Give Me Some Wine Monday

       Monday makes a good day to have people over for wine and repast. Monday basically sucks. After a wonderful long weekend, I was at work at 5:00am today, and did get tons of work done, but that’s NOT where I wanted to be!  I wanted to be home, finishing cleaning up the front garden areas, planting the new rose bushes, working on quilts, and making great dishes from my new cook books. And spending time with Mitch, my grandson visiting from Huntington Beach, CA. So when they picked me up from work, we went straight to the YMCA and it's fabulous swimming pools.  Mitch's favorite parts of the pool--the diving board and the big spiral slide.  He loved it, and it was so much fun watching him have fun and laughing and doing amazing jumps and corkscrews off the board. Mitch is an amazing kid and just knows how to have fun. 

       So when I got home, I decided it was Monday Whine Day…only changing it to Wine Day.  John, KC, Susie and others were invited to come partake in an impromptu happy hour. I fixed Romanian inspired sliders, teriyaki chicken wings, a piece of beautiful blue veined brie was served along with dill havarti, an assortment of crackers, cookies, olives—green olives with garlic in oil, kalamata, and giant green Italian olives stuffed with blue cheese--and of course, wine. Chocovine dessert wine….a smooth red wine mixed with Dutch chocolate that has a very nice kick; a sweet iced white Moscato; an Argentinian Camanere full bodied and rich on the tongue with a bit of tannin bite; a basic white Chardonnay with no pedigree but good taste; and a pitcher of margaritas blended with ice and cold and refreshing on this 98 degree day.

       The sliders were a real treat, as I used spices and ingredients that I’m learning about in a Romanian cookbook.  I found the cookbook at a local used book store, Anchor Books. When we sold the Diamond Valley house and moved into the RV, we took our books to Anchor and received tons of credit. So since grandson Mitchell is here visiting, we took him there and let him go wild. A book on sports cars from around the world, 2005 issue of the Guinness Book of World Records, a guide book of Western Birds, and the novel Eclipse for his mom were the scores for Mitch. Roy found a tome on Albert Einstein, and I, of course, gravitated to the cook book section. I found the Café Beaujolais cook book from the restaurant of the same name in Mendocino, CA; a beautiful encyclopedia on gardening; The Pink Adobe Cookbook from the Santa Fe NM  restaurant; the Art of Spanish Cooking—recipes from Spain not Mexico with a completely different taste and flare; and last but certainly not least, The Romanian Cook Book.

       So now you’re saying..Romanian Cook Book?  Why?  Well, I have no knowledge or experience with Romanian cooking. Italian, Mexican, French, American….yes.  Romanian…no!  This little book is filled with anecdotes, history, and the whys of Romanian cooking and tradition. I love it! And the herbs, spices, and techniques are different from anything I have used before.  While I am very used to the Mediterranean spices—oregano, marjoram, basil, garlic, etc.---I am finding Romanian recipes use dill, parsley, thyme, white pepper and paprika in abundance, along with onions, leeks, fennel, and chives.  Basically good “peasant” foods, used by people of small means, but enhanced with spices and herbs to make it fabulous.

       The book was written in 1951, but the introduction sounded as if it was written last week. “It is more than ever important in our troubled world for peoples of different countries to understand and know each other. And why better way is there to bring people together than through food?”   I believe a truer notion has never been written. Sit at a table with people from any country, eat the dishes they love and prepare with love, pride and true artistry, and you will learn more about the peoples and of their country than through days and months of talking. Break bread together and makes friends forever…it’s a simple idea that I believe in whole-heartedly.

       So, in the spirit of this amazing cookbook, I prepared the meat for the sliders. I added finely chopped onion, white pepper, Worcestershire sauce, A-1 sauce, a panade of bread soaked in milk (this is a wonderful addition to hamburgers as it keeps them moist and juicy while cooking), parsley, garlic, and my own touch…a bit of Cajun Spice. They were amazingly good, using fresh baked biscuits for small hamburger buns, and a mixture of onion, ketchup, mustard, Swedish horseradish sauce, and A-1 for the spread.  As a testament to their deliciousness, there were none left on the plate!!

       But the lesson today is not the recipe, but the thought that sharing food with others builds friendships, knowledge, and could change the face of the world by building a culture of joy, sharing, and peace.  Try any recipe, from anywhere, just try something new and by all means SHARE IT! My neighbors love being “guinea pigs” to my recipes. We all laughed that they now know when they come home and find a dish of food sitting on their outside table, stoop, or kitty planter, they know Jane The Food Fairy has been busy and brought them a gift from her kitchen…and they love finding these little packets of yumminess!