holidays

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It’s that time of year again! The onslaught of holiday shoppers has already poured into the malls. There are family gifts, friend gifts, and host gifts, not to mention those here-and-there gifts for acquaintances, those who you interact with year-round but who aren’t quite friends.

Wine is often a great gift option, and luckily, Natalie MacLean, author of the award-winning Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass has shared some clever tips for figuring out just what wine to buy for those tricky gift recipients. Natalie, also the winner of four James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards and many others, writes the website NatDecants, an incredible go-to for wine lovers and the place for food and wine pairing tips. Looking for a wine to go with your holiday feasts?

When you are done reading Natalie’s gift-buying tips, go straight to my favorite part of Natalie’s site, Wine & Food, and enjoy!

Nat Decants

Pairing wines with personalities for gift shoppers—there’s an app for that (and a web site)

New York, November 18, 2010 — “Wine is one of the few presents that makes both the giver and the receiver look good,” says Natalie MacLean, the red-nosed e-sommelier behind www.nataliemaclean.com, one of the largest wine web sites. “You look like you spent a bundle on the gift (even if you didn’t) and the recipients are happy that you think they know something about wine (even if they don’t).”

This holiday season, anyone can tap into MacLean’s expertise via her free web site and mobile apps for iPhone, BlackBerry, Droid and other smartphones. They help consumers with a whole new type of pairing: wine with the people on your Christmas shopping list. The app and site also pair wines to thousands of dishes, including holiday favorites, such as turkey, goose, duck, and even partridge in a pear tree.

“When you give wine, doubles are fine, there are no wrong sizes and you can always find something good in stock,” MacLean adds. “Vintage gifts will get anyone into the holiday spirits.”

Natalie’s Top Ten Gift Wines for Your …

1. Hairdresser: For the person who combines humor and optimism every time she styles your mop. Go for a light, gulpable wine like a dry rosé. It’s versatile and fuss-free—a great quaff for your coif.

2. Psychiatrist: Of course, he’ll analyze whatever you give him so choose a wine that’s all about balance. Easy-drinking pinot noir is medium-bodied yet packed with flavor. Surprise him with a large-format bottle, like a magnum. Big thinking means big progress for you. This wine also works for psychologists, marriage counselors and bartenders.

3. The Boss: Pick too pricey a wine and your boss will think your last raise was too much; go cheap, and she’ll think you lack judgment. Focus on a label with a lot of white space since that makes the bottle look more expensive. A castle in the distance also works, but avoid fluffy animals.

4. Personal Trainer: Think a muscular, robust red would work? Hold that position. Instead, try Riesling: this light white wine pairs well with a health-nut diet of salad and seafood, plus it’s low in alcohol. You can also give it to Pilates instructors, yoga masters and Tai Chi coaches.

5. Financial Planner: You and he both know it’s going to take decades before your portfolio recovers after the crash of 2008. With that long-term view, vintage port makes the perfect gift. This fortified wine from northern Portugal, with its long aging potential, will be around for both of you into your retirements.

6. Travel Agent: She’s been everywhere and seen everything, so go local with your choice of wine. Even better, if you live close to the winery, get the bottle signed by the winemaker.

7. Teacher: If you can’t find a suitably obscure wine with a Latin name, there’s always cream sherry. It’s the tipple of Oxford dons, not to mention the centerpiece of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story The Case of the Amontillado.

8. Mail Deliverer: Go for a winery that’s consistent year after year in producing a wine that can be enjoyed in snow, rain, sleet or hail. Try an Australian shiraz or Argentine Malbec.

9. Mechanic: Yes, there’s a wine called Red Truck, but try to be more imaginative. Why not give a wine made by Mario Andretti in California or Ferrari in Italy?

10. Online Date: So you’re on your second or third rendezvous with the person you met on eHarmony or Dating.com. If you’re not sure yet whether marriage is a possibility, try something middle-of-the-road, like merlot. Yes, it’s the soft jazz of wine, but until you know, play it safe.

And after all that shopping, don’t forget yourself: even Santa’s little helpers need more than milk and cookies. Try something with high-alcohol like Italian Amarone or Rhone Syrah: these big reds easily drown out tone-deaf caroling and pair beautifully with tired feet.

For Natalie’s favorite wineries, tasting notes and recipe matches for all the wine types mentioned above, please visit:

http://bit.ly/GiftWines

Live in the Boston area? Check out the Red White Boston app to help you find your closest wine stores and the wines they recommend this time of year!

Do you ever give wine as a gift? Do you have a standard favorite that you prefer?

Tags: holidays, Natalie MacLean, wine, wine and food pairing

It might just be the perfect Thanksgiving side dish. Easy, flavorful, vegetarian, and versatile, polenta dishes are the perfect creative outlet for the home cook. Saturday afternoon we went on a huge shopping spree for fresh groceries; previous weekends away in San Francisco and Portland meant we had very little food in the house. I had a week of cooking and blogging all planned out.

When my sister called Saturday night to let us know our nephew would be coming sooner rather than later, my first thought was to pack my suitcase and to get ready for a drive to New Jersey. My second thought at 10:00 at night? Make polenta.

