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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 Crrrreat Deals De you have scmethins 0re »es tc sell and it’s under SSO? If, so, call cur c °mputerp ms rijrL classifieddent. + we'll __ run it for 5 days BIS limit l m winner per week . must run cn 3 lines , \ i 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. Stale today! Cal 987-1823 HANDBAG SALEt £ai&iai<levy • 'TttwtoyMMUiUMy * rfit&iati/HM, 20% OFF ALL HANDBAGS! Great Holiday Gifts! Come check out Nuhht’s BAGS! 478-988-2448 or Fax: 478-988-2490 740 Main Street • Perry GA 31069 Otditte: www.sewingbees.com ** mail@sewinabees r.om. 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 NEED PROFESSIONAL HELP? ’ • i ßk ijtv rallislllll i m mjiBJI BMPS**® SB’ whß fHH «!??w WkWWimW: ||| The Classifieds I Or Advertise Your Business or Trade - 1 Month - ONLY $100! Call 478-087-1823 HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL 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. 40434