In late February Matt V called to say he'd be in town, and suggested we get together for dinner on a "double date." An hour later he suggested we invite one of his friends for a "triple date," then another . . . Alan and Vicki, Matt and Erin, Cory and Danielle, and George and Erin. With 8 people set for dinner, 6 of them under the age of 30, I wanted to do something fun, and suggested we do a little wine tasting and fondue. Matt gave the idea the green light, and the event was set into motion.
After a toast with a sparkling wine we had shipped from a vineyard we visited close to Pompeii at the base of Mt. Vesuvius, we kicked off the eating with Comté & Emmenthaler Cheese Fondue (page 104-105). Many cheese fondue recipes call for the shredded cheese to be mixed with flour, so that it thickens to the proper consistency. This recipe calls for cornstarch instead of flour. I personally think this results in a better tasting fondue as it loses its roux flavor. Also, it's something you can serve to guests with gluten issues as it's gluten free. Just be sure to serve apple or pear wedges and fresh vegetables along with the chunks of crusty bread for dipping.
A few years ago I was in San Diego for business and one night Matt and I went out for dinner in La Jolla, starting our meal with a flight of wine cleverly entitled
Spain vs Italy. What struck me as interesting was the way Matt was saying which wines he liked best, and how it kept changing as he ate different things. He really was starting to understand that wine changes as it opens up and breathes, and changes based on different food pairings. So I decided to introduce our young tasters to some wines from different countries and let them experiment with how the tastes evolve. I chose 3 countries, 2 wines from each. Spain vs France vs Italy.
A wine tasting can be set up many different ways, lighter to darker wines (white, pink, red), vertically (tasting one wine varietal from the same producer from several vintages/years), horizontal (focusing on a wine varietal from a single year, but from multiple producers), priceless (don't divulge the prices as it may affect people's perception of the wine), and all kinds of other ways. There are no hard and fast rules - the objective is to get some friends together and taste some different wines.
Blind Wine Tasting
For our tasting, all the wines were red, priced the same (~$20 per bottle), and all scored 90+ on the wine spectator scale. I selected wines from different parts of each country - some medium bodied, some much fuller. And just to dial up the fun factor, I made it a blind wine tasting, with a competition to see who could guess the most wines. To assist with the tasting, I prepared an info sheet listing each wine and detailing the characteristics of each. This way, as we tasted, we could read about the choices and try to match them with the selections.
Click here to see Info about the Wines we tasted
The wine tasting turned out to be a perfect activity to accompany fondue (pages 106-107) because our tasters could concentrate on the wine while their meat and veggies were cooking. And of course, one of the best things about eating fondue is trying all kinds of different sauces. For this dinner, we had filet of beef, chicken, shrimp, mushrooms and potatoes with 6 different sauces. Here is what we served and what sauce we would recommend with which foods.
-------------
Barbecue (I bought this one as there are many delicious varieties to choose from). Good with beef and chicken.
Curry Dip (page 96) - Good with chicken, shrimp, and potatoes.
Horseradish Sauce - Mix together 1 cup sour cream, 6 tablespoons prepared horseradish, 1/4 cup chives. and season with salt and pepper. Chill. Good with beef.
Thai Peanut Sauce (page 118) - This one is simply good with everything.
Chipotle - Finely chop 2 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce. Mix with 1 cup mayonnaise, 2 tsp. Worcestershire, and 2 tsp. of the adobo sauce. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper for additional heat. Good with chicken, shrimp and mushrooms.
Hoisin - Mix 1/2 cup hoisin with 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice and 2 tablespoons of ketchup. Good with beef, chicken, and shrimp.
-------------
Everyone took the wine tasting very seriously, and the younger folks actually got more wines correct than Alan or I did. Matt emerged as the wine tasting champion with 2 correct, winning the prize - a wine tasting kit and a bottle of wine. Ok, so none of us are ready to sit for the master sommelier test, but it was a lot of fun nonetheless.
So here's a fun documentary to watch about 4 people preparing to take the Master Sommelier exam. Whether you know anything about wine or not, it's interesting to see just how much is really involved when it comes to wine tasting.
Click here to watch trailer for SOMM
After dinner, we engaged in a rousing game of taboo, where the guys beat the girls handily. Now that we had worked up an appetite for a little dessert, we congregated around the kitchen island to dip fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, star fruit, kiwi, bananas, apples, grapes, pineapple, brownies (page 48), pound cake, and marshmallows into chocolate fondue (page 108) and our new favorite, Caramel Fondue. Yummy . . . star fruit dipped in caramel is simply divine.
-------------
Caramel Fondue Recipe
Ingredients:
4 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup (recommended: Karo)
1/2 cup water
3 cups heavy cream
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes
4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Add the first 3 ingredients to a saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Cook the mixture until the sugar has dissolved, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the sugar mixture becomes an amber color, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture back to a light simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool for about 30 minutes.
