It’ll only take a few minutes of your time, it’s fun, and your answers will help me put together some fun new features on the blog this spring. Click the orange button below to get started.  Pretty please?

After taking the survey, please feel free to share any thoughts and ideas for things you’d like to see on Wendalicious! Just click the button below to open the survey (survey pops up in a new window). Thanks!  The list of questions is after the jump.

In general, how do you feel about wine?

•  I love it
•  I like it, but it’s not my preferred adult beverage
•  I don’t like it at all
•  I’ve never tried it
•  I think it all tastes like the stuff you get at church. Yuck.
•  Other

What type of wine do you generally prefer?

• White
• Red
• Rose
• Other

Where do you buy wine (please select all that apply):

• Liquor Store
• State-run package store
• Grocery store
• Wholesale club store
• Online
• Directly from a winery
• I only drink wine when dining out
• Other

On average, how many bottles of wine do you have on hand?

• 0-2
• 3-5
• 5-10
• More than 10
• I have a well-stocked cellar
• Other

In what kind of glassware do you serve your wine?

• Glasses specifically crafted for the specific varietal I’m serving
• I have glasses for red, glasses for white, and champagne flutes. Nothing specific beyond that.
• Just wine glasses – nothing special
• Whatever glasses happen to be clean
• Big Red Cups
• Who needs a glass?
• Other

How do you feel about screwtops on wine bottles?

• They’re a disgrace to the wine industry
• They’re the greatest
• I don’t care either way, as long as I can get to the wine
• Other

How do you feel about wine in a box?

• I love it
• I hate it
• Some is good, some is not so good
• Other

Is it ever acceptable to add seltzer/soda/water to a glass of wine?

• Yes
• No
• It depends
• Care to explain?

Have you ever attended a guided wine tasting, or taken a wine class?

• I’ve attended free public tastings at a local wine shop
• I’ve attended a tasting at a friend’s home
• I’ve hosted tastings at my home
• I’ve taken a wine class presented by a restaurant/wine shop
• I’ve taken a wine course (a series of classes, either online or in a classroom setting)
• I’ve never attended a wine tasting or class
• Other

Would you be interested in participating in an online wine course (live video streaming, such as a Google Hangout)?

• Yes
• No
• Maybe
• What is a Google Hangout? Sounds dirty.

This is my idea of the perfect pre-dinner snack: whole wheat pita with homemade hummus,  olives, and a glass of Grenache. Doesn’t get better than this.

Wine: Monte Oton 2009 Grenache.  Medium-bodied, fruity, peppery finish. Less than $9 per bottle. Very enjoyable, and a great bargain. I’m into cheap Spanish wines these days. You?

Sweet, sweet nectar. Bringing joy, erasing memories.

I love these random food-related holidays. There’s nothing to commemorate, no cards to buy, no gifts to wrap.

And National Drink Wine Day is a holiday I can proudly stand behind.

So tonight, in celebration of NDWD and my bestie Sionna’s milestone birthday, I plan on raising a glass or two.

Are you planning on celebrating this important national holiday?

Music, Food, and Wine...

The Schenectady Symphony Orchestra is teaming with Schenectady County Community College’s Culinary program to present Tasting Notes, an evening of select wines and food (prepared by SCCC Culinary students), complimented by music performed by orchestra members.  The event will be held on Thursday, November 4, beginning at 5:30 pm at SCCC.

The cost for the four-course dinner, including six wines, is $100 per person, a portion of which is a tax-deductible donation to the SSO.

Reservations for Tasting Notes may be made by calling the Symphony office at 372-2500 or by sending an email to sso2@verizon.net. For more information, visit the SSO website at www.schenectadysymphony.org.

Seating is limited and reservations must be made by Friday, October 29.

Here’s a look at the intriguing menu of food, wine, and music:

Tasting Notes Menu & Program:

Antipasto

• Reception featuring imported and domestic cheese board, crudités with dip
• Music: Smooth Jazz
• Wine: Caposaldo Prosecco Brut, Veneto, IGT

Primo

• Orecchiette pasta in a light tomato and three cheese sauce
• Music: “Serenade No. 10 for Flute and Harp” by Vincent Persichetti, movements I – VI
• Wine: 2007 Sequoia Grove Chardonnay, Carneros, Napa Valley

Contorno

• Autumnal spinach salad tossed with sun-dried cranberries, caramelized pears, toasted hazelnuts and champagne vinaigrette
• Music: “Quintet for Winds, Op. 43″ by Carl Nielson
• Wine: 2009 Wild Rock “Elevation”, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand

Secondo

• Choice of Petit Filet with a chimichurri rub with grilled shrimp, served with roasted potatoes and a medley of zucchini, yellow squash and red pepper OR Grilled Vegetable Tower of seasonal fresh vegetables served on a bed of wilted spinach and drizzled with a balsamic reduction
• Music: “L.A. Tango” by Michael Wicks and St. Paul Suite by Gustav Holst
• Wine: 2007 Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir, Napa Valley and 2007 Tenuta di Cabreo “Il Borgo”, Toscana, I.G.T.

