LightCatcher Releases Off-Dry Rosé

LightCatcher Winery in Fort Worth just released the 2007 Texas Kiss Merlot Rosé ($14). Winemaker Caris Turpen said:

This year’s version is true to form - light, crisp, and just sweet enough to push the fruitiness right up to the front (technically it’s “off-dry”).  The flavors are strawberry, cherry, watermelon and cranberry - a perfect complement to spicy and warm-weather dishes.  And, the color is gorgeous - a transparent ruby red, clean and enticing.

You can expect that this will sell out soon, as it does every year. I love this wine with fish and shellfish dishes that have a bit of sweetness in the glazes or sauces. Turpen also has a dry-style Merlot rosé, Etain’s Rose ($18), that I cannot leave the winery without buying drinking at least one bottle. It is crisp and refreshing, but has structure and complexity. Try it with chicken, Asian food, even steak.

RE: Top Chef

Okay, not be Queen Redundant of Redundancy, but to our handicapping Disher I say: word. I’ll be so happy when Lisa, Nikki, Mark, and Antonia are gone. Especially Lisa and Nikki. I mean, seriously. Now that we’re on to week eight, it really is game-on time. (My picks: Stephanie, Dale, Richard, and Andrew—despite his uber tweakiness.)

More Virutal Food

My husband and I had lunch recently with some friends (at The Counter. It was decent. Get the sweet potato fries.), and the wife mentioned in passing that she had started a food blog. She has always been interested in cooking and baking, and her collection of cookbooks dwarfs my entire library. But, even knowing all that, I am still impressed with her effort (especially since she has a 1-year-old and a part-time law career to boot). I guess these online amateur foodie outposts are more prevalent than I think. That true?

Top Chef: The Game: Mid-Season Recap

Remember this, when we decided to make Top Chef:Chicago into a fun game? It’s halfway through the season, and the same Disher who invented the game sends the mid-season review:

Just watched Wednesday night’s ep on the DVR last night and though that we should do an almost-mid-season review of the handicapping. This shouldn’t be too tough, since the players are few in number. I have the picks as such:

Me:                        Richard, Dale, Stephanie, and Andrew (4 for 4 so far)

You:                       Richard, Antonia, Nikki, and Manuel (3 for 4)

Donna:                 Antonia, Jennifer, Richard, & Stephanie (4 for 4)

Logan:                   Richard, Stephanie, Mark, Ryan (3 for 4)

Todd J.:                Richard, Stephanie, Dale, and Spike (4 for 4)

RB:                         Dale, Richard, Jennifer, Antonia (3 for 4)

I find a couple things interesting. First, everybody has Richard Blais in their group, and thus far he’s got to be in the clubhouse with the lead, but it’s only Friday (literally and figuratively) and there are 36 holes yet to play.

Second, nobody had more than one of the early round losers.

Third, I’ve been very impressed with this group compared with Season 3. After about the second or third episode, each of the chefs seems to feel that they have to bring it every week; last season, there were a lot of folks who seemed to just want to coast in the middle and then try to turn it on in the playoffs.

Last, I think that there are a bunch who are just hanging on by a thread: Mark, Antonia, Nikki, and Bad Attitude Lisa. If there were a group challenge coming up with all 4 of them on the same group, I could see the judges cutting the entire group just to be rid of them. Except that the show probably has a 16-episode contract and that would totally screw up the production schedule.

What’s Up With Snooty Foodie?

A few weeks ago, a friend alerted me to the website Snooty Foodie, and I’ve totally forgotten to blog about it. It’s a Dallas-based site with recommendations instead of reviews, meaning all the restaurants they list are restaurants they like. Abacus, Aurora, Fearing’s, Jasper’s, Local, they’re all on there. Click on the name, and an extensive explanation of the restaurant itself, a chef profile, hours, locations, a photo gallery (!), and a fork rating system pop up. You can also make a reservation through opentable.com here, and they have a “Snooty News” section where different food events are listed.

Dishers, what do you think of this? And who is behind this site? I’m impressed with the amount of information available. Thoughts please.