buzz wines

2012-01-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

New Years Day was a relaxing day for us at our house. We ate all day focusing on our traditional New Year's meal of Chinese food. Boy was it good, we even had left overs for the next day, with my busy days I am a huge fan of leftovers. We played games and visited with family and friends. I made a Coke cake and frosted it two different ways, so as to suit everyone's tastes. This is one of my favorite cakes as it is chocolaty, rich, and moist. I can satisfy my sweet tooth with only one or two bites. (Much better for my waist line).
Along with this scrumptious cake we enjoyed a bottle of Snoqualmie 2008 Merlot. This is a Columbia Valley Merlot. I personally enjoy Merlot from Washington State, as they tend to have a fuller body and slightly more tannin at the back then Merlot from other regions of the world. This is a great everyday wine with a very reasonable price point. In my blogging I am trying to keep with wines that are readily available in Boise. If you have interest in purchasing any of these just let me know so that I can ensure we have them at the shop.

This weekend I will have Coke Cake at the Buzz for the dessert special for all of us to enjoy.

Cheers.

2012-01-01T14:10:00.001-08:00

New Year/New Beginning

2012-01-01T13:24:00.000-08:00

With the beginning of a new year, I find myself reexamining where I am in relation to where I want to be. I have set some goals for the year that are very reachable; with a little organization and discipline. The kids and Tommy are going to be involved in helping to achieve these goals. The first step in this is to blog about the food and wines we have been enjoying and will be enjoying.

I will continue to present foods and wines in what I refer to as the real world approach. These are wines that are affordable and palatable and foods that can be prepared with ingredients from the grocery store. As a mother of two teenagers, a practicing RN, owner of a small business and assisting in the care of my in-laws I live in the real world and that is where my focus will be.

We, of course, rang in the New Year with a little bubbly. We enjoyed a toast of Schramsberg Cremant. What a great start to the new year. This was a slightly dry cremant without the chalky taste of a true Champagne. Price is under $40. I served mine in a white wine glass, over the past few months I have been exposed to some research that states that the flutes cause the carbon dioxide of sparkling wines to build up at the top of the glass and alter the nose and even effects the taste, I do have to say that I enjoyed the cremant more out of a glass than a flute. Try it the next time you are enjoying a sparkler and see what you think.

At the Buzz last night we had a group that was playing Pathfinder (a game similar to Dungeons and Dragons), I put out a small buffet for them to enjoy with their game and had compliments from them all on my Chicken Enchiladas (by the way went very nicely with the cremant) I was very excited to inform all of the participants that this is one of the entrees that we have in stock for our take and bake line. They are good.

I should go now and decide what to make for New Years and which wine to drink tonight. Happy New Year to everyone.

Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits

2010-06-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well, another busy day in the world of the Takeda's. Did not sleep well but did get up and was very productive with getting all of the materials organized for the Murder by Malbec summer game; which is our major summer event this year. I am so excited about it, I hope that everyone participating has as much fun doing it as I have had creating and refining it.

Last night my candy shells were quite tasty and a great end to a very long couple of days. I was quite excited when a newbie at the wine dinner said that I seemed very relaxed in front of the group and that I was very good at interacting with the group. I always feel so nervous and think that everyone will sense it and not enjoy themselves but apparently I am good at bringing across my passions and not my fears.

Today we made strawberry cheesecake parfaits. Very rich but entirely delightful. I accompanied mine with M. Chapoutier Cotes-Du-Rhone Belleruche ($14) a slightly tart rose with a lot of flavor.

2010-06-09T15:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, well I have been very diligent about making the desserts just not as diligent about telling everyone about them so I will catch up on Monday, Tuesday, and the plan for Wednesday.

Monday I worked until 0700 then came home slept for a total of 3 hours, before being a good mom I went to the 5th grade celebration (type of graduation) events at Boo's school. Very long and drawn out...really, it's 5th grade no one got a doctorate or a Noble peace prize. Anyway then went to the store to pick up a few things for the wine club dinners this month. when I got home I attempted to make a jelly roll ice-cream cake....Failure...I will still need to practice. The kid's will eat it but it is most certainly a failure.

Slept like a baby Monday night, which is a good thing because Tuesday was wine club dinner nite. Big success, I used the dessert from the dinner to be my dessert for the day. Apparently it was tasty as it is now all gone and I did not even get to try it, it was pretty though.

