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@WineEnthusiast Toast of the Town
I’d been waiting for Thursday all week long…for Wine Enthusiast’s “Toast of the Town,” a wine and food festival that filled Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom with 500 wine and spirits and 35 top restaurants.
The event was $106 for general admission and $169 for VIP, which included an hour of reserve wines. Even though the event was at capacity, there was more than enough wine and food to go around–and more than one could possibly consume in 4 hours!
Now I have a couple of new trusty favorites to add to my list of go-to wines–wines that I’ll look out for when I’m at a wine shop or that I’ll order when I’m out at dinner.
My picks from the night:
Yalumba 2010 The Strapper Grenache-Shiraz-Mataro (Barossa)
“Sweetly scented cinnamon is joined by a cavalcade of brown baking spices on the palate. Juicy but nimble with some appropriately grainy, chocolate tannin. ” Pop it in the fridge for half an hour on a hot day, for added refreshment.Roth Estate 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon (Alexander Valley)
“Beautiful aromas of nutmeg, sweet oak and red cherries that carry through to the palate. This bright Cabernet Sauvignon has soft, balanced tannins that are complemented by notes of black currant and red berries with an elegant finish of sweet vanilla”Raymond Vineyard 2008 Generations Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
“Prevailing aromas of berries, earth, tobacco, currant and plum carry through to the flavors and the long, lingering finish. Full-bodied, intense, and complex throughout, with enough tannic structure to guarantee aging potential.”Buena Vista Winery 2008 The Count (Sonoma)
“The wine’s bouquet opens beautifully with rich aromas of black currant, cherries and just a hint of espresso. Smooth on the palate, the wine offers flavors of plum and blackberry that gently give way to cardamom on the long, silky finish.”Dona Paula 2011 Estate Torrontes (Salta)
“Golden yellow intense. Delicate and complex aromas of jasmin, tropical orange blossom, fruits and muscat grape. Fresh mouth of good volume and acidity, balanced and persistent.”As you can see, I’m a little partial to red wines, but I can promise, any of the above-mentioned wines will be delicious, whether sipping alone or with a meal. Enjoy!
This is where it all began…
Greenmarket Baby Beet Salad & Goat Cheese Mousse from Tocqueville (www.tocquevillerestaurant.com)
Soft Quail Egg filled Raviolo with Truffle Butter and Parmiagiano from SD26 (www.SD26ny.com)
I love the neckwear!
Ingredients for the Alaskan Salmon Roe Caviar with Buckwheat Blinis from Firebird (www.firebirdrestaurant.com)
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Pho at home with @PacificFoods Pho Starters
OK, I’ll admit…I just tried pho for the first time about a month ago. I was starving and happened to pass this Vietnamese spot and decided to pop in. I ordered the phở bò (beef pho) to-go and rushed home to dig in. Ohhh my, it was delicious. The tender beef, all of the different flavors–it was a taste explosion!
In case you don’t know pho (pronounced “fuh”), it’s a popular Vietnamese soup with an aromatic broth that involves an 8-10 hour cooking process! It’s usually served with beef or chicken over rice noodles. Various toppings can be added based on your tastes, including mint, cilantro, basil, lime, bean sprouts, chilies, green onions and hoison sauce.
I’d been having pho cravings ever since, so I knew it was time to make my own pho using the Pho Soup Starters that the the great people over at Pacific Natural Foods had sent me. At this point you may be wondering why I hadn’t already made the pho if I had it at home. Simple–I wanted to try the real deal first so I’d have a comparison point.
Pho Soup Starters provides the soup base and all you need is 20 minutes of spare time, a protein (beef, chicken, etc.) and ingredients for the toppings. It comes in Chicken, Vegetable and Beef and the ingredients are all natural and organic.
I used the chicken broth…
Easy directions (click on image to enlarge)
Step 1: Cook the chicken and set it aside
Step 2: Boil the broth and add the chicken
Step 3: Chop some onion (I didn’t have green onion, so I used a Vidalia onion), lime, and wash bean sprouts, cilantro and basil
Step 4: Cook the rice noodles
Step 5: Spoon noodles in a bowl, add broth and chicken, and add your own fresh toppings
Step 6: Enjoy! I added hoisin sauce and chili sauceTHE VERDICT
It was delectable! The flavors were rich and complex–I was impressed and thoroughly enjoyed it. I must admit, getting restaurant phở is easier and cheaper (at least at the place I went to), but if you don’t have a Vietnamese restaurant near by, or better yet, a Vietnamese grandmother, this is definitely the next best thing!! Try it for yourself!Want to know more about Pho Soup Starters? Visit www.pacificfoods.com.
xoxo, Olisa
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Summerlicious 2011
For those in the city who love great food, and love getting them at good prices then Summerlicious is for you! Its been going on since the 8th and goes until July 24th.
There are over 150 restaurants in the city offering their favourite prix fixe’s for $15 – $45 per person. Whether you like Italian, French, Japanese, or Indian cuisine there’s a place that would satisfy your taste buds! Check out the list of restaurants near you! If you’ve already been to a restaurant, click comment and tell me how it went ~ I’d love to hear suggestions of where to try.x0x0, Kaycee
