Mediterranean Cookbook Reviews

I’m just going to say it. I hate it when actresses or country music stars write cookbooks. First of all, I don’t believe they write them, I believe they hire ghost writers and use their celebrity to sell them. But now, I’m going to give you the one exception to this rule and why. Extra Virgin is written by the glamorous actress Debi Mazar and her Tuscan husband Gabriele Corcos. Together they cook up a storm on their quirky food TV shows. Corcos is the real deal. I lived in Tuscany and he cooks just they way I remember. It’s the recipes but also the style of cooking that he captures so well even in the few non-Italian recipes. 

This is food I fell in love with when I lived in Italy and am happy to make in my own kitchen. I promise you too will love the ridiculously easy recipes for Pappardelle with Duck Ragu, Shrimp and Zucchini Risotto (made with Carnaroli rice!) Sausage and Beans, Beef Stew with Polenta and the Cod Florentine Style. These are comfort food dishes I ate in Florence and I adore. I am grateful to Debi Mazer for sharing the culinary prowess of her husband with a wider audience. I was particularly pleased to note that their recipe for making Lasagne Alla Bolognese, is EXACTLY the same as mine.

I have Eataly envy. After visiting Eataly in NYC I desperately wish there was one here. The complex--I really don’t know how else to describe it--has shops, restaurants, bars, a cooking school and selection of products that makes me homesick for Italy.

How to Eataly is not just a cookbook, but a kind of guide to how Italians shop, cook and eat with wonderful photos and all kinds of mini tutorials. The recipes go beyond the well-known and include the kinds of things people really do eat in Italy like lentil soup with Italian sausage meatballs, grilled polenta with mushroom ragu, celery root and apple salad and stuffed zucchini blossoms. 

The guides in the book include everything from a discussion about Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano, to how Italians use leftover bread, to how to make mozzarella and how to taste olive oil and how Italians eat pizza. It’s not comprehensive and it’s certainly not definitive, because it really can’t be. But it’s a really fun and fascinating book for any Italian food lover. 

Diane Kochilas is yet another chef I met at the CIA Worlds of Flavor conference a few years ago. Her new book, Ikaria (subtitled lessons on food, life, and longevity from the Greek island where people forget to die) features a range of ingredients and dishes that go far beyond the same old spanikopita and gyros you find everywhere outside of Greece. Wild foraged ingredients especially greens are common in the cuisine of the island of Ikaria, where the authors parents came from. Her recipes also include some meat and seafood, but vegetables and legumes are the core. 

Recipes I can’t wait to try include Taro Root Skordalia, Mushroom Stew with tomatoes and red wine, Purslane and Olive Salad, Eleni Karimali’s Noodles with Yogurt and Herbs and Simple Onion Pie. The photos, stories about life on the island and recipes are irresistible and will significantly increase your knowledge of Greek food, and just possibly your life span.

When I was growing up, one of my favorite restaurants was French Lebanese. The people running it were friendly and the food was divine. Unfortunately Le Petit Lebanon closed eons ago and my main resources for cooking Lebanese food have been a little booklet I picked up in London at Books for Cooks and Joumana Accad’s lovely blog, Taste of Beirut. Now there’s a cookbook Taste of Beirut that features many classic recipes and a guide to the ingredients used in the cuisine as well. Because I’m a fan of the blog, my favorite recipes are the ones with headnotes telling stories. Most of the recipes are very healthy, using whole grains, vegetables, legumes and lean meats. There are quite a few vegetarian recipes.

This is a cuisine that is really easy to love and there’s plenty of room for more Lebanese cookbooks. I don’t know if I will ever get to Lebanon, but Joumana Accad definitely transports me there through her recipes. You will want to make her Lebanese Couscous with Chicken, Zaatar and Yogurt Cheese Hand Pies, Fattoush Salad, Turnip Pickles, and some of Accad’s own creations like her baked not fried Falafel Loaf with Tarator Sauce, Red Lentil and Pumpkin Dip or Roasted Cauliflower and Potato Sandwich. The photos are good in the book, but I wish it were hardcover. It’s paperback and my copy is already beginning to show some wear and tear. 