Dolce

• Fall Fruit Crumble of apples, pears and cranberries baked with a brown sugar and oatmeal topping, finished with cinnamon whipped cream
• Music: “Tales from the Vienna Woods” by Johann Strauss II
• Wine Croft Pink Port, Douro, Portugal

Corporate sponsors for this special event are Kobrand Wines and Spirits, University Wine and Liquor, Rose and Kiernan, Inc., and the Glen Sanders Mansion.

Kitchen Tools

This is a list of some cool tools – some essential, some whimsical, some probably ridiculous.  But they will no doubt make your foodie smile!

• If money is no object: your foodie NEEDS a KitchenAid Stand Mixer.  No self-respecting foodie should go without this essential tool.  It can be used for everything: kneading bread, mixing cookie dough, combining meat loaf mix, whipping cream.  And, if your foodie already has a stand mixer, you can always get them an attachment or two: meat grinder, sausage stuffer, grain mill, citrus juicer, pasta roller, ravioli maker, slicer/shredder, ice cream maker….
  

  Onion Goggles

• A powerful blender.  My pick is the KitchenAid 4-Speed Blender.  It REALLY crushes ice!  About $99, available in four colors.
• Onion Goggles (available at ThinkGeek for $24.95, at other places for various prices).  Tears no more!  These nifty little goggles prevent the noxious sulfur compounds from reaching your eyeballs, so you can finally chop onions without crying a river.
  

  The Beverage CADDi

• Nutmeg Grater (under $20).  My fave is this one by Cuisipro.  I no longer buy ground nutmeg, following a harrowing incident with a moldycontainer bought in the grocery store.  I now buy whole nutmegs from Penzey’s, and grate them as needed using the grater.
• OXO Electronic Kitchen Scale (around $50, available at kitchen stores and at www.oxo.com).  Every kitchen needs an accurate food scale that can measure in pounds and kilograms.  This one is great  – measures up to 11 pounds.
  

  The Happy Man Bottle Stopper. He sure is happy!

• The Beverage CADDi – it allows you to hang on to your coffee with one finger!  Price: $5.50 (“the cost of your last spilled latte,” according to the Beverage CADDi website).  I haven’t seen it in stores, but it’s available online.
• The Happy Man Bottle Stopper.  I think the picture says it all.

Other Foodie Gift Ideas

• Cooking classes – many local kitchen supply stores offer cooking classes, teaching a wide range of topics.  Here are a few:
  • Different Drummer’s Kitchen (Latham Cooking School and Northampton Cooking School)
  • Spoon & Whisk
  • Saratoga Restaurant Equipment Sales
  • Mimmy’s House Personal Chef Service (offers one-on-one classes)
• Wine Course from Wine Spectator School.  The Wine Spectator, a recognized name in wine culture, offers online wine education courses, on a variety of topics.  I’ve taken a few of these courses, and I think they’re great.  Courses last about 6 weeks, students set their own pace, there are guided tastings, and after passing the course exam, the student receives a certificate and a cool graduation gift (I got a mousepad last time)!  Cost varies, from $39 up to about $149.
• Gift Certificate to Penzey’s, the only place to buy spices.  I will never ever buy grocery-store spices again.  Penzey’s is the best quality, ships fast, and they’re inexpensive.  Plus they’ve got awesome gift collections, if you’d rather buy a pre-boxed set.  They also have cool catalogs, which arrive *very* frequently.
• Foodie DVD’s – Julie & Julia, Chocolat, Sideways, SuperSize Me, Food Inc., Eating Alaska.  And those are just the ones I saw.  There are many more – check out this Amazon.com list for other suggestions.
• Omaha Steaks – Bob and I are big fans of ordering meat online.  Their beef is outstanding, pork is great, chicken is okay, desserts you shouldn’t bother ordering (except the Caramel Apple Tartlets – delicious!).

Well, that’s it for now.  If I think of anything else, I’ll let you know.  Deck the Halls, and all that jazz.

