I like white wine. No arguements, no discussions. I like white wine. I do not like the flavor of reds, or the earthiness, or the "dirt like" quality that I taste in reds. Other people do. Not me. Now:
Having said that, I have several favorite white wines and nearly all of them are chardonnays. I'm not going to go into the whole discussion about the differences in the whites and what wine is good with what food (although I could) but I am going to offer a few selections of my favorites, and all of them are chardonnays. The chardonnay grape produces the mildest and most flavorful wine.
Several very good vineyards operate within an hour to an hour and a half drive from my house. (If you've never taken a winery tour I HIGHLY recommend it!) I recommend several of them without reservation. And if any of my local friends want to contact me for a "tour", just holler. For my local wines, my most favorite is Prince Michel. It's about an hour and half south of where I'm at but has the BEST chardonnay. They also have a viognier and a sparkling viognier (on occassion) that's beyond compare. They also run the gamut of reds, but I can't speak to them.
Much further south and east is the Williamsburg winery. I've been to several tastings there, and I've got to say that really and truly they have the best wines around. I even like their reds which I don't drink at all. But their reds, I would not say no to.
Now, for most people, the primary consideration in choosing wine is the cost. You CAN spend a significant amount of your take home pay on wine if you want to, but what for? Many of them will just go bad, and then what do you have? I've had the very expensive wines and haven't been all that impressed. Maybe it's my palate (the tasting part of your mouth), and maybe it's just that ingrained part of me that says WTF?!!
I really and truly like many of the cheaper and mind range wines. So I'll give you a run down of my favorite chardonnays. If you don't like the white wines, oh well. Go somewhere else. I'll start from the cheapest and go up.
My cheapest favorite wine is whatever is free. I have a dear friend who brings me Oak Grove every single time she comes over so for me it's free. However, for most people, it about $10-15 a bottle. It's also tough to find. I can't get it anywhere around me. So she brings it whenever she comes over. And I love her for it.
Okay, so for the real stuff. My best and cheapest wine is Woodbridge Chardonnay. It's really good and mild. I like to put it in the freezer for about two hours so when I pour the first glass it has ice crystals in it. That's wonderful for me. I drink wine VERY slowly. If you do too, you'll notice a change in flavor and texture as the wine warms to room temp. Every one of the changes can be cherished and appreciated. It's a true sybaritic experience. And if you're eating chocolate at the same time, WELL!!!
My next wine is Kendall Jackson Chardonnay. KJ (as I call it) is the wine that I order at restaurants if it's on the menu. The only other one that I'll order consistently is Copper Ridge. Both are wonderful, but both are completely different experiences. KJ is smooth and mellow and complements everything. It doesn't matter what you're eating, KJ will enhance it. Copper Ridge is a little more selective. It will enhance anything italian or fish based. Don't drink this one if you're eating a steak.
I'm not going to discuss the very expensive wines, but there's one that I do have to mention. My partner and I get this wine whenever we get brazilian barbeque (and if you've never done this, do it!!!!). It's Fess Parker Chardonnay. Yup, the Daniel Boone guy had a winery. And his whites are great. One bottle will run you about $30 on the open market, and higher in a restaurant, but it's totally worth it. It's a white that's so dry, you can almost taste the splinters from the oak barrel. Wonderful stuff.
Okay, so my two favorite whites are from other areas. They are mid-range price, and independent vineyards, and unbelievably good.
The first I was introduced to by my best friend. She and I get together about once every couple of months to get totally plastered on this wine to the point where we're setting trees on fire to enjoy the show. It's a really good wine and it's hard to find. It Oak Grove chardonnay and it's one of fruitiest and smoothest chardonnays I've ever had. When B brings it over, I drink about three bottles before it's even chilled. The other favorite I was introduced to by my sister a few years ago, and I would pour this over corn flakes for breakfast and go to work and have it for coffee break. I have done so many things with this wine that I can't even count them. Primarily, I drink it. Lots of it. All the time. It just doesn't get un-good. Nearly anyone who knows me, knows that if they show up at my house with a bottle of this stuff, they are going to be more than welcomed.
It's call Five Rivers. It's bottled out of Washington state in the Pacific Northwest and I have no idea how they keep the grapes from spoiling with all the rain, but it's the BEST!!! Everyone I've recommended this wine to has fallen in love with it. And a couple of restaurants in the area have added it to their menus based on my recommendation. AND their reds are just as smooth and flavorful as their whites. And I don't drink reds. But theirs are GOOOD.
