A Glass Of Wine And A Good Book

There is nothing as satisfying to me as to have some time to myself, grab a glass of wine, head out to the deck and read. What do I usually read - cookbooks. I must say even thought I get tons of inspiration from the blogs I read, information on the net, magazines and TV shows, I still enjoy my cookbooks. I enjoy any type of cookbook, but really treasure the ones that tell a story along with lots of great recipes. This one caught my eye a few years ago because it is about 2 of my favorite pastimes, cooking and gardening. Now, if it just would have added wine to the cover, it definitely would be a best seller!

If you are like me and enjoy reading cookbooks, here is one I highly recommend. "The Cook And The Gardener" A Year of Recipes and Writings from the French Countryside by Amanda Hesser. The jacket fold reads like this: The ancient link between the gardener and the cook is at the heart of this remarkably evocative cookbook, in which Amanda relates the story of a year she spent as cook in the 17th century chateau in Burgundy. Before long, her culinary life becomes inextricably bound to the seasons of the Yonne River Valley and to Monsieur Milbert, the seemingly impervious, charmingly sly peasant caretaker of the chateau's kitchen garden. The aging Milbert, as much a part of the chateau as its gnarled pear tree and dilapidated pigeon house, reluctantly opens up to Hesser, sharing his gardening knowledge and lore, from the timing of plantings tied to saint's days to highly effective rodent-eradication programs to the secrets of making apple brandy. Ultimately though, the Cook and the Gardener is a cookbook, and Hesser brings a sure hand and a keen eye to more than 240 recipes that will inspire cooks in every season.

I really like the way the book is set up. After the introduction and general cooking notes, the book starts with the Spring Season. She does an essay about herself and Milbert before each Part of the book which is very entertaining. Part I starts with Spring and she gives you Spring Basics, like stock, etc. Then she breaks it down into the Spring months starting with March. The March chapter begins with a list of recipes she prepares during that month. Part II starts the Summer months with the same basic layout. She then follows through with Autumn and Winter. Before each recipe she talks about the lore and ingredients of that dish. At the end of each recipe she follows up with serving suggestions.

For any of you folks out there who love good stories, the French Countryside and wonderful recipes, I highly recommend this book! I have owned it for quite a few years now and I go back to it in every season to see what Amanda is cooking up for that month.

The wine that accompanied me on my trip to Burgundy was not a French wine I am sorry to say. But a neighboring country, Spain, brought it's sunshiny grapes to my table. I popped open a 2005 Osborne Solaz White Wine made from the Viura grape. The winery has been in the Osborne family since 1772 and is still family operated. This was a nicely balanced wine with lovely floral notes, smooth, fresh and fruity on the palate. A perfect match to my book in hand, even though not in the same country.

Cheers!

Spanish Wine And Fresh Corn Salad

I must tell you, I am really enjoying the wines from Spain this summer. They are light, crisp, aromatic, with balanced acidity and pair so nicely with grilled, lightly marinated chicken or a nice piece of fish. My last evening summer sipper was a 2006 Inspiracion Pampano from the winery Agricola Castellana, in the D.O. of Rueda, located in La Seca which is in the South of Valladolid, Spain. This wine was made from the Verdejo grape which produces a nice light crisp wine that graced my palate, along with tastes of pear and a hint of grass. This Verdejo wine had an alcohol volume of 13%, which surprised me as I did not smell or taste any alcohol. It was a nice medium bodied, elegant, soft wine with a nice little bite at the finish. A lovely wine for under $10.00.

This past weekend, Mike and I paid a visit to our good friend Al who had a birthday last week. So a celebration was due! Of course we chilled the wine, fired up the grill, and enjoyed a summer evening on his deck. The guys took care of grilling out some nice strip steaks and I was in charge of the side dishes. I made my "cannot go wrong" Southwest Potato Salad and tried a new recipe for a potato salad that had BBQ sauce in it. Both of these I will feature soon on my site, but for now I want to tell you about a Corn, Cucumber & Pepper Salad that used many of the veggies that I purchased at the Farmers Market on Saturday.

Corn,Cucumber And Pepper Salad

4 ears of fresh corn, husks left on and microwaved for 3-4 minutes just to get it a little cooked, then cool corn

1 bunch of green onions, I did a big bunch as we like green onions

1 large jalapeno pepper chopped, I took out some of the seeds

1/2 cup green pepper chopped

1/2 cup diced cucumber

1/2 cup roasted red pepper chopped, you could use the ones from the jar if needed

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, I also added a shake of dried

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper to taste.

After the corn has cooled, shuck and remove silk. Slice corn into a bowl.

Add the rest of the veggies and toss.

Make the sauce of mayo, mustard, thyme, and Worcestershire sauce and stir into the corn mixture.

Chill for about 2 hours or so before serving.

This was such an easy and very tasty salad to make for a summer BBQ or picnic. All the fresh veggies give it a nice crunch! Enjoy!

Cheers!