Chappish!

This is a very fine example of Willamette Valley, Oregon pinot noir. It has a deep garnet color and a nose of berries with a hint of smoked meats. The dominant flavors are black cherry, plum and a trace of chocolate or perhaps coffee. An elusive hint of something like pencil shavings or oregano flits in the background. There's a mineral hint to the lasting, fruity finish. This wine is now getting toward the time limit of good aging for a pinot noir, so plan to enjoy it soon. I think it goes superbly with bread and cheese.  That's a favorite luncheon chez Chap, a good pinot noir with several kinds of good cheese and some tasty and dense bread. Some other good pairings are salmon, pork roast, lamb or stuffed mushrooms.

Introducing a new weekly feature on the blog: short-form wine reviews. The idea: I attend numerous wine tastings so you don't have to. You're welcome. If my guess is right, the practical chaps who read this blog don't want long flowery reviews or anything to do with wine snobbery: instead, the once-over on what the wine is like and what it is good with. As a broad average, just one wine in four makes the cut to be written up here, and sometimes I go through ten without finding one worth mentioning. If a wine appears as the wine of the week you know it is good to drink, with no outstanding flaws.

The main difficulty in tobacco withdrawal is a generalized feeling of anxiety or tension. You cannot find any precise location of your discomfort or cause for your anxiety but you know tobacco will fix it. One way to answer this difficulty is not with tobacco, but with a relaxation protocol that reduces tension regardless of the cause of that tension. Instead of sneaking off for a smoke, take a ten-minute meditation break. Get the tension out of the way and you have less to cope with in quitting the leaf. One way of doing that is with the Relaxation Response method. I recommend that one, of the various meditative relaxation methods available, because it is well researched to make it as simple as possible and to ground it in Western science as opposed to Eastern mysteries. You can learn about it from the above free video or from the best-selling book, below. Here is the mind trick: When you are in the Relaxation Response mental state, you do not crave ...

A really good charcuterie board contains multiple interesting flavor combinations. It invites your guests to find their favorite mix and match flavor ensembles. One of the essential skills of chaphood is the ability to throw together a cold platter. It is a fine way to escape having to cook and still put on a feed for guests. A good charcuterie board begins with good meat, not the cheap stuff. Use several kinds. Do not be afraid of unconventional choices such as braised beef or Chinese roast pork. There seems little reason not to include a few strips of crispy bacon. Nearly everyone likes bacon and it is quickly and easily prepared using the microwave . Italy appears to have made cold meats a national priority. There are a couple dozen varieties of salami, there are cured meats such prosciutto, and lots and lots of other types. I consider a stop at the Italian market essential in setting up a cold dinner. While I am there I get some olives too, to serve on the s...

Photo courtesy of  4028mdk09 Autumn is not far off, and winter comes after that. Be prepared with this chocolate toddy recipe. For each serving: 1 heaping tablespoon of  brown sugar A like amount of cocoa powder 6 oz. water Heat the above ingredients in a pan, stirring as needed. When the mixture is without lumps, bring it to a boil, then remove it from the heat. Into a mug, pour 1-1/2 oz. rum Pour the hot chocolate atop the rum Top the drink with whipped cream Sprinkle the whipped cream with ground cinnamon ...and serve. Variations: If you wish, substitute marshmallows for the whipped cream. Or substitute cocoa powder  for the  cinnamon .

How the Friend Zone is destroying America « Hot Air : " After all, if you’re a girl who’s not in a relationship, it can be awfully handy to have a 'friend' around who might be good with tools, able to change a tire, capable of lifting and carrying heavy things or is just willing to walk back to the car with you after dinner when you realize that new restaurant you were dying to try turned out to be in a pretty sketchy neighborhood. And if you never made him any promises and he’s willing to do these things anyway, what’s the harm? . . .  "[Guys are]  unwilling or unable to bring up the subject and just keep on thinking, “ pay my dues in the Friend Zone and one day she’ll promote me to boyfriend .”    Picture credit: Odyssey Online Read more at the link above. Laugh if you've been in the zone. If you're there now, consider leaving.  You will be able to laugh afterward, something you're probably not doing now.

In a reverse on an old joke, this horse takes in beer rather than letting it out. It's good for what ails him and the story is a nice one. Link: This horse drinks a Good People beer a day | AL.com : 'via Blog this'