Came across a new nut mix when I was shopping recently. It’s Bobbysue’s Nuts‘ Nuts Over Olives. There was a sample of them out and I totally had to pick a pack of them up. Nice flavor and a little kick, too!
What’s also great is that the company donates a portion of their net profits to needy animals, the SPCA of Westchester to be specific. Bobbysue’s has a variety of other flavor of nuts and per their site you can find them at various locations across the country and can order online.
…wines. Was at event and in our goody bag we received a bottle of Texas wine. Hmmm…I did not know that Texas was in the wine industry. I just know I love me some Shiner and margaritas!
So, I’ve had this bottle of Texas Riesling (another problem unless it’s dang dry) for awhile and decided to finally give it a try. It’s from Becker Vineyards to be specific. I felt like I was about to take the biggest risk of my life. I paced around the kitchen. Looked at the bottle, then stared. Held my breath a few times. Then finally, put the corkscrew in it. Ahh, the oxygen hit the adult-level grape juice.
Poured a glass. The color…gold. The picture does not do it justice. Think the goldest of gold Chards you’ve seen. The nose, sweet, that’s all I can say. The taste. Um, yeah, um. Boone’s is tasting pretty good. I waited a couple minutes, maybe a white can breathe? No, this and Boone’s are definitely in the same place. At least you get flavor options with Boone’s.
Now, checking out their website, this isn’t even around anymore. They only have ‘dry riesling’, which is sold out?
I know it’s each one to their own, so you can always cast your vote if you happen to have tried this. But I say Don’t mess with Texas wines, as in stay away.
Was totally in the mood for a margarita and didn’t have any of the great pre-mixed/alcohol-holding stuff at home. And, didn’t feel like driving to the liquor store to get some. But of course I have the essential components to make one of the essential drinks in life (tied with wine, 2nd in line to water) — tequila and triple sec — but not the rest.
So when I went to the closest grocery store to get some food (with initials WF, meaning they can’t have super unnatural, chemical-saturated, 10-syllable ingredient products), I bumped into some margarita mix. Darn! Inspected, thought for about 5 seconds, purchased.
It was Stirrings. They tell you to add 1.5 oz of tequila to 3 oz of mix. I did 1 oz Jose Cuervo and 0.5 oz of triple sec (rough estimates). Perfect on the rocks, no salt. I was pretty impressed. Good to know for future binding situations.
Visited NOLA awhile back and one of the people in our group said we were required to visit ACME Oyster House.
Despite being the middle of the afternoon, the wait was quite long. This place obviously lives up to its reputation.
Once at our table a couple of us just felt like having Bloody Mary’s. Can never go wrong!
Then orders varied around the table. Raw oysters had to be ordered by some. Apparently their (traditional) roasted oysters are phenomenal — some great butter and parm on there.
I asked if I could get something different done to mine because of my whole lactose intolerance issue. The waitress took some notes and said she couldn’t guarantee anything and I would still have to pay if anything came out wrong. Gulp! They were perfectly roasted and I just added some lemon juice. I don’t love oysters but I just had to order them because of where I was.
Some crawfish also came to the table. Was hilarious watching different people eat them. Everybody had their own way of dealing with them.
By the time the meal was done we were just sort of rolling out of there. The meal was definitely worth the wait.
Last night in Sydney, last night in Australia, last night of vacation. Why not wrap it up with a dinner cruise around the city? So, we boarded a boat for a Captain Cook Cruise. They call it a ‘Sunset Cruise.’ This has pros and cons.
Pros:
Beautiful view of that yellow object fading in the sky
The colors of the sky against all the buildings
Just a nice setting for dinner
Cons:
Since Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s now fall, which means the sun is setting quite early. Dinner was a 5pm.
Regardless, this was quite a nice way to close things out. First thing offered when we sat down was bubbly!
Then then first course (entrée per them) was Smoked Ocean Trout, shaved fennel, dill, capers with black caviar dressing.
That fennel was so perfectly mandonlin-ed. I’ve going to have to make some of this stuff!
For the main course I opted for the Tasmanian Grilled Salmon Fillet, accompanied by Dutch carrots and asparagus served with capers and lemon oil.
Tell you what, Tasmania should be known more for just their Devils! (they have such great wine, too!)
During the dinner they also served red or white wine. I sampled some of both. They were Shiraz or Sauvignon Blanc, Tyrell’s Wines, Moore’s Creek.
They didn’t have any dessert on the menu I could eat and were so kind as to bring a fresh fruit plate.
Scenic, delicious way to end the trip.
We traveled just north of Port Douglas, AUS to visit Cooya Beach (Kuyu Kuyu). This is a traditional fishing ground of the Kuku Yalanji people. We were taken out by the Kubirri Warra brothers for a walk on their beach, mudflat and mangroves and introduced to traditional fishing and gathering techniques, and we got to find our own tucker (aka food).
