Archive for December, 2010

New Years’ Bubbles on a Budget

Posted on: December 29th, 2010 by Carla Johnson No Comments

 

Heading out to buy some bubbles to bring in the new year? Don’t be tempted by Dom Perignon. Save yourself a lot of $$ and check this out first!

The lastest test by “The Wine Trials” found that in a blind taste test, there were several sparkling wines under $15 a bottle that beat $50+ bottles. Here is their list.

 

You can see all their test results on their site: http://www.fearlesscritic.com/wine/style/20/sparkling

Also…

Natalie MacLean is the Canadian author of “Red White and Drunk All Over.” She regularly tastes and compares wines and shares her tips on her site “Nat Decants”

http://www.nataliemaclean.com/

For this season’s New Year’s celebrations, she says,  “There are some terrific bubblies that will add sparkle to your holidays without taking a shine to your wallet.” She recommends the following bubblies…

#1 Santa Margherita Prosecco Di Valdobbiadene Brut (Italy). She says it is surprisingly rich and toasty, yet packed with luscious peach and pear notes.

#2 Freixenet Cordon Rosado (Spain) – She says it has lovely aromas of fresh raspberries and strawberries.

 

But in the latest edition of “The Wine Trials” most wine drinkers reported again that they preferred a $12 bottle of Domaine Ste. Michelle Cuvee Brut from Washington State to the $150 Dom Perignon.

“At a minimum it seems clear that many Americans might be wasting at least $138, at least where taste is concerned,” he said.

Looking for more suggestions? You can read the full article in The Gazette at

http://www.nataliemaclean.com/blog/view/2010/12/16/sparking-wines-that-wont-blow-your-holiday-budget/133548 

Something I just learned…

Different sizes of champagne bottles have different names and several of them are people from the old testament in the Bible. Who knew??

 

Am I a One-Man Woman Because I Drink?

Posted on: December 29th, 2010 by Carla Johnson No Comments

This week some interesting articles have been forwarded to me, so I’m sharing them with you. “Tis the Season!

The New York Times recently published excerpts from an abstract published by the “American Association of Wine Economics.” They have found an interesting historical connection between monogamy and alcohol consumption. Who knew??

Historically, we find a correlation between the shift from polygyny to monogamy and the growth of alcohol consumption.

Here is the link to the article in the NYT. “Do we drink because we are monogamous or are we monogamous because we drink?

 

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Old Tyme Temperance Tune

Posted on: December 28th, 2010 by Carla Johnson No Comments

Here’s a little something off-beat to ring in the new year. 🙂 One of my friends gave a copy of “Cooking With Sin” to someone who liked it so much they sent them these lyrics to an old Salvation Army Temperance Song. I can’t find the original source, but thought it would be fun to share with you anyway.

And remember to donate to the Salvation Army or any other great charity you like to support, especially at this season.

Enjoy!

Salvation Army Song

We’re coming, we’re coming our brave little band,
On the right side of temperance we now take our stand;
We don’t use tobacco because we do think,
The use of tobacco will lead to drink.

CHORUS:
Away, away, with rum, by gum,
With rum, by gum, with rum, by gum,
Away, away, with rum, by gum,
It’s the song of the Salvation Army.

We never eat fruit cake for fruit cake has rum,
And one little bite turns a man to a bum,
Oh can you imagine a sorrier sight,
Than a man eating fruit cake until he gets tight.

(chorus)

We never eat cookies because they have yeast,
And one little bite turns a man to a beast,
Oh, can you imagine a man more disgraced,
Than a man in the gutter with crumbs on his face.

(chorus)

We never eat peaches for peaches ferment,
And a peach will ferment at the least little dent,
Oh can you imagine a thought more obscene,
Than a man getting tight on peaches and cream.

(chorus)

We never drink water, they put it in gin,
And one little sip and a man starts to grin,
Oh, can you imagine a sorrier plight,
Than a man drinking water until he gets tight?

(chorus)

We never drink tea, they mix it with wine,
And one little drink turns a man to a swine,
Oh, can you imagine a sorrier sight,
Than a man drinking tea and singing all night?

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What a Great Gift for Mom!

Posted on: December 24th, 2010 by Carla Johnson No Comments
Chris Steingart is a good friend of mine and the designer of my website. He recently bought a few copies of “Cooking With Sin” and I love how he made one of them into a great gift for his mom.
Chris, thank you for sharing this!
(Spoiler alert for Mrs. Steingart!) 😉
Hey Carla,
We were having some fun with the gift for my mom today. With a $50 gift limit I bought the book for $30 then two cans of Guinness and a bottle each of gin and brandy to go with. While I know that she’s got beer and wine a plenty I tried to buy some things that weren’t already in her cupboard so that she could start trying the recipes right away. The LCBO small sizes are great because many of your recipes don’t call for more than 3/4 of a cup of spirits anyways! So you’re not breaking the bank buying a big bottle just to try out a recipe. Attached to each bottle I put a little note referring her to the page that the ingredient is used on just as a little reminder to actually make the recipe instead of drinking it away first. 🙂
Anyways, we were wrapping the gift and couldn’t resist taking a little photo of our $50 gift collection. I know the Christmas shopping season is over shortly but I thought you might want to use this picture to inspire people to go out and “accessorize” their book for the perfect gift!
I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!
chris steingart
website designer and online marketing consultant
QT web designs

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A Truly Twisted Tinsel ‘Tini!

Posted on: December 24th, 2010 by Carla Johnson No Comments

Okay, so this isn’t the typical “Cooking With Sin” entry, but it’s just too fun not to share. I want to thank everyone who has purchased a copy of the book and all my faithful readers for helping turn this project into something really, really fun and fulfilling. I am wishing…

The Joy of the Season to Each of You!