Vino anyone?

I like wine. A LOT.  I also like beer, bourbon, vodka....but I always go back to wine. White, red, champagne, iced, it doesn't matter.

Back in the day, I didn't know anything about wine. We didn't have a Coopers Hawk restaurant where they teach you about different types of wines and you get to sample them. On top of that, my parents didn't drink. My dad started drinking Bordeaux when he was in his seventies because Consumer Reports said (yes my dad was one of those) said it was the best red wine at the time and he was drinking a small glass a day to lower his cholesterol. But before then, my experience with wine was a sip of some blush wine at the local Red Lobster.

Then I met this French guy, who became my boyfriend and I spent a summer in France meeting his relatives. From Paris to Normandy to Provence then Lyon, I drank wine and wine and wine. Bordeaux, Cote de Rhone, Chateauneuf de Pape, Macon Rouge, I don't know what I was drinking because sometimes, for example in Provence, we would just fill up the empty bottles of wine from the local town wine. I was also introduced to my first beer, Kronenberg 1664 and Pelforth. It was all so yummy and I don't know how I was not drunk most of the time. Maybe all the walking and eating? No clue. Needless to say, I am grateful for my experience because I was spoiled. I learned what good wine is and how to cook French food.

Since my experience in Europe, I have learned to appreciate wines from California (of course), Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, and Portugal. The latter two have struggled but lately they are outshining the wine market.

Presently, places like Coopers Hawk just doesn't cut it for me. It's great if you are a beginner in oenology and a lot of fun to do with friends. What do I do? Binny's . I love Binny's. Costco is great too but a bit of a limited selection. Binny's will let me know the points, who critiqued it, and price for many of their selections. They send me emails about the latest wines, and if you don't act, they sell out. When I visit the store, my filter is as follows: 90 points or higher; $15 and lower. I have found some great wines that are easy on my pocket. Here are a couple:



Now, I do love champagne, prosecco, cava, anything that sparkles with grapes. My friends will tell you, I find any reason to open one up. There's no waiting for an occasion. PLEASE. Here's a prosecco I found at ALDI (yes there!!) that is a delight to drink but it is seasonal so you have to stock up.

Post Red Lobster days, in Lyon, France....I don't look like this anymore!

 

All Hail the Instant Pot!

I had a slow cooker. You had to remember to get everything ready to go so it would cook all.day.long.
I had a pressure cooker where you could not blink or the entire thing would blow up.
One day, reading some RV blog (no I don't own one), the family kept talking as well as other commentators about a sale on Amazon for an Instant Pot. I was intrigued. They talked about how they can't live without one.
Clicked the link to Amazon and read about this appliance that is both a slow cooker AND a pressure cooker, while also letting you saute, make yogurt, rice, and more. Of course, I scrolled down and skimmed over the more than 4,000 reviews!  Click. Bought it.

God help me but this is the best kitchen appliance ever! Gone were two appliances and this baby sits permanently on my counter. (Well, I kept the slow cooker in storage in case I needed it to warm food at parties).
I grabbed a whole chicken from ALDI and put it in there with some Goya Adobo Marinade and pressed Poultry. That was it. It was done in 35 minutes falling off the bone! In turn, I have made chicken soup by clicking Soup and voila! There's no point in buying chicken stock when you can make it so easily.

On to pork. Cris suggested a recipe that includes pork, and two jars of yellow peppers. Yep. That's it. I went ahead and tirelessly bought all the ingredients (3) and tried it out. I clicked Meat/Stew and what emerged was the most flavorful pulled pork ever with no effort at all. We had it as sandwiches with some spicy mustard and we couldn't stop.


I have made curry dishes, different types of chili, Cuban stews and I am never disappointed. I'm telling you, forget the slow cooker; it's wasting your time! Hail to the Instant Pot!

Pic of my one of my Cuban stews:


(Smoked ham hocks are falling apart.)