Monthly Archives: June 2021

Many people here in Canada really look forward to summer. Maybe because our winters tend to last a little longer. The weather has warmed up, the kids finished school yesterday and as we open up from our 3rd wave, people are talking about going to see family and friends throughout Atlantic Canada. What does summer look like for you? Is it camping? Is it barbecuing? Is it sipping wine on the patio? (Yes!). If you’re like me, it could be all of those things and many more.
I want to share some favorite summer wines, but first I’d like to tell you about a new refreshing cocktail I tried for the first time this week .

On a hot Wednesday evening this week, I tried the new vodka citrus drink from Black Fly. Black Fly is made here in Canada. Do you want to know how hot it was? There were about 12 ice cubes in this glass before I poured. This was tart, refreshing, and not too sweet. I have a few from this company to try, including vodka cranberry and vodka punch. They also do drinks with rum and gin, and you can get a variety pack as well. Perfect for Summer and available in all 4 Atlantic provinces and the rest of Canada.

Speaking of summer, did you know I do really good baby back ribs? I’m kind of known for them to my close family and friends . I have a nephew Brady, who works at IOC in Labrador City, who is trying to duplicate my recipe. I made a rack of ribs this past week, because it does take several hours to get delicious fall off the bone ribs.

If you were to ask me about one of my favourite meals, it is baby back ribs, crispy wings, rice and corn on the cob. It’s really too early for corn on the cob here in Nova Scotia, so I made this dish with corn, carrots, apples, red onion and bacon, which turned out to be really delicious. (I cooked the red onion in the bacon fat))

The key to great ribs, chicken or any kind of pork is marinating.

My marinade was brown sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper, a little bit of hot sauce, maple syrup, a little bit of orange juice and barbeque sauce. I like them to sit in the marinade for about six hours and then I slow cook them in a 250° oven for 3 hours and then I finish them off on the grill. Yummy!
Here’s the wine I enjoyed with this meal.

Rarely will you ever see the French call this grape by its other name, Shiraz. They prefer Syrah, and this one from Domaine De La Baume is wonderful, and it’s around $18.
I promised my friend Daphne in Newfoundland last weekend that I would feature wines that she could get in Newfoundland. She told me she reads the blog, but she can’t get most of the wines I feature. Although you can’t get this particular Syrah, you can get one from the same region in the same price range.

I am definitely going to Newfounfland this summer to visit my family, and I promise to try this wine while I’m there. Like the La Baume, this Syrah is also from the Languedoc region of France and comes in under $18. I can’t wait to try this wine when I go home.

Last but not least, I am going to finish the blog with a refreshing rosé wine, and yes it’s available throughout Atlantic Canada including for my friends in Newfoundland

The Pelee Island Rose blush is a great wine for Summer. It also brings to light how much more we pay here in Atlantic Canada for wine from even the rest of Canada. This wine is $12.95 in Ontario, it is $18.99 here in Nova Scotia and $19.99 in Newfoundland. Hard to believe isn’t it, that’s a big difference. However some great news for my Newfoundland friends, it’s currently $2 off there! It’s not a dry Rose wine, it has some effervescence. But it’s very food friendly and wonderful if you’re just sipping on the patio.

That’s it for me for this week, till next week Cheers.

This marks my first Father’s Day since my dad passed last July, 3 months before he turned 90. It’s been a year of firsts, his first birthday, first Christmas and now first Father’s Day without him. He was a wonderful dad, and always had a smile on his face. He lived a great life and we all miss him very much.
Dear old Dad wasn’t very much of a wine drinker, but he was the first one to pour me and mom a glass. As a matter of fact, my Dad always went to the store and got Mom’s wine. it was after my Dad had passed, that my Mom went into the liquor store for the first time and bought her own wine. That was a new experience for her. He also loved great food.

I have to share with you the chicken that changed my life LOL. Anyone who was willing to listen this past week, I told them about this chicken. I brined my first chicken last weekend.

I took out a chicken early Saturday morning out of my freezer to thaw. Later that afternoon I boiled water, sugar, brown sugar, peppercorns, molasses, lemon, rosemary, thyme, & garlic. Once it cooled to room temperature, I added more cold water. It’s very important you do not put raw chicken in warm water, because it will create a safety hazard. Then I put the pot with the chicken and my flavored brine in my fridge and left it there until late Sunday afternoon. You can brine for 6 to 12 hours, however because I was having this chicken for Sunday supper, I brined for 24 hours. Then, because it was a beautiful evening, I fired up the barbeque and put it on the rotisserie.
I don’t have a picture of the finished product, because once it reached an internal temperature if 165° and it rested, I carved the chicken and started eating. O.M.G! It was that good, and I ate so much, I forgot to take a picture. It was so good I almost went door to door in my apartment building to say “You have to try this”! But I didn’t.