Disclaimer: These books were provided as review copies, this post also includes affiliate links. 

Rick Bayless on Mexican Beer

Rick Bayless is a chef, restaurateur, host of Mexico: One Plate at a Time and a beer enthusiast. He knows a lot about the history of Mexico, Mexican food and drinks. Recently I was fortunate enough to attend a blogger event hosted by Negra Modelo and I had the opportunity to talk with him about  Mexican beer and food pairing and his plans for a microbrewery as well as a bit about the history of beer in Mexico.

What styles of beer complement Mexican food? 

Rick Bayless: All types of beer complement Mexican food because Mexican food is so varied! On a hot day Pacifico with ceviche is great. Negra Modelo goes well with barbacoa which I make with short ribs, slow cooked with red chile sauce. 

The reason I like Negra Modelo is because it has a little fruitiness from the hops, the natural sweetness from the barley malt even helps it to pair with richer dishes like queso fundido.

Is it true you're opening a microbrewery?

RB: I am opening a microbrewery in Chicago, it’s a think tank and it’s where we’ll create beers for our restaurants. We will also see if there is a beer that we can scale up working with Negra Modelo for larger distribution. 

What kinds of beers are you developing? 
RB: I’m not super into flavored beers. I am exploring Belgian yeast strains, I find they make food friendly beers. I like the gentle use of spices, not chiles to heat up but to cool down like green coriander for example which has citrus notes.

Why aren't beers commonly sold on tap in Mexico? 

RB: Tap beer has to be refrigerated and that wasn’t easy to do in Mexico. The distribution of bottles was much easier, but the craft beer movement is changing that in Mexico and you’ll find more taps today.

How did beer become the most popular drink in Mexico, surpassing the indigenous drink, pulque? 

RB: Pulque is made every day and it’s delicious the first day, sour the next day and it just gets more and more sour. By the fourth day it’s terrible. Unlike beer it can’t be pasteurized. Anywhere you can make mezcal, you can make pulque because it’s made from the maguey sap which is collected twice a day. The plant takes 6-10 years to produce the sap, then it produces it for 6 months and dies. It’s a very nutritious drink, low in alcohol and contains active cultures. But it is labor intensive and hard to mass produce, unlike beer. 

Pulque was associated with the poorest classes who drank it because it was nutritious. The upper classes were European and drank beer, which is not particularly nutritious, but the lower classes saw the Europeans drinking it and aspired to drink it too. Beer was more expensive but much more stable and sanitary than pulque.

Disclaimer: My thanks to Negra Modelo for sponsoring an event during which I was able to interview Rick Bayless. I was not monetarily compensated for this or any other post. 

Broccoli Crunch Recipe

They say there are no original ideas and sometimes even when I think I've come up with something new, I find a quick search on the internet proves otherwise. While I try to invent my own creative combinations, sometimes I do find my inspiration online, in cookbooks or in restaurants. Recently I was in Las Vegas where I had a couple of very inspiring meals at Carson Kitchen.

The restaurant serves rich small plates including impossibly crunchy chicken skins and meatballs in a luscious creamy foie gras sherry sauce. One of the dishes I knew I would want to try and recreate at home was their “broccoli crunch.” It turns out there are lots of versions of this dish online, although their version was certainly unique. The menu description included sunflower and pumpkin seeds as well as green goddess dressing. The salad also has dried cranberries and a handful of halved grape tomatoes. I decided to substitute tangerines in place of the tomatoes, which aren’t really in season this time of year. I like the way this dish straddles the line between salad and green vegetable. I plan on serving it at Thanksgiving.

