Newspaper Page Text
4C
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2006
SEA
From page iC
and the rellenos ready to
stew in their sauce, I would
start by shredding lettuce to
crisp up in the fridge, clean
the scallions, chop the toma
toes and shred the cheeses,
saving one pound slab of
Monterey Jack for the rel
lenos.
For a simple salsa, I
start with a can of Ortega
chopped green (remember,
Anaheim) chilies. I add to
that a chopped sweet onion
and two or three diced red
tomatoes. With a dash of
salt, that’s all the salsa my
young family knew about.
Nowadays, you find every
thing from black beans to
celery and bell pepper in the
mix.
I’ve since learned to add
a little cilantro, which
is fresh coriander, and a
spritz of lime goes good,
too. Recently, I ran across a
salsa recipe calling for sugar.
Must be a southern writer.
My southern-raised mother
told of putting sugar in all
their veggies. As a child, I
thought that was a really
splendid idea.
I like to offer crispy taco
shells these days, and am
pleased to announce you can
now purchase them, and
most of what I’m describing,
somewhere here in Central
Georgia.
In the good ole (pro
nounced o-lay) days, we
left the deep-frying, for a
Wine events vary widely
from place to place
I’m not sure what wine
events are like where
you live, but here in my
neck of the woods, they vary
about as widely as PGA
golf and NASCAR. When I
travel to regional events, I
rarely have any idea what
to expect.
If you live where you have
the opportunity to attend
festivals, wineries’ open
houses, or other organized
wine events, I am a firm
believer that it will always
help you learn more about
wine as you get to experi
ence different tastes and
ideas than you ordinarily
would.
Trying to do it all on
your own is terribly time
consuming and expensive.
Allowing someone else to
set it all up so all you have
to do is show up, taste the
wines, and learn all you can
is definitely the way to go.
Not everyone quite has
the idea of how to do it,
though.
When you think of a
wine event, you imagine a
classy set up with good food
and higher society people,
right? In fact, it makes a lot
of people nervous because
they fear they won’t know
what to say or do and won’t
fit in. I guess it just all
depends on where you go.
When I went to the
Spring Hermann wine trail
in Missouri, I was amazed
at the lack of hospitality
most of the wineries dem
onstrated.
Bommarito Winery had a
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Californio Tourism
The Spanish mission at San Juan - Capistrano is one of Southern California’s many famous tourist sites.
crisp tortilla, to the plentiful
Mexican restaurants in our
town.
Our Cal-Mex taco meals
were always served family
style with soft tortillas. We
enjoy stuffing a warmed tor
little table set up outside
and offered only two wines
unless you were willing to
go inside
and pay
$5 to
taste
two oth
ers.
There
were
signs
set up
telling
people
not to go
into the
Brian Goodell
The Wine Guy
Morris News Service
main front entrance. I’m
sorry, I thought this winery
had invited people to visit
during the event.
Hermanhoff Winery had
people at the counter who
seemed oblivious to the
fact that there were people
waiting to taste, or that
someone who showed up
might actually know the
first thing about wine.
Oak Glenn boasts a beau
tiful location, but no one
made us feel at all welcome
or that they were glad that
any visitors had showed up.
The Grand Wine Country
festival in Northeast
Oklahoma was held in a
horse barn with a dirt floor
and offered pulled pork as
the food choice. Nothing
wrong with these things,
especially if you’re at a
rodeo, but a wine festival?
It was more like a small
town arts and crafts festi
val where there also hap
pened to be a few local wine
vendors, than a wine festi
tilla with all the good stuff
spread out like smorgasbord.
Many clean hands reach into
a huge salad bowl of shred
ded lettuce, surrounded by
dishes of shredded cheese,
tomatoes, chopped sweet
val featuring three winer
ies who really are trying to
produce quality varietals in
this unlikely location. It did
seem that most of the locals
were enjoying themselves,
but it certainly wasn’t what
I had in mind when I drove
down. In Manhattan, Kan.,
the Hospice of the Prairie
hosts an event every year to
raise funds and it is a very
well done, classy, and suc
cessful production. A large
number of local, domestic,
and international wines
are open for tasting, and
top area restaurants are on
hand serving food and giv
ing demonstrations.
