'Hot' Summer Wines

Deck parties, outdoor picnics, grillin’ and chillin’…. summer is definitely upon us, and so is the summer wine dilemma. What to drink now? Hmm, many people believe that summer is all about white—au contraire!

Whites:

Abandon the Chardonnay for Pinot Gris or Vermentino. Both of these whites offer a wine that has great “mouth feel,” coating your mouth with loads of tropical fruit or fresh nectarine and peach flavors, and soft acidity. Try an Italian Vermentino from sun-baked Sardinia or rugged, coastal Tuscany. Or enjoy a luscious, aromatic Pinot Gris from warm weather California or cooler climate, Oregon. These are great wines for sipping or with your favorite swordfish, grilled shrimp, or Asian chicken recipe.

If you enjoy Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, why not try a juicy, Spanish Verdejo or aromatic Argentinean Torrontes? Drink these wines chilled with summer picnic fare, and understand why they are so popular with food in their native lands. These wines simply scream “ summer deck party” and are great crowd pleasers.

Reds:

You may know plummy Merlot works well with sticky, sweet barbequed ribs, but try that finger-licking good barbeque with Spanish Garnacha and you’ll open your eyes (and mouth) to a wine that delivers BIG flavor (cherry with hints of chocolate) and incredible value. Serve slightly chilled for a real red wine treat.

If you’re a fan of Pinot Noir, why not try Cru Beaujolais? Both of these wines have their roots in France’s Burgundy region. Cru Beaujolais is so much more than the “simple wine” called Beaujolais Nouveau served around Thanksgiving. Brouilly is the largest area of the “cru” region. It’s named after a volcano. This wine has heady aromas of red fruit and plums. It’s light, fruity, floral-- and really shines with a slight chill-- making it the perfect companion to a summer picnic in the park or on the beach.

One of my favorite Italian reds for summer is Dolcetto d’Alba. Dolcetto has the perfume of violets and the flavor of juicy strawberries and cherries. This is a perfect wine for fried chicken or simply grilled pork tenderloins paired with a berry fruit sauce.

Rosés:

I always look forward to tasting the new shipment of rosés that hit the wine shops in spring and summer. When it’s just too hot to drink heavy reds, and you want a wine with depth, crispness, and great flavor to stand up to a grilled tuna steak or summer salads, break out the rosé and pretend you’re on the beach in the south of France or an outdoor café in Europe. Don’t be afraid to drink pink. Be sure to ask your wine merchant for a dry rosé, and you may be pleasantly surprised at how you much you like it during these dog days of summer!

Wine Recommendations

You can hopefully find many of these wines in your favorite local wine shop. Just ask the merchant to help you find them. If they don't have these wines ask for other recommendations. It is fun to try new wines!

Whites:

2009 Ponzi Pinot Gris, Willamette, Oregon ($15.99)

2009 King Estates “Acrobat” Pinot Gris, ($13.99),

2009 Terre de Talmo “Vento” Vermentino, Tuscany, Italy ($15.99)

2009 Michel Torino “Don David” Torrontes, Argentina ($16.99)

2009 Paso a Paso Verdejo ($8.99) or Naia Verdejo ($13.99)

Reds:

2009 Bodegas Borsao Campo de Borja Grenacha, Spain ($7.99)

2009 George Dubeouf “Brouilly”, flower label, Beaujolais, France ($17.99)

2009 Chateau de la Chaize Brouilly, Beaujolais, France ($13.99)

2008 Vietti Dolcetto d’ Alba, Piedmont, Italy ($19.99)

Rose’:

2010 Terre di Talmo “Piano Piano” Rosato, Tuscany, Italy ($12.99)

2010 Commanderie de Peyressol Rose, Provence, France ($18.99)

CHEERS!!

10 Worst Food Trends

I came across this article and found it an interesting read - I hope you do too...

10 Worst Food Trends

by Sunset Magazine

As a restaurant critic, we--that's the royal, food critic "we"--visit more than 300 restaurants each year. And we still feel that expectant thrill every time we sit down at a new table--the thrill we suspect theater critics feel with every rising curtain. But as wide ranging as our tastes may be, and as sympathetic as we are to the difficulties of the profession, not every fad coursing through Western kitchens is worth celebrating. Here are 10 food trends of 2011 that drive us out of our minds.

