I Shared My Wine

...with a carousel horse!

And that basically sums up the 2009 work party. That was, by the way, my third and final glass of wine. No incriminating photos here!! (I mean, unless you include the one above)

We Can Do It: Wine Edition

I know, it's not good to judge a book by its cover, but tell me this label doesn't make you want to try the wine!

It's called Rosé the Riveter and it's from Working Girl Wines. I discovered the company last night at work when I noticed a case displaying their logo (featuring Rosé, Working Girl White, and Go Girl Red) next to my desk. I don't know if we ordered a mixed case that was just packed in it or what, but I totally fell in love. And that was before I found out the name of the wine!

I actually have a Rosie the Riveter magnet on my desk (thanks, Scott) and showed my manager and he was a little freaked out. I think maybe he didn't get the reference before it was right in front of his nose.

I'm hoping that since the case found its way into our office, that means one of our distrubutors carries the collection, and that means it's available in Florida. Fingers crossed...Scott is on a mission to find it for me.

And by the way, according to their website, they support women and family charities. And this particular wine might actually not suck: Wine Press rated the 2006 Rosé "Outstanding!"

Table for Three

The bug man came and went Wednesday afternoon around 3:00. He was here for five minutes. I asked him what the "big infestation" was that the office manager had alluded to the day before, and he said he hadn't seen anything at all in this building. Though perhaps it would be on the second side... What really got me about the whole process was that he was squirting his little gel syringe in the front of the cabinets - like right at the hinges. I never once saw him reach all the way back.

I won't complain though. We did get 7 bags of crap thrown out. And to celebrate, Scott and I took off right after the bug man left for an early dinner at Mama Melrose's. (originally made a 4:10 reservation so that we could go see Fantasmic, but were so exhausted we just came home after) We were seated at a table in the very last section of the restaurant, next to the wall, which happened to be decorated thusly:

I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I want Placido Domingo watching me eat. I wanted to take a picture of him and Scott together, but Scott wouldn't cooperate. We pigged out on an assortment of artisan breads and mozzarella/tomato salad, Scott had the steak with gorgonzola butter (and red pepper polenta...ick!) and I had pork marsala with mushroom risotto. We split a piece of cheesecake for dessert, along with a glass of port.Scotty likey dee port. Jamie likey the tiny glass - like the size you'd give a six-year-old his wine in, if you were so inclined. Anyone else think Scott should totally make this his Facebook profile? Aunt Rose would be so proud...

The next 2 weeks are going to be pretty nuts for me. I'm working every day next week except Wednesday, training Friday and Saturday (training someone else - not me being trained), a 2-hour class this Tuesday and an 8-hour class next Monday. And then ELECTION DAY the next day. I'll be hosting an election night party for myself, similar to my Emmy party, with random appetizer foods and a bottle of rosé I got from my boss last week. And I certainly pray that I'm not drowning my sorrows in bubbles by the end of the night.

So if you don't hear from me, assume I'm fine, just working or sleeping!

Food & Wine Part Three

Don't skip ahead! Start with part one and part two!

Louisiana

Seafood Gumbo

Scott: 3.5

Jamie: 1 - *gag* tasted like rotten fish to me!

Crawfish Etouffée

Scott: 4

Jamie: 4 - I thought it would be too spicy, but I found it delightful.

Abita "Purple Haze" Beer

Scott: 3 - It was good, but no Sam Adams

Praline Bread Pudding with Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Scott: 2.5 - cloyingly sweet

Jamie: 2.5 - what he said...and way too many pecans

Free Mini Tabasco Bottles: Priceless!

Turkey

Manti with Yogurt Sauce

(Note: manti is a spicy beef ravioli)

Scott: 4 - sour to the point of being sweet

Jamie: 4 - would've been a 5 if it didn't look like a pile of vomit! I really enjoyed it!

