Looks like the fast food industry is trying to blur the lines between greasy food and hot sex. If you’re not convinced look at the following videos and pictures and then decide for yourself.
According to restaurant chain El Pollo Loco, the marinade for KFC’s new grilled chicken contains beef. Well, actually beef products. El Pollo Loco is planning to play up this fact in a new advertising campaign. The company feels the use of beef products in chicken is “wrong.”
KFC has not hidden that they use these beef products in their new grilled chicken; the information is available on their website, if you’re willing to look for it. It’s found on page 14 of a 37 page document online. I have to assume, though, if you’re eating at KFC, you don’t really care about the nutritional value. However, the grilled chicken was recently added to their menu as a “healthy choice.” Read more…
Without being too ethnocentric, there are some foods in different cultures - in fact there are some foods in our own culture - that just sound disgusting. Here is a list of some of the worst offenders:
Escamoles: Mexico - Eggs from a venomous ant that are often eaten in tacos. Casu Marzu: Sardinia, Italy - All you need to know is that by the time the cheese is ready to eat, it will have tousands of maggots in it. Lutefisk: Norway - Codfish that has been soaked in lye for two days. Baby Mice Wine: Korea - Live mice are put in a bottle of rice wine and left to ferment. Pacha: Iraq - Boiled sheep’s head. Balut: The Philippines - A nearly grown duck fetus to be eaten in the egg. Tarantula: Cambodia - Yup, the giant, hairy spiders. Kopi Luwak Coffee: Asia - The most expensive coffee in the world, the beans have been eaten and passed by the Asian Palm Civet. The beans are retrieved from the animal’s droppings. Beef Tripe: global - A butchered cow’s guts. Monkey brains: China - Self explanatory, but some people like to eat the brains live while the monkey’s head is held still. Sago Worms: New Guinea - Grubs that can be eaten raw or cooked and apparently taste like bacon. Durian Fruit: Southeast Asia - A thorn-covered fruit.
We have many reasons to enjoy living in the East Bay of San Francisco.We can be in the city in 15 minutes, visit wine country in a little over an hour and have access to an abundance of regional parks all within a 15-minute drive of our house.Lately, we’ve also discovered a small number of wineries in the area who are making pretty exceptional wine.This Saturday, we decided to stay local by barbecuing in one of our favorite parks while opening a bottle from Broc Cellars.
Broc Cellars is a small winery in Berkeley, Calif.We first discovered Broc and its owner, Chris Brockway at an East Bay food and wine pairing event a few months ago.Broc blew away the competition away with his incredibly rich and complex wines, as well as his food pairings, which included both venison and duck.
Brockway introduced his first vintage in 2004 and yesterday, we had the great fortune to drink his 2007 Vine Starr red blend.It was the perfect wine to sip as we enjoyed the view in Redwood Regional Park and fired up the grill for some tri tip.
The smell and taste of the wine is distinctly Zinfandel, but much more complex.There are notes of blackberries and a fruit jam smell and taste that makes you come back for more.Jill also tastes a little bit of licorice on it – but strawberry licorice.It could be because she loves Twizzlers and wishes that flavor was in everything, but it seems to really be there. The wine notes list the blend’s varieties as 67% Zinfandel, 30% Syrah, 2% Petite Sirah, 1% Mourvedre.We love that Brockway makes his wines in the Rhone style.You can’t beat getting great French-inspired wine from a local winemaker (and at a reasonable price).The Vine Starr is currently selling for $25.
As you can imagine, Brockway doesn’t have his own vineyard in his backyard in Berkeley.He sources the grapes from growers across Northern California and produces his wine in a Berkeley facility shared with a few other wine makers.
Wine is currently being produced in all 50 states in the United States.Our advice – check out your local producers and get to know them.The winemakers are often products of great enology programs and are striving to bring great wine to their local market. As we all “go green,” let’s continue to “go local” and support these up-and-coming wine producers.
