1 lb. Ground Chicken
Olive Oil
1 Large Onion chopped
1 Green Pepper chopped
6 Cloves Garlic crushed
5 Cans Black Beans drained
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 Jalapeno pepper chopped
1 c. frozen corn
lots of chili powder
cayanne pepper to taste
1. Brown chicken, set aside.
2. Saute onion, garlic and green pepper in olive oil until wilted.
3. Add browned chicken. Add Beans. Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Add jalapeno pepper, corn and seasonings.
4. Stir together and bring to boil. Turn heat to low and let simmer for about 1 hour.
5. Eat. You can top each bowl with grated sharp cheddar, sour cream, chopped raw onions or not.
Be a rebel! While it may not be pretty, spitting helps keep your palate fresh if you’re tasting a lot of wines. It also prevents you from getting so inebriated that any glass of wine tastes great!
Let me know if you liked or learned anything from my Tasting Wine crash course.
Most people tense up when they get to this part. Relax, there are no wrong answers. Think about it, when you are talking about flavors in the foods you eat, do you get nervous and tense? Of course not…so start sipping.
Try taking a small sip, hold it in your mouth for a moment, and before you swallow or spit, take in some air through your mouth. This enhances the aroma and the flavors. How does the wine “feel” in your mouth? Think of milk…when you drink skim milk – it feels “light” in your mouth. Now, think of whole milk. It feels heavy in your mouth – right?
Now, you can move onto what you actually taste. Remember most of what you taste in wine (or food, for that matter) comes from your sense of smell. So expect to taste similar flavors as the aromas you sniffed earlier. However, most people can pick out more nuances in the taste of wine than in the aroma. For instance, you may smell more fruit aromas, but you will taste more of the woody or spicy flavors in wine.
2. SwiRl aNd SniFf Your senses of smell and taste are closely intertwined, so take the time to sniff a glass of wine. Swirling the wine in your glass opens up the wine (that’s wine speak for letting in air) and helps you take in the aromas. Place your glass on a flat surface and swirl the wine. Then quick - put your nose inside the glass and give it a good sniff. What is the first aroma that comes to mind? Is it a fruity or woody scent? Wines that are oak aged sometimes smell more like spices and wood than fruits; so don’t limit your thinking to raspberries or blackberries. You could also smell cinnamon, cloves or vanilla due to the oak aging. Some wines even have vegetal scents like grass or green peppers.
Grapes, like other fruits, have unique characteristics depending on the type (varietal). Think of apples – there are hundreds of different apple varieties, each with a unique flavor and aroma. Grapes are no different – some are sweeter or fruitier; while others are more tart or vegetal by nature.
I don't think the commonly held notion that the bigger your nose the better you sniff is true. What do you think?
Four simple guidelines to help you enjoy wine AND look really cool.
Here's the first step…more to come!
1.sEe
As one of my FB friends said (I wish I could remember who!), “Hold your glass up to the light for maximum pomposity.” Actually, you can hold it against something white like a sheet of paper or napkin and you’ll be able to see the color of the wine more clearly. Is it reddish, reddish brown or more purple in color? Is the wine dark or light in color – can you see through the wine? Depth of color is a general indicator of whether a wine is a fuller bodied or lighter bodied wine. Is the wine cloudy and/or brownish – usually not a good sign – the wine could be oxidized. Epic wine fail. In a nutshell, too much air, for too long has come in contact with the wine causing a color, aroma and taste change. Blech.
A 'Corked' wine is a wine that has been bottled with a cork that is contaminated with TCA. It comes across as 'musty' aromas and flavors.
Have you ever had a bottle of "bad" wine? Was it at a restaurant or did you buy it and open it at home? Cheers! Rebel Red (stay tuned for Swirl, Sniff, Sip and Spit!)
So, do I have to say something controversial to get people to comment on these blogs? Ok then. Let’s talk – talk.
One of my recent Facebook posts displayed my indignation over people who call Italian coffee eXpresso instead of eSpresso. I even hear it from wait staff in restaurants! Grrrrrr. Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg folks. This blog is dedicated to those of us who cringe when we hear someone use the word irregardless! It’s not a word! Even worse, a friend of mine received an interoffice memo using the “word” disirregardless! WTF? It makes my ears bleed! How about the simple difference in spelling of the words there, their and they’re. This is third grade English material, dudes! And I know this will ruffle some feathers, but the word is aSk. Not aX.
My outrage is not limited to the use of poor pronunciation and vocabulary. Bad grammar and other sloppy language sends me screaming from the room too. I can’t abide hearing, “on accident” instead of “by accident.” People seriously say, “could care less” instead of “couldn’t care less.” If they could care less, well, then it’s not so bad, is it? And it’s, “for all intents and purposes” NOT “intensive purposes.”
