Dec 8 – Cooking with Scraps

My guest this week is Lindsay-Jean Hard with her new book “Cooking with Scraps.”

“A whole new way to celebrate ingredients that have long been wasted. Lindsay-Jean is a master of efficiency and we’re inspired to follow her lead!”
—Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, cofounders of Food52 

In 85 innovative recipes, Lindsay-Jean Hard—who writes the “Cooking with Scraps” column for Food52—shows just how delicious and surprising the all-too-often-discarded parts of food can be, transforming what might be considered trash into culinary treasure.
Here’s how to put those seeds, stems, tops, rinds to good use for more delicious (and more frugal) cooking: Carrot greens—bright, fresh, and packed with flavor—make a zesty pesto. Water from canned beans behaves just like egg whites, perfect for vegan mayonnaise that even non-vegans will love. And serve broccoli stems olive-oil poached on lemony ricotta toast. It’s pure food genius, all the while critically reducing waste one dish at a time.  Get a copy NOW!

About the Author:
Lindsay-Jean Hard received her Master’s in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan. Her education and passion for sustainability went on to inform and inspire her work in the garden, home, and community. The seeds of this book were planted in her Food52 column of the same name. Today she works to share her passion for great food and great communities as a marketer at Zingerman’s Bakehouse. She lives, writes, loves, and creates in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Follow Lindsay-Jean on Facebook & Twitter.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2017 Torchbearer Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Dark and full of character! Gorgeous colors of ruby red and purple draw you in to aromas of bramble berries, black cherries, currant. Warm baked red fruits evolve into vanilla bean, anise with hints of leather and touches of cigar box. The oak is so well balanced with structured tannins and savory spices. The finish last for days and leaves cherry pie and dark chocolate! I would pair this with dry aged ribeye with grilled vegetables! Or even pair with a flour-less chocolate cake!

One of the first high quality 2017 Napa Cabernet’s to hit the shelves, stop by Jacob on North Rock Road and grab some!

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Dec 1 – EverPresent & Soyfoods

My first guest is Vanessa Boucher Director of Marketing and a driving force behind the web site EverPresent.com
EverPresent is a portal that allow you to preserve any type of analog family memory, photos, video tape and more.

One of the most popular posts on the EverPresent Blog is an in-depth series on Turning Old Family Recipes into Heirloom Cookbooks.  It touches on everything from organizing and preserving your precious recipe cards to incorporating family photos and stories into a unique heirloom cookbook keepsake for your family with free downloadable templates.

With a staff of 60+ you just send your organized recipes and photos and work with one of the designers to produce the cookbook you like.  From simple to complex and publishable, they can help you do it all.  Or if you are handy with a computer, there is a Blog post for the DIY crowd allowing you to download a template and build your own cookbook.

Just before the wine of the week, I’ll be talking to Linda Funk, Executive Director of The Soyfoods Council.  Linda has lots of suggestions on how you can incorporate Plant Protein to eat healthy yet tasty during the holidays with soy foods.  She has some easy recipes for using soy milk as well as adding soy flower to your wheat flour when your baking cookies.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2015 Bodega La Milagrosa “ESCONDIDO” Tempranillo, Ribera Del Duero Spain

100% Tempranillo aged 8 months in American Oak. Aromas of Cedar, Asian spices, incense, balsamic notes, minerals, ripe cherries, concentrated, well proportioned and red in the glass. In the mouth, the spicy black fruit flows into a long finish.

Sweet, medicinal, bitter chocolate and slightly exotic nose. Very big, dry tannins that almost sweep you away. Bold finish that screams out for grilled meat. Drink now. James Suckling 92pts!

Note to self:  If you were on the Jacob Liquor Exchange email list you would have received advanced notice of this wines sale!  But if you hurry in to the North Rock Road location you may find some that I had stashed away…ask the wine folks 🙂

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Nov 24 – The Pie Queen Beth Bower & Bro-in-law Chef Chaz

The Pie Queen

Up first is my wife Beth who has been creating, producing and baking for the KPTS new video series and companion cookbook “The Pie Way…Kansas Style.”  She has traveled all over Kansas interviewing Chefs, Proprietors and bakers of PIE.  In addition to the video that will air starting December 3 during the KPTS pledge drive there was also a community submission of recipes in various categories that Beth baked and were judged by several local distinguished food judges.  Those recipes were included in the book along with the professional recipes submitted and included in the video.

The book and the video will  both be available during the December pledge drive for KPTS.

Then a rather informal give and take with my Brother in-law Chef Chaz Robinson joins us to talk turkey and cooking fun.
Speaking of fun, we sure had some not only at Thanksgiving but on the road in Texas for a family wedding.

Chef Chaz and Students at Culinard

We’ll tell you how to use some of your Turkey-day leftovers, along with some other helpful tips and techniques.  With the holidays upon us and gathering of family and friends who bring along their favorite “pot-luck” recipes, what a great time to start to assemble your family cookbook.

Chaz is an accomplished Chef that has worked in some of the finest restaurants from the Rockies to the Atlantic.  He is now a staff instructor at the prestigious Culinard, The Culinary Institute of Virginia College.

