Your Favorite Wine

A great theme for a wine group event is: Bring A Bottle Of Your Favorite Wine. Then ask the participants to talk a little about the wine and why it is their favorite. I also like to ask gusts to bring an appetizer that links to why the wine is a favorite.

Joseph Phelps wines has always been some of our favorites. Our history with Joseph Phelps goes back to the 1980’s when we lived in California. In one of our first trips to the Napa Valley we visited the Phelps vineyard in Helena. The vineyard is situated in a little sub-valley off of the mainstream of the Napa Valley. The winery is situated up on a hill overlooking an idyllic setting. In that first visit we tasted some very nice wines on a tour and then enjoyed a bottle of cabernet with a picnic lunch. From that moment on, we have been fans for life.

In connection with that first visit and picnic lunch I like to serve some mini sandwiches on a crusty baguette. For me, the bread is the key to great sandwiches. I grew up in Westchester County just north of New York City. In a Westchester deli you don’t order a hero, a sub or a hoagie. You order a wedge. It is called a wedge because it is served on wedge of crusty Italian bread.

With the pandemic, I have used some of our time at home to start making my own baguettes. While working with yeast and baking in general can be daunting, I have found that with some precision and a little science, we can make some pretty tasty breads. And even if your bread is failure, there is the wonderful aroma of bread baking that makes it all worthwhile. With 4 simple ingredients and using a scale you can get a pretty good start.

Ingredients

684 grams Bread Flour
502 grams water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt

SEE THE RECIPE

The sandwiches don’t have to be complicated. A simple:

Ham, Cheese and Tomato with Mustard
Ham, Salami and Tomato with Pesto

When I am making sandwiches for appetizers I like to slip in a little trick from France. Use a little butter on your sandwich. In Paris if you order a sandwich de jambon avec fromage, you will get a little butter without asking for it. Somehow the sandwich will be memorable and you probably wouldn’t know why. A little butter really works. A favorite wine a favorite sandwich, if it takes a little butter, that a good thing

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/wine group/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.

The “New Normal” Or The Real Normal

Does anyone else hate the expression the New Normal? Yes, it is true that our lives have changed with the pandemic. And yes, our lives will be different for a while, and slightly different forever. But, if history has any lessons, things will return to a Real Normal eventually.

My friend Tuvi in Israel wrote me recently asking how things are going. He had probably noticed that my blogs based on socializing over a meal with friends had gone quiet. I gave Tuvi an update that reflected some of the challenges we are all facing. He responded with, in Israel we have an expression:

“We survived the Pharaoh, so this we can overcome!”

I could just hear my friend Tuvi’s voice and see the sly smile on his face. Tuvi has not been wrong about many things. On this one, he is certainly right.

We did get together with friends this week for appetizers and drinks. Yes, we met outside. The O’Connor’s have the perfect backyard. The well-spaced group included new and old friends. The menu called for appetizers and a visit to Costco dictated my offering. If you ever see PEACHES FROM CALIFORNIA at Costco you have to buy them. There is nothing better than the prefect peach and nothing worse than a bad peach. When Costco has peaches from California you are in for a treat.

My recipe for Steak and Peach Bites is always a hit when it combines the perfect peach and a nicely grilled steak. The sweet chili sauce is a wonderful complement.

Check out the recipe.

It was one of those evenings that went on a lot longer than planned. The company was great The food and wine were great. More than anything else, the evening reminded me that we all miss getting together with friends over a meal. We all miss the real normal. If 2020 has taught us anything, we have all learned that it is important to value how good we have it. That realization is the real normal

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.

The Rosemary Bush

Grill/Roasting a chicken on a bed of rosemary is one of our favorite dishes. Finding a sufficient supply of rosemary can be a problem. If you have to buy rosemary at the supermarket it can be expensive. If you know where to find an old bush of rosemary you are all set.

Grill Roasted Chicken Video

Here is the recipe

I wandered by my old office the other day and the rosemary that had once been part of a small herb garden is now a huge rosemary bush. The copious amount of rosemary is enough to roast a flock of chickens or skewer a truck load of appetizers.

The empty parking lot brought back a funny memory. One morning I pulled into the lot early and found a crane operator setting up his crane to lift a very large HVAC unit onto to the roof of the facility. Very close to the crane was the BMW Roadster that belonged to Andreas Schauffler our chief financial officer. Andreas was a native of Germany and not known for his sense of humor. Actually, he once admitted to me that his wife had accused him of not having one. Being a former finance guy, I always had sympathy for Andreas. I remember once walking into the office back in my early days at Maxwell House where I was a financial analyst with my boss Vince Summa the controller and him telling me: “You have to remember that we are the fiduciaries of the company and Fiduche to our friends”.

As I walked into KFI that morning with the crane and the BMW there I couldn’t help myself. I went to the crane operator and laughingly asked what it would cost me to have the BMW put on the roof as a joke. To which he replied with a smile: “A lot less than you might think”. As luck would have it, just as I was having this conversation, Nancy Webb, who worked for Herr Schauffler, pulled into the parking lot, and I asked her if she wanted to kick in $50 to have Andreas’s prized Roadster put on the roof. She explained to me, with a frightened look on her face, that it wasn’t a great idea and she wanted no part of it. Of course, I chickened out.

Fast forward to today and the good news is that I cut off a branch of rosemary to roast a chicken with tonight and If you are ever in Memphis and need rosemary, I can tell you where to go.