Wino – Archived

Cod Head

Originally uploaded by obiscoito.

Ever eat a cod head? I have, and surprisingly good it was! Boil in lightly salted water with a bay leaf and serve…mmmm….cod head!

Crudo, ceviche, sashimi, tartare, poke, sushi — it’s all raw fish. And we are swimming in it.

Open just about any menu, from hipster bars to four-star restaurants, and raw fish will be right at the top. What once was the exclusive province of Japanese restaurants and sushi bars is now everywhere.

Considered exotic or even downright unpalatable just a couple of decades ago, raw fish is squarely mainstream, as is Japanese food in general.

Today’s buzz, though, is all about crudo, the Italian version. The word itself means “raw” in Italian and Spanish, and generally refers to slices of fish drizzled with subtle or pungent oils and accented with acid and spice — olive oil, lemon and salt, in the classic presentation.
more…

A Sephardic Jew returns ‘home’ to Spain and opens a kosher restaurant

I kept telling people “don’t eat the hydrogenated vegetable oils” but do they listen? Here’s info on that horror and many others….no wonder today on Rueters I saw an article saying that 70% of US women and 90%+ of US men will become obese. People if it comes in a cellophane bag it’s probably bad for you. If the ingrediants include anything that takes a second or third look at it to understand what it is: DON’T PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH! Damn Interesting » Blog Archive » Mechanically Separated Chicken and Other Horrors

So Cordoba was a wash…Saw the city but also learned that I’m older than I thought. The roommates wanted to party all night and all I wanted to do was to get to sleep early and see the city. Maybe under this bald head is a whole army of grey hairs hiding out waiting for the order to storm the hill. Who knows, maybe I’m just a sucker for culture. Either way I did get out early to see the city and to walk about. Saw a lot too. Though I will say that I’m less and less interested in entering museums or churches, here in Spain churches and historic monuments are like Starbucks in America, sometimes 2 or three to a block. On the other hand that’s what makes it fun. Turn a corner enter another century. Though I do need to learn to go into some, it turns out that the mosque that is in Cordoba is one of the most amazing structures from it’s era. Big arched promenades of muslim stonework adorn it throughout. Yet I think it will be better to wait for Gabs return when I can share it with someone, oh and it’s not cheap to enter.
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Which brings me to another point, traveling without Gab sucks. They say absence makes the heart grow stronger, and I guess I’m suffering growing pains. You see when you travel the best part is when you turn a corner and your jaw drops as you stare at the stone structure in front of you that’s older than ground you walk on, and then you turn to your partner and you both go…”Wow”…That’s the best part, that sharing, not to mention the following conversations and the fact that in a way these moments provide benchmarks for your relationship. Next week, month, year you can both look back and share that moment as you lie in bed together staring at the ceiling. When you do it alone, all you have is a pale description that you try your best to share with your friend/lover. Not to mention making out under a thousand year old Roman arch is pretty cool too.

So I saw the old walls, roman remains, and overabundance of Christian idolatry. It was good and I’m always glad I’ve done it, and have taken the time to see it. But I’ll remember Cordoba for something else. Anyone guess what? Yeah it was an easy one…Wine. Cordoba isn’t actually in a wine region just close to it and this experience takes place with a wine from this region, Motilla-Moriles. Known for sherryesque wines I knew I needed to get myself a taste. I need to preface this with the fact that I later went on to Sanlucar de Barremeda where I had 150 yr old sherry and other wonders, but this story happens before that.

I had been walking the city while my friends slept off the previous night’s adventure. I had gotten up and tiring of waiting I decided to head down to the old city and walk around. Like I said, I walked through 20 or so centuries of ruins in a daze. About 3 pm my roommate called me to see where I was and when I wanted to meet them. They would be awhile and my roommate mentioned that a lot of the bars would be closing soon so if I wanted to try some sherry I should get a glass in me soon.

Not one to want to miss out on sherry I quickly hopped into the nearest bar that looked to have a decent wine available. Up to the bar I sidled and asked for a “Vino Fino”. Fino being a dry style of sherry that is very clear, very aromatic and often conveys aromas of salted nuts and sea air.
What I expected when I ordered was to received a refreshing quaff of quality wine. What I got was so much more. I’ve drank a lot of fino since arriving here in Spain, and I love fino, but this was an entirely new experience to me. You see the story goes that Fino is only best when it comes directly from the barrel or after it is just bottled. So I was expecting a marked shift in quality, but this was crazy! I felt like a first time wine drinker who’s first sip sent their mind whirling into a whole new stratosphere. Where did all this flavor come from? Salt air on the nose, almond milk, dusty wood, light melon, vanilla undertones and it just kept going on and on. Minutes went by and I still hadn’t tasted it, and I think the staff was starting to wonder if I knew that it was supposed to be swallowed and not snorted, as I could not keep my nose out of the glass. I was in love and all I needed to find out was how to make love last(my apologies to Tom Robbins).

As the first sip crossed my lips I knew that the aroma was only the beginning of what was to be a self guided lesson is what wine could be. Slightly chilled it felt like silk at first entering my mouth soft and luxurious, at which point all of the flavors I first smelled came barreling over my lips and onto my tongue. Raw almonds, light melon, grape must, old wood, and a mustiness like a barrel room at your favorite bodega. The glow on my face might have required a person to put on sunglasses. I was in heaven. As I swallowed the finish quickly dried the mouth though the flavors lingered, on and on and on. Transforming to flavors of light caramel, salted nuts, newly stained wood, and more, I felt a small rupture in my brain where my previous ideas of what wine could be were quickly erased.

So I stood and drank my sherry watching as others ordered beers, didn’t they know heaven was so close to them in a big wood cask. How couldn’t they know? The only downside was that I was alone, and as I said before it wasn’t the same without Gab. None the less I found a way to choke down the rest of wine, all the while thinking how much better it might have been with Gab by my side.

Now some might chalk this up to where I was. How romantic drinking wine in the region where it is made standing inside a restaurant that sits next to a Roman wall. But I’ll say this, I had two Sherries that day, in fact the second one was right next to a Mosque which was built, I think, before time started or something like that. The problem was that sherry was bland and while I probably would have enjoyed fully an hour earlier, it did nothing to bring back the feeling of that first sip earlier in the day.

I know sherry is just another wine, and that wine is just another beverage and that everyone finds a different one that really gets their motor running. But I hope that more people in the future give sherry one more chance. If you think you know what sherry is all about, just remember, so did I.

Till soon, Ryan

Hot Sauce Blog

I like hot…but more to the point I like hot with flavor. Here’s a site to help direct all of you to the more flavorful side of hot!

Telegraph | News | Coffee ‘gives more antioxidants than fruit and veg’

I knew it…that’s why us caffiene freaks are so healthy!

Wine X Magazine

Give them credit for trying to engage more people. I really like this idea and it might even be a good learning tool. Though I would need to try it out first. For some reason I think the sweetness would mask the flavors.

I am a big Jelly Belly fan though, and if anyone back home sees the “dirt” bean, please send me some, along with the makings for Tempranillo!

Till soon, Ryan

Dumb article that should be read: [Soft drinks->http://www.tidingsmag.com/home/2005/08/cigarettestyle_.html]

Why can’t we ever get the process right. How can anyone argue for pop machines in Schools? How can we let companies advertise so much, a product that has been linked to so many problems?

UGH

Pyramid Cellar

I like crazy people, though I’d love to try this wine side by side with others. I wonder if the razor blades that it sharpens, also have their tarnish removed. Always seems to be a problem with my razor blades!