Green goddess dressing is something I had never made before. The original recipe comes from the Palace Hotel here in San Francisco. It was named in tribute to an actor who was starring in a play called The Green Goddess. The original recipe blended green onion with mayonnaise, tarragon, parsley, vinegar and anchovies. I adapted my recipe from some updated ones I found that included sour cream and use chives instead of green onion. The creamy herbal dressing really complements the fresh crunchy broccoli, the rich crisp seeds and sweet notes from the cranberries. The tangerines provide that pop of bright acidity as well as sweetness.

Broccoli Crunch 

Serves 4- 5, easily doubled or tripled for a crowd

Salad

1 pound broccoli cut into bite-sized florets

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

2 tangerines or mandarins, peeled and seeded 

Dressing

2 anchovies

1 1/2 teaspoons minced tarragon

2 Tablespoons minced chives

2 Tablespoons minced parsley

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup mayonnaise 

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 

Freshly ground pepper

Heat a large pot of water and when it boils add the broccoli and blanch for one minute, then drain and place in a bowl of ice water to chill. Drain and dry thoroughly. Combine the broccoli with the cranberries, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. Break the tangerine into segments and cut each segment in half crosswise. Add tangerine pieces to the broccoli. 

In a bowl mash the anchovies. Add the herbs, vinegar, mayonnaise, sour cream, salt and a few grinds of pepper. Stir until well combined and taste. 

Combine the salad and dressing until thoroughly combined. Chill until ready to serve.

Enjoy!  

Cooking Turkey for Small Gatherings

I've cooked whole turkeys when developing recipes for clients, but a Thanksgiving feast? I’m most thankful that I can spend the holiday at my parents house and let them take care of cooking the bird.

Some years I return home with leftover turkey, other years I buy a turkey at the store and ask the butcher to cut it into either halves or quarters so I am not overwhelmed with too much turkey for my household of two. 

Here are some more great ways to enjoy turkey without buying a whole bird:

William Wilkinson

Dark meat

Legs and thighs are great for lovers of dark meat. They can be roasted or braised. 

How to roast turkey thighs 

How to roast turkey legs 

My recipe for braising turkey legs in cranberry sauce 

RosieTulips

Light meat 

Turkey breast is a good option for roasting, if you like light meat only.   If you are only cooking the breast, it will be much easier to cook since the breast meat tends to cook faster and become dry more quickly than other cuts. 

How to make herb roasted turkey breast 

Dark & Light meat

This year I got a chance to try the Diestel light and dark roast. They are fully cooked, from boneless breasts, legs, and thighs with skin and are hand-netted. Size wise they are around  2 1/2 to 3 pounds (more than enough for 4 people) and cost $34.99. Each slice has both dark and light meat. The instructions recommend coating the roast with paprika but I used an herb and spice mix. These roasts are available at Whole Foods market. 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Whole Foods for providing a Diestel roast for me to try. 

Pomsgiving Cocktail: Drinks on Friday

The last few years I've created a cocktail for Thanksgiving. It's a fun way to start the long Thanksgiving day feast. It perks the appetite and gives everyone something to talk about.  I recently attended a POM Wonderful lunch and was inspired by all the wonderful cocktails. So instead of using the more common cranberry juice, I thought it would be interesting to try using pomegranate juice.

This cocktail uses truly some of my most favorite things--limoncello, Plymouth gin and La Marca prosecco. I discovered La Marca prosecco when I was looking for the perfect prosecco to make the Ruby Sparkler last year. It's from the Veneto, tart and fresh with plenty of bubbles. It's about $10 at Costco and makes a terrific mixer. Plymouth gin is my go to gin, I find it the easiest for mixing because the botanicals are so well balanced. Use whichever limoncello you like. 

I am not a bartender and I find it tricky to come up with cocktails. Working out the proportions took some time but I'm very happy with the final result and hope you like it too! I haven't decided on a garnish yet, what do you think? Lemon peel? Pomegranate arils? Let me know in the comments. 

Pomsgiving

3/4 ounce Plymouth gin

1/4 ounce limoncello

1 ounce POM Wonderful juice or freshly squeezed pomegranate jucie

Prosecco (La Marca recommended)

Combine the gin, limoncello and pomegranate juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a glass, top with prosecco. 

Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to both POM Wonderful and Plymouth gin for providing me with product to use in my cocktail experiments.

Stoneline Cookware Review

For the last four months I’ve been using Stoneline cookware in place of my regular pots and pans. I’m always interested to try out non-stick cookware because I hate scrubbing pots and pans. I put the cookware through the paces. I don’t just follow the instructions, I do some of the things you're not supposed to and see how it performs.

The problem with most non-stick pans is that the surface eventually peels, flakes, chips or stops being non-stick, also some of it like Teflon is made with harmful chemicals such as perfluorooctanoic acids aka PFOAs. In four months of using the Stoneline cookware (which is PFOA free) there has been no degradation of the cooking surface. The surface of the pans is smooth but looks like stone, there is nothing to peel or flake. Unlike ceramic non-stick it’s very durable and even when stacked up the pans don’t scratch or chip. They also don’t stain.

• Stoneline describes the cookware surface as a “reinforced stone coating” made of microscopic particles of stone that are transformed into an ultra-hard non-stick coating that won’t scratch, is extremely durable and resistant to abrasion. 

• Stoneline cookware works with all stove tops—gas, electric, induction and ceramic. It can be heated up to 350 degrees on the stove or oven.  

• The pans are initially seasoned with a few drops of oil, something that can be repeated, but I have not found it necessary to re-season them.

• The cookware has a 12 year warranty and a money back guarantee within the first 30 days if you decide you don't like it. 

The first thing I noticed about the cookware is how much hotter it seemed to get than other types of non-stick. I tried cooking eggs because they tend to stick. I learned quickly that I had to use much lower heat than I was used to, but even overcooking the eggs, they easily slipped out of the pan. The instructions say you don’t need to wash the pans, just wipe them with paper towels. That works fine for most things, but some liquids and sauces need to be rinsed off when reduced. That said, there is no need to use detergent or to scrub! But just to see how it would fare, I scrubbed and found the pans still did not scratch. I gave a few of the pieces of the set away and the feedback I got was consistent—that it heats well and evenly and browns food without sticking.

I will keep using these pans, so far I'm very impressed with their performance.

Disclaimer: My thanks to Stoneline for providing the cookware to review. I received a 13 piece set a wok and a roaster. I was not paid for this or any other post. 

Squash, Tamales & Dumplings: Single Subject Cookbooks

The Everyday Squash Cook

There are a surprising number of cookbooks covering a single fruit or vegetable and mostly I'm a bit skeptical about how useful they are. Not in this case. This book covers both Summer and Winter squash and has breakfast and brunch dishes, dips & soups, main courses, salads & sides, breads & desserts! I love how creative the recipes are. Speedy Pumpkin Waffles, Osso Buco with Butternut & Cannellini Mash, Savory Zucchini Popovers, Kabocha Deviled Eggs and Butternut Brownies are just a few of the intriguing recipes. There are 26 zucchini recipes alone. Let’s just say you will never complain about having too much zucchini ever again! If you know someone who grows squash this is a great book.

Tamales

I am crazy about tamales. If they are on the menu at a Mexican restaurant I will almost always order them. Of course there is a world of difference between good ones and lousy ones. Good ones have almost creamy, rich and flavorful masa and delectable fillings. Lousy ones are dry and crumbly, hard and bland. While I already have one book on tamales, I was happy to see this one too. Quite a number of things set this book apart. There are diagrams to show how different wrapping styles, recipes for “nose-to-tail” tamales made from lamb head, beef cheeks, tongue, tripe and more. There are also recipes for salsas and sauces to serve with your tamales, and quite a few vegetarian fillings like artichokes, creamy mushrooms, even broccoli and cheese tamales and bunch of sweet dessert tamales as well. If you want to make tamales at home, this is your book. 