So, we walked out in the water (pants up to knees and barefoot from their house — no shoes allowed) with sticks in hand and started working for crabs. The past few years in MD crabs have been expensive. Yes, frustrating. But our guides were telling that around that area the prices is around at least $200/bushel. Ok, at the end of our half hour ‘fishing’ trip, I see why. You walk around with a sharp edged stick in hand and look for crabs and stab them. That’s about it. Talk about labor hours! I was lucky enough to get one. And getting that one (key number)…once I saw it and it didn’t scurry away, it probably took me about 5 minutes to stab it. Dang!
After we were done ‘crabbing’ we continued, but it was through a bit different areas. This is where oysters and escargots live. We found many of them. I don’t like raw oysters but when it Rome… These were pretty good. Because of the salt water they are in, it seeps into them. They were very (good &) salty. And the salt crystals on them were darn good, too. We also found many of the escargots.
When we returned to the starting point, our guides cooked all of this up for us and we had a small feast. Great local findings.
When in Australia, one must eat Greek! Was on a tour bus on somebody mentioned this great Greek place in Cairns. Sounded good so decided to check it out. The name — Fetta’s Greek Taverna.
Got there, got a table and right away we knew this was authentic Greek. Was tough to understand the staff because of accents, we could not figure who our waiter was vs who the (apparent) drink order taker was. We asked a lot of questions and the waiter sort of gave answers but we couldn’t totally understand him.
Most important thing for me to get at a Greek place is an appetizer and we and opted for the Melitzana, an eggplant, onion & garlic dip.
After that we decided to split several small dishes. We went for dolmas, a village salad (with true feta) and octapapodi (octapus marinated in olive oil, vinegar, garlic & oregano).
For wine, the waiter wasn’t overly helpful but this guy sitting next to us piped in and gave us amazing help and suggested a wine I would not have jumped on, but so glad I took his advice. We opted for the Bay of Stones Merlot. Not what I would expect from a Merlot. This was another amazing dinner in Great Barrier Reef world. This place is just great!
April, Cairns, Australia. It’s the place you go to visit the Great Barrier Reef. You get off the plane and it’s upper 70s to low 80s. Heaven! Can we bring some of that to the DC-area…PLEASE?
The first night there we walked around and checked out menus for dinner and finally decided on Dundee’s, which is one of the many restaurants right on the water.
While going through the menu of course some wine was needed. We opted for some (get Austin Powers in your head) Mojo. Very nice Shiraz from Barossa Valley.
After much going through the menu we decided on one of their very popular dishes to get a true local flair, the Australian Sampler Plate — A taste of Australia’s most popular cuisine – chargrilled eye fillet, pan seared wild barramundi, kangaroo striploin satays, crocodile tail satays, emu chipolatas and a tiger prawn satay served with honey roast sweet potato, teriyaki, spicy peanut and plum sauces with lemon beurre blanc.
We also decided to get some salad to have a bit of veggie, so went for Rocket & Apple Salad and Mixed Leaf Salads.
That mix of meat was so unique. I’d had the ‘roo, but the croc was pretty cool. Similar to gator. The emu was nice. Praws, just like shrimp. The barramundi was great. All this, the salads and that wine…glad the hotel was about a 2 minute walk away.
Ok, there is of our amazing wine in Australia and New Zealand. But, one must not forget about the brew! Some amazing stuff come from malt, yeast, hops and water. Some were enjoyed with aforementioned meals in posts. The couple below were ‘just’ enjoyed in Cairns, AUS near the Great Barrier Reef. The James Squires Pale Ale was perfect. Not hoppy, just smooth. The Golden Ale was a bit light, but nonetheless refreshing!
The XXXX Australian was one of those to just drink because it’s hot out and you wanted to try local beer. Think Foster’s. The picture of it focuses more on the beautiful water because of that.
The final stop on our Waiheke Island tour was Mudbrick Vineyard. We started the tour with being handed a glass of their Sauvignon Blanc. How nice! (Per the site — Intense aromas of passionfruit, gooseberry and freshly cut grass. The palate is concentrated tropical and citrus notes with juicy acidity and a long polished finish.)
We walked around and learned about the history, the grapes, etc. While checking out these physical grapes, we were handed a glass of their Syrah. The pepper notes were very present. (Displays aromas of plum, blackcurrants, black pepper corns and camphor. The palate has concentrated dark fruits, liquorice and spice with plush round tannins and a long pure finish.)
All this while having an amazing view! Can I have a ride? Apparently these swing by often.
We finished off in the tasting room with a taste of the Merlot/Cabernet Blend. Home run! I knew I still had two cities to visit on my trip but I had to take one with me. Wow, what a taste. (Displays aromas of plums, cassis, dried herbs, pencil shavings and dark chocolate. The palate is refined and elegant with soft powdery tannins and a long classic finish.) Side note, pencil shavings? So many great ‘things’ you can add to wines. Besides the pencil being far out, the fact that it’s a shaving. Do you get the sharpener ready and compare? Love being wine lovers.
Mel's Mosaic 