This year's Topps' Derek Jeter baseball card has a special touch to it (and it's not a stick of gum you can actually chew.) Someone thought it would be funny to Photoshop a picture of George W. Bush into the stands behind Jeter (and if you look closely, you can see that George's left arm has been hacked off) and Micky Mantle holding a bat in the dugout. Overall I think it's pretty funny that the company let it through.
I don't know if this made news in other parts of the country, but it's big here in NYC. A Taco Bell/KFC in the West Village of NYC has been infested with rats who appear to come out at night to play after the fast-food restaurant chain has closed. The only problem is that everyone walking by can see them frolicking throughout the place. A ton of complaints were made, and it was on the news last night. Here's a clip showing the rats at play.
With the meal I decided to serve both red and white wine, depending on your preference. Interestingly enough, my wife and I both had the red, our guests had the white. In retrospect, I wish I had tried the white. The red was a bottle of Finca Luzon 2005, Jumilla Spain. I've had this bottle for months in my wine fridge after reading some nice reviews of it. The reviews were correct. I thought this was terrific, and went very well with our meal. What's also nice is that I've seen it for as low as $5.98 a bottle in some stores. (I also used this wine to cook my chorizo.) The wine has a dark ruby/purple color with lots of blackberry and cherries. It has some acidity, but also very little harshness. I think this could be a great everyday wine at its price.
Unfortunately, the white didn't fare as well. After our guests had left, I decided to try the white since I hadn't had any with dinner. Well, whatever was left is now down the drain in the sewer system of NYC. I'm assuming the bottle was corked because it was bloody awful. For the record, it was Las Brisas Blanc 2005, Rueda Spain. I went to the wine shop today for some Spanish whites (I have a bunch of reds already) and the wine guy offered up some wines. To be completely fair, this bottle was not his first choice and I did also purchase the one that was. However this was the one we opened. I got a couple of different labels because I think it's fun to try different wines with a meal instead of grabbing a couple of the same thing. Anyway, a review I found on line for this wine says: "Intense, youthful nose of grapefruit, lemon and pepper. Delicious, with medium body and a penetrating finish." All I got from this wine was ass... lot's of ass. Again, my wife and I both think the bottle was corked, but we feel bad because our guests never said anything. They both drank a glass of this crap and said nothing. I guess they were too embarrassed to say anything. Next time, I have to remember to try what I'm serving.
Last night, my wife and I had decided we weren't hungry after a late lunch and we weren't going to have dinner. Of course, an hour later we were starving without anything in the house to eat. So... like all good New Yorkers, we decided to order in. However, I hate dealing with people (store people, not people in general), especially on the telephone. So, I decided to try something new. Seamless Web. This is a website where you can order from different restaurants online and they deliver it to your door without ever having to speak to anyone but the dude who brings it over. You can even include the tip online so you don't have to deal with it later. 
I love the show Heroes. I think it has proven itself to be one of the most fun, interesting and compelling shows on television this year. Maybe it's because I was a comic-book-geek growing up and I still enjoy sci-fi, but I feel like I haven't seen an episode that hasn't left me excited for next week's. Hopefully the show will continue to grow like this. Although I wonder how long of a story arc they have written in for this show.
So, let me say that I am a huge Yankees fan. I was very excited that Spring Training is underway and soon we're going to have some more baseball. Actually, I'm still excited. I think the Yankees can do a lot this year. Sure, there are a lot of questions surrounding the pitching staff, but I like our chances.CF: Johnny Damon
SS: Derek Jeter
RF: Bobby Abreu
3B: Alex Rodriguez
DH: Jason Giambi
LF: Hideki Matsui
2B: Robinson Cano
C: Jorge Posada
1B: Doug Mientkiewicz / Andy Phillips
RHP: Chien-Ming Wang
LHP: Andy Pettite
RHP: Mike Mussina
LHP: Kei Igawa
RHP: Carl Pavano
RHP: Mariano Rivera
The other day we were in CVS getting a couple of things. When I was checking out, the lady at the register asked me if I wanted to try the new CVS hand sanitizer. Our conversation went something like this:
This past week was my time to cook some French dinners. Well... if you consider twice enough times to consider it a whole week. Anyway, earlier this week, we decided to make a nice dinner of French onion soup and croque monsieur (which would be the exact first meal we had in Paris). The soup actually turned out terrific and I'm planning on having it again for lunch today. The croque monsieur was very good too, but I thought the soup was better. I had wanted to get a bottle of French Pinot Gris to go with this dinner, but my shopping options were limited and instead I bought a bottle of King's Estate Pinot Gris 2005, Oregon. I was very pleasantly surprised with this wine. When I was in the store and asked for a Pinot Gris, the wine-guy was like "well, we have the King's Estate," with an inflection like I should have known what he was talking about. Although I am trying to learn about wine, I know very little. I did know that Oregon made some good Pinot Gris, however, and figured I would give it a try. As I expected, it was a little more fruit forward than I had wanted, but it was still an excellent bottle of wine. It's got some fruity and floral scents with a lot of different fruits in the taste (citrus, pear, peach) and a little vanilla. The wine has some acidity, but not too much. I would buy this wine again.
