Category Archives: Blog

When Accidents Happen… You Need “Wine Away”

If you serve red wine, and people drink it, it is just a matter of time until there is an accident. We have been believers in the Wine Away product since we saw it in action at a wedding.

Picture this…the wedding is at a spectacular vineyard in southern California. The ceremony goes off without a hitch. The bridal party heads off for pictures as the guests  start enjoying the fruits of the vine. Just as the first picture is taken, the brother of the bride spills a whole  glass of Cabernet Sauvignon down the front of the bride’s beautiful white dress. We are talking major stain. To this day, I don’t know how she did it, but somehow the bride kept her cool. Almost instantly, the wedding planner arrived with a bottle of Wine Away and whisked the bride off to address the issue. Within minutes the bride returned with the wine stain gone. It was magic. I would like to say that was the only crisis du jour, but a short while later, the bride was enjoying a special dance with her grandfather that ended abruptly when Gramp’s pants fell down. Yes, the pants fell to his ankles in front of a hundred guests. Again, the bride smiled on.

I would like to say that was our only experience with red wine spilling, but there is my buddy Joe. Twice he spilled wine on our living room carpet. The running joke became that we needed to seat Joe on a drop cloth. It was all a lot of fun until Karma struck. After making fun of my buddy Joe with a case of the “dropsy’s”, sure enough I knocked over a glass at another friends house. Unfortunately, those incidents were before we knew about Wine Away. I can tell you that from those experiences that using Club Soda to get out a wine stain does not work.

My buddy Joe and the “Usual Suspects”

We have taken to giving bottles of Wine Away to friends and family at Christmas. I strongly recommend having an inventory of this miracle product be part of your wine group planning.

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.

 

Crostini

Just about everyone loves a Crostini. They are perfect for a wine group gathering:

  • They taste great
  • You can have a wide variety
  • Pare wonderfully with a variety of wines
  • Range from sweet to savory with every combination in between
  • Can be delegated easily with each participant responsible for an offering
  • Easy to eat in a party setting
  • Fun and informal
  • Easy to make
  • Even leftovers are great.

Crostini (meaning “little crusts” in Italian; singular crostino) are an Italian appetizer   consisting of small slices of grilled or toasted bread and toppings. The toppings may include a variety of different cheese, meats, fruits and vegetables , or may be presented more simply with a brush of olive oil and herbs or a sauce.

Crostini make a wonderful theme for a wine group gathering. You can provide participants with a recipe or simply ask them to get creative. One can stick to store bought ingredients and with a little creativity can come across as a culinary genius.

Crostini Menu

  1. Smoked Salmon With Salmon Spread

  2. Seared Sea Scallop With Horseradish Cream Cheese 

  3. Smoked Salmon With Horseradish Cream Cheese

  4. Mortadella With Herbed Cream Cheese And Pepperoncino 

  5. Roast Beef With Horseradish Cream Cheese And Green Onion

  6. Bacon With Herbed Cream Cheese, Pesto and Sun Dried Tomato 

  7. Roasted Brussel Sprouts With Gorgonzola Cream Cheese 

  8. Roasted Grapes With Gorgonzola Cream Cheese And Red Onion 

  9. Walnut, Apricot and Brie Crostini

  10. Sweetened Strawberry With Herbed Cream Cheese And Balsamic

Clockwise: Bacon With Herbed Cream Cheese, Pesto and Sun Dried Tomato.Walnut, Apricot and Brie, Mortadella With Herbed Cream Cheese And Pepperoncino, Roasted Grapes With Gorgonzola Cream Cheese, Sweetened Strawberry With Cream Cheese, Seared Sea Scallop With Horseradish Cream Cheese, Smoked Salmon With Horseradish Cream Cheese, Roast Beef With Horseradish Cream Cheese, Roasted Brussel Sprouts With Gorgonzola Cream Cheese,

My history with Philadelphia cream cheese steps forward in the menu. In a previous life, I ran the cream cheese business for Kraft Food Ingredients. An old boss at General Foods once said to me that there is nothing more boring than a 5-minute conversation about the coffee business at a cocktail party. The same could probably be said about the cream cheese business. There are a few things I can tell you from my cream cheese experience:

  • It pares amazingly well with both sweet and savory applications. The sweet strawberry Crostini benefits from the rich creaminess of the cream cheese. The savory salmon spread delivers a perfect combination of flavors. Several times I have had salmon haters tell me they don’t like salmon, but they love this spread.
  • European cream cheese is really good as it is half cream and half milk. American cream cheeses have gone with 1/4 cream and the rest milk. Having sold Philadelphia Cream Cheese made both in the U.S. and in Europe I can tell you that product from Europe tastes better. Fat delivers flavor.

Cream cheese certainly helps these Crostinis.

Try a CROSTINI theme at your next wine group gathering.

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.

Grill It!

Grilling is a great theme for a wine group gathering. There are a lot of wines that pare well with grilled food. There are lots of great appetizers benefit from the flavor kick that grilling adds. In a previous life, I ran a flavor business for Kraft Food Ingredients and our lead tag line was:

Nothing influences that flavor of food more than how it is cooked

Our biggest selling flavor was, you guessed it…Grill Flavor. The truth is that many of the grilled foods that you have bought in a supermarket or enjoyed at a fast-food establishment were not cooked on a grill. Rather, they benefited from a flavor system that was developed by Kraft foods that we sold to food manufacturers in the United States and around the world. Of course we made a full line of cooking flavors like: Fried, Smoked, Roast and Sauté, but nothing sold as well as Grill.

It is no surprise to me that my appetizers that benefit from a grilling step are the most popular things I make. The best examples are:

Grilled Gorgonzola Stuffed Shrimp

Grilled Pizzas

Grilled Flank Steak with Goat Cheese on Toast

It has gotten to the point that if I don’t bring one of these apps to our wine group gatherings, I get complaints. Our friends just love them.

Above Grilled Pizza, Bottom left Grilled Flank Steak Tapas. Bottom right Gorgonzola Stuffed Shrimp

Some might ask why I am writing this piece in the middle of winter? Actually, we are currently in the midst of the biggest snowstorm we have seen in Memphis in 30 years. And, we are still grilling. When we bought our house 30 years ago, the house had a covered back porch. The realtor suggested we could add value to the house by closing in the porch. That never happened as we have kept it open for the grill and a fry station that we use rain, shine, or snow.

Above left daughter Jenn and Ethan’s grill in Ottawa, Bottom left my grill on covered porch in Memphis. Right, internet parody on grilling in Canada

No matter the time of year, the theme of grilling is a great one for a wine group. You could start with a chardonnay pared with the shrimp. Move on to a Rioja with the Grilled Flank Steak Tapas and finish with a Cabernet Sauvignon for the Grilled Pizza. You can’t go wrong with the food and you would be sure to have a good time.

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.