Wednesday another dinner so I am remaking the dessert from Tuesday for that, but according to the rules of my summer project that does not count. So I am filling miniature chocolate cups with a BBavarian cream filling and topping them with fresh strawberries. This will be my treat to myself once I get home.

So now the next focus wines to pair with the desserts. The ice cream cake just needs a good wine to replace the dessert. I would say lets go all out on this one and have Travalini Gattinara ($36) This is nebbiolo at its finest and would not hesitate to drown out a bed dessert. Maybe I'll keep a bottle in the cellar in case someone stops over for dinner and my dessert fails. With the Strawberry and Chocolate Trifle I paired it with Zuccardi Q Tempernillo ($20). I did not taste them together but was informed it was a match made in heaven so for that I will settle. Tonight with my after wine dinner self indulgence I am going to have Riscal Tempernillo ($12) and the big seller at the dinner last night, it drinks like a much more expensive wine and has that phenomenal Spanish taste.

I'll let everyone know my personal indulgence fares.

2010-06-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it was quite a day. Worked at the hospital then went home and crashed. But my faithful companion, Austin, assured himself that I awoke with plenty of time to complete the dessert of the day prior to returning to the hospital. Boy, he sure is a great kid.

Today's dessert we created an Ugly Cake. The name is true to what the cake looks like but as the saying goes do not judge a book by its cover. This is a very moist yellow cake to which a topping of cream cheese and powdered sugar is added. It is a melt in your mouth addition to any meal.

I would pair this with a nice hot cup of coffee and a Renwood Vintage port ($22). This would finish of dinner and allow for a nice transition to intriguing conversation among friends and family.

2010-06-05T22:20:00.000-07:00

Ok. Well I did not submit anything yesterday, hoever, I believe that I have a legitimate reason....7 11 year old girls at my home for a sleepover. They were there to celebrate Bailey's birthday and they needed a little more interaction and supervision that I had imagined. Per Bailey though, it was the best sleepover ever and "you rock mom"

For the daily dessert on Friday I kept it simple, butter recipe cupcakes (Texas sized) with either chocolate or vanilla frosting. I decorated the cupcakes with large 'stars' of frosting and then let the girls go at it with sprinkles and jimmies. I have to admit they were far more colorful than I would have made them if I did it myself.

Saturday I make sugarcookie pops in the shape of Mickey Mouse heads. They sure did tast good but they only looked like Mickey if you squinted and looked away really quickly. I will have to evaluate my Disney decorating skills as the summer progresses, but at this time we will just have to eat them and not look too hard or too critically at them prior to consuming.

I would go with Zonin Asti Spumante ($13) with these. This is sweet and light and since these desserts were made for Bailey's Birthday I will defer to her sweet and light demenor. Actually, the Asti with a cup of really good Buzz coffee would probably have served me better for dessert with the company I was keeping.

As always not sure what tomarrow will bring as I have a pretty full day, I am going to look online for an easy dessert for Sunday as I am working Saturday and Sunday nights. Take care.

Cheesecake filled Sopaipillas

2010-06-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

Busy day once again. Went to the doctor this morning. Good news everything is all good and I do not have to see him again for three months. Whoo Hoo... Then off to teach at the hospital..then to the shop. Once I got to the shop had the opprotunity to try a recipe that Debbie and I had seen in a magazine at the doctors offic. Cheesecake filled Sopaipillas...they are incredible and very easy. The aroma filled the entire athletic club as they were baking and Alex tried to eat an entire tray, but the good news is they were still to hot so we will see what he does tomarrow. The Entertainers played tonight and as all Thursdays are at the Buzz it was very entertaining. Getting ready for Boos birthday party tomarrow I think I will make cupcakes and let the girls (7 spending the night, how insane am I) decorate thier own. At least that will take longer than just eating cake and ice cream.

The Zonin Moscato D'Asti is in and just in time to have with my sopas. this is a great deal, as it is a docg moscato and is on $15.00 a bottle. It also comes in a 6pack case for $72.00 but it will not last long and is very hard to get in so if anyone wants any PLEASE let me know ASAP so that I can get it for you. By the way this is a Zonin wine so I know every body wants to ordre some.