• Roast Turkey with Apple Cider Gravy
• Southern Corn Bread Stuffing
• Roasted Acorn Squash
• Sweet Potato-Banana Casserole (sickly sweet side dish thing made by Mom, which probably should have been a dessert)
• Corn Casserole (divine, made by Aunt Claire – I’m hoping she’ll post the recipe here!)
• Steamed Brussels Sprouts & Carrots
• Spiced Cranberry Sauce
• Pecan Pie (again, made by Aunt Claire – recipe please??  It was delish)
• Pumpkin Pie (made by Grandma)
• Tiramisu Toffee Trifle Pie (I varied the recipe a bit – used ladyfingers instead of pound cake for the crust, used Neufchatel cheese instead of mascarpone, and used Cool Whip Lite instead of regular.  Still INCREDIBLE – just ask my co-worker David.)
• 2008 Alsace Willm Gewurztraminer (the perfect white wine for turkey and stuffing – just TRUST ME)

The turkey, gravy, and stuffing have been traditions with me since 1996 – they are tried and true, delicious every time.  I’ll post recipes if anyone requests them…

I love having Thanksgiving at my house on the Saturday after the holiday – it gives me almost two whole days to cook, which is better than a vacation for me!  I just love getting up early (this is the only day I enjoy that), putting on my apron, and spending the entire day puttering around the kitchen, listening to NPR and creating a delicious meal for my family and friends.  Plus it’s easier for my family to travel up here from downstate on the weekend.

I usually try one or two new recipes each year, to add a little gustatory excitement to what can sometimes be an overly-predictable day.  This year, I made a cranberry sauce instead of my usual Cranberry Relish (created by me and posted many many years ago on AllRecipes), mostly because my sister Kristen wasn’t able to make it, and she seems to be the only one who prefers the relish to a sauce.  I also decided to let my mom and aunt bring a side dish, which I usually don’t do (mostly because I’m neurotic about the food I serve.  Mom and Aunt Claire are great cooks, but you never KNOW…)

I made an assortment of appetizers, too (just in case all of my neighbors showed up unexpectedly):

• Stuffed Mushrooms (a family tradition for as long as I’ve been alive)
• Buffalo Wing Dip (stolen from my sister’s friend – it’s basically a combination of chopped grilled chicken, fat free cream cheese, fat free mayo, fat free ranch dressing, shredded reduced-fat cheddar, and enough hot sauce to make it taste like a Buffalo wing.  Heat in the microwave for 5 minutes or so, and……good lord, it’s awesome)
• Crudites, cheese & crackers, olives

A lot of food for 8 people, I know, but isn’t that the point?  I was so worked up from cooking that I forgot to take pictures….I’m so sorry.

Bob and I have enjoyed stuffing and gravy at every meal since Saturday, and I plan to eat every last crumb of that Corn Casserole.  I am bringing the three leftover pies to work this week, one day at a time, for my co-worker David to have for breakfast.  I’ve told him to share, but I don’t think he listens.  The boy loves pie.

So, these are my Thanksgiving traditions – what are yours?  And will you share your recipes?

A number of “quick-serve” restaurants in California have added wine selections to their existing menus, in order to cater to a more upscale clientiele, and offer a more elegant dining experience:

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009907310349

Wine doesn’t go with everything.  But when in doubt, go with a nice Gewurtztraminer.

A few years back, liquor stores (the only place you can buy wine and hard liquor in NY) were clamoring for the state to rescind the Depression-era ”Blue Laws” and allow them to open their doors on Sundays.  They got their wish – sort of.  These days,  liquor stores are allowed to open on Sunday, provided that they close on another day of the week.  Essentially, they are legally banned from operating their business seven days a week.  What a crock.  One charming little remnant of Prohibition still remains – no alcohol sales before noon on Sundays.  From NYS Liquor Authority laws:

Sec. 105.14 – Provisions governing licensees to sell at retail for consumption off the premises:

(i) On Sunday before twelve o’clock post meridian and after nine o’clock post meridian.
(ii) On any day between midnight and eight o’clock antemeridian.
(iii) On the twenty-fifth day of December, known as Christmas Day.

Apparently, God does not wish New Yorkers to imbibe at times when they should be praying.  But I digress.

In addition, liquor/wine retailers in NYS are only allowed to have ONE license – meaning they are only allowed to own/operate ONE liquor business.  This state knows sure how to restrict commerce, doesn’t it???

