The Great Case Race 2011

The event was entitled "The Great Case Race 2011" and was held in a condo building in downtown DC, right off 16th St.  The original objective was for 12 people to taste 12 bottles of wine, but end of the night tallies revealed that 45 people tasted 48 bottles of wine.  Nice.  I was invited by my good friend Lauree O.  and told we needed to bring a dish as the event was to be pot luck style.  From my previous post, you know that I brought chocolate peanut bacon bark (it was delicious).  I arrived a little later than most of the party patrons but immediately got acclimated to the festivities and dove right in and began tasting. 



There was a solid array of wines, both red and white.  I started with the reds, working my way from medium bodied to full and once the wines became too heavy/"oaky" for my palette, I made my way back to the whites.  While tasting, I also mingled with Lauree and her friend from college, Peter. During our mingling (which was mostly walking back and forth among the tables sampling cheeses and the delicious chocolates donated by ACKC Cocoa Bar), Peter stumbled upon a sassy pair of red shoes that had been abandoned by their wearer. He then proceeded to model them for our cameras. 

As you can see, he was quite darling. After Peter's sashay in the ruby slippers, we continued walking about sampling cheeses and breads and fruits.  I was especially fond of the grapes.  How ironic/awkward...me hovering about the grapes at a wine tasting.  Go figure.  In the midst of all our tasting and sampling and mingling, I noticed a newly acquired friend, Ashton, whom I met at a Brooks Brothers' event a few days prior. With Ashton was a lovely girl, who was made even more lovely by the Alexander McQueen skull clutch she brought along with her and casually discarded on a nearby bench while she mingled.  Upon spying the clutch, I told her I needed a moment in private with it and proceeded to hold and caress and photograph it. 

Alexander McQueen Skull Clutch



I didn't want to let it go. :(

The night continued pretty much in the same manner, although, once I discovered that clutch, I didn't want to move too far away from it.  So I sat right next to it, only getting up to get more wine.  My reluctance to move could have also stemmed from the fact that my shoes, while quite fashionable, were quite painful.  And unlike the red shoe abandoner, I refused to take my shoes off and let everyone in the party know fashion had gotten the best of me.  So I sat next to the McQueen clutch and silently prayed that the Uni-verse deliver one equally as lovely to my doorstep, post-haste and that Lauree and Peter not want to move to the other side of the room where I would have to stand.  

Fashionable but painful.

The Uni-verse answered one prayer and I continued to sit, we also continued to chat and drink taste.  Towards the end of the night, we were notified that the evening's donations totalled over $1000 and would benefit an organization, known as 'Hole in the Wall Gang', a camp for ill children. Along with cheers, that elicited more drinking tasting until finally there were only 3 bottles of wine left.  

The damage.



An announcement was made that the party needed to dissolve or we could take the 3 bottles of wine and relocate to the roof. Most chose to head home or to other venues. The rest of us, steadfast in our glorious wine-induced haze, headed up to the roof to enjoy the remaining wine and a crisp fall night overlooking the city.



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Wine and Chocolate

Last week I was invited to a wine tasting.  We were asked to bring a dish, as all the wine was being provided free of charge.  At the last minute, I remembered a friend's chocolate bacon bark from a party last year and decided to make it for the party, as what pairs better with wine than chocolate? Ok, maybe cheese, but I didn't have time for all that.  The recipe called for 16oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 cup of unsalted peanuts, and 8 strips of fried and minced bacon (fry first, mince later).  I added the semi-sweet chocolate chips to a "double broiler" (in this case, I placed a glass bowl over a pot of boiling water and once the water began to boil, I added the chips to the bowl) and stirred until the chips melted and the consistency was soft and smooth.  I added the peanuts and the bacon and stirred them in until the peanuts were covered in chocolate.  I then lined a cookie sheet with wax paper and poured the chocolate, bacon and peanut mixture over the wax paper.  I used a plastic spatula to smooth the mixture evenly over the wax paper and then I refrigerated the ingredients for one hour.  After one hour (you can go longer), I removed the cookie sheet from the refrigerator and proceeded to break the bark into small pieces.  And voila! See below for the final outcome. 



Chocolate Peanut Bacon Bark

My next post will be about the actual party...

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Date Night

My apologies for my unannounced Sabbatical of the past few months. I have no real excuse to offer except that life can be hectic. That said and me being forgiven, let's move on to the latest "fabulousness" I'd like to share with you!

