Yearly Archives: 2012
2012: Full of Tote Bags, Oregon, and Skittles
I’m feeling guilty that I didn’t hand-select my 5 favorite blog missives for this post. (“Then why didn’t you do it? Lazy blogger! Boo!”) But I like the idea of letting the numbers decide my Top 5 Posts for 2012. It was surprising and very curious to see what resonated the most. But next year [More]
A Top Pinot Noir from Germany and Things I Never Saw Coming
When I think about this class photo of me from high school (that my mother holds dear enough to prominently display in her home), I never anticipated that confronting this image 20+ years after it was taken would give rise to a range of emotions including (but not limited to): horror embarrassment shame nostalgia I [More]
FREE: My Ebook in the Beginners Guide to Wine Series
Hey, did you know I wrote an ebook in the “Beginners Guide to Wine” series? It’s about the Melon de Bourgogne grape, which makes one of my all-time favorite wines in France’s Loire Valley: Muscadet. The good folks at Demand Media Studios are letting me offer up a free copy from now until 11:59pm Sunday, [More]
Other People’s Pinot Noir is Not Naughty, Naturally
If your salad days were in the 1990s and you’re a wine blogger, I defy you to write about the 2010 Mouton Noir O.P.P. (“Other People’s Pinot” Noir) and not think of the ubiquitous Naughty by Nature song. It was inescapable in 1991. Well, I was able to escape it. I think I spent most [More]
My New Favorite Way to Drink Rosé
What, you haven’t tried drinking rosé from a ceramic cup adorned with two bunnies in front of a pink background? We’ll get back to that, I promise. But first let’s talk about this rosé. I’ve kind of fallen in love with the Domaine de Pellehaut. Not only was it my Thanksgiving wine, but it’s my [More]
Pasta Absorption-Cooked with a Spanish Monastrell
I just tried out a new method of cooking pasta: absorption cooking in wine. Specifically, a Spanish Monastrell. I found the recipe in the vegetarian cookbook Herbivoracious by Michael Natkin. Oh, jeez. I’ve already done this cookbook a disservice by prefacing the title of it with the word “vegetarian.” Do not be prejudiced! As Michael [More]
A Review of FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000 at the Smithsonian
Strolling around the Smithsonian and reviewing exhibits like FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000 at the National Museum of American History (NMAH) certainly piques my interest. But living in Seattle makes traveling to the nation’s capitol to indulge my interest in food history inconvenient. So I turned to East Coast Correspondent Jennifer Schneider. She’s the [More]
Cooking for One Got You Feeling Down? Blue and Alone in Your Kitchen?
Cooking for one totally blows, right? You’re living in a world of recipes that feed 4-6, and would benefit from a loving partner who could peel potatoes while you ready the roast. Or at least keep your dang wine glass full while you prepare them a lovely, heartfelt, sensual feast. DESPAIR NOT! Why do I [More]