I love wine. It's good stuff. Please feel free to comment with a question or comment. I'll share anything I know or experience about wines anytime.
Enjoy! (and drink up!)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Burger Boys
If you're ever on rt 234 and Hoadly Rd. look for the Bloom grocery store. Right next to it is Burger Boys. What a GREAT place! It's within "spitting" distance of where we live and we've never gone there till yesterday. It's a small, locally owned place and the atmosphere is great! Prices run about five bucks per whatever you order. They have burgers, and just about anything else you'd want. And an ice cream counter. The burgers are grilled to order, not made ahead. The buns are grilled/toasted and everything tastes GREAT! (to quote an infamous tiger) I had a bacon cheeseburger with mustard, mushrooms, pickles, and my choice of cheese (sharp cheddar, by the way.) I had the half pounder! I ate so much, I was sick! I couldn't stop. It was so good! One of the best things about the place was the atmosphere. The old guy who runs the place has more personality than should be legal. There's TV screens around, and a place for the kids to play. There's even an original Star Wars poster on the wall, safely behind glass, of course. Anyway, hope you all can make it there and enjoy it as much as we did!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
One Skillet Chicken and Spaghetti
This is an easy, cheap, and filling meal that can be made in a short time with a minimum of fuss in one single pan.
Four chicken breasts (or any other piece of chicken you like)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp italian seasonings
2 cups fresh spinach
1-2 cups frozen spinach
1 tablespoon oil
Half box cooked spaghetti
Heat oil in a skillet. Brown chicken on both sides. Remove to plate. In same pan, lightly saute garlic and onion until tender. Add canned tomatoes with the juice, one full cup of water, and seasoning. Place chicken back in pan and any juices that have accumulated. Simmer until reduced by half. Add spinach and cook thoroughly. While sauce is simmering, cook spaghetti or used already cooked spaghetti. When sauce is ready, remove chicken pieces, add spaghetti to the pan and mix thoroughly. Place chicken back in pan, reduce heat to very low, cover, and keep hot until serving. Serve hot with parmesan cheese if desired. A tossed green salad and/or garlic bread go very well with this.
Four chicken breasts (or any other piece of chicken you like)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp italian seasonings
2 cups fresh spinach
1-2 cups frozen spinach
1 tablespoon oil
Half box cooked spaghetti
Heat oil in a skillet. Brown chicken on both sides. Remove to plate. In same pan, lightly saute garlic and onion until tender. Add canned tomatoes with the juice, one full cup of water, and seasoning. Place chicken back in pan and any juices that have accumulated. Simmer until reduced by half. Add spinach and cook thoroughly. While sauce is simmering, cook spaghetti or used already cooked spaghetti. When sauce is ready, remove chicken pieces, add spaghetti to the pan and mix thoroughly. Place chicken back in pan, reduce heat to very low, cover, and keep hot until serving. Serve hot with parmesan cheese if desired. A tossed green salad and/or garlic bread go very well with this.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Potaytoes Potahtoes
My mom was 100% Irish and knew potatoes inside out. She made potatoes at nearly every meal, and seldom made the same potato dish twice in a week. And I hated potatoes a lot! There were only two kinds of potatoes I'd eat: potato chips and french fries! Like every other little kid. When I started cooking for the family at age 15, I took us off a diet of potatoes and taught us about other starches. It went okay for a while, then I started missing potatoes. Weird, huh?
Potatoes are one of the most versatile foods, and certainly the one where it's easiest to impress people. From something as simply boiling them with a little salt, to mashing and adding eggs and cream and piping them onto a hot cooking sheet, potatoes can be as simple or as complex as you choose. I usually choose simple, but even that offers close to a thousand choices.