Dumplings All Day Wong

When I was in Honolulu the last time around I arrived on a Sunday and my first stop from the airport to Koko Head Cafe, Lee Anne Wong’s brunch spot in Kaimuki. I had the amazing cornflake french toast but I had to come back for the dumplings because they were already sold out. On my next visit I got the perfectly fried fish dumplings. Wong clearly loves Asian style dumplings and makes both traditional ones as well as her own modern versions. There are steamed, boiled, deep fried and pan fried dumplings to satisfy your dumpling cravings. There are tutorials on how to make doughs and wrappers, how to fold and cook dumplings and more. The pantry section on Asian ingredients is reason enough to buy the book. Recipes I’ve bookmarked include Spicy Chicken Yuzu Gyoza, Sardine Ginger Wonton Soup and Pork and Chive Dumplings. One caveat, although the book cover is somewhat reminiscent of the Dummies books, this book can veer into being a bit "chaffy" from time to time with long ingredient lists and multiple preparations per recipes, that said the instructions are clear and the recipes so creative I still recommend it.

Disclaimer: These books were provided as review copies and this post includes affiliate links

Red Cabbage, Fennel & Cranberries Recipe

Red cabbage frequently ends up in my CSA box this time of year Of course it features prominently in slaws and soups, and makes a good bed for nestling roasts or sausages, but what else? Lately I'm trying sautés. Red cabbage has a really earthy flavor that can go sweet or sour and cooks up easily in a sauté pan, if shredded. 

Red cabbage is healthy, a member of the brassica family, it's cholesterol lowering and perhaps surprisingly the health benefits are greater in cooked cabbage than in raw. If you've ever wondered what makes red cabbage red, it's anthocyanins, a type of polyphenol which is a pigment and is also responsible for the red in cranberries. The amount of Vitamin C is 6 times greater in red cabbage than green cabbage. It's extremely high in Vitamin K too. 

This recipe came about because I had about a half of a head of cabbage, a bit of fennel and some cranberries I wanted to use. The bright and bitter flavors of the dish with just an edge of sweetness complement something rich like pork, sausages, goose or duck. I like the cabbage to still have a bit of crunch, but if you want it softer, just cook it longer with the lid on. 

Note: The amount of sugar you need in this recipe depends on the sweetness of the vegetables and how sweet the wine is. You might start with a tablespoon and add more only if you need it. If you'd rather not add sugar at all, I'd recommend using dried cranberries which are already sweetened. 

Red Cabbage, Fennel & Cranberries 

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon vegetable or rice bran oil 

1 cup sliced onion (half moons)

1 cup sliced fennel bulb 

4 cups thinly sliced red cabbage

1 cup cranberries

Pinch salt

2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth

1/2 cup red wine 

Instructions 

Heat a large skillet and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion and fennel and sauté for 5 minutes or until translucent but not brown. Add the cabbage and sauté for another 3 minutes or until glossy and beginning to reduce in volume. Add the cranberries, salt, brown sugar, broth and wine. Cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and cook until the liquid evaporates. Taste for seasoning and serve. 

Enjoy!

Interview with Margarita Carrillo Arronte, author of Mexico: The Cookbook

What we don’t know about Mexican cuisine could fill the pages of a massive book. And now it does. Margarita Carrillo Arronte, a chef, teacher, restaurateur, TV host and the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture's chef is the first Mexican author to have written a comprehensive book on Mexican food in English. Last week I had the great pleasure of meeting her and learning more about Mexican cuisine and her book, Mexico: The Cookbook.

How long did the book take to write and why did you write it in English? 

It took two years, but a lifetime, starting with being raised in Mexico, eating and cooking there. I always wanted to write this book in English, because I saw a need. There are other books on Mexican food in English, but not written by someone from Mexico. 

The book is on the cuisines of Mexico, not the cuisine. Because there are eight regions and the weather, the culture and the people are different. The cuisine is completely different from one region to another. The Northern part of Mexico doesn’t have the range of ingredients you find in the South but all they have some great recipes. Some regions have indigenous people with very strong food traditions. We have influences from many different countries--France, Spain, the Philippines. We had trade relations with Asia going back hundreds of years ago. 

