Hershey's new premium line

After discovering Ghirardelli's new "gourmet" line of chocolates I just stumbled onto a similar project by Hershey in the store today, Cacao Reserve by Hershey's. It is a new premium line of all-natural chocolates and drinking cocoa. They have two 35% Milk Chocolate bars, one plain and one with hazelnut, and two 65% Extra Dark Chocolate bars, one of them with Cacao Nibs. With a nice creamy texture and a rich chocolate taste, this is a nice attempt by Hershey to keep up with the huge trend of premium chocolates. Checking out their website I learned that they are also introducing four Single Origin Chocolate bars and Premium Truffels in December. Looking forward to reviewing those. Stay tuned...

One of the great chocolates to bake with

...has always been Ghirardelli. But breaking of a piece from the bar to enjoy with some wine? Well... There are better chocolates for that. However, that has changed lately. After introducing their new line Intense Dark earlier this year I've been found many times breaking a piece right off of the bar when the chocolate craving sets in. The line comes in four different flavors, Twilight Delight, Citrus Sunset, Toffe Interlude and Espresso Escape. All great for your after dinner sweet fix. And they are really easy to find. Most local grocery stores carry them.

Stuck on Pinot

I guess I should start to review other wines than Pinot Noirs. I think you know by now that it is my favorite grape. I promise I'll do something else next...
Let me present to you an excellent every day drinking Pinot. Fess Parker 2005 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir. Yes, this is one of the other bottles we picked up during our recent trip to Santa Ynez Valley. It is very fruity, which I love. It offers cherry, cranberry, red berries, tobaco and a nice set of tannins. $25 @ www.fessparker.com or as a wineclub member only $20.

Fess Parker Chardonnay

One of my favorite Chardonnay makers in Santa Ynez Valley is Fess Parker (I am a long time wineclub member). We were down there a couple of weeks ago and brought some friends from the Sacramento area for wine tasting. They usually go to Napa Valley and this was their first time in "our" valley, and I believe they really liked it. We both picked up some Fess Parker 2004 Santa Rita Hills, Ashley's Vineyard, Chardonnay. It has nice crisp pear, apple and light citrus, and just the right amount of cream and oak. Rated 91 by Wine and Spirit it is not to bad of a deal for $28, join the wineclub and get if for only $22. www.fessparker.com

New York Dining

We usually spend a week in New York during US Open in September every year (my husband is a tennis freak). Going to New York there's a myriad of fantastic restaurant to try. It's hard to decide which ones to go to when there are only so many nights before you have to leave again.
This year we arrived a night earlier than planned and asked the concierge at our hotel (Ritz Carlton for the first night) to suggest a casual but great place. He got us a table just around the corner at Quality Meats. Great decor with a mix of contemporary and old butcher shop. The Green Goddess salad made a great start, fresh and light. We both choose the Filet for the main course and had Corn Creme Brulee with that. All very delicious. For desert a decandent Chocolate Hazelnut Tart. Highly recommended with great food and ambiance! www.qualitymeatsnyc.com
The second night we went to the signature restaurant Fives at the hotel we stayed at the rest of the trip, The Peninsula. Good food (the White Asparagus-Morel Risotto with Poached Egg and Sweet Pea Foam was the highlight of the meal) and service but nothing memorable.
The night after we went to BLT Steak, www.bltsteak.com. Dinner started of with a delicious pop over, still warm from the oven. Then we had Tuna Tartar, Chopped Vegetable Salad, Rib Eye, Braised Short Rib in a red wine sauce, Sauteed Mushrooms and Corn Souffle. All very tasty and definitely a place to return to. We had a outrageously good wine with all of this. The 2002 Merus. Rated 95 by Robert Parker and 96 by Wine Spectator this wine is a fruit power house. This was not the first time I had this wine and certainly not the last. This is the best wine out there right now in it's price range. Find it at www.wine-searcher.com from $194. Not an inexpensive bottle but worth every penny.
After dinner we went for a drink at David Burke and Donatella, www.dbdrestaurant.com, one of our favorite restaurants from last years trip. We did not intend to return for dinner this year because we have the policy that we need to try new places every year. But after a drink with the manager we were convinced we needed to come back the next night, and I am glad we did. This was by far the best dining experience we've had in New York and even better than last years dinner there. We started of with a nice little salad and a fantastic asparagus risotto. After that my husband had a fantastic Rib Eye, perfectly done and juicy with tons of flavor. I had THE best dish I have ever had, period. An amazing dish of home made pasta in a wild mushroom cream sauce, topped with a pile of the most tender, flavorful short rib. Heaven on a plate! Bravo David! Although we were stuffed after this, there was of course still room to share a molten chocolate cake. Yummy.
On the way out we stopped to thank the manager when David Burkes cookbook caught my eye behind him. I got a copy and the manager informed us that David Burke himself was sitting right behind us, in the bar. We got introduced and to my thrill he signed my new book. He invited us to sit down for an after dinner drink and we had a great time with him and his friends. After this we all headed to the next door bar Lollipop, where you get a lollipop with your drink, and danced the night away. In all an amazing night for a foodie like me with excellent food and the privilege to meet and spend time with a genius chef, David Burke.
The last night we went to The Modern, a restaurant with a sleek, contemporary design. The food followed that theme as well, small plates, artisticly pleasing to the eye. We had a great meal (I loved my chorizo crusted cod) and highly recommend it. www.themodernnyc.com
Four pounds heavier we left a couple of days later after a fantastic food and tennis week.
I am already starting to plan where to go next year...