Then, last night, I decided to make a Cassoulet. This is something I have been wanting to make for a while and have finally gotten around to it. We ate a cassoulet in Paris once and we loved it. So, I decided to try and make one at home. To be honest, it turned out terrific. Of course, the recipe made enough food to feed a small army, but I guess left-overs are always nice. For this meal, I went back to a wine I've enjoyed before - E Guigal Chateauneuf du Pape 2001. A little less than a year ago, I enjoyed a half-bottle of this while my wife was pregnant. I loved it so much, I went out and bought a full sized (750mL) bottle for us to share someday. I don't know if it was the particular bottle or just the wine aging over the year, but it wasn't exactly as I remember it. It was still fantastic and went very well with our dinner, but I remember it having more spice. This time it was a softer wine with more lush feelings. Still great though.
You know... Britney Spears used to be the object of desire of so many guys (and some girls) across the United States. Now she looks like this. It's all really kind of sad. I know she crossed the line over to fugly a long time ago, but it just keeps getting worse. Now she's gone and shaved her head. Soon she's going to be drinking the magic kool-aid waiting for the aliens to come pick her up for a ride into outer space.
I don't know why this show isn't doing better than it has been in the ratings. It's nowhere near the crap-fest that Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is. Alec Baldwin is genius on this show, and everyone else is just plain nuts. I think Tina Fey's writing is great. It's one of the few shows on television that gets us laughing out loud. Sure, the page-boy character gets a little old at times when they feature him too much, but overall, this show is a lot of fun.
Today I decided to go back to my teenage years and search YouTube for some Anthrax videos. Anthrax was the first band I ever saw in concert back when I was 13 (or maybe I was 12). It was during the Among The Living Tour. They recently reunited that lineup for a reunion tour. I would have liked to have seen a show, but what can you do? They were going to make a new CD will those members, but now Joey Belladonna is out again, and so may be Dan Spitz. Ah well, here are some videos for you.
Today's Valentine's Day for all of you out there. Today also has the first real snow of the year in NYC. I was actually surprised this morning when I woke up and looked outside the window. There was snow on the ground! I know all the reports were saying "snow snow (some rain) snow," but I didn't believe them. 
Hmm... I've got some more wines to write about. Once again, I try to write about the ones I either really liked (so I can remember them when I go back to the wine shop) or the ones I really didn't like (so I know what not to buy next time). Today, I am writing about three. One I really enjoyed, one was somewhere in the mid-to-high range, and the last I may or may not ever get again.
Another wine I bought while in this store was L'Anima Negroamaro 2004 Puglia Italy. A few months ago, we received a travel magazine that spotlighted this part of Italy (the heel of the boot) and I've been dying to go ever since. It just looks fantastic. Anyway, I've also wanted to try some of the wine from this area as well. There's actually one wine in particular I've read some nice reviews on, but they didn't have it here. They did have this bottle for a fraction of the price of the one I was looking for, so I gave it a shot. Overall, we really enjoyed this wine although we had to warm up to it. Some of our hesitation was probably due to the wine's need to breathe. It smelled very sour at first, but after a few minutes that seemed to fade away. The wine has some blackberries, herbs, and some blueberries. It's not a harsh wine and feels very soft. We had it with both past bolognese and a lamb pot roast. It worked well with both.