In this post, I'm going to offer two of my favorite recipes for cooking potatoes. Before I do that, I'm going to talk about a few varieties of potatoes. Nearly everyone is familiar with the russet. It's a huge brown potatoe, usually from Idaho although that's been changing. It's got a distinctive starchy potato flavor and is usually baked or french fried. It has a lot going for it due to its size. It make a heckuva lot of french fries and potato chips. Also, as a "loaded baked potato", it can hold a TON of toppings. Then there are the "new" potatoes, the small, barely formed babies. They tend to be very tender and tasty. Usually these come in a red or white skinned variety. A white skinned potato usually looks light brown. New potatoes have a very thin skin that is barely there, but the overall taste tends to be sweeter. The red skinned potatoe can be interchangeable with every other variety due to its medium texture and flavor. Redskins are used quite often in "dirty" mashed potatoes since the red skin can be very easily seen. One of my favorite potatoes is the Yukon Gold. It's a medium size and typicaly very round. It's name comes from the color of the inside of the potato which is a pale yellow or gold. It has a very sweet and very creamy texture to it. It can be mashed quite easily and needs very little extra moisture added. I usually just add butter. The final variety I've used is called the Peruvian Purple. It actually is purple, though sometimes looks black. The only way I've used these little guys is steamed, and they looked an awful lot like dog poop. They tasted okay, but I'm not certain what the average home cook would use them for except the shock factor.
Two things to note before going any further: Potatoes continue to grow even when they're above ground. Sunlight can turn the skin green, and can also start the "eyes" growing. Cut these parts out of the potato before cooking. They contain a chemical that some people are sensitive to and can make some people ill. When in doubt, cut it out!
My two favorite recipes for potatoes are oven fried and twice fried. Fried potatoes have a wonderful crispiness to their skins and softness to their inside. And they go great with ketchup!
Oven Fried -
Preheat the oven to 425. Take your favorite potatoe (I usually use red skinned) and cut them into chunks of the same size so they all cook consistently. Put them into a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, pepper, and various herbs if you want them. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 25-35 minutes stirring every 5 minutes. The potatoes should brown and crispy and have a wonderful flavor from the oil salt and herbs. Serve immediately.
Twice Fried -
Slice your favorite potatoes lengthwise into french fry size. Heat a pot of vegetable oil to about 350 or 375. I typically use canola oil since it heats better. Add the potatoes a few at a time and try not to overfill the pot. Fry the potatoes for about five minutes until the outside is starting to turn opaque and white. Remove from the oil onto a baking sheet that's been lined with paper towels. Let the potatoes cool down completely. Reheat the oil, and fry the potatoes again in small batches trying not to overcrowd the pot. Once the potatoes are browned and floating they are done. Remove to either a bowl or a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Season to taste and serve hot.
The first recipe uses significantly less oil than the second, but both are delicious.
On a completely different note:
I'm looking for a top-of-the-line professional grade cooking knife brand. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'd rather not have wooden handles; I want to be able to hone them by hand; and the only one that should be serrated should be the bread knife. Any and all suggestions will be welcome.
Enjoy!
Potatoes are one of the most versatile foods, and certainly the one where it's easiest to impress people. From something as simply boiling them with a little salt, to mashing and adding eggs and cream and piping them onto a hot cooking sheet, potatoes can be as simple or as complex as you choose. I usually choose simple, but even that offers close to a thousand choices.
In this post, I'm going to offer two of my favorite recipes for cooking potatoes. Before I do that, I'm going to talk about a few varieties of potatoes. Nearly everyone is familiar with the russet. It's a huge brown potatoe, usually from Idaho although that's been changing. It's got a distinctive starchy potato flavor and is usually baked or french fried. It has a lot going for it due to its size. It make a heckuva lot of french fries and potato chips. Also, as a "loaded baked potato", it can hold a TON of toppings. Then there are the "new" potatoes, the small, barely formed babies. They tend to be very tender and tasty. Usually these come in a red or white skinned variety. A white skinned potato usually looks light brown. New potatoes have a very thin skin that is barely there, but the overall taste tends to be sweeter. The red skinned potatoe can be interchangeable with every other variety due to its medium texture and flavor. Redskins are used quite often in "dirty" mashed potatoes since the red skin can be very easily seen. One of my favorite potatoes is the Yukon Gold. It's a medium size and typicaly very round. It's name comes from the color of the inside of the potato which is a pale yellow or gold. It has a very sweet and very creamy texture to it. It can be mashed quite easily and needs very little extra moisture added. I usually just add butter. The final variety I've used is called the Peruvian Purple. It actually is purple, though sometimes looks black. The only way I've used these little guys is steamed, and they looked an awful lot like dog poop. They tasted okay, but I'm not certain what the average home cook would use them for except the shock factor.