Today's bargain

I had no intention to buy wine today as I picked up groceries for dinner. But walking by the wine section the normally $35 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Napa Valley 2004 Chardonnay caught my eye, being on sale for only $21. I just could not leave the store without taking advantage of this, and so it went into my cart. I have only had the 2003 before which is a great chardonnay. The 2004 does not quite make it up to the 2003 level but is a nice wine if you like your white dry and earthy with green apple, citrus and some mineral on the palate. Find it online for only $19.95 at www.wine-searcher.com.
Cheers!

A Taste of Luxury

...was the name of the flight of three wines I had last weekend at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay, CA. I had it at the Wine Room which serves wine by the bottle, by the glass or in flights. A flight is always a good way of trying different wines and with about eight flights to choose from there was something for every palate. I picked a flight named A Taste of luxury which included Opus 2002, Merryvale Profile 2002 and Lewis Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2003. I'm not usually a big fan of Opus (I think it's overrated) but the 2002 was actually very nice with restrained dark berries, minerals and good tannins. Even better was the Merryvale Profile with blackberry and black currant. The highest score (from me) went to Lewis, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve with dark berries, raspberry and caramel. Very nicely balanced, smooth and a pleasure to sip.

Later that night we went to the adjacent Navio for dinner. We started of with the Yellow Beet Salad and a bowl of the Half Moon Bay Artichoke Risotto. I continued with the Black Bass with Belgian Endive, Carmalized Figs and Foie Gras glaze. My husband ordered the Braised Creekstone Farm Short Ribs served over Polenta. All enjoyed with a great bottle of Ramey, Jericho Vineyard 2003. This was all delicious but the dessert, Molten Chocolate Cake, just blew me away.
I have tried every recipe of Molten Chocolate Cake I've gotten my hands over the last years. I have also tried it in every restaurant I've set my foot in. So when I say this is one of the best ones out there, you'd better believe it. Perfectly molten, rich, decadent chocolate with a scoop of perfect vanilla ice cream. I want another one!

A word on the hotel itself. Situated in the most beautiful, relaxing location with excellent service from the staff. Long walks along the bluffs and a good book by your very own fire pit outside your patio door. We just loved our weekend in Half Moon Bay that truly had A Taste of Luxury...