Serve in a fondue pot with dipping choices surrounding the pot so they can be easily dipped in the caramel
-------------
All of our guests spent the night, and the next day we pulled out the leftover chocolate and caramel fondue and started dipping all over again. In fact, we didn't even bother to heat it up as it was delicious as it was.
If you're looking for a fun theme for a party with family or friends, I'd definitely recommend either wine tasting or fondue or as we did for this get together, both.
Here are the highlights from the evening.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Another easy and fun meal is Pork and Red Pepper Stir Fry (page 40-41). There's nothing hard about this dish, and the most time consuming part is gathering and chopping ingredients. I think the key here is to have all your ingredients together before you even turn on the wok.
Let the rice simmer while you're making the stir-fry, and your dinner will all come together at the same time. I like to eat this dish with chop sticks, like the ones shown below that I bought in Kyoto, Japan last year.
A few simple touches can make any (and every) meal a bit more special. Bamboo placemats, chopsticks and chopstick holders, and a little candlelight turn this simple meal into one you can be proud to serve your family!
No, literally. I had to scrub dust, dirt and grime off the damn thing for nearly 20 minutes.
Hopefully your crockpot is in a bit better shape, and you're ready to play ball. If so, would definitely recommend the jerk chicken concoction below as an easy, fun and tasty dish for these colder months.
I vaguely followed an online recipe, but opted for a spicier, more colorful option. Crockpot cooking is renowned for its ease and convenience, and this dish is no different - 10-15 minutes of prep time should do the trip provided ingredients are on hand.
What you need:
-Crockpot: I recommend the All-Clad brand, but any should do the trick.
-Meat: I went with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, albeit the recipe called for chicken thighs. This was a healthier option, but thighs can be juicer and tastier, especially if you supplement the crockpot process with a short pan-fry after to enhance crispiness (one package of chicken breasts/thighs).
-Veggies/Starches: What do you have in the fridge? In my case, I opted for a kaleidoscopic mixture of carrots, green beans and baby potatoes (both red and white variants).
-A sauce: The recipe I was working with called for a sweet-and-salty mixture of soy sauce, local honey, red pepper flakes, ground black pepper, and oregano. I added some fresh basil and minced garlic, topping it all off with a chili-garlic sauce (OK, maybe this isn't a kiss-someone-right-after meal).
Prep:
Unwrap the chicken breasts/thighs and layer them on the bottom of your clean crockpot. One of the benefits of crock-style is that everything cooks evenly, so don't fret too much about proper placement. Halve the baby potatoes and drop them and the carrots (or whatever veggies and starches you are using) in with the chicken.
Next, prepare the sauce. Get a little freaky. Pour the mixture into the crockpot, coating the ingredients you previously dropped in.
Finally, rinse and prepare the green beans (or other veggies) on a cutting board, but don't drop in yet. Whew, that was close! We'll be putting these in during the last 30 minutes of cooking time.
Cooking:
Hey, we're at the easy part! Plug in your crockpot, and cook on high for 4 hours. Every hour, open the lid and spoon the sauce from the bottom over the top of your ingredients (this is apparently called basting). At the last 30 minutes, drop in your greens (and start building your hunger as the aromas begin to escape).
The chicken should start to shred off near the end of cook-time, jerk-style.
Plate. Eat. Enjoy.
Warning: Don't eat this five meals in a row. You WILL tire of it! 
In our never ending battle with carbs, noodles of any kind are the enemy. It doesn't mean that we have to avoid all sorts of pasta dishes, rather it means we have to be a bit more creative. This delicious Pad Thai recipe (page 74-75) uses fresh zucchini in lieu of noodles, so make this dish and eat guilt free. Shrimp, red peppers, fresh bamboo shoots, scallions, peanuts and fresh cilantro make this dish something you'll want to eat often! (Fun fact: I bought the dish above in Tokyo. So it's Japanese, not Thai, but it's still pretty cool.) 
One of the best things about traveling to Italy is the food. Pasta, Pizza, Cannolis. In our (extended) family, we are all big fans of Pasta Bolognese - homemade wide noodles covered in a rich meaty sauce, topped with fresh parmesan cheese.
During a recent trip to Milan and Sicily with Al, Matt, Ben, Josh, and our friends Drew and John, we sampled Bolognese many, many times. According to John, Drew has been clammering for some Bolognese for a while, and a few nights ago John granted his wish by making a big pot of it. Typically Bolognese Sauce (page 26-27) is made with a combination of ground beef, veal and pork, but John being John, improvised when he couldn’t find any veal, and used ground lamb instead.
Per John, “The Bolognese was perfect. I used 2% fat milk thinking it would lighten it up, but I don’t think anyone would be able to tell the difference. This is wonderful on a cool night, just probably cut your portions down a bit from the normal marinara/tomato sauce. Some garlic bread and a light green salad, and everyone’s happy!”
If you're have a little extra time, make your own Homemade Pasta as well (page 28-29). Check out my Italian wine recommendation (Il Poeta 2010 Barbera D'Alba) under In The Glass as a nice complement to Bolognese. 
