wines fit for a thanksgiving feast

when it comes to wine for thanksgiving dinner, lots of people will tell you what goes best with turkey. and stuffing. and potatoes. and...pumpkin pie. i wanted to get some insight from a pro, so i visited my friend carey williams at the wine source in hampden for some advice. found some easy, happy crowd pleasers, as well as a few choices that are little bit different. here we go...

i used to be one of those 'i don't like chardonnay' people. but all these years later, i now know that i simply prefer a cool climate chardonnay like eve chardonnay from washington state. you'll taste apple and a hint of honey...thirst quenching, too. it pairs well with mashed potatoes, green beans, etc. definitely a great basic, easy drinking wine many folks around your table will enjoy - a real crowd pleaser. $10.99

rose makes many people think of summer. some people think it's white zinfandel. um, no...but it's a great choice for thanksgiving! one great option is the 2010 artzuri garnacha rosado - a luscious, dark pepper rose. this always seems balanced, soft and fresh - really great with turkey. $9.99

for a little more&nbs adventurous palate, you might consider 2010 francois villard viognier from the rhone valley in france [the fancy name on the label is les contours de deponcin.] when you smell this one, you get rosey, perfume, exotic fruit. yet...it drinks so nicely! medium weight, not super acidic, very elegant.  really nice with sweet potato pie. $31.99. [treat yourself for the holiday.]

you often hear about medium bodied reds for thanksgiving and if you'd like to go that way, give the 2008 kesseler spatbergunder a try. it's a german wine using a grape transplanted from burgundy where it's known as pinot noir. this wine has a nose of blackberries and a hint of cherry and is on the rustic side. this would be a great red wine for someone just getting into reds - not too intense, with a juicy palate. $19.99

want a red that's a bit more spicy? give the 2010 tramontane roussillon rouge a try. carey described it as "juicy, forward and brimming with spicy red fruit." i agree! bold, juicy, complex. $9.99 [a great value, by the way.]

don't be intimidated or try too hard to make 'perfect' pairings with your entire thanksgiving meal. for example, it's close to impossible to pair sauerkraut with wine. beer is great with it, though...in fact, if you're more of a beer person, do your thing and have some really good beer! the folks at scribbleskiff  have some great suggestions for beer pairings. and i also recommend that you visit my friend jed at the wine source for some advice. he has introduced me to so many of my favorite beers over the last few years.

so, as we enter the holiday season, make sure you try something new and HAVE FUN!

eat, drink and be you, hon.

baltimore chickens: life in the coop

drama in the coop...

we've had a few lineup changes. as the 'girls' approached five months, things really got interesting! first, gertie [ameraucana] started to CROW! oy, it was out of nowhere and...it was loud. she [well, he...] was quickly taken back out to the country where that sorta behavior is a-ok. my neighbors have been so nice, so i wanted to make sure we had no more early morning wake up calls.

i had long suspected gertie was a rooster, due to the fact that he was always 'odd man out' from the other three...they wanted nothing to do with him. when i dropped him off, i was actually sad. gert had been my fave...the prettiest, easiest, sweetest. and would have laid blue/green eggs...the whole thing was a bummer.

coming home in gertie's place, was edith. she's brown and quite beautiful. and a total spaz - and afraid of everything, everyone. i think once she gets more used to her new city home, i think she'll be more fun and saucy.

here's edith. thinking she might go by 'edie.'

when i brought edith home, clara [very bossy rhode island red] became quite aggresive and wouldn't leave edith alone for a second. i scooped edith up and put her in a separate area to catch her breath. tried again the next day and it was even more dramatic. so, i called an old friend in my hometown who is a more experienced chicken keeper and she was willing to take her. we'll see what happens. when i left clara in kingsville, she was doing fine. my friend emailed me recently to say she suspects clara might be a clarence. we will see.

now...in clara's place [man, this is like menudo or something...], comes agnes. only took me twenty minutes to catch her - i thought that was pretty good. i wonder how long it took rocky. what a workout. here's agnes:

with all of these changes, my girls dottie and millie are being pretty good. a few little chases and intimidating 'i was here FIRST!' sorts of actions...but nothing too scary. edith might have a different take on that...

so, it's one day at a time here on my little urban farm. they're keeping me on my toes fer sure. henry, my 4 yr old yellow lab, is also rolling with the punches. he's been quite sweet, actually. what a good dog. here is a photo i will cherish...me with henry and gertie.


















i'm hoping that dottie and millie will start laying soon. right now, they're investigating the nesting boxes.

gotta be patient, hon.