1. "Changes and Modifications Politely Declined.": Passive-aggressive, vain-glorious, and thoroughly maddening, this disclaimer, found printed on menus of the sort of edgy small-plates restaurants where the fried pig's ears come with finger lime rémoulade, hits the trifecta of annoyance. And to a degree, we approve of it: In a world where customers feel entitled to ask for the alligator schnitzel with hearts of palm, except made with grouper instead of alligator, avocado instead of hearts of palm, and the Tabasco butter from the crab-leg dish instead of orange honey, it puts the chef back in control. But when it gets to the point where a chef refuses to leave the bacon garnish off a dish for a guest in a hijab, or the door guy of a hamburger joint frisks you for ketchup at the entrance, it has probably gone too far.
> Related: The West's best food towns

2. Sous vide: Chefs love sous vide, a technique that involves vaccum-sealing food in plastic wrap and simmering it at low temperature for long periods of time, the way your great-aunt may have done with her Daisy Seal-a-Meal. There is no waste with sous vide--all the juices stay in the meat or fish--and it is all very scientific. But while in theory it seems like a good idea to cook a lamb loin to a perfect, rosy rare 126°, in practice it means that every bite of your main course is exactly like every other bite of your main course, which is to say bland, bloody, and soft as Soylent Green. Call us old-fashioned, but we like fire.
> Related: How to cook with spice blends

3. Untranslated menus: There is an iPhone app--we've seen it used--that scans a menu or sign in a Chinese restaurant and translates the characters into English. Unfortunately, unless you have mastered the idioms, knowing that a dish is named something like "peony cloud mountain" is probably not going to help you very much. Someday, the technology will be perfected. In the meantime, we'd just like to know about that plate ofyu choy sum with Yunnan ham and fava beans.

4. $5 tap water: We commend good-tasting filtered water in restaurants--it is a nice gesture and infinitely better for the ecosystem than bottled water (which future generations may well regard as a symbol of impossible decadence, like ambergris omelets or larks' tongues in aspic). But charging for tap water as if it were the stuff flown in from Fiji is green washing of the worst kind.

5. Bartender overreach: The cocktailian renaissance is a marvelous thing, and we are pleased to be able to order a proper Aviation made with hand-chipped ice, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and housemade violet essence. In no way, however, does this enthusiasm constitute an invitation to doctor our nightcaps with curry leaves, flakes of nori, or artfully fried bacon spears.
> Related: Fast & fresh summer drinks

6. Chef overreach: Congratulations, chef. You have managed to lay your hands on a stash of puntarelle, the rare, incredibly labor-intensive chicory shoots that until recently were found nowhere outside of Rome, where they are always served raw, dressed with anchovies. It is not necessary to make a statement by grilling them until they resemble charred radicchio.

7. Tuna surprise: There is no law that a chef memorize every species on the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch list. But surely we can agree that bluefin tuna is hurtling toward extinction, orange roughy is depleted, shark stocks are plummeting, and Chilean seabass is not dull, but endangered. A chef careless enough to leave vulnerable species on his menu is unlikely to mind his pots with the diligence one might prefer.
> Related: Great sustainable seafood recipes

8. Truffle oil: Real truffles, whether the white ones from Périgord, are miracles of gastronomy. Truffle oil, a wholly synthetic substance that has come no closer to actual truffles than it has to the surface of the moon, is not. Ever smelled the deer musk that hunters like to smear on themselves during rut? Now imagine that on your next $18 plate of pasta.

9. Third-wave coffee: Do we applaud fair-trade, sustainable farmed, shade-grown joe? Sure. Why not? But when we sit down to a cup of coffee in the morning, we are not particularly interested in the blueberry, caramel, or tomato soup nuances a dedicated roaster can coax out of a bean, nor in the intricate ballet of the four-minute pour-over or the Eva Solo flagon. We want coffee that tastes like coffee, and we want it now.
> Related: Cooking with coffee

10. Better living through chemistry: Some people call it molecular gastronomy. Chefs prefer Modernist Cuisine. Whatever its name, although we have seen the best minds of our generation destroyed by the quest for hot ice cream, or for a soft-boiled egg with the yolk on the outside, the effects can be stunning when executed by a master. Still, this in no way accounts for foie gras cotton candy, the Viet-No-Jito, or jellied collard greens that look and taste like drips of hardened Prell.

