Rites of Spring #8 - Tasting menu and wine at SIPS James Bay · Saturday April 17, 2010 by colin newell
Going to regret blogging this big time.
Wine tasting and meal… at SIPS in James Bay… once a month.
And dig this: Appetizer, entree and dessert + 7 wines.
For $25.
Not a misprint. Twenty five smackers.
I had the seafood chowder and the baked halibut on a bed of leek infused mashed potatoes. Apple crumble for dessert. Andrea had the cheese plate and the pork belly confit plus the caramel cheesecake for dessert. Friend Alan M. had green salad with smoked salmon and the pork belly with Tiramisu for dessert. Friend Steve P. had chowder, Halibut and crumble. Sharon P. had cheese plate, Halibut and Tiramisu.
The featured wines were from Hillside Estate Winery – Penticton B.C. Canada:
Ottonel – 100% Muscat Ottonel grown on their estate – Only wine of its kind produced in the Okanagan Valley. A very light and fruity white wine.
Gamay Noir Planted in 1984, Gamay Noir vines are some of the oldest in the Okanagan Valley. Barrel aged for 8 months, this wine is made in a Burgundian-style, resulting in a medium bodied, fruit forward wine. Raspberry and cedar notes highlight the aroma with a silky texture on the palate.
Un-oaked Pinot Gris Stainless fermented Pinot Gris shines with fresh fruit, white peach, citrus and melon are backed by a bright core of tree-fruit flavours – bright finish.
Oaked Pinot Gris Made from fruit sourced from the Naramata and Black Sage benches and fermented in both stainless vats and Hungarian oak barrels. Orange blossoms and vanilla mingle with tropical fruit aromas followed by a rich and supple mid-palate.
S. African Pinotage Fruit was sourced from a single family vineyard in Oliver. A deep black currant aroma dusted with sagebrush, toasted nutmeg, and mesquite is echoed on the palate along with Mission fig, racy spice and leather. Aged 9 months.
Syrah From grapes sourced from our Hidden Valley vineyard on the Naramata Bench. The wine is full-bodied, rich and fruity – tasted blackberries and dark spice.
Rosé A blend of Merlot, Syrah and Gamay sourced primarily from their Naramata Bench vineyard. Wild berries and Cherry on the palate + long finish.
We showed up at 6PM and left at 9PM – 3 hours of great conversation, food and drink at an astounding $25/person less healthy tip. It is not often we say yes to a completely different eating event on a couple of days notice but this really worked for us – made a few new friends in the process and hooked up with some fine wines and awesome eats. My buddy Alan’s partner works as a sous chef at SIPS and we were knocked out by the quality of the offerings. I would compare SIPS quite favorably to a local eatery like CAFE BRIO. Yup, that good!
Now listen up readers! I hope to do this again in a month. Seating is limited and you can put yourself down for an e-mail alert on events (and I did) – but I discourage anyone else from doing this or going to this eating/drinking event. We loved it… but we are pretty sure you won’t. :-)
Cheers!
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Rites of Spring #7 - We make shrimp and sausage Jambalaya · Monday April 5, 2010 by colin newell
I have been making double batches of Cajun Jambalaya from a “modified kit” – from Zatarain’s Jambalaya mix and adding some of my own ingredients…
However, the Zatarain’s mix has way too much salt for most normal human beings so we decided to come up with our own scratch Cajun Jambalaya – and here it is!
1 yellow onion chopped
1 cup of celery chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cayenne 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon black cracked pepper
saute in 2 tablespoons veg or canola oil until wilted (about 5 minutes)
add 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
add 4 portuguese sausage cut into 1/4” slices
add 2 cups diced tomatoes
add 4 bay leaf
add 2 cups hand-peel shrimp meat
Saute above for 2 minutes
Add 2 cups of rice – saute for 2 minutes
Add 5 cups of chicken broth
Stir til comes to boil
cover, reduce to medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes
stir, remove bay leaf.
This is an awesome Jambalaya and it’s low in salt!
for the record, Zatarain’s has a low-sodium Jambalaya mix
Enjoy!
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Winter Fun Food and Adventure Victoria - Return to the Stage · Saturday February 27, 2010 by colin newell
Andrea and I sort of live in Fernwood… inasmuch as we sort of live in Oak Bay…
and Victoria… you might say that we are somewhat itinerant.
Anyway – we first appeared at the door of Stages Small Plates in 2007 – review here .
And we have gone back a couple of times – but tonight we had the pleasure of eating out with our favorite couple – the crazy, sexy cool that is The Engels. Valerie and Mark are the brains behind the Bubby Roses Bakery Cafe machine in Victoria.
There is a reason why Bubby Roses Bakery has more kilowatt buzz per square inch of Cinnamon bun than any other bakery in town – it is because of the Engels and their staff. Honest to God, if the World was going to end in 24 hours, this is where I would send everyone to spend their final moments.
Going out with Valerie and Mark generally involves a couple of glasses of Pinot Noir per person and a whole heck of a lot of great stories – back and forth, back and forth.
Anyway, another advantage of going out with a hungry couple is being able to order just about everything on the menu; Edamame (Japanese twig beans), Mussels, Falafel, Squid, White Fish, and pork belly…
and enjoying every morsel!
Although that was not everything, it was a good cross section.
That and dessert; chocolate pate and a creme brulee…
and a 1/2 gallon of Cafe Fantastico decaf.
Dinner for 4 and lots of wine and great stories… about $180
Fun recipe series chapter one - my Pecan Caramel baked corn candy · Sunday January 31, 2010 by colin newell
I made this on a random whim last night – and I guess all whim’s are unplanned… some not so much.
24 Cups of popped corn (1 cup of your favorite kernels)
1 Cup Butter (margarine for the faint of heart)
2 Cups Brown Sugar – the darker the better – I use Demerara)
1/2 Cup Corn Syrup
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
1 Cup Whole Pecans
Preheat Oven to 250 degrees (F) – In your largest pot melt butter, stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt.
Bring to boil stirring constantly. Boil for 5 minutes more without stirring.
Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Then pecans.
Pour in all the popcorn. Stir and stir (with a wooden spoon) til all the popcorn is coated with the sugar-nut mixture.
Put all of this mix onto your largest cookie sheet or roasting pan.
Put it in the oven for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Store in airtight plastic or tin container.
Great with tea, or coffee or single malt scotch.
Insulin not included.
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