wow, you're sorta crunchy...

the other day, my friend said, 'hey, you're sorta crunchy.' hmmm. he meant it as a compliment...and i took it that way.

i'm not sure when i became so crunchy. okay, so i shop at the farmers market every saturday, year-round. some say that's a little crunch. i reuse as many things as humanly possible...cups, jars, ziploc bags, etc. i don't have cable. i take my dog for hikes in the woods. i have chickens. [hello, crunch and a little odd, i'm told.] and my newest thing...i have a composter. holy crunchy granola goodness. check out gertie the chicken enjoying a compost boo-fay. and check out this great composting news from san francisco.

i'm still learning...but with the web, you can google just about anything! here are a few sites with very helpful basics on composting.

composting 101
how to get started
reducing kitchen waste

and this list is great - i consult it all the time.

between composting and recycling, there is very little in my trash can these days. and that's the way i like it! and...here is a really great stainless countertop compost pail to collect kitchen waste.

last week, i saw the documentary bag it and it really opened my eyes about plastic and waste. i'm now on even more of a mission to minimize my impact on the earth. [geeeez, that sounds so high and mighty and obnoxious.] but i mean it in the best way possible.

last year, a work colleague [age 92] gave me two boxes of gorgeous mason jars with zinc lids. she said they are from the 1940 or 1950s. i did some research and quickly learned that i could not use them  for their original purpose...too old and not safe. buzz killed, thanks. so instead, i'm going to take the suggestion of a friend [thanks, lucien!] and use them instead of plastic containers to store things like leftovers, pasta and baking ingredients. love that idea, don't you?

i love my grocery bags...i take them everywhere [the ladies at talbots gave me some funny looks, but i don't care.] i wish everyone would use them! every time i see someone leaving the grocery store with loaded with plastic bags, it makes me a little sad.

i don't really think i'm crunchy. i just want to do a little better.

get the picture?

one of my favorite parts about the blog is the photography. my friends now know...when the food comes to the table...when you make your plate at thanksgiving...when the pie comes out of the oven...

stop, style, snap...then, EAT!

here are some of my faves...



FOOD IS GOOD!

feast your eyes

last week, my neighbor and facebook pal, elaine, suggested that i submit a few photos for a feature on TODAY.com called feast your eyes. it sounded like a great idea, but i was up to my eyeballs at work and i barely had time for lunch [granola and yogurt] at my desk. i was also having a day where i just couldn't focus. but this seemed like a great opportunity, so i found the photos i liked best, i hit send and got back to what i was doing. thought nothing more.

until today.

i opened my email to a lovely message letting me know that my photo of delicious caprese skewers that i'd made for a friend's july 4th barbeque had been chosen as a featured photo! seriously. very, very exciting in my little world.

what's next...matt lauer eating my food? yes, please!

kitchen MVP

a few months ago, i was on the lookout for a new grating tool and a chef friend of mine recommended a microplane. so, i hit up williams-sonoma at towson town center [and that store is dangerously close to anthropologie...] and got one. I LOVE THIS THING.

i use it to grate cheese, zest lemons, mince garlic, onions, chocolate and more. i only wish i'd been able to get one of the cool new colors - i've seen green, fuchia, purple, blue, yellow...quite cute.

do you have one of these? highly, highly recommend. check out this set...it contains a zester/grater, medium ribbon grater and extra coarse grater.

urban farming, hon

wow, look how little they were back in june...

the girls got their big break on the local news yesterday! i even got the title of 'urban farmer' while on camera. hilarious. and...since getting their two minutes of fame, the chickens have been prancing, strutting...beaks up in the air. i swear i saw dottie smiling - she really liked that mike schuh guy. i hope the piece convinces some city folks who'd been on the fence to jump in and become chicken keepers!

unfortunately, they are also beginning to display some j-lo-esque diva behavior...

clara is demanding cotton candy for bedding instead of pine shavings.

millie would like sauvignon blanc instead of water. she actually could use a drink, so i'm considering it.

dottie? she's all about black truffles. says they need to be from a specific region in italy. i'm googling.

good old gert. she's too polite to ask...but i think she wants something...maybe old bay on her corn cobs?


whether on the actual blog or on facebook, please do share and make comments! i want to know what foods you're growing, cooking, eating and obsessed with - for me, lately, it's watermelon, tomato and feta salads...

charmcitycook turned one year old last month - it's been such a great creative outlet, emotional comfort when needed and it's inspired me to try even more new things all the time. i guess 40 actually is the new 30, because that's when i fell in love with food.

thanks, hon. keep on cooking.