Recently, me and one of my besties headed out for our "date night," which was to consist of dinner and a movie. She opted for a neighborhood restaurant, Acacia Bistro. My bid was for the newly opened, Masa 14. Me being me (because who else would I be) and being "tardy for the party" (as usual) ended up with the short stick and found myself at Acacia Bistro. Now I must say that while I was disappointed that the locale was a bit off the beaten trendy path, I was soon over that and impressed by the service and the food of this cute, little jewel in the Van Ness area.




We began our fete with the house marinated olives, a flight of white wine and a French Rose, Domaine de Triennes Vin de Pays du Var Rose 2008. I'm not a huge olive fan, but I must say these olives were quite delish. While catching up over the olives and admiring each others fashion picks for the evening, the chef sent over another tasty treat, eggs in tomato sauce with fontina and basil. This pairing may sound a little odd, but I must assure you it was not. The tomato sauce was seasoned perfectly and the eggs...the eggs, oh my! The eggs left us pining for more. Sadly, we did not indulge as we both have figures that we must mind. Alas, don't fret as we did proceed with our main course.

Feeling a bit risque and wanting something...er, different, I decided on the garbanzo bean and lamb sausage salad with shaved fennel. And was I rewarded! The lamb sausage provided my palette with an awakening and stirring that I don't believe she will soon forget. As I enjoyed a palatial stirring, across the table, my companion delighted in the Catalonian flatbread with chorizo, manchego, fresh tomato and cilantro. Both meals could have been set before royalty, they were so very well prepared. Each bite was a delectable treat, making an evening of catching up with a great friend even more special and grand. Over the course of the night, our servers sent over wine tastings that were similar to the wines which we paired with our meals and although we declined dessert, the chef could not resist and sent out a tasty pistachio treat with which our host complemented with a house champagne. And while we did not end the night there, I must say Acacia Bistro was just the right start and hit just the right spot for a couple of ladies looking to reconnect and unwind and maybe even cause a little mischief on a cold rainy night in the District.

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Bugey Cerdon

I've spent the second leg of my two week vacation in Durham, NC and while I wish I could tell you of all the fabulous shopping finds and glamorous events I've attended, I am reluctant to admit that I have spent much of my time hidden away in the fine comforts of my family home. However, yesterday I got that familiar shopping itch, you know the one...that oh so pesky shopping itch that can only be scratched by doing some serious luxury shopping. That said, the only real luxury shopping in this area is the Saks Fifth Avenue store in Raleigh about 35 minutes away without traffic...insert sigh here...

Never one to allow a small obstacle such as distance stand in the way, we gassed up the Mini, popped Coldplay in the changer, and hit the highway. Filled with eager anticipation of all the soon-to-be newly acquired items, we were severely disappointed to discover within 2 minutes of entering the much revered Saks that due to the economic downturn (blah, blah, blah) that this particular Saks has limited hours and would be closing at 7:00pm, giving us a 5 whole minutes to scour the entire store...insert second sigh here...

With the shopping itch left unsatisfied, we decided to indulge in my second most favorite past-time, going out for drinks! Yay! We headed to downtown Durham to a fairly new (even better! yay!) hot spot known as Revolution.

Revolution turned out to be a very cool addition to the downtown scene with a very chic, contemporary feel and a whole lotta ambiance. The staff was incredibly friendly, with Lyle, the general manager, even coming over and introducing himself and giving us a tour of the space. I've posted the photos below.
Pleased with the ambiance and ready to unwind with a nice glass of wine, my beverage of choice was a Sauvignon Blanc. Taking in the atmosphere, I noticed several of the patrons sipping a very deep pink slightly bubbly beverage from champagne flutes . Thinking it some sort of rose, but somewhat unsure due to the depth of the hue, I inquired of one of the bartenders about the beverage and was informed that it was a Gamay, or sparkling red wine, known as Bugey-Cerdon**. I decided to try it and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a sweet, fruity, petillant wine, full of strawberry and raspberry flavors. In other words, fun, fun, fun in a bottle! Yay!
While I didn't leave Saks with packages galore, I went home with something just as good--a new sparkling wine to enjoy with friends! I can't wait to pick up a few bottles of Bugey-Cerdon and have my best girlfriends over and celebrate being young and fabulous! And what's better than that?

**Subsequent research revealed that Bugey-Cerdon is from the area of Bugey in Savoie and the village (Cerdon), where the wine makers to this day continue the practice of allowing the pink wines to ferment a second time in the bottle (methode ancestrale), giving the wine its bubbles.

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