2010-06-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

Good Evening...Today I gave Tommy a break from the shop and went and worked at the Buzz this afternoon. I need to figure out how to be able to do that all the time instead of the insane life I am leading at this current time.

Had a great day and enjoyed myself, I do have to say that Steve was there and walked me through the things I did not do as well as the rest of the staff. While I was "working" Tommy and Paul did a Sake tasting, if you like Sake watch for fun things to come, they have big plans. Buddy and I then did some shopping before his boy scout meeting. By the way, apparently they had a manners test at scouts and my son started laughing at the table so he Failed!! He says not to concerned because when he is with people that know how to behave he behaves it is only with his own kind he goofs off. So I am going to contemplate this before I strangle him.

Today's dessert was requested by my own Tommy, cherry cobbler, but I did apple also because I like that better. It is an old family recipe that we use and it is very simple to make and great to eat. I am going to have some before I go to bed tonight.

I think that cobbler would go really well with a lighter side Merlot, tonight my choice is going to be the Killer Bee Merlot. We do this as a house pour at the Buzz, but we also sell it by the bottle for $11. It is a lighter end merlot; perfect for cobbler or by itself in the afternoon.

P.S. Amy says she likes the cashew cake the best so far.

Cashew Cake

2010-06-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

Cashew Cake turned out fantastic. This is a recipe that I had not tried before but I altered the recipe before I even made it, partially because I was in the mood for cashews and not hazelnut but also because that is what I had readily available. Could it be that the reason I was in the mood for cashews is because I was too lazy to go and buy hazelnuts?

It is not nearly as sweet as the cake from yesterday (Amy said that the Coke cake was a little too sweet and too rich for her, but I don't know if cake can ever be 'too' rich or 'too' sweet) but still has a little chocolate to it. I see a trend starting and I will have to do something without chocolate tomorrow, or invite my good friend Sue over.

The cake itself is very dense and a drier style cake with a bittersweet chocolate glaze over the top. It turned out very well which was no slight accomplishment considering it was a normal day for me....off work from the hospital a little late 0800, got Boo off to school, slept about 4.5 hours met Buddy after he got out of school, picked out a recipe, ran to the store, baked the cakes, back to the hospital at 1600 and taught a class until 2100, home at 2130, saw the kids, kids to bed, ate dinner, glazed the cakes, devoured a slice, visited with Tommy, and now am writing about the cake.

While I am writing this I am trying to envision which wine I would like to try with the cake. Hmmmm, I think the Zonin Primitivo ($20.00). This is a genetic ancestor of Zinfandel but to me has a little more earthy flavor profile than a California Zinfandel. I will have to try it together tomorrow but for now I think that I will go to bed and dream about this interesting combination and how much I will enjoy it tomorrow.

I am going to try and get the pictures in to go with the recipes tomorrow, this will not be an easy task as I am still learning how to Blog and utilize the technology. But I guess learning is what the summer projects are all about.

2010-06-01T01:38:00.000-07:00

Well, as we are entering into the 100 days of summer I have decided to take on a new project in my "spare time". This project will be to each day bake a different dessert and then post what I have created and also mention a wine that I think will accompany the dessert nicely. The wines will either be available at the shop or will be easily ordered in and the desserts will also be available at the Buzz for a day or a couple of days.

My first creation was a classic Coke Cake. This is a very rich but surprisingly simple chocolate cake. The Coca~Cola yeilds a moist but airy cake. The frosting is a boiled frosting that is put on while the cake is still hot so it acts as a glaze with chopped nuts as an additional treat.

The X winery recently released their 2008 red blend. This has a slightly darker flavor profile than the previous vintage. This wine is readily available at the Buzz, and retails at $14.00. For an enjoyable summer BBQ I would recommend this wine and this classic cake.

Phantom

2008-10-13T02:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend we tasted several of the Bogle wines. The Phantom was a hit. This is a california blend with Petite Syrah, Old Vine Zinfandel, and Old Vine Mouvedre. The dark garnet color, medium legs and smoked spice nose make this an excellent fall wine. This is definately a wine to enjoy with food and, now, as the weather is turning colder here in the Northwest it was a welcome full bodied wine. Our featured entree for Saturday nite was Pot Roast Stew. The Phantom and the stew together were an enjoyable treat in this season of trick-or-treating. This wine is going to become more and more difficult to locate over the next few weeks so interested parties are welcome to reserve their bottles now.