Complimentary Local Delivery

Savory Sweet, Finer Foods is currently selling online (http://www.savorysweetfoods.com) and from the Perrysburg Famers Market on Thursdays from 3-7pm. If you have come to the market after 7pm on Thursdays we apologize as we typically have sold out for the evening. We are still experimenting with how much food product to bring each week. So if you can't make it to the market till after 7pm I suggest another option - pre-ordering. We can take orders ahead of time and deliver to your home in Perrysburg Wednesdays after 5:30pm or Fridays between 10am - 1pm. If you are outside of Perrysburg a small delivery charge may be applied.

We look forward to hearing from you and making you delicious meals!

Schools out for the Summer!

Summer is nearly upon us! The kids are out of school, barbecues are fired up, and picnic plans are in the works. Don't let the chaos of a busy Summer keep you from enjoying uniquely delicious foods made with the finest ingredients. Eating healthy can be easy and affordable for the whole family with Savory Sweet Finer Foods. Click here to learn more about making your Summer Savory Sweet!

http://www.geministudioart.com/savorysweetsummer.pdf

First Market

What a great day and turn out we had last night at the Perrysburg Farmers Market. Thanks to all who came out to support all the local vendors. It was great to see familiar faces and get to meet new ones! I look forward to hearing feedback from all who tasted Savory Sweet foods items. Working on next weeks menu and will be posting this Sunday. If you would like to pre-order we can setup a time for pickup on Thursday or I can make local (Perrysburg) deliveries on Wednesday or Friday. Give me a call 419-215-5292 or send me an email at liz@savorysweetfoods.com

http://perrysburg-farmers-market.com/marketmap.html

I look forward to hearing from you!

Calzone with a Gourmet Twist!

Starting this Thursday you can find Savory Sweet (http:/www.savorysweetfoods.com) at the Farmers Market downtown Perrysburg (fingers crossed no rain)! We are excited to debut several of our food items. I thought I would give you a preview of one of my favorites...the Pesto Pizza Panzeretti. Pizza dough made from scratch and loaded with bell peppers, onions, basil pesto and creamy provolone cheese. I decided to use turkey pepperoni as it is healthier but still provides great flavor and a touch of heat. These are already pre-baked so once you get home only 15 minutes in the oven and you have a hot meal. Serve with a mixed green salad to make a complete meal that will be sure to be a crowd pleaser!

We will also be offering a Sweet Potato and Swiss Chard Panzeretti. Take them both home to offer a variety! The menu will change weekly and we take custom orders so let us know if you have a filling suggestion. Go to our website to download a form for orders or comment page to let us know how we are doing.

We look forward to meeting you at the Market!

Perrysburg Farmers Market

Downtown along Louisiana Ave.

May thru October, Wendesdays, from 3pm - 8pm

http://www.visitperrysburg.com/

Introducing Savory Sweet

I would like to take a moment to tell you about a new venture that I am pursuing. Starting on Thursday, May 5th you will find me at the Perrysburg Farmers Market selling a new line of gourmet food items. Let me introduce you to my finer food company, Savory Sweet, LLC (http://www.savorysweetfoods.com). Website is in the works but will be up and running the beginning of May. Till then you can find updates here on my blog.

Savory Sweet will have weekly changing menu items that will be posted a week in advance so all you foodies out there can plan ahead for upcoming meals. I will be offering a mix of savory and sweet food items (hence the name!). We promise to have in season ingredients freshly prepared to ensure a good meal when you don’t have time to cook. On my website you will be able to place orders, leave comments and/or suggestions, and learn about new food items and how to pair them to complete an entire well balanced meal. I look forward to providing you with creative fresh food items that will get you excited for your next meal!

A sneak peek at the first week's menu:

Caprese Pasta Salad

Greek Orzo Salad

Peanut Soba Noodle Salad

Soft Pretzel bites with choice of dip

Pesto Pizza Panzerotti (my version of the Italian calzone)

Double Chocolate Cherry Baguette

NOTE: All food items are handmade in a commercially approved kitchen in small batches to ensure freshness and quality of ingredients.

Keep checking back for more menu items and news from Savory Sweet!