Jan 4 – Mocktails & Cocktails

Posted on December 30, 2024 by Guy

Happy New Year!

My first guest is Jen Newens with her new book “Monday Night Mocktails”

Featuring 52 seasonal recipes, one for every week of the year, and more than 50 gorgeous images, Monday Night Mocktails welcomes the week with style. With drinks this chic and tasty, you won’t miss the alcohol!  Monday Night Mocktails offers inspired, easy-to-put-together non-alcoholic drinks that are as appealing as cocktails. The 52 creative infusions are crafted with seasonal ingredients and use widely available non-alcoholic wines and spirits.

The recipes include fresh takes on old stand-bys (such as a Virgin Margarita, Fauxjito, or a Nearly Negroni) as well as original creations (like a Turmeric Meyer Lemon Drop, a Peach-Rosemary Spritz, or a Star Anise Mango Mocktail). Welcome every season with the perfect drink—without the bar, booze, and crowds.

Jennifer Newens is a cookbook editor, cooking teacher, and literary agent from Oakland, California. She received her culinary training from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. She believes that everyone deserves to have a special drink in a fancy glass with a pretty garnish at the end of a long day – whether or not they choose to put booze in it! www.jennewens.com

“A handy resource enhanced by vibrant photos.” ― Publishers Weekly
“There are options for both straightforward and more creative cocktails, so readers are sure to find something to suit any mood or skill level . . . A great buy for those who would like to have a solid reference volume for mocktails in their mixology collections.” ― Library Journal   Get a copy NOW! 

In the second half I’ll be talking to Greg McBoat about “The I Love Trader Joe’s cocktail Book – 52 Drink Recipes for Every Occasion.”

Version 1.0.0

Discover cocktail-making techniques, learn to balance sweet, sour, bitter, and savory flavors, and master the art of mixology with these 52 step-by-step seasonal cocktail recipes featuring unique Trader Joe’s® products.

Trader Joe’s is all about bringing flavors from across the world into your kitchen with ease and fun. And what better way to up your mixology game than by using some of the most amazing Trader Joe’s products to make unique and creative cocktails? Welcome to The I Love Trader Joe’s® Cocktail Book.  This book features 52 classic cocktails and mocktails with unique seasonal trends. Get a Copy NOW!

Greg McBoat first watched Julia Child making her Queen of Sheba cake when he was six years old. He was captivated by her style of explaining the history and influence of food and drink. This began Greg’s understanding of how the stories behind food and drinks give unique insights into people and cultures. His mission is to change people’s lives through the stories he tells.

While specializing in food and drink photography and writing, Greg has worked for such clients as Food and Wine, the Denver Post, Joseph Phelps Winery, and Hard Rock Cafe. Greg has collaborated on three previous cookbooks: 50 Things to Bake Before You Die, The Official Catan Cookbook, and The Official Ticket to Ride Cookbook. Greg is from New Mexico and lives in Denver, Colorado, with his daughter, Eponine, and cat, Ash.  Check out some of Greg’s photography and learn more.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2021 The Seeker Riesling, Mosel Germany
The 2021 harvest was the first generally cool vintage the region has seen in the last couple of years. Although the harvest did not yield a high quantity, the fruit showed complex characteristics with amazing concentration. A distinctive, classic Riesling made from grapes grown in choice Mosel sites from vines on fine, mineral-rich slate soil.  Off-dry with a fine balance between light sweetness and crisp acidity.  Ideal with difficult-to-pair foods, including sweet and spicy fare. ABV10%

For more info!  Buy some at Jacob’s Liquor Exchange on North Rock Rd.

 

Posted in Other | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Jan 4 – Mocktails & Cocktails

Dec 28 – This Is What You’re Really Hungry For

Posted on December 23, 2024 by Guy

My guest this week Kim  Shapira with her new book “This Is What You’re Really Hungry For – Six Simple Rules to Transform Your Relationship with Food to Become Your Healthiest Self.”

Quit your on-again, off-again relationship with dieting for good—and become healthier and happier than ever.

You’ve tried to eat only vegetables. You’ve tried to eat only meat. You’ve gone gluten-free, dairy-free, satisfaction-free—but you shouldn’t have to. In fact, you don’t have to.  It’s time to stop restricting yourself and learn to make your relationship with food healthy—without forcing yourself to eat “healthy.”

Dietitian Kim Shapira has developed six simple rules that will change your relationship with food forever. In This Is What You’re Really Hungry For, she breaks down the science to get your brain and your body on board; replaces fad diets that do not last with a sustainable method that encourages you to eat what you love; and empowers you to be the authority in your own body.