Regional cuisine is a great way to get a feel for the culture of the location to which you are traveling. And what’s the best part of the meal? Dessert. Check out this list of foreign desserts you shouldn’t skip while traveling:
Baklava(Turkey and nearby) – Made from phyllo dough that has been brushed with butter, this flaky dessert is also soaked with honey.
Alfajores (Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, other Latin American countries, via Spain) – Cookies reminiscent of shortbread or cake sandwiched with dulce de leche (milk caramel). Sometimes coated with meringue, white or dark chocolate, or covered with shredded coconut.
Semla (Sweden and similar in Norway, Denmark, Finland and Estonia) – A seasonal dessert available between Christmas and Easter, these bun-like pastries have their insides hollowed and filled with milk and almond paste and topped with whipped cream.
Sfogliatelle/Cannoli (Italy) – Sfogliatelle is a pastry shaped like a clam, stuffed with cream or ricotta filling that can be infused with orange or lemon flavor.
Taiyaki (Japan) – Kind of like a fish-shaped waffle, and filled with a sweet red bean paste.
Churros (Latin America, Spain) – Loops with a crunchy texture, topped with confectioners’ sugar and served with thick hot chocolate, in which you are to dunk the churros.
Sopaipillas/Picarones(Chile, Peru) – Fried dough that you dip in a solid brown sugar derived from sugar cane.
Galub Jamun (South East Asia) – Little balls of dough made of a flour and condensed milk mixture, that has been fried and dipped in a sugar syrup flavored with cardamom, rosewater or saffron.
Koeksisters(South Africa via Cape Malay) – Fried and dunked in a cold simple syrup to avoid them getting mushy.
Tres Leches Cake(Mexico, other countries in Central and South America) – Condensed milk, evaporated milk and cream are the “tres leches” in this cake.
Suspiro Limeño(Peru) - Evaporated milk, condensed milk, egg yolks and sugar make a pudding, which is then topped with meringue.
Sernik (Poland) – The Polish version of a cheesecake.
Tangyuan/ Yuanxiao(China, Taiwan) – Balls of dough made from rice flour and hot water, and filled with sesame paste, adzuki bean paste or other sweet fillings.
Brigadeiro (Brazil) – Balls of fudgey caramel, rolled in chocolate sprinkles.
Khao Niaw Ma Muang [mango and sticky rice] (Thailand) – Rice is cooked in coconut milk and served with fresh mango.
We went to a wedding in St. Pete Beach, Fla. over the weekend and made a few interesting discoveries. The first, is that St. Pete Beach is not really a wine-drinking city. At least not from the wine lists I saw at a couple of restaurants in town. I asked one server for their wine list and the response was, “We have white, red, and white zinfandel.”
The second is that every wine story can have a happy ending. Jill went to the liquor store across the street from our hotel. It was your run-of-the-mill liquor store, but Jill came back excited because it not only had the wonderful Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc for a very reasonable $12, but also one of our favorite Malbecs from our recent trip to Argentina. Before I get into the Malbec, it’s worth noting that Sauvignon Blancs from the Marlborough region in New Zealand are often crisp and delicious in addition to often being great buys for under $15.
The Bodega Colomé Estate Malbec is a truly wonderful wine. The dense purple color you see on the pour carries over to the taste, a rich, deep fruity flavor with a fantastic finish that stays with you until your next taste. Even the crappy plastic hotel cups we were drinking from couldn’t mask the wonderful taste.
Looking to get some more information on the wine, I Googled it and was surprised to see the Bodega Colomé Estate winery actually is owned by The Hess Collection, a beautiful Napa Valley winery on Mount Veeder that is a wonderful place to visit and taste. I phoned the winery and they said they only get the wines from Argentina sporadically and they typically sell out fast.I was able to track it down on Wine.com, though at $27.99 it’s about $5 more than we paid in Florida.
Still, Malbecs are some of the best bargains out there and the Bodega Colomé Estate Malbec could stand up to some of the more mid-priced California reds out there. It’s well-worth searching out. You might even find it at your local liquor store.