Let’s talk about some cocktails. On a beautiful sunny day, I know many Dad’s enjoy a beer while working the grill. So for Father’s Day we are also going to feature a beer. Now, here’s one of my favorite beers. Made here in the Maritimes.

If someone had told me a few years ago I would love beer with grapefruit and tangerine, I don’t know if I would have believed them. But I do! Made by Pumphouse Brewery in Moncton, New Brunswick, this delicious blend of beer, grapefruit and tangerine hits the spot on hot Summer day.

At the NSLC yesterday I noticed many of Nova Scotia Tidal Bay wines were on sale. These are fabulous for sipping on patios as the weather warms up, or enjoying with your favorite chicken or seafood. These wines truly reflect the terroir of Nova Scotia and I’ve never had one I didn’t like. Some of the ones on sale this week were Benjamin Bridge, L’Acadie and Grand Pre, just to name a few.

And last but not least, I tried a new red this past week and it was yummy.

What a pleasant surprise this was. The Amado Sur Red Blen is an Argentinian blend of Malbec, Bonarda and Syrah. I looked for it on our NSLC website and couldn’t find it anywhere, however, it’s there. I saw it again last night when I was there. It’s in the Argentina section and it’s on sale right now for $16.99. Jon Thorsen who writes my personal favorite wine blog, the Reverse Wine Snob, check it out here. Jon started this blog because like me, he feels wine doesn’t have to be expensive to be good. He calls it a delightfully rich and fruity blend, and says it’s vegan friendly.

The wine-maker says its a great wine to go with steak, and it would be, but I had a little something of many items on my plate last Saturday night, and it went great.

I do like variety on my plate, and yes it’s unusual I don’t have a vegetable on it. Don’t judge! It was Saturday night.

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there. Have a safe wonderful weekend.

Till next week, Cheers

There’s a reason for wine lovers to celebrate tonight. Not only because it’s Saturday night, but because drinking wine makes you smarter. At least according to Yale neuroscientist Gordon Shepherd. Now, I’m not Albert Einstein, or Albert Wine-stein for that matter, but that’s great news to me.

Dr. Shepherd says wine exercises both sides of your brain. Wine drinking requires sniffing& swirling the wine on the different sides of your mouth. Shepherd points out that this activity is a complex motor process involving several areas of the brain. The researcher covers the connection between interpreting wine flavors and the brain in detail in his book, “Neuroenology: How the Brain Creates the Taste of Wine.” And since wine requires use of so many of your senses, including smell and taste, it makes sense.

So here’s to great wine and smarter wine-drinkers.

So last week I told you I was taking care of the food for a few friends getting together on a balcony. We are allowed to get together on a balcony, not inside. Now some people froze, it was chilly, although 2 days later there was a heat wave warning.

So we had 2 salads, a Caesar, and a Mediterranean Orzo salad. Orzo is a pasta that looks like rice, but actually is a pasta, and is great in a salad. I added red pepper, red onion, chickpeas, tomatoes, fresh herbs & feta cheese. You can add whatever you like to give it a splash of color.

Then I made this delicious lemony herb dressing. And it’s even better the next day. In the dressing is fresh lemon juice, the zest of the lemon, 1 clove of garlic, red wine vinegar, honey, salt & pepper and of course olive oil. Delish!

We also had some marinated chicken skewers. It’s the Chef Spencer Watts recipe that I had mentioned in a previous blog. That recipe is here.

I also did taco boats, because the store was sold out of the small taco shells, but these worked out better when we were sitting on a patio. They were much easier to handle, and less mess. (My apologies for a next day picture, I forgot to take a picture the night before, and this was left-overs.) The homemade salsa, lime cilantro crema, and dipping sauce for the skewers were a hit as well. I had so much fun doing this. I want to do this for our next get together.

Now let’s talk some wine, & cocktails – my intelligent friends. This past week we had a heat wave for 2 days, so on days like that, I like a nice cold refreshing drink. Can you say Arriba! (I know you have to more mature to remember Speedy Gonzales, but that’s what he would cheer.)

Speedy Gonzales would love these. I know we did.

