Connected

It has always been important to me to stay connected with the people in my life. Firstly because I'm a talker, and secondly if I know every intimate detail of their lives, it helps me not to miss them so much, because I feel involved in it. It has become all that much more important (and more difficult) since I moved. Between everyone's jobs and schooling, in addition to the time difference, it is a challenge to say the least. So I've become a huge proponent of mail. Not much is more exciting to me then mail (except for the GIGANTIC DVD collection I discovered at the library today!) So I've been nagging my east coast peoples to write to me. I sent a whole bunch of letters, and the ones I receive get taped to my correspondence wall. Cheap, easy decorating. So today when I opened my mailbox I saw I had a letter from June, my absolute closest friend and mother of my most beloved godson, Yay! Then I saw the key to the package locker, opened it up and I had not one but two packages, double YayYay! The first an Easter basket from my mom, plus some stuff I'd left behind. Love it. The second a package from Deborah, my sister-in-law's sister. She's a librarian (in case you haven't noticed, I love books, and libraries) we hit it off right away when we met as bridesmaids, and have kept in touch ever since sending literary recommendations back and forth. She sent me a couple of books to break up the monotony of reading about wine that is about to begin. Thank you to them, as well as Kelyn my most devoted pen pal! To the rest of you, note here, write me letters, and I'll write you back sending my eternal gratitude your way. Today was a great day.

Coq Au Vin

So this is the end result of my first ever attempt at Coq Au Vin. A favorite of mine, and a dish my father is the master of. Everyone seemed to love it, even though I thought the sauce could have been thicker and everything needed more salt/pepper. Everyone's their own worst critic, right?

The Honeymoon is Over.

I'm sure some of you will read the title of this post, and think 'oh no.' As previously mentioned for the four months I lived in Florida, I suffered from CRIPPLING homesickness. More then once I was ready to quit my internship, screw school, and move home. It was that experience that caused me great apprehension when I decided to move this time. I know, I know, I'm older and wiser and more mature, yada yada yada. I loved living at home, and could have happily stayed in my home town forever. As far as my career was concerned, that wasn't an option. When I say the honeymoon is over, I do not mean it negatively. When I first got here and settled in, it was like you hear people say, California is a fairy-tale land (with the exception of the highway system.) Beautiful weather, new job, new people, it was like I was on vacation. Now, it's starting to feel like my life. Last Thursday, I was rear-ended. Nothing serious, a good amount of damage to the back of my car, but I was perfectly fine. I was calm while dealing with the police and the insurance. Got in touch with my parents, let them know what had happened and that I was okay. Took my car to a local shop, swapped it with a loaner, and now I await the repairs to be done. This is exactly the sort of thing I would have expected to send me over the edge, particularly since the girl who hit me was HYSTERICAL. Instead it just felt like something I had to deal with and move on. I don't feel afraid of driving, or wish I could just pack it up and go home so my Dad could deal with it. I've gotten into a routine with my jobs, and my coworkers. I make plans with people who are moving from acquaintance to friend. My days off are times to get errands done, and clean my apartment. School starts on Monday and frankly I can't wait. I know it's going to be hard, but I feel equipped to deal with it, and I have people here who will support me through it. My parents bought tickets to come visit in May and I can't wait to show them my home, because that is what San Jose is becoming, home. Don't get me wrong I miss New York all the time. My parents, my friends, my godson so much I sometimes find myself concocting elaborate kidnapping schemes. I know Easter will be hard, but I'm driving to Oakland to have pancakes, ham, and mimosas at Christopher's house. After which I'll come back to San Jose and resume my routine. A routine I'm not just surviving, but enjoying.

California's still a bit of a fairy-tale though. Short sleeves, flip-flops, and considering turning on the AC in March? I mean, come on.

Have fun with this one Judd! I know it's a mess!