Our Golden Retriever Odin

Meet our Golden Retriever Odin. He is a Scandinavian Golden (his parents beeing imported from Finland and Sweden), therefore the white coat and smaller frame. He is a shy and weird but extremely lovable little guy. We picked him up as a 11 month old puppy at a kennel on the central coast earlier this summer. He had a that point never been inside a house, in a car or on a leash. He was not potty trained, had no idea was a toy was and was scared to death of the furniture in our home. The first week he spent in his little "safe zone" in our kitchen but as time has passed he has now ventured out to all parts of our home and backyard and is getting braver every day. He loves to play with our neighbors Golden Retriever, Lilly, as he seems to be more comfortable around other dogs than people. I know he sounds a little bit odd, and he is. Our guess is that he was very mistreated at his first home. He is now learning to be a happy, adventurous puppy again and I really think he likes his new home... More to come.

Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir

Badge is the new venture of former Sanford winemaker Bruno D'Alfonso. The 2004 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir is his second release of this label and is a small production of only 100 cases. I had the luck to find it in my favorite grocery store in Santa Ynez, El Rancho. (You can also find it at www.wine-searcher.com from $30.) It is a new and very exciting Pinot Noir and was rated 92-94 by Wine Spectator. It is a powerful, rich and fruity wine with nice tannins. Red fruit, dark cherry and blackberry greets you on the palate. I really enjoyed this wine and will try to get my hands on some more of it. You should to...

A perfect pair

Very tasty is all I can say of this nice little combination. Dry Monterey Jack Cheese from Rumiano paired with Organic Adriatic Fig Spread. The cheese has a rich nutty flavor that goes great with the sweetness of the fig spread.
I have tried many fig spreads during the last couple of year and this is my absolut favorite. It looks great, has perfect texture and the right amount of sweetness. Find it at www.wholefoodsmarket.com. The cheese can be ordered from www.rumiano-cheese.com.

French Milk vs. Dark

Bernard Castelain is a chocolatier from Chateauneufe Du Pape in southern France. He makes a wide array of chocolates and I picked up two of them at Sur La Table during my Santa Barbara visit last weekend. The Chocolat Lait is the milk chocolate with 37% cocoa. It's creamy and has a nice balance between cocoa and sweetness. Recommended!
The second was Intense 77% that was a little bit to bitter with the Pinot Noir I had, but will pair better with a Cabernet Sauvignon or Port. Not recommended by itself. To bitter...
Find a store near you at www.surlatable.com or buy it online at www.worldwidechocolate.com

Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

I am really enjoying Russian River Valley Pinor Noirs right now. One of them for the fair price of $23 is Balletto Vineyards Estate Bottled, 2004. It has a nice ruby red color with dark cherry and cranberry on the nose. Those fruit and berry notes carries through on the palate plus a hint of vanilla and quite a bit of tannins. Beeing a Gold Medal Winner at San Francisco Chronical Wine Competition you just have to try it. www.ballettovineyards.com

Very nice...

Qupe 2005 Santa Maria Valley, Bien Nacido Vineyard "Y"-block, Chardonnay is well worth trying. Nicely balanced with pear, tropical fruit and light mineral. Great with or without food. If with food preferably a light chicken or seafood dish. Over all a very good chardonnay for $20. One of my favorites in this price range. Find it at www.qupe.com

Does Smokey and Blue work?

Bel Air, a super market here on the west coast, just introduced a new cheese to their gourmet cheese selection, Rouge River Smokey Blue Cheese. Sounded like an interesting combination so I had to try it. It was a little confusing to my taste buds to start with but they grew to appreciate it. It is medium on the "smoke" and has a nice balance to the "blue". This is a hard cheese to pair with wine. White? NO! Maybe a smokey Chateauneuef Du Pape? You be the judge...

Hook and Ladder

Wow, not bad for a $15 Chardonnay. From Russian River Valley, this 2003 white wine from Hook and Ladder has a nice balance between oak, creaminess and acidity. The winemaker sais appel on the palate, I say rhubarb. This is a very nice sip-it-by-it-self wine enjoyed in a casual setting with your friends. It was awarded 88 point from Wine and Spirit. Find it at www.candcwineservices.com.