Zestos Wine

Rose wines have gotten a bad name thanks to the boxed blush wines, but they are making a comeback and you need to give them a try. This Zestos (which means basket in Spanish) Garnacha Rose comes from Madrid and is a bold blend of unique fruits with a clean finish. The wine starts off with red berry notes and ends with some light acidity and minerality. There are also some notes of rose and vegetation that fill you palette after the initial taste. This pairs well with seafood or light pasta. You can also feel free to sip on this as you are getting dinner ready or sitting around relaxing and the color is festive for the holidays. It's fairly inexpensive and can probably be found in your grocery store. Cheers!

Fabulous Figs!

I have recently been introduced to the world of fresh figs and have realized that I have been missing out on some very yummy treats! I have had dried figs once or twice, but they are definitely not the same as fresh ones. Yet again Central Market got me into trouble because they had fresh figs on sale. With the guidance of a seasoned fig pro, I was instructed to try black figs and Turkish figs. You eat a fig like a grape, skin and all. The black figs are smaller and darker than the Turkish figs which have a more reddish pink color and are larger. The inside of a fig somewhat resembles a Venus Flytrap, but don't worry these aren't poisonous...they are sweet and delicious! The black figs are sweeter than the Turkish figs, but the Turkish ones are by no means tart. After trying these, I can say that I am a huge fan of figs! They are a great snack and can be used in tons of different recipes. Plus the might make an interesting and unique addition to a charcuterie plate.

Heavenly Baked Brie

In the world of cheese, I know very little but in the course of conversation with a friend the topic of baked brie came up. What I gathered this was, was melted cheesy goodness with some kind of sweet or savory topping. Definitely not something that I was going to pass up, so we headed over to Central Market to take advantage of their amazing cheese selection. While making our way to the cheese, we realized we had no recipe and no idea what we were doing...This was our chance to wing it and see what happened. After talking to our new friend Virginia in the cheese department (Central Market employees are so helpful!), we soon had a plan. She explained to us that to make baked Brie you have to use double cream because the triple cream will just run all over the place. We also learned how to wrap it in a bed of puff pastry and how to make it look extra fancy. It is very important to preheat your oven to 375. Then lay out one of the sheets of puff pastry and place the whole wheel of Brie on top. This is when you add your toppings. We opted for a mixture of fig butter, honey and chopped walnuts and pecans. (It was quite tasty and would have been good on crackers.) You can use whatever toppings or preserves you want, as this is your time to get creative!

Next, take the other sheet of puff pastry and lay it over the top of the cheese. Make sure that you pinch the dough together completely to seal it so the cheese doesn't ooze out. You can then cut off the excess dough or leave it on. We wanted to be extra safe so we just left the excess dough. In order to get the golden brown color, gently brush and egg white over the top of the dough. Be sure to coat it evenly as you don't want an uneven color. If you are feeling super awesome, you can take the extra dough and create a cool design for the top. Just be sure to put it on before you do the egg wash. Put it in your preheated oven and bake. Virginia said that it should bake for 15-20 minutes, but since my oven is about 5 minutes different I adjusted the cooking time. I had mine in the oven for 13 minutes total and pulled out a golden brown packet of goodness!

I couldn't wait to break into this cheese pouch to see what this baked Brie was all about. After letting it cool, I finally got to cut into it and it was heavenly! The Brie was melted and the topping had melded to the top of the puff pastry. I can say that baked Brie is now my current obsession, as it is soo delicious! The puff pastry was crispy and flaky, the cheese was melted to perfection and the fig/honey/nut combination was the perfect choice because it added sweetness and crunch. There are almost no words to describe it because it was that sinful to eat. Plus it actually turned out well that we left the extra puff pastry on their because it was really delicious. Baked Brie is the perfect appetizer (or meal in itself) and is super simple! I am fairly certain that this will now be included in every entertaining event I have. It's a little out of the ordinary and you can always play with it by changing the toppings. Come back and let me know what toppings you put on your Brie.