Springfield, Mo., holds a
similar annual event that
benefits Ozarks Public
Television and it is also a
very enjoyable time of good
food, good wine, and any
one can feel comfortable
attending.
There are many other
such events throughout the
nation and some are great,
others equally dubious.
I still recommend that you
go out and support these
events, even if they aren’t
all they’re made up to be.
It’s a good way to support
wine production and con
sumption here in the U.S.
and you will still probably
learn something, even if it
fails to live up to its billing.
To share your stories,
ask questions, or just
to talk wine, write me at
goodellwineguy@sbcglobal.
net. Until next time, happy
pours.
FOOD
onions, and always plenty
of salsa.
Green onions (scallions)
and both green and black
ripe olives make for a color
ful table.
For a really big feast, along
REA
From page jC
Stir in dates and nuts. Drop
from teaspoon onto lightly
greased cookie sheets. Bake
at 350 degrees for 15 min
utes. Cool. Add glaze.
Orange Glaze
1 teaspoon grated fresh
orange peel
3 tablespoons orange
juice
2 cups sifted powdered
sugar
Add peel and enough juice
to sugar to make a stiff
spreadable topping.
PERKINS
From page jC
teeth on edge. So I tried
making my own, using the
Hidden Valley Dressing
Mix.
I followed the instruc
tions on the package, but
used fat free Kraft mayon
naise and skim milk, and it
has a nice fresh taste. One
tip: Make this in a blender
to get it mixed smoothly,
and don’t worry if it looks
thin to start with.
It thickens in about an
hour. According to the
package, it will keep in the
refrigerator for a couple of
weeks.
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with the enchiladas and rel
lenos, we include a small pot
of refried beans baked with
a topping of melted shred
ded cheese.
Spanish rice was a family
favorite we usually saved for
Cleanthe'
Cupboard
Cookies
1 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed
brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose
flour
1 cup uncooked regular
oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking pow
der
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup crisp rice cereal
1 teaspoon vanilla
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separate pick-up meals along
with the delicious leftovers
from the spread described
here.
After I drug all these
fixings to the deep south,
where tjiey’ve only in the
last decade or two discovered
“Spanish” food, she would
want to add enchiladas to
the feast thusly:
In the warming skillet set
over a low flame, the torti
llas are heated through one
at a time. (Cold corn torti
llas tear easily.)
My favorite for this dish
is a flavorful freshly-made
corn tortilla. And the filling
I prefer is simply shredded
cheese: cheddar, Monterey,
or some of both. To this, I
add a handful of chopped
onion and plenty of sliced
ripe olives. Several rolled up
and wedged tightly together
into a baking dish, covered
with Las Palmas Enchilada
Sauce Mild and baked in a
moderate oven for 30 min
utes, this is a very satisfying
cheese dish.
My macho husband prefers
some meat, so his portion
will contain either shredded
beef or shredded chicken
savory-style.
Tostados, which grace so
many Mexican restaurant
menus, are as easy as tacos.
And now. even in the south
ern supermarkets, I find the
flat, crisp tortilla necessary
to spread with refried beans,
top with savory meat, and
pile on the same salad fix
ings that go into a good taco.
And Ole! Eat hardy.
extract
1 cup toasted chopped
pecans (optional)
Beat shortening at medi
um speed with an electric
mixer until fluffy and add
sugars, beating well. Add
eggs, eating until blended.
Combine flour and next four
ingredients.
Gradually add to sugar
mixture, beating until blend
ed. Stir in coconut, cereal,
vanilla and pecans. Drop
by tablespoons onto baking
sheets. Bake in bathes at 350
degrees for 10 minutes or
until lightly golden. Remove
to wire racks to cool. These
are wonderful.
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