Kim’s refreshing approach will help you:

  • Lose weight—or maintain your current weight
  • Resolve blood pressure issues
  • Improve your energy levels
  • Reframe your beliefs about food and why you eat
  • Identify foods that don’t love you back
  • Manage your emotions in authentic, healthy ways

Food should be a source of joy and nourishment in your life—not stress—and This Is What You’re Really Hungry For will help you get there. Featuring a foreword by Kaley Cuoco, this will be the last “diet” book you ever need—without ever asking you to go on a diet.  Learn more about Kim Shapira!   Get a copy NOW

Kim Shapira, MS, RD, is a celebrity dietitian with a BS in exercise kinesiology from Tulane and an MS in human metabolism and clinical nutrition from Boston University. Kim has spent the last 25 years helping people lose weight and keep it off in her private Los Angeles practice. In addition, she has worked in hospitals, sports clinics, and addiction centers. Kim’s work has become the Kim Shapira Method; a focus on 6 rules that helps her clients develop and sustain a normal relationship with food.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2022 Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia valley Riesling

Wine Spectator 87
“A perky white, with easygoing lemon sorbet and melon flavors that finish with zip. Drink now. 19,250 cases made.”

This Columbia Valley Riesling is a blend of Riesling grapes from throughout WA’s Columbia Valley. The wine offers crisp apple and white peach aromas and flavors with subtle mineral notes. This is your go to Riesling that is incredibly refreshing and flavorful and easy to match with a variety of foods.  Relatively low in Alcohol and with bright acidity, this wine is a great food wine that goes with most anything.  It’s especially good with spicy Asian good, Indian cuisine, salads with citrus or most any cheese.  ABV12%

Posted in Other | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Dec 28 – This Is What You’re Really Hungry For

Dec 21 – This Week’s Show CANCELED!

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Guy

Well DANG! The Good Life is pre-empted by Kansas City Chiefs Football game on KNSS starting at Noon.  I’ll be home watching and hoping for yet another victory  🙂

Kansas City Chiefs Logo Type; Kansas City Chiefs NFL Football Die-Cut STICKER | eBay

 

Posted in Other | Tagged | Comments Off on Dec 21 – This Week’s Show CANCELED!

Dec 14 – This Week’s Show

Posted on December 9, 2024 by Guy

My guest is Jens Honoré co-author of ROSÉ Revolution, the ultimate coffee table book for wine lovers celebrating the rise of this splendid pink wine.

Written by wine enthusiasts Rasmus Emborg and Jens Honoré, it explores the stories of 13 top producers from around the world, taking readers behind the scenes of this wine phenomenon.

Rosé is no longer just a summer favorite; it’s now a staple for any occasion, with one in three bottles of wine sold in France being rosé! It’s a bridge between red and white, inclusive, and perfect for wine newbies and aficionados alike. Rosé Revolution dives into the passion, quality, and craftsmanship behind this booming category, showcasing the winemakers who made it happen.

With stunning photos and firsthand stories from producers who sparked the rosé revolution, this beautifully illustrated book is a must-have for any wine lover.

Rosé is the wine that has experienced the most progress in recent years. It is inclusive, unsnobbish, and is a marker of the good life. Like rosé wine, Rosé Revolution is easy to embrace.

Rosé wine is authenticating itself as the third wine category, which acts as a versatile bridge-builder between red and white and is suitable for most occasions and meals. The wine has a broad reach–from the novice to the general wine consumer to the wine nerd–and is riding a wave of popularity, market availability, and expanding recognition that looks set to continue for years to come.

With most celebrated and well-known wine critics/writers not paying much attention to rosé and motivated by a gap in the market for a book about rosé told through the winemakers themselves–their motivations, ambitions, and foremost urge for quality–the authors traveled around the world to visit some of the most significant rosé producers. Both those who established the foundation for the rosé revolution and those who caused its eruption. Each producer has an exciting tale to tell. Each, in its way, contributes to the fascinating story of the Rosé Revolution.

As one of the participants, Sacha Lichine, creator of the world’s best-selling rosé, Whispering Angel, so precisely phrases it: “From the beginning, the idea was to make rosé into real wine. Everyone looked at us like we were completely crazy. I guess, we were.”

With 13 chapters filled with stunning photos and illustrations Rosé Revolution is a must-have for every wine lover. As lifelong wine enthusiasts Rasmus and Jens have both embraced rosé wine–its history, taste, appeal, color, and allure that come together in delightful harmony.