Good Life Guy’s Wines of The Week:
Fine Bubbles for entertaining during the holidays

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Nov 17 – Lisa Mattson & Jordan Wines

My guest this week is Lisa Mattson.  Lisa is an award-winning wine blogger, wine media expert, author and former wine magazine editor with twenty years of experience in the wine business. Her current position is Director of Marketing, Communications, Media and Public relations at Jordan Vineyard & Winery.

She has quite the journey in life and wine and shares it in her book The Exes in My Glass…How I Refined My Taste in Men & Alcohol.  The witty story of her raucous journey from lust to love and beer to wine, The Exes in My Glass: How I Refined My Taste in Men & Alcohol will leave you thirsty to uncork your true potential, too.  Follow Lisa on Face Book, Twitter and her great photography on Instagram

New 2018 edition now on sale with a bonus chapter and 100% of book sale proceeds benefiting wildfire victims through Sonoma Family 

We’ll talk about her journey, what’s new at Jordan and more importantly how you can contribute to California Wildfire victims (and there are many) by getting a copy of the 2018 edition of her book.  www.lisamattsonwine.com

 

Good Life Guy’s Wine(s) of the Week:
2015 Jordan Russian River Chardonnay
Refined aromas of green apple, pear and lemon peel with a flinty note reminiscent of Chablis. Its elegant palate echoes the bouquet with clean, bright flavors of stone fruit and citrus, backed by firm acidity where oak is an afterthought. A touch of creaminess on the mid-palate is followed by lovely mineral notes that carry through an extraordinarily long finish. It would be hard to pick out this bottle as Californian in a lineup of White Burgundies. Enjoy now or cellar through 2022.
Named one of the “50 Best Wines Under $50” by Bloomberg and the “Top 100 Wines of 2017” by Sonoma Magazine.

2014 Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
A wine with elegance, refinement and plenty of verve. Its perfume of blackberries and black cherries mingles with a backdrop of subtle oak notes. The palate has a velvety richness that coats the mouth in concentrated flavors of blackberries and cassis, laced with fine tannins from seamlessly integrated, new French oak. Enticing flavors of chocolate, violets and dark fruits linger on the long finish. Enjoy now or cellar through 2033. Decant for 45 minutes to elevate aromas and flavors.
Rated “Outstanding: a wine of superior character and style” by Wine Enthusiast in Fall 2018. Rated an “exceptional example of its type” by Wine & Spirits in Summer 2018. Highly Recommended, Decanter, April 2018

www.jordanwinery.com

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Nov 10 – Evan Goldstein MS

My guest this week is Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein, President and Chief Education Officer at  FULL CIRCLE WINE SOLUTIONS, INC. We’ll be talking about Evans journey in wine from working at his Moms restaurant “Square One” in San Francisco to the company he founded and the new project he’s bringing to wine enthusiasts and professionals early in 2019; “Master The World – Taste with Focus. Taste Blind.”

You love wine. It is your passion. You just wish you could go further and learn about new regions, new grape varieties… Or maybe it gets deeper than that… you need to pass a wine certification exam to get ahead in your career, or you want to impress your wine-loving boss. Master the World presents a fun, effective way for you to hone your palate. Six 187ml bottles sent to you in a 100% recyclable kit on a monthly basis with an online site/app that takes you through how to evaluate wine, understand what you’re drinking and articulate what you like and what you know.  Learn more about Master The World.

WHAT YOU GET – Each kit is a curated selection of six bottles of wine, with a tasting mat and instructions on how to use our site/app to evaluate these wines. Each bottle is 187 ml, which is about 6.3 fluid ounces. You can expect wines that are benchmark wines picked by our panel of Master Sommeliers that we have re-bottled into these 187ml bottles through an anaerobic (oxygen-free) process to maintain the quality of the wine. These are branded wines, not bulk wines and once you submit your deductions, you will see the full identities of the labels so it will be an open, honest process.

Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein (who passed his Court of Master Sommeliers’ certification in 1987 – long before “Somm” was a movie or Miles dissed Merlot in “Sideways”) has been in the restaurant and wine industry for 35 years. He has also written numerous books, including Perfect Pairings, Daring Pairings and Wines of South America, published by the University of California Press. With Evan’s expertise, we have developed a scoring algorithm for the evaluation tool and created the product’s content offerings. In addition to leading the wine selection panels, Evan will record educational videos showcasing different tasting techniques and pro-tips to enhance your wine tasting experienceLearn more about EvanFollow Evan on Facebook and Twitter

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2016 Broc Cellars Chenin Blanc, Solano County, Green Valley California
This is Broc’s first vintage making Chenin Blanc from the Frei vineyard in Solano County’s Green Valley AVA, located across the Napa county line from Coombsville, in Napa’s southeasternmost corner. Cooled by air from the San Pablo Bay, this small viticultural area has a decidedly maritime climate. This wine, aged in handmade puncheons crafted by Stockinger (one of Austria’s, and Europe’s, finest artisanal cooperages), has incredible reserve, with a nose of lemon pith, hay, and woolen mittens that is a harbinger of the sturdy structure and  linear acidity to be found on the palate. Only 118 cases made!  ABV12%

www.broccellars.com

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