Author Archives: Lea Barlow

Name: Sarah Bedell

Kids: Ozias “Ozzy” Bedell

Occupation: Esthetician

Hometown: Maui, Hawaii

Click here for full H&H interview with Sarah

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Name: Cellar No. 8 Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Alcohol content: 13.9%

Price: $10.99

Description per label:  Cellar No. 8 wines honor and reflect rich winemaking tradition at Asti… blah, blah, blah a great discovery, which might become your next tradition.

Review: It is a widely known fact that I cellar my cheaper wines in my carriage house.  It is lesser-known that it is there where I sit alone and lament lovers past.  While sampling this red, I was fondly recalling a lurid tryst with a saucy Mexican I met while taking in a donkey show in Tijuana.   But I digress and will now move on to the review and spare you the details of my tawdry relations.  A California Cabernet Sauvignon in this price range is a very demanding deed to pull off. I could pontificate to great lengths about the numerous reasons the feat is as such but let’s keep it simple for the lushes and the little people.

After decanting, this young red boasts a powerful bouquet of pepper and oak with a hint of perspiring hobo. When sipped, it blossoms of cherry, chewy chocolate and cheap tobacco and manages to remain leathery on the backside.  The blend is a decent entertainment wine that is reasonably priced with an ever-efficient alcohol content. In my humble, yet expert opinion, this cab should be served below 58 degrees and in voluminous glasses.  On the SMS scale of 1-10 Cellar No. 8 scores a perfect 5 and makes my recommended list of particularly average wines.

Suggested pairings: Empanadas, enchiladas and a dirty sanchez.

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I’m not the most ‘kid’ creative person in the world and often come up short when thinking of ideas on how to keep my little monsters entertained.  No longer can I get away with calling our numerous trips to the grocery store an ‘adventure’ and we can only go to the neighborhood park so many times before we all (well, mainly me) want to shoot ourselves.  So, when I ran across this candy sushi idea from Mommyknows, I immediately set this plan into action.  The kids absolutely loved it.  One note, be prepared for a sugar meltdown followed by a possible napless afternoon but watching them make their ‘sushi’ creations was worth it.

Click here for Candy Sushi!

Written by Lea Barlow • 26 Comments

Pop a few of these to feel lively all night long—they supply energizing iron and protein. And capsaicin, the compound that gives chiles their fire, may kick up your metabolism.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (preferably Spanish)
• 10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 pounds large shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 2 dried red chiles (plus more for garnish, if desired)
• 2 teaspoons brandy
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Heat oil in a medium sauté pan over high heat. Sauté garlic until browned, about 2 minutes. Add shrimp and chiles; sauté until shrimp are cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add brandy and cook 1 minute more. Remove from heat. Transfer to a platter or divide equally among 8 small plates. Sprinkle with parsley, add salt to taste and serve.

Serves 8

Source & Image:  epicurious.com

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