Jens Honoré is a photographer who has worked in the advertising industry for 30 years. In 2018, he published A Place to Dream for SOS Children’s Villages, and in partnership with Jens Vilstrup, he published the book, Farewell to a Black/White World about the UN’s 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. He has also contributed to Building a Dream about LEGO owner Kjeld Kirks Kristiansen’s realization of LEGO House. In 2021, he published The Right to Food about homeless people’s relationship with food. Jens lives in New York, and as a wine enthusiast, has followed the trend of increasing enthusiasm for rosé wine, with great interest. Follow him on Instagram (@jenshonore).  www.jenshonore.com

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2023 Maison Saint AIX Rose Provence France – AIX Rosé is the gold awarded premium Provence rosé made with dedication and passion. The perfect wine to drink with friends and family all day long! Made in the Provence region of France, just an hour North-East from the historical city of Aix-en-Provence.  This pale pink wine has lively aromas of white peach, wet stones, blood orange and spring flowers. Fresh flavors of green apple, peach and tangerine combine with great minerality and a pleasant white pepper finish. Grenache (60%), Syrah (20%), Cinsault (20%)  ABV13%

Posted in Other | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Dec 14 – This Week’s Show

Dec 7 – Red Wines by the Fire

Posted on December 4, 2024 by Guy

This Week I’ll be chatting with Matthew Cocks, DipWSET, and Advanced Sommelier. He is a vinicultural expert with “VinoVoss” — an AI Sommelier smartphone app and  web-based semantic wine search and recommendation system. The topic: Wines for in front of the fireplace 🙂

Winter Warmers: The Best Red Wines For Cozying Up By The Fire

How do you define the seasons? All of us have our own way. Some use ecology, and are guided by the activity of plants. Others use the calendar, where the seasons change along with the pages of the twelve months. Temperature, too, can offer a guide. The onset of winter is revealed when the shrinking mercury’s refusal to rise signifies a shift from ‘Winter is coming’ to ‘Winter is here’. Of all these methods, temperature may be the one felt the most.

The Allure of the Fireplace in Winter

The Secret to a Great Fireside Wine
The magical thing about being fireside is that it stimulates so many of our senses simultaneously. Perched by the hearth, one can see the flickering light of the flames, feel the glow of the radiant heat, hear the crackle of burning fuel, and smell the gentle, but unmistakable, wafting aroma of woodsmoke. A good fireside wine emulates these signals, underscoring and intensifying them.

“Winter reds should generally complement the warming spirit of the fire and the relaxation, Whether enjoying it by itself, with a piece of chocolate, or a delicious piece of meat from the grill, you have to make the final decision which of those will suit you best.”

So, what are you waiting for? Grab your corkscrew, and a few logs, and get the fire crackling.

Matthew Cocks, DipWSET, is a vinicultural expert with “VinoVoss” — an AI Sommelier smartphone app and  web-based semantic wine search and recommendation system, developed by BetterAI. VinoVoss picks the perfect wine for any occasion, courtesy of a highly advanced artificial intelligence architecture. Matthew, as an educator, international judge, and consultant, uses a data-informed approach to help HORECA companies hone their operations and procurement processes, and private clients optimize their wine cellar for enjoyment and investment. Matthew also holds the Advanced Sommelier Certificate from The Court of Master Sommeliers. Reach him and more at www.vinovoss.com. Or visit https://www.matthewcocks.com/

Then it’s all about Ancient Peaks the Ancient Peaks family owned winery and the amazing Santa Margarita Ranch vineyard in Paso Robles, California. https://ancientpeaks.com/ 

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2020 Ancient Peaks Merlot -Santa Margarita Ranch, Paso Robles
This primo Merlot opens with enticing red fruit aromas joined by hints of dried herbs and toasted oak. A round, supple texture delivers mouth-filling flavors of raspberry, plum, black cherry, cocoa dust and baking spice. Lingering complexities of cedar and mushroom elevate the senses on a silky, polished finish. The complex flavors of the pair well with rack of lamb, herbed roast beef, mushroom risotto, and Merlot-braised pork chops.  Blend: 85% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Zinfandel ABV14.3  Learn more here!

2022 Ancient Peaks Santa – Santa Margarita Ranch Zinfandel, Paso Robles
Zinfandel offers a nose of mixed berry fruits with hints of caramel and black pepper spices. The mouthfeel is supple, jammy and expansive with flavors of raspberry, cherry, plum and vanilla, with trailing notes of toasted oak and leather adding depth to the wine’s luscious fruit-forward character. Juicy acidity lingers on the finish with an appealing dash of spice.  The juicy, delicious style of the 2022 Zinfandel is a perfect match for spicy Italian flatbread, red sauce pastas, Santa Maria-style barbecue and pork ribs. 100% Zinfandel  ABV14.3%  Learn more here!

Grab these wines at Jacob Liquor Exchange on North Rock Road
Light the fire place, pour a glass and enjoy the holidays! 🙂

Posted in Other | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Dec 7 – Red Wines by the Fire