Steamboat Springs; Seeing White

It has been so brown in Denver, I forgot how beautiful the snow is. My Dad took a trip to Steamboat from Wisconsin with a bunch of his buddies. I crashed their party last week. I made the 3 hour trek up right after closing our shop. The drive was amazing. He says the skiing is better in Colorado. What? Little Switzerland is not challenging enough for you??!! Come on Dad, they have 5 ski lifts and night skiing! .
I bet Don wouldn't have broke his knee, the first day out, if
you would have just stayed back east. How disappointing. You pay for a week of skiing plus airfare just to end up having surgery on your second day, then stuck in the lodge while your friends are out enjoying themselves. Not to mention the out-of-town Co-pays. On the bright side, Don's surgeon just came back from competing in Turin and he was given a BIG bottle of oxycodone. (Don, not the doctor). On the down side, no wine for Don.

Now, let me just set something straight right now. I DON'T SKI. You could break a knee. Although the Bob part of me loves to snowboard. While he's out ravishing the slopes I wait in the bar and test wine. I got up to Steamboat about 10 pm. They were staying at the Steamboat Grand with a condo looking over the ski runs. Big Daddy'O made a wonderful dinner of baked salmon, fresh sauteed veggies and salad. Jim picked the wine. Turns out he and his wife are fanatics like Bob and I. Since they are older, and probably retired, they actually go around touring vineyards. During dinner, Dad told a few of his short stories made long, thank goodness for the vino. How does he do that?? Maybe if the stories weren't embarrassing stories which included me, I wouldn't care as much. There was the one about J-Dog and KimBob (both parts of us) polishing off an entire case of his wine at new years eve a couple of years ago. He didn't tell us he was saving it for a special occasion. He didn't tell us it couldn't be replaced. He could have stopped us. Maybe. Picture above, here is Dad (in the purple coat) and Jim (blue coat) on the slope...at least I think it's Jim. I guess it could be Don before the tragic accident.

Five Rivers Chardonnay. Monterey County. 2004. "they say she has a thirst for adventure" From Five Rivers Winery.$9.99. Here's something I learned from Jim. Chardonnay is only good for about three years. I thought the longer you let it sit, the better. Yeah, if you like vinegar he said. I don't drink much white wine, so I had no idea. I did really like this one. It was a little sweet, a little dry it was velvety, fruity and had a smooth finish. It went well with the salmon. I would buy some more.
Dad said, "I like it." (the same guy who tells really long stories).
Jim says, "I taste forward fruit behind my teeth at top of the gumline".

We also tried a bottle of Meridian Chardonnay 2004. $8.99. We all decided it probably would have been better if it would have proceeded the Five Rivers rather than follow it. I thought it tasted oaky and bitter. Jim suggested it was a "musty" taste. After trying again, I agree. Dad thought it was rather bitter too. We all came to the same conclusion. We will need to try it again on it's own. It didn't stop us from finishing the bottle though.

The Bob part of me was in Montana. Sorry Baby, you could have gone snowboarding if you were home!
One more thing, before you go. We need some help. Bob's brother Pete Masitti, Produced and Co-wrote a song being played on XM. But, they really need people to go in a request their song. So please help. Click this link and request " Without you" by Sean Ensign.

Thanks so much! Also, tell your friends!

Angry Pooches With Men Who Speak English

The Bob part of me came home...for 39 hours. He's gone again. He just called me from the road and told me he picked up a hitchhiker. I guess he missed the movie.You know, then one where some guy hitchhikes and kills EVERY ONE WHO PICKS HIM UP. I am very understandably upset about this. Shortly after dropping off the hitchhiker who didn't butcher him, thank goodness, and leave him on the side of the road, in pieces, the Bob part of me got pulled over for speeding. That's right, not only does he pick up riders, he breaks the law. To top this off, he blows me off as if my concerns of possible death or bodily harm were completely unwarranted. (We came very close to being in a fight over this flippant attitude he displayed over my concern) The Bob part of me was talking to me on the phone during this time so I heard the officer negotiate his ticket with him. The officer said he was doing 76MPH in a 65MPH zone, there was no argument from Bob. The officer was nice enough to drop it to a mere 75 in a 65 and save the Bob part of me $20.00. Of course, he has to pay cash, right now, no checks. Now the Bob part of me is broke since he only keeps $20.00 in his pocket. He thanked the officer for taking his money. Sigh. The Kim part of Bob would have put up a little fight, even if she was wrong. In addition, she would never pick up a hitchhiker.
On a lighter note, we drank a great bottle of wine the other night.
Mad Dogs & Englishmen. Shiraz Cabernet Monastrell. 2003. Alcohol 13.5%. $9.99. It was absolutely delicious. Smooth, velvety, dry, not sweet, but not tart either, full bodied, pleasant on the palate. Completely worth the 10 bucks. In fact, I'm going to go buy some more. If you don't buy any other wine this entire year, at least get this one. It will make your mouth happy. The dog to the left is mad because he didn't get any. The dog below is mad ..well, just because she can be.

Menage a' What?!?!

ME'NAGE A' TROIS. In this case, they are referring to the grapes. Thank goodness. You know these kinds of things never really work out with human beings. Oh sure, it sounds ideal in the beginning, to the men maybe, but deep down, they know it even bothers them. Ah, but with grapes, there is nothing sweeter.

My "bestest" friend, (I love saying that, it's so juvenile) we call her Princess Leah, invited me over for soup, bread and wine the other day. The Bob part of me is always gone now, so getting together with my friends is no problem anymore. What kind of soup? Clam chowder she says. Hmm. I despise clam chowder soup almost as much as mushroom soup and dirty socks, but she throws in the wine so I'm there. This particular wine is out of my price range...normally $14.99, she found it for a mere $10.99 on sale. Score! Free wine with the girl I love best. (but not that much, if you know what I mean). So I get there and see what we're drinking and am just elated because I've wanted to try this wine, but it was always outside of the "budget". The Bob part of me is very strict with the budget.

So she starts us off with the opening of the bottle while we wait for her other friend, Shanna to get there. That's right, it's a threesome. (but not that kind of threesome) I'm anticipating. Watching her every move. As my mouth hangs open, drool runs down one side of my lip, and toward my chin, and without even thinking I catch it with my sleeve. Princess breaks the cork...in half. No problem to a real wine drinker, you just open it twice and pick the cork out of the first couple of glasses. The oils from your fingers add texture and the wine just slides right down. Next, she breaks out the crackers and cheese. Oh yeah, heaven to a cheddar-head. It was aged white cheddar on deli-rye triscuits. Very good.

After the snacks comes the main course. The table is beautiful. (Leah should be an interior designer). The bread is delicious. Italian, with whole chunks of garlic inside. It's a good thing the Bob part of me is out of town. The next day garlic will be emanating from my pores. Gross. The soup was, um...Princess? Are you going to be reading this? Well, I just don't like clam chowder, but I ate it out of appreciation and respect. Sometimes you sacrifice your taste buds for good friends, wine and bread! And wine, did I mention wine?

Menage A Trois 2004 Red table wine. This is a blend of red zin, cab and merlot, hence the name. Made by Folie A Duex. Smooth with a long finish. Very delightful with an intense black cherry flavor. I would do it again. And again. And again.