random appetites

Random Appetites: Leftovers

Nibbles

And not just any leftovers, but Champagne leftovers! (or, more often than not, sparkling wine leftovers)

I realize some may never have this “problem,” but often a bit of the bubbly goes a long way for me and, in striving for moderation in all things, I’m usually left with at least half the bottle once the celebration has passed. What’s a girl to do?

Before I get ahead of myself, let’s start with some basics.

  1. Champagne (with a capital ‘c’) technically only comes from the Champagne region of France. Other sparkling wines from France and other countries can be called champagne (little ‘c’) and anything from American wineries that uses the capital-c version is just putting on airs. Still, there’s nothing wrong with sparkling wines by any name, but you should know the difference.
  2. Champagne can be dry or sweet. Brut is the driest of the dry, followed by Extra Dry and then Dry (or Sec) which is what most people are used to drinking and what I usually consider “sweet” by comparison. Everything is relative. Demi-Sec and Doux are the sweeter and sweetest sparklers and generally not found in the States but apparently Latin America really likes the sugar so that’s where most of them go.
  3. Bottle sizes vary. The usual 750 ml bottle that you find in most shops is also known as a Bouteille. A “split”, which you might see on some restaurant lists or hear bandied about from time to time, is a little Quart or quarter-bottle at 187 ml and will give you 2 small glasses and are a bit smaller than those old glass soda bottles. Great for trying out new champagnes or putting into gift bags or baskets. FInally, a Magnum is essentially a double-bottle yeilding 12 servings (the single bottle should serve 6) and looks kind of impressive. Bottles larger than the Magnum are named after Biblical figures: Jeroboam, Rehoboam, Methuselah, etc. all the way up to the Nebuchadnezzar which is a whopping 20-bottle/15 liter behemoth!
  4. If your champagne overflows its bottle when you open it: you did it wrong. Do not shake the bottle or treat it badly, you’ll waste all the bubbles that way. Instead, remove the outer wrapping (there should be a little tab on the foil) and gently loosen the wire cage that keeps the cork in place. Holding a small towel over the top of the bottle, gently work the cork out and you should hear the faintest “pop” when the cork comes loose. Pour and serve immediately.

That being said, let’s get back to the leftovers and what to do with them.

First things first, try a champagne cocktail! Add orange juice to champagne for a mimosa (great with brunch!) or peach nectar for a bellini which is good any time. Pretty much any fruit juice can top off your champagne flute and be very tasty. You can also add other liqueurs to champagne for a variety of different tastes. I found an interesting list of champagne cocktails here that you might like to try. My personal favorites include “Nelson’s Blood” (port and champagne) and the “Flirtini” (champagne, vodka and pineapple juice) but I think I’ll stay away from the “Blue Velvet” or any of the drinks that look like drain cleaner. (Anyone else remember that scene from Heathers? Exactly.)

The other way to use leftover sparkling wine is to cook with it! Over time the bubbly will lose it’s fizz, but that’s about all. So pop it into the fridge (use one of those wine stoppers that seals the bottle, like the Vacu Vin Wine Saver Extra Stoppers, Set of 4, instead of trying to fit the cork back into the bottle) and it’ll keep for a while, at least for cooking purposes. Leftover champagne works great in salad dressings in place of all or part of the vinegar and in any recipes that call for white wine (since most champagnes are white). In fact, I made my favorite risotto the other night and all I had in the house was a sweet white wine instead of the usual dry but it substituted with absolutely no problem so you can even use sweet sparklers in savory recipes without fear. After all, you should only cook with the wines you’re willing to drink, so this fits nicely.

One last thing. Did you accidentally leave the champagne out instead of putting it back into the fridge? Well, one night (especially if it’s a cooler one) probably won’t kill it, but if you detect a change in flavor, why not try making your own wine vinegars? Here’s an interesting article from holybasil.wordpress.com.

Random Appetites: New Year’s Food Traditions

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Along with watching the Rose Parade (and, I suppose, the football game afterwards), I grew up knowing that New Year’s Day meant 2 things: cabbage and black-eyed peas.

Supposedly, the cabbage (or any greens for that matter) symbolizes wealth (get it: green–>money) and the peas were for health (some say luck, I prefer to go with health). As a child I recall not liking either of these foods all that much but Mom insisted we eat at least one bite of each! Things change over the years, however, and I enjoy both immensely these days.