Canada

Chateau des Charmes Riesling

Jamie: 4 - I got carded when I ordered this! The first wine I had at the Festival, I can't tell you a thing about it, but I remember that I liked it!

Cheddar Cheese Soup

Scott: 4.5

Jamie: 5 - A festival favorite every year, though the predominant flavor in the soup is bacon, not cheese!

Vidal Icewine

Jamie: 5

Scott: 5 - Thick, sweet, with a honey after-taste. "Scotty like dee expensive wine!"

And Last But Not Least...

Puerto Rico

(left) Mofongo

(beef with green plantains, pork cracklings, shrimp and something like salsa)

Scott: 2.5

Jamie: 2 - the salsa was a redeeming feature. Both of us could see how this could be tasty if made well and served fresh, but this wasn't.

(right) "Gypsy's Arm" Guava Jelly Roll

Scott: 5 - tasty! I don't usually like guava, and this was very sweet, but sweet in a good way.

Jamie: 5 - first thing I had on day #1, last thing I had on day #2.

Plantain and Beef Casserole

Scott: 4.5 (once we scraped some of the diced red peppers off the top)

Jamie: 5 - Scott wants to learn how to make this, and I'm going to let him!

Frozen Mojito

Scott: 5 - Even though it was a "slushie" it was very well balanced. They used Bacardi Limon, which I usually don't like, but in this case it worked!

Jamie: 4.5 - I was shocked that you could still taste the mint so well without any actual pieces of mint in the drink!

So that's our culinary world tour. We hope you are drooling on your keyboard right now.

...and I would like to leave you with two photos of Scott - a study of mojitos - taken at the start of day #1, and the end of day #2. That's how you know we were on vacation!!

Food & Wine Part Two

Have you read Part One? If not, start there!

Ireland

(left) Frozen Irish Coffee

Jamie: 5 - Yum! It's an alcoholic Frappuccino!

(middle) Boxty with Bacon Chips and Kerrygold Garlic & Fresh Herb Butter

Scott: 4

Jamie: 4.5 - picture corned beef and cabbage wrapped in a potato pancake with herb butter on top. Only, you know, there wasn't actually any corned beef.

(right) Guinness Draught

Scott: 4

Irish Cheese Selection: Cheddar, Dubliner, Ivernia with apple chutney and brown bread

Scott: 2.5

Jamie: 3 - There was nothing wrong with the
cheeses, but they all tasted the same and were served cold. The cheese booth put this plate to shame. And that bread... doesn't look brown to me!

Potato Leek Soup with Dubliner Cheese Stick

Scott: 4 - Very creamy, light with a leeky undertone. The cheese stick was light in texture but intense in flavor.

Jamie: 3 - I didn't find it nearly creamy enough.

Time for a photographic interlude from the "Pearville Fair" section. Nothing to eat here but whole pairs, but still a fun photo op!

Hops and Barley

a.k.a. "The Beer Booth"

a.k.a. The booth with the mile-long line

Sam Adams Cherry Wheat

Jamie: 3 - which for a beer is pretty darn good!

Scott: 5 - It's his favorite beer, and can currently be found in our fridge

Sam Adams 13th Annual Festival Lager

Jamie: 2.5 - I didn't like it, but the flavor was layered and complex

Scott: 3.5

San Francisco, USA

Seared Beef Medallion with Cheddar Cheese Polenta

Scott: 4 - The polenta was very creamy. Beef had a little too much rosemary on it.

New Zealand

Lamb Slider on a Brioche Roll

Scott: 3 -Liked the roll, meat cooked well, the gravy was "eh."

Jamie: 3.5 - Tasted like pot roast on bread. I wouldn't have known it was lamb.

Bay Scallops with Baby Greens and Cranberry Vinaigrette

Scott: 3

Jamie: 3

Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Jamie: 4 - this was the first red I tasted on night #1, and I don't remember anything specific about the flavor, but I remember that it was delicious and really enhanced the mini pot roast sandwich!

