Monthly Archives: June 2023

This Wednesday past was the first day of Summer. People love Summer for all kinds of reasons. Being outdoors, camping, outside eating, and of course cooking outdoors. This is what I did on the first day of Summer. Probably no surprise to regular readers.

Ribs are still one of my favorite things to grill and smoke. Takes about 5 hours overall to do ribs low and slow. First 3 hours on a low oven temp and then the last 2 hours on my pellet grill. Oh, and that’s bacon on the bottom rack. I started it on my BBQ and finished it in the smoker.

I didn’t used to eat dark meat chicken, until I went to France last year and had Coq au Vin made with chicken drumsticks. They have turned into my new favorite.

Marinating these drumsticks in an Asian Sesame type of marinade. Fragrant sesame oil, brown sugar, soya sauce, salt, pepper and a bit of lime juice. Then it’s grill time.

So I seared them on high, and then continued to cook them low and slow to seal in that flavor and continued to baste with the Asian Sesame marinade. Not the same batch I marinated the raw chicken in. Throw that out as soon as you remove the chicken. I made a fresh batch of the marinade, you need to be super careful with raw chicken.

Tried a brand new wine with it from Spain. Esteban Martin Grenache Syrah blend, on sale here in Nova Scotia right now for $15.50 a bottle. See that sticker on the bottle, yup, that’s a 92-Point designation from Wine critic James Suckling. I would define this as a medium-bodied wine, as you can probably tell by the wine in the glass. It was a great wine at a great price point with nice smooth notes of cherry and baking spices.

I would like to take a moment to wish a friend of mine a very Happy 40th birthday. This is my friend and my colleague Anthony and with him his beautiful fiance Veronica.

They are having a birthday party for Veronica today, and unfortunately I can’t make it. But I do want to wish Veronica a very happy birthday and a fabulous year ahead.

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

Darlene

Like many Dad’s, mine loved a BBQ on Father’s Day weekend. He passed away in 2020, 3 months before he turned 90. He lived a great life and was always known as Johnny Smiley. I miss him so much. So in honor of all the Dad’s out there that love to fire up the grill this weekend, and the people that love to grill for Dad, this blog is for you.

I love grilling. I have both a BBQ and a Master Chef pellet grill. I live in an apartment building so I’m not allowed to have a charcoal BBQ. This past week, a week with no chemo treatments, I used my pellet grill to do a steak for the first time.

I usually do my steak on the BBQ but tried it on my pellet grill. That’s some corn and garlic break in the tin foil. It was my first time and I did overcook the steak a little. I put the grill on 450-degrees and did about 6 minutes per side. That was all good, but I left it on a little long, on the top rack and it was a little more done that the medium I usually enjoy. It was still good and I really enjoyed the flavor my pellets put on the meat.

I use these pellets from Costco because I like the combination of oak, hickory, maple and cherry flavor. Plus they are a really good price.

Plus I had a new wine with that steak, and the wine came from Canada.

A Meritage wine is a blend of two or more noble Bordeaux grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petite Verdot. Meritage started in the late 80’s, by Mitch Cosentino of Cosentino Vineyards, and made internationally famous by Robert Mondavi. This Canadian made Meritage from Jackson Triggs, made in the Niagara region of Ontario, was so good. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, priced at around $20 and is the perfect wine for anything meaty you put on the grill. Good tannic structure, full-bodied and dry, I really enjoyed this wine.

For my white wine loving friends here’s a gorgeous Chardonnay that pairs well with anything on the grill.

This company plants a tree for every bottle purchased, which I thought was cool, but the best part of this company is the Chardonnay in the bottle. Gorgeous flavors of citrus, pear and toast.

And finally, another new wine that I have had a couple of times, and even suggested my friend Cassandra buy this as a gift.

This Australian beauty is priced under $20 right now here in Nova Scotia, but I believe they may be discontinuing it, so you may want to pick up a bottle soon, if you wanted to try it. Because it was originally $25 a bottle. That’s a 1966 Ford Falcon Sedan on the label, and it was the winemaker’s first car. Another great wine for Dad’s BBQ, made from 2 hearty grapes, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.

That’s it for me for this week. There may not be a wine blog next week, I have IV chemo on Monday. Enjoy your Father’s Day weekend.

Till next time, Cheers

Darlene

It’s been quite the week here in Halifax and the province of Nova Scotia. Several out of control wildfires burning and affecting so many people. I am sitting here on a Saturday morning watching the rain outside, feeling grateful. My heart goes out to all the people affected by fires here and in Shelburne County, to those who have lost their homes and their pets, my heart breaks. Thank you to the first responders, to those rescuing pets, to those who have donated time, money and necessities. It is the people of Nova Scotia that make Nova Scotia Strong.

For me personally, it was also my 3rd IV chemo treatment. I am in Week 7 of my 15 Week regimen. Still feeling really good considering, and the nurses at the VG told me if my hair hasn’t started to thin by now, I probably won’t lose it. The neuropathy can be a little irritating, that’s the numbing of fingers, toes, hands and feet. But overall, I’m not nauseous, so grateful there too.

Let’s talk some positive news. First of all, a recipe for carrots that were so delicious.

I did these on my pellet grill, and I didn’t pre-boil them first, but you could to cut down on time.

In this bowl is melted butter and honey, salt, pepper and a couple of other seasonings. You can pick your favorites. Basting the carrots and having them done on a BBQ or pellet grill, also adds a nice flavor. They were yummy.

A great side to my chicken drumsticks. I might be going through chemotherapy, but I haven’t lost my appetite. As a matter of fact, everyone at the Cancer Clinic is jumping up and down that I am putting on weight. Me, not so much.

Let’s talk some wine

My 3 favorite red grapes are Merlot, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. And this wine features all 3 together for a Menage a Trois

The perfect wine for BBQ, it’s plush and velvety and on sale right now here in Nova Scotia. Check your local store, if it’s on sale, definitely worth a try. I love it.

For my white wine loving friends, here’s a great wine for BBQ. This is my friend and the Director of Fun for Atlantic Tours, Richard. I went to France last April with Richard and friends and had the trip of a lifetime. Richard came to my building a while back and did a talk to some of the residents about upcoming trips. We enjoyed a glass of wine, and one of them was a white Bordeaux. This fantastic blend consists of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillion and Muscadelle. The 3 different grapes add complexity and make for an interesting white blend.

And here’s a brand new wine I tried a few weeks back

I tried this wine a few weeks back, it’s in the $15 range. Monte Giove Sangiovese Merlot blend is a light to medium bodied red. If you are a white wine drinker who want to tip their toe in the red wine field, try this. It’s soft and supple, no harsh tannins and an easy to drink affordable wine.

Have a great week everyone. We here in Nova Scotia are sitting here enjoying the rain.

Darlene