Finally, we had a bottle of Hopper Creek Ranch Chardonnay Napa Valley, 2004 the other night with some friends. My friend made crispy red snapper (which was terrific) and this is what the wine-guy suggested. (He also suggested a white bordeaux, but we never got there, so I'll try that one another day.) I enjoyed this wine, but I didn't love it. It went nicely with the meal, but I didn't feel like it added anything special. Everyone else seemed to love it, so maybe it's just my tastes. It was more of a crisp chardonnay without any oak-ness or vanilla. It was more fruity than I expected.
Back on our honeymoon, we stopped for three lovely days in the region of Italy called Cinque Terre. This is a series of five coastal towns in Liguria, all connected by a hiking path and a small train system. They were mainly fishing villages back in the day, but over the past few years they have become more of a tourist spot. The entire region is known more for its food than its wine. They have a ton of lemons, great olive oil, pesto sauce and tons of fresh seafood. If you had to pick a wine out of this area, it would have to be the white. I remember on our first day there, sitting on a bench by the water, eating pizza and splitting a bottle of Scogio Bianco... it was very nice. 
We actually brought a few bottles home with us. 2 of the Scogio white and 2 of the red (which was not half bad). What we never brought home was a bottle of Sciacchetrà. This is a dessert wine from this region, which I've since learned is one of the most rare of Italian wines. There were a whole bunch of these in the local shops while we were there, but we were too stupid to get one. Since that time (2 1/2 years ago), I've been searching, but haven't yet been able to find any. So, if any of you happen to be in Italy and see a bottle, snag it for me. 
So... when I first got a free sample of this coffee from EspressoTiamo.com, I was a little scared. The logo and artwork isn't exactly what I would call PC. Not that I'm one to be full of political correctness, but come on... Those damn Italians (hint: I'm Italian).
A long time ago, I bought a few bottles of wine that were on the more expensive side that needed a few years or so to grow. Although not one of those bottles, I did get this wine during that shopping trip. My wife and I truly enjoy a nice Rioja. I think it comes from drinking so much of it during our first trip to Spain. Whatever the reason, I like them. This bottle is Allende Rioja 2001, Spain. It has been sitting in my wine fridge for a while, waiting for my wife to have the baby and be able to enjoy a glass or two again. I hadn't heard of this wine before, and I have to admit, I bought it based on it's rating (WA - 93), which is something I try not to do. Anyway, we opened this bottle the other night, and we were no disappointed. It's a big wine. Dark in color, with some nice spicy element to it. There are definately cherries with some dark black fruits. Also some vanilla mixed in there. It's an unfiltered wine, and they say it should be drunk in the next 4-5 years, so there's still time to get some more.
It has been absolutely freezing in NYC these past few days. For the most part, I wasn't minding it too much. I worked all weekend, and I have to admit, the crappy weather slows down my business and led to some of the better nights I've had in a while. However, now that I'm off, it kind of sucks. If it was just me, I'd be fine. If I wanted to go out, I'd brave the cold and deal with it. Problem is, that with my 3 month old son in tow, it's pretty near impossible. It's way too cold to bring him outside, so inside I stay. Watching bad television and writing my blog.
So I am/was very into the television show Top Chef. I started watching the first season one of those days when it was really crappy out and they had a marathon on Bravo. This year, we've been watching the show week-by-week as it aired on television (or at least soon afterwards on the DVR). Last night was the season finale to see who was this season's "Top Chef." It was a cook-off between Ilan (a line chef from NYC's (and Mario Batali's) Casa Mono) and Marcel (Master cook at Joel Robuchon at the Mansion). Throughout the season, Marcel has gone from annoying brat with Oompa-Loompa hair to the underdog I wanted to win. Unfortunately, Ilan took the prize last night. At first I thought Marcel was going to lose because he forgot the fish for his third course, however he appeared to recover nicely from that by re-working the dish. I think his biggest downfall was because he served a green salad for his second course. Sure, it looked pretty, but that's something I could have put together in college. Had he actually cooked something or done something with a little more skill for that course, I think he would have pulled it off. I wanted to see him win to put it back into all of the other contestants' faces after making fun of him all season. Ah well... what can you do?