I knew that once I got to NJ there would not be much time for blogging or cooking, so I went to work on one of the dishes I had planned for the week. I started with local mushrooms from Siena Farms, cleaned, chopped, and set aside.

mushrooms

mushrooms

I also chopped a whole shallot from Siena Farms. I added the shallot to a tablespoon of Kerrygold butter and started to cook the shallot on low.

shallot

After a few minutes, I added the mushroom and a bit more butter.

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While the mushrooms and shallot sizzled gently on the side, I added 6 cups of boiling water from my electric tea kettle (a wedding gift and one of the BEST inventions ever!) to my Le Creuset French Oven. We use the electric kettle for everything from making tea to boiling pasta water. It is much quicker than boiling it on the stove.

cornmeal

Making sure the water was at a rolling boil, I added a cup and a quarter cornmeal, a generous shake of sea salt, and a pat of Kerrygold and stirred, stirred, stirred with my whisk. The cornmeal grew in volume very quickly. I lowered the heat and let it bubble away for about 10 minutes.

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I forgot to take photos of the rest. Embarrassed smile By the time the dish was finished, it was after 11:00, and I was both nervous for my sister and exhausted.

As the mushrooms and shallots were cooking, I added about 3/4 cup of   Venge Late Harvest Zinfandel.

Venge Late Harvest Zinfandel

Note: I did NOT add in any of the Whisker Lickins behind the bottle Winking smile 

This Venge dessert wine added the perfect amount of sweetness to the mushrooms and onions, and once these ingredients were combined, I stirred them into the cornmeal and added another 1/4 cup of the wine, stirring everything until creamy. I was loosely trying to recreate some of the flavors from the Americano mushroom soup from Foodbuzz Festival, and while the polenta was of course different, it definitely had similar flavors.

I only got to eat a few bites before packing the polenta up for my husband for the week, but it was the perfect comfort food. I would eat it by itself for a meal, but I can also see it going great with a pork roast or turkey.

And since everything but the cornmeal was local, I am including this as one of the recipes I am making for Chef Robin White’s Fresh and Local Thanksgiving Challenge. I am working on a few more for Thanksgiving as well as a couple of holiday recipes for a Kitchen Play assignment. I can’t wait to get back to Boston and into my kitchen for some hands-on research!

Are you cooking Thanksgiving dinner or any part of it this year?

Tags: cooking with wine, holiday side dish, holidays, mushrooms, polenta, recipe, Vegetarian, wine, Zinfandel

When I planned to go home to New Jersey over President’s Day weekend, it was because I hadn’t been home since Christmas and really wanted to be home for the long weekend. Due to my trips to Arizona, Ireland, and the Czech Republic, January was completely taken up, and when I got back I took a couple of weekends as breathers to catch up with things here in Boston.

When I realized it was Valentine’s Day weekend, I still really wanted to go, and not worrying about when we celebrated, the hubs urged me to stick with my plans.

I have to tell you that I LOVE Valentine’s Day. I love pink and red and chocolate and even though I love my family and husband every day, it is fun to have a day to pause and celebrate. I don’t understand why people hate Valentine’s Day so much. The same argument could be made for Thanksgiving, why do we need a day to be thankful, blah blah blah. I loved Valentine’s Day when I was single, when all of the other girls in the high school hallway nearly floated away on heart-shaped Mylar balloons, and I love it now.

Anyway, the weekend kicked off with a nice, quick drive to New Jersey and a pedicure with my sister. Loved the time with her, did NOT love the dirtiness of the Lookin Good Spa or the surliness of the front desk staff. Don’t go here.

After our pedicure, my mom, sister, brother in law, niece, and I went to Buzzy’s my favorite hometown restaurant. Its a very simple, down to earth place that serves great food and has friendly staff.

Sunday, I got to spend the entire day with the above mentioned family members. Trust me, I stopped often to reflect on how lucky I am to have people I love so much.

There was cupcake decorating.

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And a delicious meal.

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Salads with optional toppings, roasted red peppers, candied walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, and beets. I love loading salads up with toppings of many colors and textures.

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Domaine Chandon Blanc de Noirs

We also had lobster with butter, roasted potato wedges, and rolls. It was yummy, and best of all we were all at home. I prefer not to go to restaurants on holidays, so the hubs and I will celebrate the holiday belatedly sometime soon.

Did you celebrate Valentine’s Day or do you avoid it? <3

 

I am excited to announce that I am over 1/3 of the way to my fundraising goal for my ALLY Foundation raffle! Many thanks to so many people from the blog world who have donated. Just a reminder of the prizes:

$100 gift card to Williams Sonoma

A mixed case of wine from Wine Cellar of Stoneham

A custom granola blend from me & goji

One month membership to all Healthworks Fitness Centers

A private tour and tasting for 10 at Westport Rivers winery

How to enter:

Visit http://firstgiving.com/meghanmalloyteamally

Each $10 donation counts as one entry for the above raffle.

Thanks a million to Wine Cellar of Stoneham, me & goji, Healthworks Fitness Centers, and Westport Rivers Winery for their generous prize donations!

Tags: champagne, family, Food, holidays, lobster, New Jersey, Spas, wine

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