A Little Bit About Bubbles, Beer, and the Business

Twice a month Wine Affairs hosts a tasting. Last weeks was Champagne. I frequently credit sparkling wine as what began my love affair with wine, but rarely have the occasion to drink true champagne, mainly because of the price tag. We tried four Champagnes ranging in price from $55-$70. My favorite was the 2002 Chartogne Taillet, Cuvee Fiacre.

Rarer then drinking true Champagne, is to drink vintage Champagne. Most people are looking for consistency in their choice of sparkling wine, so most are blended from the best juice of multiple harvests. Champagne is made from the grapes of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Blanc de Blanc's are Champagnes made only from white grapes (Chardonnay).

Then there is the level of dryness. Extra Brut will be a bone dry Champagne. Brut will be dry, but with some residual sugar. Extra Dry, will have just the slightest hint of sweetness. Sec will be lightly sweet. Demi-Sec will be sweet, and Finally Doux will be very sweet, like dessert wine.

Also true Champagne, from the region in France, must be made in the Methode Champenoise. This refers to creating CO2 by putting sugar and yeast into the bottle with the juice, and allowing the yeast to consume the sugar and give off the delightful bubbles we so love. Versus sparkling wine, which while can be made in this natural method, is more often tank fermented, and pumped full of CO2. What's the difference? The natural method produces a much finer effervescence, as well as the delicious yeasty character. The other is going to taste like carbonated Chardonnay.

Back to my favorite from that evening the 2002 Chartogne Taillet, Cuvee Fiacre. A Brut, full of floral and spice notes that was crisp and clean with bubbles that lingered on your tongue. I loved it, and it would pair really nicely with food. Unfortunately it retails at $65, well above my price range.



Now on to beer. Something I rarely, if ever, choose to drink. Alas Wine Affairs, has a HUGE cult beer following. On the top of their list is the Russian River Brewing "Pliny the Elder" Double IPA.

You may find yourself asking, What the hell is IPA? I know I did. Apparently it stands for India Pale Ale. Light in color, frequently high in alcohol, and full of hops. People are obsessed with it. I have been reluctant to try it. To me beer, tastes like beer. I know, I know, some connoisseur I'm turning out to be. My regular, beer aficionado customers however, have taken me under their wing and I am learning. My choice beer of the moment is Kronenbourg 1664, basically it's one step up from water, and we have it on draft for $4. Pliny on the other hand, is on our menu at $10.50 a bottle, a price our customers are willing to spend, as it is apparently and extreme rarity. We are trying(more like begging) to get it on draft, in which case our customers may give themselves excitement induced heart attacks. So I finally tried it a few days ago, when a customer would not let up about it. It was better then expected, much smoother then a lot of IPA's I've tried. It didn't have that usual high hop bitterness. Overall, it tasted like beer. Hey, I'm trying! If you, yourself are a beer lover, you should check out this website, Beer Advocate, it's pretty cool and my devotees are all about it.


Finally, to finish this extremely long post, a bit about the business. I love it, and the further in I get, the more I realize there's no going back, this is the thing for me. I start my winery job at Testarossa today, and in anticipation I did a little winery touring yesterday. First of all it was a beyond beautiful day, and my first day off in a while. My room mate and I went first to Byington, a winery where some of my regular customers are getting married at in Los Gatos. Gorgeous. The tasting room attendant was very friendly, and knowledgeable about the wineries in the area. The wine was delicious, and the scenery made it all the better. Plus they have a hospitality room with couches where you can take in not only the view but look down on the fermentation tanks and barrels. I also learned some AMAZING NEWS! Because I work at a winery, I don't have to pay the tasting fee, AND I get 30% off any bottles I buy! That's a better discount then if I was a wine club member, AWESOME. From there we went to Cinnabar's tasting room, which is in the town of Saratoga, CA. Which is named after Saratoga Springs, NY because of the hot spring which used to be there (they have since dried up.) Cute town, nice wine. Next came Cooper-Garrod which is on a horse farm, cue Laura's illogical fear of horses. Not bad wine, super nice people(even if they did try to get me to pet a horse.) Apparently this is where PCI students come for a winery tour, so I guess I'll be back. Finally, the best for last, Savannah Chanelle really nice Pinot Noir, and the best view of the day. If I were getting married at an area winery this would be it.

