(Everything But) Strawberry Wine

It was time again for The Sherbs and I to head out to Virginia's wineries, and this time, we hit two of the more upscale establishments, both in scenic Delaplane, home of the Delaplane Strawberry Festival.

1) The Barrel Oak Winery is most notable for its dog-friendliness policy; one can bring one's dog right up to the bar for tastings. They also had some good wines; we bought their norton and a late harvest viognier, the latter mostly so we won't feel guilty drinking the late harvest viognier we already have.

2) The Vintage Ridge Winery is a swank place. Go for a tasting, and you get a sit down experience with plates of small cheeses, crackers, and meats, plus a dessert selection. Plus, they're pretty liberal with the pouring. We bought the syrah (which, unlike some, did not have a controversial name making us less likely to drink it) and the "Summer Night," which was a vidal blanc.

The Vintage Ridge Winery also sells some of the condiments they put in their tasting plate; we bought the Virginia Chutney Company's "spicy plum" chutney, which was awesome, and Golding Farms "pepper trio" mustard, which will change the way we eat cheese sandwiches forever.

Beagles Love Food, Ergo Appropriate Topic

I realize, that while this blog was created primarily about food, The Pedant and I often discuss occurrences in our lives and the like. I have let nearly 2 weeks pass by without one single mention of The Westminster Kennel Club and it's superb winner, Uno. As I have mentioned before, I am a big dog lover. I had a dog for 12 years and she was the best dog ever (I know every owner says this about his/her dog, but seriously, my beagle Tova takes the cake). TP and I have volunteered at a beagle rescue adoption day and I nearly walked home with a few beagles. We even have names picked out for the pooches. I understand that we are no where near ready for a dog (the whole time thing to walk him/her, getting up at 5 am to let him/her out, etc.), but GO UNO!

Food, Cookies, Dogs...Oh My!

OK, so I did promise The Pedant I'd blog, but my computer is very, very sick and TP's computer doesn't like me, but luckily I live in a fancy schmancy building with an internet cafe.

So, food wise, I will contribute information about the fantastic dinner TP and I had Sudnay night:

Raosted Garlic Bread
Cheese (Cheddar, Swiss, Gouda, Havarti)
Green Apple
Mustard

It was amazing, although today my stumach is telling me "no more lactose! Stop it!! I want a break!"

Also, part of the amazingness was that we dined in the middle of The Next Iron Chef Marathon, culminating in the win of my favorite, Michael Symon. Very happy. Also, I finally got to see the DeLaurentiis/Ray battle, further proving I love Rachel Ray.

In non-food news, I volunteered this weekend with BREW and got to play with the world's second sweetest beagle, Prince (last one on the page). He was a cutie. I also was dog sitting in DC which was fun for a dog lover like me.

Food news: Jello 60 Calorie Pudding Cups, Chocolate Mint Fudge (or something), fairly tastey, but not quite minty enough.

Tomorrow I begin a new job with a cafeteria. I'll see if they have cookies.

Cheese, Soup, and the Dogs of War

Okay, okay, I lied about the dogs of war. Can we cry havoc anyway? I think it's like primal scream therapy. And for the record, the discussion of domestication is my favorite Lileks riff on a dog picture.

After reading Sherbs's recollection of the fondue at La Bonne Soupe in Manhattan (I don't remember if we ordered a double portion or just got a really big pot, but it was more cheesy than the "dangerously cheesy" that Cheetos are advertised as being), I have to add that I love soft cheese on baguette. Really, it could be any soft cheese - I prefer Camembert, if given the choice, but brie will totally work. Or blue cheese.

Also, I've been thinking of late about Sherbs's and my most recent attempt at soup. We did a Japanese-inspired thing with udon, a whole bunch of veggies we got at JAS mart (including lotus root, which needs to be chopped finely or thinly), and some pareve chicken broth, which was all right, but I think a vegetable broth would do better next time.

Honestly, for Udon Soup version 2.0, we should start with my father's favorite soup starter, a mirepoix (one of the things he picked up from our family's obsession with Iron Chef), add some veggie stock, and then put in a lot of mushrooms to get an earthy flavor. Then we put in the lotus root and the udon.

Fun with the Fifties!

The Pedant sent me this link. It's about dogs from the fifties getting dressed up.

I love dogs. EFStoner and I often look at dogs on the street and oooo and aaaah the way some people might do over babies, cars, or expensive clothing. I had a dog, Tova, who was the best dog. And Bug, my sister (not her real name, but from a nick name), and I often tortured her (Tova's opinion, my sister and I thought it was cute) by dressing her up and putting nail polish on her toes. One Halloween we even put gel in her fur so that it would get spikey and scary. Those kids were totally scared of her when they trick-or-treated at our house. And by scared I mean not at all scared. 'Cause she was super cute and non-threatening. She in fact was held very tightly so she wouldn't eat the candy.

But those dogs are cute. Very cute.