Now, the cabbage/greens are pretty obvious, but what is up with the peas (actually beans, but common terminology calls them peas) and luck/health? The prevailing theory seems to date back to the Civil War when the crop was the only one available (since it was usually grown for animal feed) after the North marauded through the South. Hence, black-eyed peas were an important form of sustenance for those who survived the War. The irony, of course, is their name: a black eye would be considered neither lucky or healthy to have, so maybe the above is all some apocryphal nonsense trumped up by the Black-Eye-Pea Farmers of the world. Either way, done right, they can be very tasty.

Cabbage is easy to cook: Remove the outer leaves and thick stem from the head of cabbage. Cut in quarters or so and then separate the leaves in chunks, putting as much will fit into a large pot along with a ham hock, hambone, or some rendered bacon and a little bit of water. Not too much since cabbage has a high water content and will cook down to a fraction of its former self rather quickly. If you have more cabbage than will fit in the pot to begin with, put the lid on and wait a bit and then add the rest once it’s cooked down a bit. Cook until tender, add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.

If you just can’t stand cooked cabbage, greens or green salads I see no reason why, say, coleslaw couldn’t be substituted for the same benefit.

Black-eyed peas can be a little tougher, only because it takes a while to bring out the best of their flavor. You can start from dry and soak over night, drain and then cook until tender or you can do what I do: buy good quality canned, drain and rinse thoroughly, then cook with the de rigueur ham hock, salt pork or bacon, salt (watch it if you’ve used salt pork that you don’t overdo) and pepper. The peas should be cooked until tender but not mush and, if done right, have a slightly buttery flavor even without additional seasoning. If you’re really pressed for time or haven’t had much luck getting your peas to turn out right, the Glory brand of canned black-eyed peas is a decent substitute for home-seasoned.

In some parts of the South, Hopping John–a “salad” of black-eyed peas and rice–is the customary way of getting your peas for the year. I’ve never had a batch that wasn’t really dry and mealy and don’t much care for it, myself. I’ve also heard that you should eat 365 black-eyed peas for luck/health every day of the year but, as much as I’ve come to love them, that’s a few too many peas for one day!

No matter how you prepare them, the only other thing you need to add for your traditional (if a bit superstitious) New Year’s Meal is plenty of corn bread–not only is it tasty on it’s own (try adding whole kernel corn, ham chunks and some chopped jalepenos if you don’t like the plain sort), it’s great for soaking up that pot liquor from the cabbage and peas.

Want something sweet to round out the meal? I’ve heard that the Italians (and other wine-folk) make a habit of eating 12 grapes on New Year’s Day. Some even go so far as to use it as a bit of a divination tool: if, for instance, the fifth grape is sour you can expect May to be a sour month and so forth.

Random Appetites: DeFuniak Adventures

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Last week I extolled the virtues of Chautauqua Winery, now you get the rest of the story.

Since Chautauqua doesn’t sell through retail outlets and it was only a couple of hours away, a there-and-back trip certainly wasn’t out of the question to restock. But, if it’s only a couple hours away, why not make weekend away (or, as heard in Bridget Jones’ Diary, a mini-break–why is it the British have better names for these things?) out of it, if there’s anything to do in DeFuniak Springs, that is.

Yeah, not really.

It’s a small town with, apparently, some rich history but not really a lot going on any given weekend. I did luck up and find The Hotel DeFuniak which was listed as a Bed & Breakfast. Granted, the website doesn’t inspire 100% confidence and we knew going in that it could be quaint or an absolute disaster. Thankfully it was the former. The only thing that didn’t really jive with me was the idea that a “B&B” only offers Continental Breakfasts on Sundays and Mondays. I get Mondays since Sunday night stay-overs are probably low but Sunday mornings? Really? That’s just not right…

Anyway, that was the only real disappointment. That, and I didn’t realize one of the rooms (Room 8, the Aviary Room) was supposedly haunted because I totally would have booked that room instead!