Not So Average Pasta Sauce

While wondering the aisles of Central Market (usually a bad thing as I tend to get into trouble) looking for dinner inspiration, I came across this pasta sauce, Bean Good. The name was actually what drew me to the jar as that's not normally the name of a pasta sauce. Upon further review, I learned that this pasta sauce is made mainly from tomatoes and garbanzo beans which I have never seen before. It also has onion, olive oil, garlic, sea salt and spices. Sounded like a good combination to me so into the basket it went and of course I ended up trying it (since it was part of the dinner inspiration). I wasn't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be thinner than regular pasta sauce and did actually have subtle undertones of bean flavor. Fortunately, it didn't taste like just another red pasta sauce. It was a very light sauce which was awesome for me since I am not a huge sauce person. Just a head's up, if you are one of those people that has a side of pasta with your sauce you will probably use a ton of this sauce. This company also has two other kinds of sauces that I need to put on my list to try. This sauce is made with simple, good for you ingredients that turns a boring pasta sauce into something a bit extraordinary.

Sugar Plums Dancing In My Head

When I used to read The Night Before Christmas story, I always wondered if sugar plums were real, but it wasn't until a recent trip to Central Market did I find that these were real! If you are ever in the mood to try produce that you have never had, then head on over to Central Market. They always have a wide variety of every fruit and veggie you could possibly think of plus lots more that you didn't know about. I was feeling festive and wanted to give these a try. It looks like a small plum and turned out to taste just like a regular plum. I have to admit that I was expecting something a bit different and was slightly disappointed that it turned out to be just a baby plum. I was expecting it to be super sweet as the name is SUGAR plum. Though I wasn't overwhelmed with the sugar plums, I now know that these are the little fruits that are dancing in my dreams the night before Christmas.

Parducci Pinot Noir

Getting back to basics is something that I need to learn how to do more often. Life has a funny way of getting a little crazy and soon you can lose perspective. Sometimes all it takes is a simple reminder to get back to the things that make you who you are. For me, my most recent moment of clarity came in this wonderful bottle of wine. It was a reminder that wine can take you to different places. This Pinot Noir was delicate and fruity, but had depth of flavor and a beautiful color. It was an opportunity to be pretend to fun and mysterious at the same time. The longer I let the wine breathe, the more it revealed itself and the depth of flavor. This was a great introductory red wine and a reminder to not judge a wine before you give it a try. Cheers to fresh beginnings and never forgetting the simple things are sometimes the best things!

Spring Sips from Central Market

If you just look, there are tons of things to do around you. I found a really fun wine tasting class at Central Market. This class highlighted some "Spring Sips", which are really just easy to drink, summery wines. In this class, we tried five different wines - two whites, a rose, and two red wines. One of the white wines that we sampled in the class (and I ended up buying) was a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. It was a crisp wines that had floral notes, in addition to citrus and minerals aromas. There were aromas of melon, honey, and lime. It had a nice finish to it that wasn't too acidic. It was a very nice wine on its own, but would pair well with chicken or a citrus shrimp dish. Since it had the background of minerals, it is great for those who don't like the fruity sweetness that white wines are known for. Coming in at about $8, this wine is definitely a must try as the weather begins to warm up.

Hip Poppin'

I am always looking for healthier snacks that don't taste like cardboard. A friend told me about these one day when we were in Central Market, so I decided that it was time to try them. What is a popchip you may ask? It is a chip made by popping, rather than being baked or fried. These come in a ton of different different flavors like plain, sour cream and onion, and barbecue. I decided to try the sour cream and onion because I haven't had flavored chips in a very long time and this was one of my favorite flavors. When I took one out of the bag I was surprised at how big it was. It was light, airy, super crunchy, and packed with flavor! It tasted a little bit like popcorn and a little like a potato chip, which was somewhat confusing for my taste buds. It had such a unique texture, but the sour cream and onion flavor sure packed a punch and it didn't feel like you were eating something healthy. I am so glad that I tried these because I am pretty sure that they will be a staple in my pantry. I can't wait to try all the flavors...and the tortilla chips. Make sure that you pick up a bag the next time you are on the chip aisle in the grocery store. You won't be sorry!