Always leaders in dietary excellence, Burger King has come out with a new kids’ menu. The menu consists of three different meals, each of which is supposed to be lower in fact, sodium, and have fewer than 560 calories. Here is a list of the meals, taken from the Burger King website:
* Hamburger with BKTM Fresh Apple Fries, low-fat caramel dipping sauce and calcium-fortified MINUTE MAID® Apple Juice;
* New BK BURGER SHOTS® with BKTM Fresh Apple Fries, low-fat caramel dipping sauce and calcium-fortified MINUTE MAID® Apple Juice; and
* 4-pce CHICKEN TENDERS® (reformulated to be reduced-sodium) with BKTM Fresh Apple Fries, low-fat caramel dipping sauce and HERSHEY’S® Fat Free White Milk.
Each of the meals is supposed to get no more than 30 per cent of its calories from fat, and 10 per cent from added sugars. There also must be less than 600 milligrams of sodium.
Sounds like a great initiative. However, since when are FRIED APPLES a healthy alternative? Read more…
Before people begin sending nasty comments (ok, we’re not even sure anyone is reading), let us state that we’re well aware that Mendoza is the premier wine growing region in Argentina and we do have hopes of one day making the trek there to taste their lovely wines. Nevertheless, a recent trip to Argentina included an interesting few days in the country’s fledgling Patagonia wine region, where we found wines that were good, though not quite up to the quality of some of the more established Mendoza wineries. We did, however, meet some of the nicest people in a very friendly country, which in the grand scheme of things may be more important than the quality of the wine.
First off, a brief explanation of how we found ourselves in what some call “the end of the world” wine region (the region is the closest wine growing region to the South Pole in the entire world). Our trip to Argentina began in Buenos Aires before we flew to Patagonia to enjoy the country’s beautiful lakes region. Rather than hopping a plane back to Buenos Aires, then flying to Mendoza (Argentina is a huge country), we decided to drive to Neuquén and check out what was going on. Wine Spectator did a fine review of the region that you can find here.
We stayed at a beautiful new wine resort, Valle Perdido, where the staff couldn’t have been any friendlier, the food was first rate and wine certainly pleasant enough to drink in the mass quantities in which we were served.
We recently drank a bottle of Valle Perdido’s 2006 Malbec Reserva that we brought back and the first taste sent us right immediately to our memories of Argentina. The Malbec was rich and dark, with a smoky smell that made you want to indulge in something off the grill.Nice plummy Malbec taste, though perhaps not with the sophistication of its Mendoza brethren.But we’re here to praise, not criticize, and considering that wineries in the region began making wine in the early 2000s and basically sit in the middle of a desert, it’s certainly as good as many other reasonably-priced Malbecs out there. We discovered that one of our local wine shops, K&L in San Francisco, is selling the Valle Perdido Pinot Noir so we’re excited to continue drinking Patagonian wines and monitor their progress as they evolve.
If you ever find yourself in the Neuquén area of Patagonia, the few wineries there are worth the trip.You won’t believe that really affordable tasty wine is grown in this desert region and you also will be blown away by the winds that engulf the area some days.In addition to tasting at Valle Perdido, we visited Bodega NQN and Familia Schroeder.Our lunch at NQN was out of this world delicious and the wine selection at Familia Schroeder rivals any Sonoma winery.Don’t forget to brush up on your Spanish though, the locals speak little English.
In preparation for our trip to Argentina we drank some Malbecs and are hard-pressed to find wines that offer better value for the money. We would not hesitate to buy a $10 Malbec, and most wine stores and grocery stores (at least where we live) are littered with them. With barbecue season upon us, they are the perfect accompaniment for grilled meats. Enjoy!
Bad traffic through Sonoma County pushed back the time of our canoe trip down the Russian River on Saturday, and subsequently delayed our visit to wine country. With the 5 p.m. tasting room closing time looming, there was only time to visit one place, so we couldn’t make a mistake. It’s why Sbragia Family Vineyards was the easy choice.