Just before this latest lockdown, my friends and I had a Mexican themed food night. And what better way to kick off the event than with a classic Margarita from Jose Cuervo, featuring the famous Jose Cuervo tequila. Jose Cuervo has been making tequila for 250 years and now they are making these delicious mixed drinks. They are affordable and not at all sweet.

Here’s another drink that is not the least bit sweet. I’m not a fan of sweet drinks. Before Riley went back to Newfoundland, after his first year of University, he handed me one of these, and said ‘give it a try’. Well, the only danger with this drink is that you can’t taste any booze and it went down pretty fast. Wouldn’t take long to go through a 6-pack. Delicious and refreshing and the watermelon is one of 3 new flavors introduced this past year.

My friend Angie shared this wonderful wine with me this past week. It was easy to drink and not overly oaky. I figured the winemaker can describe it even better than I can.

“These Reserva wines reflect the varietal character, which combined with an ageing of 6 months in French oak barrels, make them to stand out for their freshness, fruit and balance.”

Errazuriz was started by two great wine-makers, Eduardo Chadwick and Robert Mondavi. And the winemaker for estate, Francisco Baettig, has won winemaker of the year for Chile, and has been nominated for one of the ‘best winemakers in the world’. So you know it’s a great value at just $16.99

Thanks for reading, I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Till next week, Cheers

I know Summer doesn’t officially start until June 21st, but it’s supposed to be sunny and 27-degrees today. The great news this week, restrictions have eased a bit here in Nova Scotia, as we entered Phase 1 of the reopening from our 3rd wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are allowed to gather in groups of 10 on a patio outdoors. Today, it’s supposed to hit 27° so me and 6 friends are gathering on a patio. Can’t wait to drink wine, catch up and share some laughs.

Every once in a while I get a bit of writers block, it’s to be expected when you write a one blog every single Saturday for over 10 years. So I decided to go through my archives, to see if I could get any new inspiration or even update previous wine blogs. I realize that the first Saturday of every June, I tend to write a blog that centres around a barbecue. Now I know in previous blogs I show many pictures featuring me cooking food on the grill. The guys at work call me the “Queen of the Barbecue for good reason. LOL 😆

I tried to eat a little healthier this week, made a Caesar salad dressing without eggs. I am a person who doesn’t like eggs. I know, me and Guy Fieri from the Food Network, he doesn’t like eggs either. This was a delicious dressing, from a blog called ‘Once Upon a Chef’. Click here for the recipe.

I also found some organic multi-colored carrots this past week and did this Balsalmic Honey Glazed Carrot dish. Simple, olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, honey, balsamic vinegar and some parsley to finish. The recipe is here. I’m also looking forward to the fresh corn. This wasn’t quite as juicy and delicious as I like my corn. I can’t wait for the peaches and cream corn to come out.

I’m so excited to be providing the food for tonight’s get-together, I’ll share some pictures next week. It’s going to be simple, sitting outside, patio food. Marinated chicken skewers, mini tacos, a Mediterranean Orzo salad, and the above Caesar salad.

I also want to take a moment to say Happy 34th Anniversary to my sister Jackie and her husband Craig. When Jackie was 17 she started a part time job at McDonald’s, and Craig was her first customer. 4 years later they married and have 2 gorgeous children, Brady & Riley. And of course a fur-baby, Maggie. I’ve introduced you to Maggie when she was an 8-week old puppy. Jackie sent me this picture this week, wow, is she growing. Check out the size of her paws.

Now, let’s talk some wine. First for the white.

I went to my friend Angie’s this past week, and she bought out the red version of this wine, and I said to her, I need to get another of the white. This is a spectacular white wine, I absolutely love it, and its under $15 a bottle. It comes from France, and has been hailed around the world as a spectacular value for the money. It’s a blend of 4 white grapes and has delicious flavors of peach, pear and honey. Great wine.

Speaking of great blends, here’s one for the red wine drinkers.

One of my favorite blends in the world, is a GSM. GSM usually is the abbreviation for Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. Sometimes the M is Merlot. Either way, it’s a fantastic juicy blend with great structure, and a nice lasting finish. I had a red wine this week that I tried for the first time, and I’m not sharing it, because I wasn’t really that fond of it. Don’t get me wrong, the bottle got finished. But one of the things I really noticed was that as soon as you swallowed, it was gone, all of the flavor and any remnants of the wine. I like a nice finish, and you won’t be disappointed in this. Under $20 and a great wine.

If you’re grilling this weekend, have fun and let me know what you grilled. Have a wonderful weekend, till next week, Cheers