What are the major misunderstandings about Mexican food? 

1. That it’s unhealthy, greasy and cheap

2. That it’s too spicy 

3. That it’s about quantity not quality

4. That Mexican food is served with rice and beans. That’s Tex Mex, not Mexican. 

5. That red rice! It’s often cooked badly. The rice is over toasted and it doesn’t taste good. 

When people come to Mexico, what should they eat? 

A variety of food, such as the real burritos of Baja which are nothing like what you find in California, and different kinds of beans. Eat at the little places with local flavors. Eat what the locals eat, not just what’s served to tourists. 

Your book has 700 recipes, what are the recipes readers should try first? 

1. Start with the easy recipes, ceviches and salsas. 

2. Learn the technique of dry toasting, we toast everything—chiles, tomatillos, onions, garlic, spices. 

3. Try some of the simpler soups 

4. We have lots of egg dishes, try one like Huevos Rabos de Mestiza, a Yucatecan dish of eggs with chiles, tomatoes and tomatillos. 

5. Make a dessert such as arroz con leche. 

Gracias Margarita! 

Global Kitchen & Mad Delicious: Cooking Light Cookbook Reviews

For years I subscribed to Cooking Light but these days I have a love hate relationship with it. Some months I treasure the magazine and other months hardly anything in it appeals to me. In addition I find their books to be hit or miss. Right now there are two Cooking Light books on the market, one a keeper, the other a loser.

True to its name, Cooking Light Global Kitchen shares recipes from around the world. There are 150 recipes, 120 of which came from the magazine and another 30 that “fill in the gaps.” They all fit within the magazine’s guidelines for nutrition, ease and speed.

The author/editor David Joachim tapped many chefs to help with the recipes and the results are impressive. The recipes may not be the most authentic but they are certainly user friendly. There are recipes from East Asia and India, Southeast Asia and Australia, The Middle East and Africa, Europe and Eurasia, South America, North and Central America. 

Many of the recipes take classics in a new direction like tabbouleh salad with chicken or a salad nicoise with seared tuna. And frankly many seems like improvements on the original such as lobster rolls freshened up with shaved fennel and citrus. I like that there are photographs on every page, for every recipe. I’ve bookmarked Quinoa Pudding, Cape Malay Curry (with warm spices, buttermilk, beef, peppers and apricots)  Quick Lamb Kofta with Harissa Yogurt Sauce, Champagne Browned Butter Chicken and Fennel Cured Halibut Gravlax. 

Bottom line? KEEPER especially if you're looking for healthier international recipes. You could find most of these recipes online or in the magazine, but this it is convenient to have them curated this way.

I was very excited to hear about Cooking Light Mad Delicious:The Science of Making Healthy Food Taste Amazing, but I’m rather disappointed with it.

My issues with the book, I’m going to just give you just a few, start with Culinary School Chicken. It’s a basic roast chicken recipe. But one of the very first instructions says “Rinse your chicken under cold running water. Allow to air dry or pat dry with good quality paper towels. Use the cheap ones and eat paper.” Uh I have a better idea. DON’T EVER RINSE RAW CHICKEN! Sorry for shouting but the author really should have known better. This is just bad advice. Rinsing does nothing but spread bacteria and is widely discouraged.

Next in the Lower East Side Brisket recipe there is a visual tutorial called Step by Step: Creating a crusty exterior. Basically it says season the meat with spices, heat the oil until hot and brown the meat. Really? That seems pretty obvious.

The author uses potentially hard to find ingredients like sorghum syrup, espelette pepper and Turkish red pepper paste, all without suggestions for substitutions. The book also has instructions for making your own sriracha sauce which will keep for a week to 10 days in the fridge. I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to use 2 cups of sriracha in 10 days. 

Sadly I just didn't find the recipes all that compelling. All in all the book was a good idea, but it misses the mark.  

