How to Make the World’s Best NY Style Cheesecake
Date: Wed, Jan 7, 2009 Wine Tasting
By Greg B. So it wasn’t until sometime in college that I realized my mother’s cheesecake was the best in the world. I don’t recall where it was, but it was probably a dessert at a restaurant. Ordering a NY style cheesecake slice, I got something that was tall, creamy… but covered in sweet sauce [...]
Short Trip to Red Brick Station
Date: Tue, Jan 6, 2009 Wine Tasting
By Greg B. So on a random Tuesday afternoon, Jer and I accompanied my sister on a shopping trip. Not so much for the shopping as the promised 2 hours at Red Brick Station. This is a local brewpub up in Whitemarsh, and I previously reviewed one of their porters, the Murf’s Porter. Man that [...]
Recipe: Mushroom risotto with duck confit and seared duck breast with fresh herbs!
Date: Mon, Jan 5, 2009 Wine Tasting
Duck is one of those items that always catches my eye on menu. If we’re eating out and one of the specials has the word “duck” somewhere in it, there is a good chance I’m going to give it a try. Maybe it’s my attachment to ducks from my days in Michigan when [...]
Brouwerij De Molen’s Porter
Date: Sun, Jan 4, 2009 Wine Tasting
By Greg B: A few months ago I had the luxury of sampling a beer that can only be described as rare and delicious: De Molen’s Rasputin. Well, as luck would have it, I found a bottle of De Molen’s Porter up in Hamden at the Wine Source, and promptly bought it to celebrate the [...]
French Onion Soup Recipe
Date: Sun, Jan 4, 2009 Wine Tasting
By Greg B. With the onslaught of winter and colder temperatures, there are few simple meals I like than to come home for a nice warm bowl of French onion soup. Unfortunately, it is also not really the simplest of possible winter warmer meals, but it is among the tastiest. In a few steps, the [...]
Fried Chicken Livers and Spicy Sauce
Date: Sat, Jan 3, 2009 Wine Tasting
By Greg B. Among the many delicious parts of the chicken, I think the livers rank very highly. They are fatty, packed with nutrients and vitamins, and can be cooked in many different ways. Now, some may complain that they taste ‘livery’, and others many enjoy that taste. The following recipe is a derivation of [...]
Romanian Zacusca Recipe
Date: Thu, Jan 1, 2009 Wine Tasting
By Greg B. I’ve known a family of Romanians for a while now, but I haven’t seen this particular recipe made in years, so I’m going from memory! Zacusca is a great food, not a meal in it’s own (though you can certainly eat enough of it to make it one) but a spread [...]
Top 10 Beers of 2008
Date: Tue, Dec 30, 2008 Wine Tasting
By Greg B. Following Mike’s lead, I’ll post some of my favorite beers of this past year, but I’ll start with a classic top 10 list. These wont follow any particular category, just the 10 that I felt stood out the most in this past year and really made me stand back and say say [...]
Bottling the Winter Spiced Ale
Date: Mon, Dec 29, 2008 Wine Tasting
By Greg B. As promised, I’d follow this beer through with updates at the different stages. The beer has been in the secondary since 12/15/08, at which time the gravity had come down from 1.104 to 1.030. With December almost gone (today is 12/29/08) I decided to bottle the beer, and see what happens. After sterilizing [...]
Food, Wine, Culture TV: The Lost “Gabi-sode”- Beer vs. Wine battle apple pie with a suprise from Portugal!
Date: Mon, Dec 29, 2008 Wine Tasting
Food, Wine, Culture TV: Watch what happens after Mike and Greg tape four shows and battle beer vs. wine apple pie. Special guest stops by with an interesting Portuguese beverage- you don’t want to miss this one!
228 Tasting Notes (less than 10% of wines tasted) from 2008!
Date: Mon, Dec 29, 2008 Wine Tasting
2005 Franco M. Martinetti Barbera d’Asti Bric dei Banditi - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d’Asti (12/28/2008) Cranberry, sour raspberry and cherry on the nose with a bit of salt water taffy. On the palate, there is an immediate wave of red fruit and earth, followed by good acidity with somewhat darker fruits but still bright and [...]
My Top 10 Italian Wines of 2008 (from any vintage) with tasting notes!
Date: Sun, Dec 28, 2008 Wine Tasting
Over the next few days I’ll be posting my notes for my top wines of the year. I figure to get things started we’ll begin with my favorite wines from my favorite wine and food country- Italy. The criteria for this list is simple: the wine must be from Italy: any vintage, any region. I [...]
Prohibition Repeal Day
Date: Sun, Dec 28, 2008 Wine Tasting
By Greg B. So, Repeal day came and went a few weeks ago. And it was a great day. Never before (or again, I suspect) will the value of a nickel be so high. At Kooper’s in Fells point, $.05 could buy you a beer. And not just any beer, a Clipper city ale, in [...]
Golden West Cafe
Date: Fri, Dec 26, 2008 Wine Tasting
By Greg B. So, since I lived in Hampden a few years ago, the restaurant scene really has changed. From the old Cafe Hon and a new Rofo, now there are bars and restaurants all over 36th street. Interestingly, they all try to cater to the hipster crowd, and while that is [...]