The lobby and small sitting area was filled with various antiques and knick-knacks that gave the place a rather charming air and even though there was an elevator to the second floor, except for check-in and -out we used the staircase because it really wasn’t that much of a trek. Our room (Room 4, the Art Deco Room) was decorated in shades of sage and peach with high ceilings, a pedestal sink to one side of the bed (odd but we got used to it soon enough) a cubby-sized bathroom with a commode and shower stall and a tiny television w/dvd player hidden in a cabinet/dresser set up. And the king-sized bed was just right. Overall, the effect was charming. Oh, and they still use actual keys! How novel!

Once settled we had some time to kill before our dinner reservation (more on that in a bit). Since we were essentially in the heart of town, we thought we’d do a bit of on-foot exploring. Well, apparently almost everything browse-worthy closes at noon on Saturdays! I suppose it’s quaint, in a way, but it sorta put a damper on our explorations. What was open was a charming (so much of this area is charming, really) shop called The Little Big Store. It’s a general-mercantile type of shop that is just packed floor to ceiling with all sorts of old fashioned this and that and I have to say I was just in heaven and has to be seen to be believed. Totally made up for the other antique shops being closed.

The other thing we did that afternoon was make a pitiful attempt at Letterboxing. The night before we left I had gotten the sudden brainstorm to check for any boxes in the area, just for something to do, and there was one with a riddle to find it. We decifered the clues ahead of time (at least the initial ones); we figured it would be best to be prepared, being in a strange city and all and were surprised to find that there was an airfield in DeFuniak Springs! Unfortunately, the box seemed to missing–either removed or so very overgrown that it was beyond our finding. Too bad, but it did make us curious to find the ones here in town.

Now, dinner, that was a treat! The house restaurant at The Hotel DeFuniak is Bogey’s and features live music on Saturday nights which amounted to a tuxedo-shirted jazz singer with a keyboard but it was very nice. Several people got up and danced and we had ring-side seats to the dancefloor. We ordered the Oysters Rockefeller and the Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip for appetizers and for dinner I had the Catch of the Day, Lorenzo (which means with crab stuffing and bernaise sauce) which was very, very good and Todd had the Veal Restauranteur, of which I had a bit of a nibble and it was very tender and tasty. We split a dessert (something very chocolatey, I only had a couple of bites as I was way too full already) and toddled off to our room, incredibly sated.

You might be saying to yourself, wait, she didn’t mention alcohol once! I’m getting to that, lol. We had ordered the Romantic Package which came with a bottle of house wine. Instead I opted (big surprise!) for the Pinot Noir and we both ordered cocktails. What surprised me, especially considering the reason we were in town, was that their wine list featured not one local wine from the Vineyard down the road. Not a single one. Now what is up with that? The wine was certainly fine (and don’t believe that white wine with fish rule, drink what you like) and so were the cocktails. I ordered a Pomegranate Martini and Todd had the Lemon Drop. The Lemon Drop was better.

What I’ve discovered through a bit of trial and error (despite the fact that I need to read the drink descriptions more carefully) is that cocktails that are 100% alcohol are not the cocktails for me; I need mixer. You see, the Pom-tini had pomegranate liqueur and vodka, that’s it, and while tasty it was very strong. In contrast, the Lemon Drop was made up of Citron Vodka, Grand Marnier and sour mix… and it was the sour mix that made the difference. I think, had they subbed at least some if not all of the pomegranate liqueur for juice, I would have enjoyed the drink a lot more. At least there was no salt, this time!

One drink that I was intriqued by and will try if and when we return (it certainly seems likely, the hotel was so nice and nearby for a mini-break) was teh Pineapple Upside Down Martini. The description called for Vanilla Vodka, Butterscotch Schnapps, Pineapple Juice and a splash of cola. Doesn’t that sound yummy?

Random Appetites: Chautauqua Vineyards

Nibbles

One of those places you find just off the highway, Chautauqua Vineyards is something you don’t expect to find along I-10 in the Florida Panhandle. I first noticed the sign several years ago on my way back home for a visit. The next trip I took was, unfortunately, for my grandfather’s funeral, but on the way back I wasn’t in a big hurry so turned off at Exit 85 purely out of curiosity.