Bottom line? SKIP IT Science geeks will be disappointed and newbies will be overwhelmed.

Disclaimer: These books were provided to me for review purposes. This post contains affiliate links.

Grocery Outlet Wine & Food Bargains & Giveaway!

I love a bargain, the thrill of finding something at a great price. Of course, when it comes to picking a wine, it can be tricky. But when the Grocery Outlet wine sale rolls around it’s worth the gamble. All the wines are an additional 20% off their usual discounted price. So why are the wines at Grocery Outlet? It’s because Grocery Outlet buys "opportunistically." What does that mean? It means some of the wines did not fit well with the rest of a wineries portfolio or the company went out of business. Or the label changed. Or they needed to move the wine to make room for something else in the warehouse. Their loss, your gain! 

To help you find your own bargains I'm going to give you the inside scoop from Cameron Wilson, the Director of Wine, Beer & Spirits as well as my picks for speciality food...

After checking out the deals, do enter to win one of two $25 gift certificates to Grocery Outlet! 

Little Rascals Sauvignon Blanc $3.99

This is my favorite of the wines I tried. It’s a current vintage. There’s lots grapefruit and some grassy notes. A lovely Napa Sauvignon Blanc you’d normally pay at least $12 if not more.

Hill Wine Co Pinot Noir $7.99

This is not a Pinot for Cab lovers. It’s true to style, light and elegant with notes of strawberries and raspberries. The alcohol is a bit high at 14.5% but I liked it. It would be great with salmon and lamb.

Reserve Lot 11 Zinfandel  2011 $6.99

Ok I’m not a big fan of Zinfandel, but this is a Dry Creek Zin, and according to Wilson it’s not terribly high in alcohol or heavy handed. it’s true to the varietal not too big. Great for drinking right now. 

Cinzano Asti Spumante $5.99
This is usually around $10-15 and honestly it has the prettiest Italian label! It’s a good sweet sparkling wine with melon and peach and would make a fine hostess gift.

Domaine Laurier Alexander Valley Merlot $6.99
I didn’t find this to be as big and rich as Wilson described when I first opened it but after an hour or so it was lovely. It has some plum and pepper and would be great with beef or lamb.

Schlumberger Maison Rouge $4.99
They’ve had this wine before and it’s a good ‘“house red.” It’s nice round, good quality, not huge, 13.9% alcohol, good balance, this winemaker also makes some much higher end wines.

Frusion Pear $2.99
Ok this is a wacky pick! it’s a white with some pear juice, aroma you can find in wine. Wilson thinks it’s a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, maybe some Pinot Grigio. But the pear is just the hint of an aroma. Crisp dry fresh white wine. great with food, very refreshing.

And here are my grocery picks, all things I found in the Geary St store in San Francisco: 

Yarra Valley Marinated Feta 

$1.99 for 6.35 ounces

This luscious very soft and creamy feta is divine! Great on bread or vegetables or tossed with pasta. I've never seen it for less than about $7

Galbani Mozzarella Fresca 

$2.49 for 8 ounces

I buy this all the time for $5! It’s very good quality.

Aidells Sausage Organic

Spinach & Feta Smoked Chicken 

$3.99 for 12 ounces

Serve for dinner or with eggs, crazy cheap normally twice the price

California Olive Ranch Mild & 
Buttery Extra Virgin Olive Oil

$7.99 for a 500 ml bottle

This is from late season Arbequina olives, harvested this year! California Olive Ranch is already a very reasonably priced olive oil for the quality so this is a steal.  It’s $12.59 on their website. 

The One Pounder Dried Cranberries

$2.99 for 1 lb

Crazy, right? I didn’t buy these but it would be worth stocking up for baking season.

Please leave no more than one comment telling me your best discovery at Grocery Outlet or what you would buy with the gift card. You must have a US mailing address to win. Enter your email address as directed in the comment form, it will not be visible to anyone but me. I will choose 2 winners on Wednesday November 5th at 10PM PST. 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Grocery Outlet for providing the gift cards.