Two things to note before going any further: Potatoes continue to grow even when they're above ground. Sunlight can turn the skin green, and can also start the "eyes" growing. Cut these parts out of the potato before cooking. They contain a chemical that some people are sensitive to and can make some people ill. When in doubt, cut it out!
My two favorite recipes for potatoes are oven fried and twice fried. Fried potatoes have a wonderful crispiness to their skins and softness to their inside. And they go great with ketchup!
Oven Fried -
Preheat the oven to 425. Take your favorite potatoe (I usually use red skinned) and cut them into chunks of the same size so they all cook consistently. Put them into a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, pepper, and various herbs if you want them. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 25-35 minutes stirring every 5 minutes. The potatoes should brown and crispy and have a wonderful flavor from the oil salt and herbs. Serve immediately.
Twice Fried -
Slice your favorite potatoes lengthwise into french fry size. Heat a pot of vegetable oil to about 350 or 375. I typically use canola oil since it heats better. Add the potatoes a few at a time and try not to overfill the pot. Fry the potatoes for about five minutes until the outside is starting to turn opaque and white. Remove from the oil onto a baking sheet that's been lined with paper towels. Let the potatoes cool down completely. Reheat the oil, and fry the potatoes again in small batches trying not to overcrowd the pot. Once the potatoes are browned and floating they are done. Remove to either a bowl or a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Season to taste and serve hot.
The first recipe uses significantly less oil than the second, but both are delicious.
On a completely different note:
I'm looking for a top-of-the-line professional grade cooking knife brand. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'd rather not have wooden handles; I want to be able to hone them by hand; and the only one that should be serrated should be the bread knife. Any and all suggestions will be welcome.
Enjoy!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast
This is an incredibly easy, but elegant and impressive chicken dish that will make you drool. I built the recipe for 4, but it's easy to adjust to any quantity.
4 chicken breasts
4 tablespoons chilled butter
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4-8 slices of bacon, uncooked
Preheat your oven to 425. Slice lengthwise along the breasts making a pocket. Be careful not to slice all the way through the chicken. Break up the butter into small chunks and place inside the chicken pocket, one tablespoon per chicken breast. Place half tablespoon of minced garlic inside each chicken pocket spreading it out evenly. Tightly wrap the chicken with the bacon, one to two slices each, so the pocket is closed. Place the chicken with sliced ends up on a baking pan with a raise edge. This is important as this recipe will create a lot of juices. Bake at 425 for 30-45 minutes until chicken is done through and bacon is crispy.
You can replace the garlic with other herbs, or add herbs to create a different tasting dish.
This is very good. I usually serve it with a garden salad.
Enjoy!
4 chicken breasts
4 tablespoons chilled butter
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4-8 slices of bacon, uncooked
Preheat your oven to 425. Slice lengthwise along the breasts making a pocket. Be careful not to slice all the way through the chicken. Break up the butter into small chunks and place inside the chicken pocket, one tablespoon per chicken breast. Place half tablespoon of minced garlic inside each chicken pocket spreading it out evenly. Tightly wrap the chicken with the bacon, one to two slices each, so the pocket is closed. Place the chicken with sliced ends up on a baking pan with a raise edge. This is important as this recipe will create a lot of juices. Bake at 425 for 30-45 minutes until chicken is done through and bacon is crispy.
You can replace the garlic with other herbs, or add herbs to create a different tasting dish.
This is very good. I usually serve it with a garden salad.
Enjoy!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Purcellville Encore
The last post about the Purcellville Family Restaurant dealt with our experience eating lunch there. Since then, we've had the distinct pleasure of eating breakfast twice. Both times the place was so full that getting a table was by sheer luck. Since the restaurant is only a block and a half away from the bike store that sits at the end of the W&OD trail, a lot of the clientele on the weekends were cyclists, and a bigger part were locals who were all called by name. By the third time we went in, the waitresses were smiling at us like we were locals.
Breakfast is their forte! They make a limited but delicious spread. The first breakfast, we had the same thing: scrambled eggs, sausage patties, bacon, home fries, and toast (although I had an english muffin.) The flavors of the bacon and sausage were amazing! We went back the following weekend with friends and the quality and flavors were just as we remembered! It was OMG good!
