Tag Archives: Holiday
Holiday Turkey and Wine
This past Thanksgiving we were blessed to be invited to a dear friend’s house. This was the first time in years that we were just able to enjoy the feast and company of friends without the messy clean-up that comes with entertaining in our own home. I did not have to stuff the turkey or roll up my sleeves at the sink trying to get the baking pan clean. My joy was short lived when my wife made the Thanksgiving announcement that, “Everyone is invited to our house for a big December holiday feast”. There was a resounding cheer at the gathering from everyone at the table. Hands were raised and voices heard to say, “We will be there”. At the last count we had fifteen couples, my daughter, two grandkids and one obnoxious “grand-dog” called Bones.
When December rolled around, my wife started preparations immediately. First, we had to do spring cleaning in December, which included walls, furnace registers, base boards, floors, etc. The next step was the obligatory decorations that needed to be scattered around the house, including an ornate light display for the outside that had me untangling and hanging lights for days. I was sent to the Party Store to rent tables, chairs and huge serving platters for the food. My final assignment was to get “The Birds” and the wine to go with it. I was beginning to wish we had entertained at Thanksgiving.
Before I left to do the shopping, my wife told me, “Make sure you talk to someone at the wine store so you get the right wine to compliment the turkey”. I said, “Why didn’t you ask everyone to bring their own wine, instead of us risking that we wouldn’t buy their favorite?” My wife raised her voice at least one octave and replied, “We are doing the entertainment so it is our responsibility not theirs and besides I want everything to be just perfect”. I love my wife dearly and I have learned when it is best to just say, “Yes Dear”. Before I left, I hopped on the computer and did my research so I could portray to the wine store clerk how knowledgeable I was about pairing turkey with wine. I didn’t want to embarrass myself at the wine store.
The general consensus from the web research was for a lighter red (not over burdened with tannins) or several white wines that tended to be fruity and slightly sweeter. Another caution, that seems well advised, is during dinner stick with wines lower in alcohol content. Northhamptonwines.com stated, “Save the 15 percent alcohol ‘in your face Zins’ for after dinner when it is OK for folks to go to sleep.”
The top choices I found for red wine lovers were Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz and Red Zinfandel. White wine enthusiasts might enjoy a Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Beaujolais Nouveau or White Burgundy. If some of your guests have a sweet-tooth, then try White Zinfandel or Cranberry Wine. Save the desert wines for after the main meal when it is time to devour the pumpkin and pecan pie.
Not everyone is a wine drinker. I also ran across some advice for people for pairing turkey with beer and cocktails. The consensus was that a beer should be complex but not over bearing. A good choice might be pale ale from one of the smaller breweries. Another website suggested that for the cocktail drinkers, gin cocktails like an English Rose, Park Avenue or Verbena Martini would work.
I went to the wine store and made my selections with an air of “I know what I am doing”. When I arrived home my wife said, “What wine did you decide on?” I smiled and told her, “One of each, a total of 12 bottles”. She exclaimed, “We won’t be able to serve all that wine at dinner!” I responded, “I wouldn’t think of doing that. I am going to raffle off any that we don’t serve.” My wife grabbed her forehead and walked away stating, “What I am I going to do with you.” I let her have the final word and started preparing the raffle tickets.
I always maintain that there are a lot of people that will tell you what wine to pair with what food. In the end, as I always say, buy the wine you like, store wine properly in a wine refrigerator, serve it at the proper temperature and enjoy it immensely.
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10 Factors to Holiday in New Zealand – Component 2
10 Factors to Vacation in New Zealand – Part 2
1. Queenstown in the South Island is taken into consideration to be the “Experience Capital of the World”. You can bungy jump or take place an exhilarating jet boat flight, go heli-skiing, sky diving, fly-by-wire, and luging among others. Both bungy jumping as well as jet boating were developed in New Zealand. New Zealanders have a saying regarding Kiwi ingenuity which is borne out in the tourist spots within New Zealand.
2. There is a broad array of different accommodation alternatives to provide for all tastes. At the top end there are Lodges which are the height of high-end. These lodges are usually situated in very beautiful and also secluded locations and all gourmet dishes are consisted of in the cost. The rate of this sort of lodging mirrors the luxury and also incorporations.
The next level of accommodation is resorts, from international 5 star to 2 celebrity for standard lodging. The hotels will certainly tend to be serviced every day and typically include one space as well as a washroom. Hotel rooms will certainly consist of tea and also coffee making facilities, fridges and also the majority of hotels would consist of a restaurant.
A favored option for households is the ever boosting numbers of houses. The homes are typically self food catering as opposed to a resort keep yet the benefit is that they provide more room and are self event catering which implies that you do not have to dine in restaurants all the time therefore saving you cash to spend on sightseeing and tour.
After that we have motels. Usually talking motels offer more space than hotels as well as often tend to be serviced daily but do not have a tendency to be as lavish. Motels often offer a separate room or 2 and in some cases cooking centers. You would certainly need to check this out when reserving.
There are also a boosting variety of Bed and also Breakfast’s. These differ dramatically as well as can vary from 5 star facilities to the relatively standard. If you appreciate “being familiar with the locals”, the B & B alternative could be a good one for you. Typically morning meal will be supplied as component of the price. Supper would certainly be by unique arrangement just.
If you are on a spending plan there are a lot of backpacker hostels to select from which are centrally located as well as well priced.
3. New Zealand has a great culinary landscape. Being a small island country surrounded by the sea, there are a wide variety of fish and shellfish delicacies available. The ocean bordering New Zealand is cool water many thanks to Antarctica being relatively close. Cold water fish have a tendency to have a fragile taste. In addition to fish from the sea, there are big lakes which are trout and also salmon reproduction grounds. Trout can not be captured readily so there is no threat of supplies going out. New Zealand is also fairly big on game and also the majority of the more up-market restaurants will have a game choice on the menu. You will certainly locate that there are dining options to suit every preference and spending plan. New Zealand could be fairly removed geographically from the remainder of the globe however it fasts to take on new kinds as well as styles of food as well as the kiwi resourcefulness discussed previously in the article is shown in the food offered in restaurants. There are coffee bars and also cafes, white wine bars offering food, pubs with dining establishments, family members dining choices, buffet’s in addition to the more up-market al la carte choices.
There is additionally a growing wine market in New Zealand. Wherever you go, you will certainly see creeping plants as well as a lot of the glass of wines produced are premium. If wine is your point, you will not be dissatisfied. Marlborough situated at the top of the South Island is just one of the earliest and best known red wine areas, most famous for manufacturing of Sauvignon Blanc. New Zealand is likewise becoming extremely well known for creating exceptional Pinot Noir, an infamously challenging wine to create.
4. If you are a Lord of the Bands follower, you will certainly recognize that the current collection of flicks was shot in different parts of New Zealand. New Zealanders are extremely happy with this and whilst taking a trip around you will certainly discover numerous discusses of components of the flicks which might have been filmed in certain spots. There are additionally excursions catering particularly to Lord of the Rings fans.
5. New Zealand has an interesting cultural background. It is thought that the Maoris that originated from Polynesia resolved in New Zealand about 1000 years back. New Zealand ended up being a British nest in 1840 after the finalizing of the Treaty of Waitangi. There are lots of outstanding museums within the cities and towns which supply a terrific summary of the reasonably short and also terrible background of New Zealand.