In 2006, NYS AG Eliot Spitzer (aka “Client No. 9″) discovered that some liquor wholesalers had offered discounts and free merchandise to preferred bars, restaurants, retailers, and nightclubs. From 2002 to 2005, these establishments received more than $50 million in illegal swag including cash, vacations, cases of wine and spirits, iPods, golf clubs, and AMEX gift cards, according to Spitzer’s office.  So, the gov put a stop to that too.  Rightly so.

TODAY, the big to-do is about allowing grocery stores to sell wine.  Recently, large grocery chains in Upstate NY (such as Hannaford, Price Chopper, and Wegman’s) have begun media campaigns telling New Yorkers that “It’s Time for Wine” – meaning, it’s time to call your congressman and/or Governor Paterson and tell them you want to buy wine in your grocery store.  Obviously, liquor store retailers are absolutely up in arms over the prospect of losing sales to places like Wal-Mart SuperCenters and potentially going out of business altogether (that really does suck).

The NY Times did a great piece today about this dilemma , and offered some interesting perspectives.  As a food lover and amateur wine connoisseur, I like the idea of being able to purchase my food and wine pairings at the same location.  Food and wine are meant to be enjoyed together, and (on the surface) it makes sense for them to be sold together.

That being said, it sickens me that the Wal-Marts of the world have become nearly the only places where consumers can purchase ANYTHING anymore.  Our (dear) leaders keep referring to ”Main Street,” which is an outdated, long-forgotten relic of a concept these days.  Mom-and-Pop businesses are closing left and right, unable to compete with the massive buying power and pricing clout that major chains wield over manufacturers and distributors.   And this market domination was happening long before our nation’s financial tsunami came aground last year.  Allowing grocery stores to sell wine would no doubt shut down even more small businesses in New York, putting more entrepreneurs out of work, and driving even more of our population to more business-friendly realms.  After all, the grocery stores would be allowed to sell wine at every one of their stores (Price Chopper alone has 71 stores in NY), while liquor stores would still only be allowed a single license.  How could they possibly compete?

Some folks are offering a compromise of sorts: grocery stores would only be allowed to sell wine from NY wineries, or perhaps bottles under a certain price point.  That would leave imported and other domestic wines from outside NY (plus hard liquor) as fair game for the liquor stores.  I don’t know.  NY wines get a (mostly) undeserved bad rap, and making them the “booby prize” in this contest of strength would only serve to further marginalize what the NY wineries are trying to accomplish.  Plus, offering cheaper wines to that kind of mass audience doesn’t help the wine industry as much as you’d think:  most wines under $7 or so are swill (Corbett Canyon comes to mind), and the more people buy it (’cause it’s cheap), the more they make, ultimately driving quality producers off the shelves and out of business.  A lot of bad wine is still just that – bad wine.

And, I didn’t even touch on Governor Paterson’s boneheaded proposal to TRIPLE the sales tax on liquor & wine sales in New York.  Ever heard the phrase “you can’t get blood from a stone”?

I must conclude, therefore, that I am NOT in favor of allowing wine sales in grocery stores.  As a matter of fact, I am in favor of loosening the restrictions of the NYS Liquor Authority even MORE – we should allow liquor stores to be open seven days a week, and allow business owners the right to own more than one store.  These ridiculously antiquated, Puritan-era restrictions are no good for business, and no good for New York.

Cooper's Creek Cat's Phee on a Gooseberry Bush Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand

The wine’s true name is actually ”Cat’s Pee on a Goosberry Bush”, but Puritanical American standards have added a silent “h” for bottles sold in the U.S.   The label is cute – reminds me of the demonic expression usually present on my cat’s face.

I opened a bottle of it tonight, and I am really enjoying it!  I’m a big fan of Sauvignon Blanc as it is, and this one is really vibrant and full of zippy citrus.  You do get an ever-so-slight whiff of the “phee” when first sniffing, but when you’re drinking it’s totally lemons, limes, grapefruit, green apple, pineapple, and grass.  I have never tasted gooseberries, so I cannot say whether or not they are present in the taste profile.  It’s very light, and would make a really great sitting-by-the-pool or hanging-out-with-girlfriends wine. 

From the Cooper’s Creek website:

Pedigree – Alcohol:13.00%

Breeder’s Comments – A youthful, kittenish wine, full of zing and zip. Extremely playful and lively, with an aroma that is inclined to leap out of the glass at you with the slightest provocation. The body is long and racy, equally happy relaxing on its own in the sun on a warm afternoon or engaging in boisterous interplay with fresh garden vegetables or seafood.

This is a relatively inexpensive wine, at $11.99 (at Crescent Wine Shop in Clifton Park).  If you like light, refreshing whites, then this is a great choice.  Don’t let the name scare you away.  Meow!