Morocco

Grilled Beef and Hummus in a Pita Pocket

(note: that's the description in the festival guide, but there was definitely no hummus on there. instead, there was a salsa-like garnish)

Scott: 1 - It had been sitting at least an hour. The pita was soggy, hummus was missing, and the "hamburger" didn't have any flavor.

Mint Iced Tea

Scott: 4

Jamie: 5 - I love mint tea, and at this point of day #2, I needed something cold and refreshing. Hooray for countries without alcohol!

We're still not done! Part three will be here before you know it!

Food & Wine Part One

WARNING: This entry is *way* photo-heavy. But we all like pictures, right?

Scott and I spent this weekend working our way through the World Showcase like grazing livestock, eating all sorts of interesting foods - most really good, some colossally terrible. Here's our full Food & Wine Festival experience, in the order of the Festival Guide:

(and before you judge too harshly, please remember these pictures were taken over the span of two days and 3-4 meal periods and fed both of us)

With each photo is a description of the food/beverage and a rating on a scale of 1-5 from Scott and/or I.

(top left) From the Chile booth: Dulce de Leche (we also had the Empanada, which was delicious, but ate it before I could take the picture!)

Scott: 3

Jamie: 3

(middle) From the "Mouse Catch" booth: Trio of cheeses - Dorothea, Manchego, Asiago

Scott: 5

Jamie: 5 (none were too stinky for us, and the man at the booth gave a great spiel for each and told me what order to eat them in)

(top right) Marqués de Caceres Rioja.

Jamie: 4. Awesome pairing, and even Scott appreciated it, but we both agree that a port would've been better.

Argentina:

(left) Beef with Chimichurri Sauce

Scott: 3

Jamie: 3 - tastes like pesto to me!

(right) Beef and Corn Pie

Scott: 3

Jamie: 3

Spain:

Seared Tuna Loin with Spicy Red Pepper Coulis and Garlic-Herb Ciabatta

Scott: 2.5 - Tuna was good, not good enough to cover the red peppers

Jamie: 3

Bodegas...Rosé

Jamie: fruity, worked well with the red peppers. It's nothing I'd seek out again

Austria:

(left) Tafelspitz - beef brisket with horseradish sauce and red-skin potato

Scott: 3.5

Jamie: 4 - I had a bite of this on night #1 when I was super-full and went back of day #2 to try it again!

(below) Goulash with Bacon Dumpling

Scott: 3

Jamie: 3 - tasty beef stew, neither of us really cared for the texture of the dumpling

China:

(left) Pork Pot Stickers

Scott: 3.5

Jamie: 3.5 - Just like what you'd find at the local Chinese take-out

(right) Chicken Sha Cha

Scott: 2.5

Jamie: 1.5 - Something about this one made me gag. Didn't like the sauce, and didn't like the chicken. ick!

India:

Samosa with Tamarind Sauce

Scott: -1

Jamie: 1

Had I known it would be this awful, I would have taken a picture of Scott tasting it. The filling was too spicy, the curry was too overwhelming, and even the tamarind sauce (we have enjoyed tamarind in the past) tasted like it was laced with habanero peppers!

Australia

(next two photos)

Pepperberry Prawns on the Barbie with Sweet Potato Hash

Scott: 3.5 - Slightly peppery with a nice sweetness. The hash was good but peppery.

Yewllowglen "Pink" Sparkling Wine

Jamie: 3.5 - I liked it, even though it wasn't as pink as I thought it would be. This wine is sold in our local Publix, and was tasty enough that next time I'm in the mood for something sparkling I'll consider it.

Wattleseed Mousse

Jamie: 3 - The description included "coffee soaked lady fingers," so I was expecting something like tiramisu. It was good, but not as good as that. At least the seeds didn't get stuck in my teeth!

Chilled Barramundi Fish with a Fennel Slaw

Scott: 2

Jamie: 1 - Cold fish? None for me unless it's sushi!