The Winery is a medium-sized building on a hill that you get to by a service road–it’s not hard to find. They offer both “tours” and tastings as well as a full retail shop. The tour is actually a 3 minute video in their viewing room that overlooks the huge tanks, etc. that make up the main operations there at the winery. But don’t skip that room just because you don’t get to actually walk though the vines: it’s a good place to start your shopping. Lots of little wine knick-knacks interspersed between various sizes and shapes of wine racks, wine totes and picnic baskets. I was sorely tempted by one of the very cool baskets that featured real glass and stoneware (no plastic!), including 4 petite wine glasses.

Follow the hallway around and you will end up in the tasting room. On my first visit back in the early aughts they charged for tastings but now apparently it’s free to taste as many wines as you like. Most of their wines are made from local muscadine grapes which are incredibly sweet and many don’t like the taste of. Even if you fall into the anti-muscadine camp, give their fruit wines a try–the blueberry is very good but the blackberry is absolutely outstanding! Even people who don’t like wine actually like the blackberry. They also have some wines that are made from Concord grapes and their Sunset Red is quite palatable. On this last visit we tasted their Vanilla Sherry and, even though it was tasty, I already had a bottle of their Chocolate Port (yes, really) at home so we passed on picking up a bottle of the fortified this time around.

Next to the tasting room, which has it’s own trinkets to browse through, is the main retail room including the racks and racks of wine and a lot of glassware, wine accessories and other accoutrements of wine culture. Among the items I’ve picke up there are novelty pastas, cocktail napkins with a variety of pithy sayings, bottle decorations, mugs, a “Wine Diva” ball cap, wineglass coasters, etc etc etc. Hey, it’s an hour and a half away and our last trip out there was specifically to stock up, might as well make it worth the drive!

Basically, if you ever find yourself around Exit 85 on I-10 (DeFuniak Springs, FL) during business hours with a little time to kill, stop and in and see what you think.

Random Appetites: the Hostess Gift

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What’s the first thing most of us do when we receive an invitation–even a casual one–to a friend or colleague’s home for dinner or a party?

“Can I bring anything?”

Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong in asking; I do it, too. The important thing is to listen to (not just hear) the answer. If a hostess declines your offer to contribute, by all means do not show up with a tray of something for the party. But this only counts for offers to take part in the preparations. A hostess gift–which is separate from the festivities in question–may still be appropriate.

Notice I said appropriate, not mandatory. After all, etiquette does not exist so that we can tell others how and when to act but so that we can educate ourselves on how we should behave.

That said, when is a hostess gift a good idea? Anytime you are invited to a dinner in someone’s home, certainly consider bringing a little something for you host(s) to enjoy later. Casual parties are less appropriate, but if you feel led and know “just the thing”, by all means (open houses fall into this category unless it’s a housewarming, in which case a gift is a definite should).

And then the question becomes, what to bring? Wine and flowers seem to be the most common hostess gifts given, but consider other options, as well. Wine, for instance, would not be appropriate for non-drinkers as they’re not likely to be able to enjoy it (which defeats the whole point!). Flowers often require work for the hostess–finding a vase, cutting and arranging the stems–that may actually add to her workload; again, defeating the purpose of the gift. Having them delivered earlier in the day or the day before is a nice alternative, though, if you really want to give a floral offering. Chocolates are an excellent alternative, if your host has a sweet tooth, but make sure to avoid those with nuts if your knowledge of the host’s allergies is spotty.

But if you know your hosts well, consider their tastes and maybe find something small that they enjoy from a favorite store. Keep in mind that spending a great deal is not necessary, something small and inexpensive is fine. If you enjoy baking, a loaf of bread, coffee cake or muffins are excellent options or some festive cookies or nuts. Wrap them well and try to avoid using a dish that needs to be returned, there are lots of disposable or inexpensive plates, tins and bowls out there that you can package your gift in.

What sort of gifts are not appropriate? Anything overly extravagent, jewelry, risque items in all but the most intimate of circumstances and, of course, any food item that is half-eaten (you would think that is a no-brainer, but my research shows that this is, unfortunately, not unheard of).

A final word to the host that may be presented with any sort of gift. Say a gracious and sincere thank you, a brief word about how much you (and/or your family) will enjoy it later, and then put the gift someplace out of the way. If it is wrapped, open it if there’s time but do not feel obligated to stop your party preparations or make a show of opening it in front of your other guests later (you don’t want to make anyone who didn’t bring a gift uncomfortable). Thank you notes are not required for hostess gifts.