So beware, oh faithful reader. You will be called on the carpet if I catch you mixing metaphors, using made up words or bad grammar. So there.
Have a Middle Sister Wine Tasting Party in 4 Easty Steps!
Step 1: Make A Guest List
Invite all kinds of people: From novices to wine geeks. As long as everyone likes wine, you'll totally have a hoot. I recommend parties of 6 to 10 people. Plan for about 2 to 3 hours for the tasting.
Step 2: Shopping
Wine
You will need at least 4-6 bottles of Middle Sister wines. I recommend:
Middle Sister Forever Cool Merlot
Middle Sister Rebel Red Red Blend
Middle Sister Mischief Maker Cabernet Sauvignon
Middle Sister Drama Queen Pinot Grigio
Middle Sister Smarty Pants Chardonnay
And have a couple of bottles of Middle Sister Wicked White “starter” wines to offer guests as they straggle in.
Party Goods Wine glasses: One to four glasses/person.
Dump buckets: You can use a flower vase, pitcher or champagne bucket. This is to dump unused wines from your glasses.
Water pitcher and glasses: To clean the palate between sips (la-di-dah).
Spit cups: Yes – it sounds gross; but keeps your mouth fresh and yourself sober.
Napkins
Food
Keep it simple or be more creative:
A) Simple: Shop for cheeses, breads, crackers, deli meats, paté, veggies, nuts and dried fruits.
OR…
B) Match foods with the flavors and aromas found in the wines. Cut bite size pieces of different foods and place in glasses or ramekins on the tasting table. As guests smell and taste each wine, ask them to smell and/or taste the flavor and aroma food samples next to each wine. For example:
Middle Sister Wicked White White Blend:melon, pear, tangerine, rose petals, lemon zest.
Middle Sister Drama Queen Pinot Grigio: apple and pear, lemon zest
“Blind” the wines (winespeak for “cover the labels”). Download and print out this PDF for snarky Middle Sister Bottle Wrappers! I recommend placing the bottles in the order below, from lightest bodied to heaviest bodied.
Helpful Hint: Open red wines about one hour before guests arrive.
Set Out…
Wine Glasses: One glass per person is enough, but four for each person is even better.
Tasting Mats: to take notes and keep track of each wine and your thoughts about each one. Download here.
Aroma Card: to help you and your guests learn to describe wine in ways that are meaningful and memorable to you. It's a good reminder to pay attention to everything you taste. Download here.
Spit Cups: to spit the mouthful of wine you’ve just tasted.
Dump bucket(s): to dump unused wine from your glass after tasting.
Water glasses: to keep your palate refreshed between tastings.
Napkins: we all know what napkins are for!
Pencils: to fill out the Tasting Mats.
Foods and/or snacks.
You can set up your wine tasting around a dining table, a large kitchen island or just a coffee table in your livingroom…whatever is the most comfortable depending on the size of your party and the food you’re serving. Just make sure there’s enough room for each person to have an entire place setting.
Step 4: Party Time
As guests arrive:
Remember those “starter wines” we talked about earlier – Middle Sister Wicked White - now’s the time to pull them from the refrigerator.
Forgot to chill them? No worries – just pop them in an ice bucket filled with ice, water and a tablespoon of Kosher salt for about 5 or 10 minutes.
Pour small amounts of the starter wine (about 1 ounce). If people get inebriated, they’ll miss out on all the fun of tasting several wines. Later when everyone has tasted all of the wines, they can enjoy a full glass or two of their favorite.
Once everyone has arrived, let the tasting begin.
Explain the uses for the dump bucket and spit cups.
Pour a small amount (about 2 oz.) of the first wine into each guest’s glass.
Start a discussion about each tasting from the list below:
Conversation Starters:
• Which fruit does each wine remind you of?
• Which has the best nose (aroma)?
• Which has the most tannins (that tea-like puckery taste of the wine)?
• Which has the fullest body (the mouth-feel or heaviness of the wine)?
• Which has the longest finish (that lingering sensation after you’re done drinking the wine)?
• Talk with your guests about which foods they’d like to pair with the wines (note: there are no correct answers here, only opinions.)
Use the Tasting Mats to write notes about each wine.
After everyone has tasted all of the wines and talked about each one, you can now strip off the wrappers and reveal the sisters!
I hope this was useful. Leave me comments and let me know how your party was.
This is the best freakin cornbread you've EVER had. I'm a little loosy goosey on some of the ingredients so you can just add what floats your boat.