Germany

Regensburger Sausage with Sauerkraut in a Pretzel Roll

Scott: 4 - Only complaint was the seasoning of the brat (too mild). The pretzel roll was moist and the sauerkraut was good too.

This brings us to the end of Part One. Stay tuned for beer, mojitos, "lamb sliders" and more!

Bite-Size Portions

Scott and have decided to have a weekend-o-gluttony at the Food & Wine Festival.

The good news? The portions are bite-sized. That's probably best for both of us!

More details, including photos more recent than 2005, on Wednesday. In the meantime, leave a message at the beep.

***BEEP***

Who Wants Pictures???

Maybe once I get a day or two off I'll be able to form coherent paragraphs. Until then, here's some pictures:

Yep, that's her head (complete with tongue!) in my water glass. I don't think I've had a water to myself in the past 2 weeks. Yep, I let her do it. The other cats drink my water when I'm not looking - what's the difference?

And for my next trick, I'm going to show you two photos taken just about a year apart. You've all seen the first one before - it was taken at last year's work party. The second one just goes to show that you're never to old to drink 2 glasses of champagne at once!

(and no, Mom, I was never in any danger of getting myself fired or mortally embarassed.)

Shopping, Dining and More!

What's a girl to do when she has a work party to attend and nothing sparkly or cleavage-revealing to wear?

Go shopping!

And what did I find?

Yeah, something sparkly and cleavage-revealing! OK, you can't really tell from the picture, but the entire neckline of the pink top is lined with tacky pink rhinestones and little fake pearls. That shirt is actually a halter, thus the conservative-a-fying black cardigan. I tried on the ensemble in the store, and told the sales girl that I love it, but that I don't really have great fashion sense and maybe they shouldn't go together at all. She made SUCH a face. And she actually said she thought the jeweled neckline didn't go with the sweater at all. But my concern was about doing the "layered" thing with the pink hanging out the bottom. She said that was fine. So I bought it.

I also got a pair of black dress pants and an orange silk tank with a cute pleated-ish neck line. For the party, I wore the tops above with a black skirt and then casual-ized it with my standard black sparkly flip flops.

I actually got a lot of compliments on the look, and my stock response was always something in the neighborhood of, "I got drunk and bedazzled the hell out of it this afternoon." I am really sad that the sparkle didn't show up in any of the pictures. However, I do get points for having on more color than most people.

I'm not going to talk about the cast party, except to say that I had too much champagne. I did stay clothed, didn't dance on any tables, and only made a moderate ass out of myself in front of my bosses (but didn't really say much I wouldn't have said sober... just not all at one time). And that guy who interviewed me for that job that I'm 99% sure I didn't get? I smiled and said HELLO! a little too loud, and he possibly scurried away after that.

The reservations girls (a.k.a. me and my minions) with the Chef. This photo was obviously taken after I decided that I would not pose for a picture without my champagne in-hand!

The after-party was at Jelly Rolls, and when we got there (around 10), the place was still mostly empty and there was no one singing along. Hello? Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive" needs me to yell "WANTED... DEAD OR ALIVE" at the top of my lungs. Most of the tables turned around to look at me and I just smiled and waved. My audience! Finally! And at the end of the song, the piano guy thanked me. :-)

After that, some of my co-workers were dancing and the security guys came up multiple times to ask them to sit down. Perhaps because they were right in front of the stage? Well, whatever! That was the closest I've ever come to being kicked out of anywhere. But all told, there were probably 20-30 of us there, and maybe 20 others who weren't us. And they (for the most part) weren't behaving too badly.

For the record, I switched to water once we got to Jelly Rolls. All the bubbles had given me wicked heart burn, and I was really worried about puking. Scott bailed out of work early to drive me and Harp Girl home. Good thing, because my throat hurts from all the "singing" I did, and I can't imagine what I would feel like today if I had stayed.