Putting my Degree to Use

So contrary to popular belief, I do know how to cook. I went to Culinary school, graduated with in the high esteem of my professors, and even worked in a restaurant. That being said when I tell people what I went to school for, they inevitably reply, 'Do you cook all the time?' I relish the looks on their faces when I respond, ''No.' I have been frequently known to refer to myself as the culinary artist who doesn't cook. Now let me explain, I grew up in food. My father cooked dinner just about every night of my life, and at 6:30 p.m. like clockwork we would sit at the table and eat as family. On the nights he didn't cook, as well as vacations, were spent in search of culinary delights. I love food, it is in my blood, in my family. I however never needed to cook. My father always did, with a smile on his face. Once I had gone to culinary school, and was occasionally called upon to, I was frankly intimidated. My dad is a fantastic cook, and we've all grown accustom his cooking, and have our favorite dishes. Plus I'm lazy. That isn't to say that my father is some sort of Gordon Ramsey teacher, I feared harsh criticism from. All he does is praise, he is my biggest supporter and I love him for it.

Then I up and decided to move to the other side of the nation. Far away from the comfort of my dad's cooking, and with no money to eat out. So have I withered away to nothing? No because as stated above I can cook, and am actually pretty good at it. So on Sunday I got up and drove to the Campbell Farmer's Market which is HUGE. I bought produce, sausage, bacon, and bread. Then I went to whole foods and bought chicken, eggs, milk, cheese, ground beef, pasta, and rice. I went home and took the ground beef, measured it into individual serving patties, put it in freezer bags and froze it. Same goes for the chicken. I've made penne with meat sauce, a bacon and cheese patty melt, and this morning I had a turkey and cheddar omelet. Rest assured, I will not starve.

Home Sweet Home

So I'm finally moved in and settled at my new apartment. I had an idea in mind of what I wanted. Someplace fairly close to school and work, with people similar in age to myself, and preferably female. I posted a Craig's List ad, and proceeded to get approx. 15 responses an hour. AN HOUR! That is a lot of crazies to weed through, and some of them were certifiable. A 40 year old man I could live with for free in exchange for cooking, cleaning, and... MASSAGE. An elderly women whose children were all grown, and was looking for someone to mother? I have a mother, thank you very much. I think not. So I weeded the candidates down to a select few, and began an e-mail dialogue. Finally I chose 2 to meet with. The first a 25 year- old guy, with another young female room-mate who owned a home in the suburbs of San Jose. Nice house, cool people, BUT I couldn't move in till the middle of March. I had a lot of fun staying at Greg's house with him, Chris, and Danny. However I could only live out of boxes, and sleep on a pull out for so long, and another 3 weeks was too long. The second meeting was with a 27 year old lawyer who had a condo, 5 minutes from work, 10 minutes from school. We meet VERY briefly, nice place, big closets, my own bathroom, I was sold. 4 days later I moved in. For the first couple days, we were ships passing in the night. I started to think, maybe, I had made the wrong choice. You see one big thing I was looking for in a room-mate was someone who knew the area, and could help me get acquainted. As well as a potential friend, since I left all mine back on the east coast. Then last Saturday, she invites me out to meet her friends. We had a blast. They are all cool, down to earth people, who are super excited to introduce me to all San Jose has to offer. What a relief.

My lovely Ikea dresser, only took my 2+ hours to build. As well as my window seat, which I'm using as a bookshelf, because the view of downtown San Jose leaves a lot to be desired.

Where I sleep.

I'm using my closet to display all the correspondance I've been recieving...From Kelyn.

Don't all write me at once now!

So now i'm learning 'the way to San Jose.' or as Christopher likes to call it San Jos-B.