer BBQ

In the second segment I’ll be talking to the guys who put together Wicked Good Barbecue: Fearless Recipes from Two Damn Yankees Who Have Won the Biggest, Baddest BBQ Competition in the World.  

“A lot of serious barbecue champions have been waiting to see what secrets would be revealed in Chris and Andy’s book, and they are not going to be disappointed! These guys are both finely tuned chefs and hardcore pitmasters, a rare combination, and they’ve shared it all. I now understand how they won the world championship. The barbecue cookbook bar has just been raised.” —Ray Lampe, Dr. BBQ, author of Ribs, Chops, Steaks, and Wings

Last but not least…

Charles Krug Winemaker Stacy Clark
joins us to talk about her just released Sauvignon Blanc.  “2011 threw at us everything it could muster: a soggy spring, delayed fruit set and, icing on the cake, a late harvest. “Challenging” is a euphemism for the vintage.”   As luck would have it, 2011 was also the year that Charles Krug’s new winemaker, Stacy Clark, came on board, and the first large scale Sauvignon Blanc she ever produced.

2011: Bad vintage, no real experience with the varietal, first harvest at the new job—a winemaker’s perfect storm!

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2011 Charles Krug  Sauvignon Blanc

Our Sauvignon Blanc, from the first fruit harvested during our 150th anniversary year, evokes aromas of grapefruit, lime and a hint of tropical passion fruit. Tantalizing flavors of orange blossom and tangy citrus commingle with a sprightly acidity that provides a refreshing finish. As always,night harvests guarantee fruit freshness in our signature style wine.

A late harvest was due to below average temperatures, late spring rains, a cool growing season and rain during the summer. The winter rainfall was a full 30% above normal, much of it late. A few brief heat spikes did little to make up for the late start.

Pick up some Charles Krug Wines at Jacob Liquor Exchange and join us!

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Aug 4 – Cindy Pawlcyn & Murphy-Goode wines

Posted on July 29, 2012 by Guy

My guest this week has made more long term impact on the Napa Valley Food scene than anyone I know. I fondly remember when Mustard’s Grill was the only game in town for good food.  We’ll we have come a long way, and Cindy Pawlcyn is still leading the charge with three of Napa’s most beloved restaurants: Mustard’s-of course, Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen and Brassica.  www.cindypawlcyn.com

The topic today…Cindy’s fourth cookbook; “Cindy’s supper Club – Meals from Around the World to Share with Family and Friends.”

A collection of 125 chef-worthy global recipes presented in international dinner menus, drawn from renowned chef Cindy Pawlcyn’s informal gatherings.

It’s no secret that legions of fans flock to Cindy Pawlcyn’s restaurants for her globally influenced signature dishes. What is not so well known is that Cindy has turned her passions for cooking and travel into a popular supper club, where she creates an adventurous menu celebrating a different international cuisine each week. Cindy’s Supper Club has become a destination event, presenting a world tasting tour on a plate.

Cindy’s Supper Club serves up twenty-five complete menus inspired by Cindy’s dinners and featuring more than 125 recipes from the world’s greatest food destinations, including Hawaii,Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Austria, Belgium, England, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Russia, Georgia, Ethiopia, Morocco, South Africa, Lebanon, Turkey, China, Japan, Korea, India, and Thailand.

Learn more & get a signed copy NOW

In the second half I’ll be talking to Murphy-Goode winemaker David Ready Jr.   David is a rock star! Not only did he grow up playing drums in bands around Minneapolis, he also lays down a pretty impressive set of wines. Son of founder Dave Ready, David Jr. first worked harvests in Sonoma County and Australia. Eventually he came back to Murphy-Goode to craft our line-up of Zin, Cab and our original pair—Fume Blanc and Chardonnay. You’ll find David with music playing in the cellar, a Minnesota Viking helmet on his head, and his nose deep in a glass of Murphy-Goode.

www.murphygoodewinery.com

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
Some great wine from Murphy-Goode…now that’s The Goode Life

Stop by Jacob Liquor Exchange and get ya some!

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July 28 – F&W Best of the Best and Rochemere Wine Selections :-)

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Guy

My first guest is Justin Chapple, Food & Wine Magazine Associate Editor and part of the team that put together the latest cookbook to come from this great magazine; Food & Wine’s Best of the Best

Imagine creating your ideal cookbook by collecting your favorite recipes from the top 25 cookbooks of the year – plus exclusive new recipes from many of the star authors, published for the first time in your new cookbook!  That’s exactly what you’ll find in the FOOD & WINE Best of the Best Cookbook Recipes, Volume 15—brimming with more than 100 utterly delectable recipes specially chosen for you by the FOOD & WINE editors.

Discover mouthwatering dishes for all occasions and every course, selected from the cookbooks of TV stars and renowned chefs Bobby Flay, Jacques Pepin and Mario Batali, plus many more!

Buy a copy now!

In the second half I’ll be talking to Wichita’s own Dr. B. Theo Mellion, proprietor of Roche-Mere Wine Selections.  Theo and his staff bring some of the finest small producer French wines to the United States and the World.

Theo Mellion

Dr. B. Theo Mellion, born in New Haven, CT, resides in Wichita, KS with his wife and daughter, as well as in Tours, France. A traveler to France’s wine country for nearly 35 years, Theo is a member of several American and French-based wine education associations as well as personal friends with many of France’s wine elite, American importers, retailers, restaurateurs and private club members. One of the best palettes out there, with an ocean of knowledge and appreciation for the subtleties and beauty of French AOCs, Theo is the prime driving force and heartbeat of Roche-Mère’s development, portfolio and client base.

Michael Affatato

Also joining us in-studio is Michael Affatato, Theo’s Partner at Roche-Mere.  Michael was born in Brooklyn, NY but has been living in France since 1997. Formally trained and diplomaed in Advertising in Manhattan, NY, Michael has worked in the wine trade full-time since he first fell in love with Napa Valley wines in 1991. He, his French wife and two daughters moved to France in 1997; he worked as an executive for Maison Chapoutier in the Rhone from 1999 till 2002 then for Jean-Luc Thunevin of Château Valandraud in St-Emilion before he and his wife bought Château La Gatte in 2004. Wine maker and exporter, Michael today has acquired full French nationality and lives year-round in Saint-André de Cubzac on Bordeaux’s right bank.

Good Life Guy’s Wines of The Week:
Killer wine from France brought to you by Roche-Mere Wine Selections

Stop by Jacob Liquor Exchange on North Rock to taste one of Theo’s wines Saturday July 28 between Noon – 8:00 p.m.!

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