Nestled on top of a hill on the way to beautiful Lake Sonoma in Geyserville, Calif., Sbragia is, as its name suggests, a family-run winery that produces some of the best reds and whites in the Dry Creek Valley. The patriarch, Ed Sbragia, has a top-notch pedigree as the former winemaker at Beringer, where he won Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year for a 1986 Private Reserve Cabernet and a 1994 Private Reserve Chardonnay. Not surprisingly, the Sbragia Chardonnay shares many characteristics with the one from Beringer.
Sbragia’s white wines, and its Zinfandels, are the draw. The Home Ranch Sauvignon Blanc is perhaps our favorite wine from the winery, in part because it delivers the most bang for the buck and comes in comfortably below our $20 comfort zone for white wines.Sbragia also participates in the Sonoma County Vintners Visa Signature program that gives users a free tasting and 10% off all purchases.
The Home Ranch Sauvignon Blanc is the perfect warm summer day wine.It’s bright and crisp with a definite citrus flavor.It never disappoints. The other interesting thing about the Home Ranch Sauvignon Blanc is the reusable glass stopper they use in place of the cork.
The Gamble Ranch Chardonnay most resembles the wines Sbragia produced at Beringer, most likely because the grapes are sourced from Yountville in Napa Valley, but the wine lies just outside of our price range at $40. It’s creamy and rich, but doesn’t taste overly oaked. It’s always a treat to taste it at the winery.
All under $30, the three Zinfandels at Sbragia also provide good value. On this visit, the $28 2005 Gino’s Vineyard Zinfandel stood out. The extra year in the bottle than the 2006 Italo’s Vineyard Zinfandel brought out more of the wine’s character and gave it a little extra zip during the tasting.
The wines are reason enough to visit Sbragia, but an added bonus is its fantastic deck that sits high above the valley and provides a gorgeous location to hang out, drink wine and have a picnic. Many people believe that the enjoyment of wine comes not just from the wine itself, but also from where you are, who you are with, the setting, the food you’re eating – virtually everything that you’re experiencing at that moment.
Sbragia’s wines are good with or without an experience. Visiting the winery only enhances it.
You think you know spicy? Chances are those hot wings you get from your local pub won’t stand up to these dishes, which have been called the spiciest foods in the world. Check them out:
Phaal (Phall) Curry, Southern India - features at least 10 different peppers, one of which has been confirmed by the Guinness Book of World records as the most potent pepper on earth. Pork Vindaloo, Goa, India - Also features the world’s most potent peppers, along with other chilies and peppers from the area. Hot Suicide Wings, Chicago, Ill. - People wishing to attempt to eat these wings are asked to sign a disclaimer. The sauce is made from the Red Savina habanero, also known as the Dominican Devil’s Tongue pepper and the Ball of Fire pepper. Caribbean Jerk Chicken, Jamaica - The spicy red Scotch bonnet features prominently in many Caribbean dishes, and doesn’t disappoint in the hot department of this dish. Devil Pork Curry, Malacca, Malaysia - The area from which this dish hails was a major stop along spice trading routes in the 16th century. The most potent ingredient here is the birds-eye (or Thai) chili pepper. Neua Pad Prik (Thai Pepper Steak), Thailand - Also features the birds-eye chili pepper, which is found in many dishes in the region. Hot Pot, Sichuan Province, China - The Sichuan “flower” pepper produces a numbing sensation when eaten. Frango Piri-Piri (Chicken Peri-Peri), Angola, Mozambique, and South Africa - The African devil, a.k.a. the red piri-piri – a type of bird-eye pepper – provides the kick in this recipe, and is found in various recipes throughout Africa. Papas a la Huancaína, Peru - This recipe features the hottest chili pepper in the region, the Ají amarillo pepper. Kimchi Jjigae, South Korea - Dried red chili peppers combined with the pickling process make this dish near lethal.
According to restaurant chain El Pollo Loco, the marinade for KFC’s new grilled chicken contains beef. Well, actually beef products. El Pollo Loco is planning to play up this fact in a new advertising campaign. The company feels the use of beef products in chicken is “wrong.”