The staff were just as quirky and humorous and fun as always. The crowds were intense but fun to watch. One mid twenty something "gentleman" decided to be rude to a waitress and got a dressing down from the next table. But overall, a very positive experience, and a restaurant that has hit our favorites list and we'll be back to many times.
Breakfast is their forte! They make a limited but delicious spread. The first breakfast, we had the same thing: scrambled eggs, sausage patties, bacon, home fries, and toast (although I had an english muffin.) The flavors of the bacon and sausage were amazing! We went back the following weekend with friends and the quality and flavors were just as we remembered! It was OMG good!
The staff were just as quirky and humorous and fun as always. The crowds were intense but fun to watch. One mid twenty something "gentleman" decided to be rude to a waitress and got a dressing down from the next table. But overall, a very positive experience, and a restaurant that has hit our favorites list and we'll be back to many times.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Purcellville Family Restuarant
Okay, we were out at Purcellville yesterday to do some scouting for a volunteer event we're doing. We stumbled across this little restaurant and went in and were immediately taken under its spell. The address is 110 West Main Street. It harks back to a much simpler time when things were taken more slowly than now.
It's closed Sun-Mon-Tues, and the days it's open, they have two servings, breakfast/lunch, and dinner. They're closed between the two servings. They open for breakfast/lunch at 5:30am and close between 1-2pm depending on what day it is. They open for the dinner service at 5pm and close at 9:30pm every day. Parking in Purcellville can be challenging at any time but this place is worth the challenge.
When we walked in we were greeted in a friendly cheerful manner to sit wherever we wanted to. They have a lunch counter immediately as you enter, and table/booth seating to the right. There weren't too many people when we arrived but they maintained a slow but steady traffic rate the whole time we were there. They knew most of their customers by name and belted out a hearty HI whenever anyone came in.
The menu was fairly standard for a diner type of restaurant. No big surprises except the inclusion of fried zucchinis and fried okra as appetizers. The prices were low for a standard plate, and higher if you wanted your sandwich as a "platter" which included coleslaw and fries.
I got a steak and cheese platter and my partner got a patty melt plate with an extra side of fried zucchinis. Everything was served promptly, hot and fresh. The fries were made fresh and there was no scrimping on portions anywhere. They used a 12-inch sub roll for my steak and cheese, and Tim's patty melt overshot the crusts of his rye toast. The flavors were amazing. 100% comfort food at its best.
The cook or chef, however you want to name him, came out about five minutes after each plate was served to make certain that everything was okay. The waitress we had was a larger-than-life motherly person who checked on everyone in the restaurant without appearing to be busy, rushed, or distracted. Honestly, just a great experience.
I only wish that some of the places where I've dropped a hundred bucks or more were as pleasant to be as this place.
Enjoy!
It's closed Sun-Mon-Tues, and the days it's open, they have two servings, breakfast/lunch, and dinner. They're closed between the two servings. They open for breakfast/lunch at 5:30am and close between 1-2pm depending on what day it is. They open for the dinner service at 5pm and close at 9:30pm every day. Parking in Purcellville can be challenging at any time but this place is worth the challenge.
When we walked in we were greeted in a friendly cheerful manner to sit wherever we wanted to. They have a lunch counter immediately as you enter, and table/booth seating to the right. There weren't too many people when we arrived but they maintained a slow but steady traffic rate the whole time we were there. They knew most of their customers by name and belted out a hearty HI whenever anyone came in.
The menu was fairly standard for a diner type of restaurant. No big surprises except the inclusion of fried zucchinis and fried okra as appetizers. The prices were low for a standard plate, and higher if you wanted your sandwich as a "platter" which included coleslaw and fries.
I got a steak and cheese platter and my partner got a patty melt plate with an extra side of fried zucchinis. Everything was served promptly, hot and fresh. The fries were made fresh and there was no scrimping on portions anywhere. They used a 12-inch sub roll for my steak and cheese, and Tim's patty melt overshot the crusts of his rye toast. The flavors were amazing. 100% comfort food at its best.
The cook or chef, however you want to name him, came out about five minutes after each plate was served to make certain that everything was okay. The waitress we had was a larger-than-life motherly person who checked on everyone in the restaurant without appearing to be busy, rushed, or distracted. Honestly, just a great experience.
I only wish that some of the places where I've dropped a hundred bucks or more were as pleasant to be as this place.
Enjoy!
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