One thing I noticed last night is that the two guys who didn't have anything at all to drink probably had the most fun. Sure, they weren't dancing or "singing" - but they had a front-row seat to some pretty spectacular shenanigans... AND they'll remember more than the rest of us. On the other end of the spectrum, I behaved myself so that I didn't wake up this morning ashamed of myself. That's more than I can say for some of my other co-workers!

Treading Carefully...

I have $13,000 worth of port in my office. In two medium-sized boxes.

One bottle is from 1900.

I'm afraid to walk around my desk, worried that I'm going to do some Dick Van Dyke face plant and be paying 10% of my wages back to The Restaurant until the end of time!

Delta Force

On Thursday, Number Two was unpacking some new and exciting additions to our Cordial List - mostly ports way older than I am. He pulled out a bottle and showed it to me. He was marveling that it was tiny - 3/4 the size of a regular wine bottle - and trying to do the mental math on what we would be charging for a glass ($110 for 3 oz.). I saw the label and had to ask, "We're selling a port called Delta Force?" That didn't seem too classy to me!

So Number Two laughed and started humming the theme to Delta Force (which sounded an awful lot like the A-Team theme...). I made the joke that Scott would probably buy it based on the name alone.

When I repeated the story to Scott, he agreed until he heard the price, and then asked if the label had a picture of Chuck Norris with a knife in his teeth. I told him the bottle was from 1944, so no picture.

Over Thursday and Friday, I had conversations with multiple people about the Delta Force port. Mostly, the conversations were just passing musings with the servers - things like, "let me know if you sell any Delta Force!" And Number Two and I continued the Chuck Norris jokes.

This afternoon, The Boss asked me to print up the new cordial lists. Imagine my dismay when I saw DeLa Force on there!

Sorry, couldn't find a 1944 label image... but the logo looks just the same!

I'm not sure how many people there think I'm "extra special" now. I certainly feel like I've made a great case for the late-twenties onset of any number of learning disabilities!

Smelling of Wine and Laundry Detergent

Yeah, that's a knife sticking out of a wine bottle. If you are observant, you may have also noticed the bits of cork scattered across the kitchen counter or the purple splatter on that canister of bread crumbs on top of my lunch box. Out of the frame are the purple spots on the floor, my face, the wall behind me, and the upper counter by the tea kettle.

"But Jamie, why didn't you use that corkscrew right next to the wine bottle?"

I tried. That's where the bits of cork came from.

So after I failed spectacularly with the corkscrew (and yes, I realize the wine opening technology has improved vastly since the 1970's), I tried the vegetable peeler. And then I tried the paring knife.

I'm not sure what I expected to happen, but I definitely hadn't anticipated the Molotov Rioja! I'm also rather impressed that my eyes sealed themselves shut just before the shower. Sadly, I needed to open my eyes to find the paper towel, and I can report that red wine burns just as much as shampoo or face wash.

I left the knife in the bottle while I went to change, and leave my (thankfully) red sweater and brown t-shirt in the washer soaking. I took evidence photos. And I wiped up the counter before the wine had a chance to stain... well, almost. I'm sure Scott will be able to get the last of it out with something stronger than a Clorox wipe!

And then I tried to pull out the knife and cork. It didn't work, and I had to push the knife back down to get it un-stuck. And you know what happened? I bet you do! But somehow I didn't expect the same damn thing to happen again! Of course, this time the wine got all over my white t-shirt, which I'm still wearing because - meh - it's an old shirt that I only wear to bed anyway.

I still wanted to at least try the wine, despite the bad cork omen. So I poured it through a metal strainer to catch the tiny bits of cork. I actually don't think the wine is bad, especially considering the cork and the metal trauma it had been through. Sadly, I can't possibly save it. My only other vacuum topper is on a bottle of white that I enjoyed much more, and the cork is still floating in the bottle.

So cheers to you! Anyone have a story that will make me feel better about this?