Travel,Wine and Cuisine by Christopher J Davies

Story and photo by Christopher J. Davies  If you have not yet visited the Abruzzo region of central Italy, it is worth a stop. Just about 2 1/2 hours east of Rome is the culmination of Italy’s Apennine Mountains and the Adriatic Sea. There are amazing national parks and preserves plus ski resorts. Pescara is the largest city, located on the Adriatic Sea. They have an International Airport and many stores and amenities. The region is known for its Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, medium bodied, plummy red wine (no relation to Montepulciano in Tuscany). It is also famous for Arrosticini, skewers of tender cubed lamb, that are barbequed to perfection. You can find Arrosticini as appetizers on many restaurant menus and premade for sale at butchers and grocery stores. While it is mainly made with lamb or mutton, some restaurants and butchers offer beef and pork versions. A good portion of the men in Abruzzo own a fornacella, which is an elongated, charcoal-fired, or gas...

Cochon555 is all about amazing pork and delicious beverages. This national series is returning to Denver on Sunday. This year’s event has transformed into their popular Heritage BBQ format. I attended the 2016 event at the Ritz Carlton. Denver top chef Troy Guard (TAG, Guard and Grace, Mister Tuna, etc.) was the winner. The VIP ticket proved to be a great value as you get to meet the chefs and begin tasting an hour before the venue starts accepting General Admission ticket holders. There were tons of great dishes and beverages galore. Many of Colorado’s top chefs and sommeliers were in attendance. 2017 Cochon555  There will be 5 chefs, 5 winemakers and assorted spirits and cocktails. Including Boulder based, Hosea Rosenberg, now owner of Blackbelly, made Colorado foodies proud when he won Bravo’s Top Chef, Season 5 in March 2009. After winning, his life change in many ways. He has cooked with celebrity chefs on TV and at events around the world. For the last few year’...

--> The Food And Wine Chain Turtle Soup…The Almost Forgotten Delicacy! By Christopher J. Davies Over a century ago, Turtle Soup was earmarked in many a home cook’s favorite cookbook. It is said this was U.S. President Howard Taft’s favorite food. So seriously did he take this dish that he even selected a special chef for the White House who was a master at cooking a good Turtle Soup. Today a small group of restaurants across the country have Turtle Soup on their regular menus. The largest concentration of restaurants with Turtle Soup on their menus is found in America’s foodiest city, New Orleans! Of the dozen or so restaurants in NOLA making Turtle Soup, Commander’s Place is ground zero for this delicacy. Their creole version is thick and stew-like. It is usually topped off at your table with a drop of sherry. No, it does not taste like chicken, but more like a veal stew. At the helm of Commander’s Palace is Executive Chef Tory McPhail, a young and...

The 2015 Denver International Wine Festival happens next week!  The 11 th edition will take place from Wednesday October 28 to Friday October 30, 2015…just in time for Hallowine!  Wine Country Network has vowed to eliminate conducting promotions with deal sites like Groupon, Travelzoo and Amazon.Com. Instead they offer generous promotional incentives to serious folks who join the Denver International Wine Festival Newsletter list: http://www.denverwinefest.com/newsletter.html They also publish monthly incentives on the DIWF Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Denverwinefest DIWF Deal Blotter: If you have been holding off and waiting for a deal, there are a couple of promotions that might entice you! Pairsine Chefs Fine Food and Wine-October 29, 2015- Westword75 This event is like Iron Chefs meets really amazing wine. 11 top chefs will create 22 gourmet pairings. There will be more than 40 Gold Medal wines from the ...

--> The 5 th Annual Boulder Burgundy Festival officially happens October 22-25, 2015 in Boulder, Colorado. But Brett Zimmerman, festival founder and Master Sommelier, welcomes two Burgundy heavyweights at a bucket-list level Burgundy wine dinner at Mercantile Dining and Provision (Union Square), Denver on Tuesday October 6 th . This dinner is clearly the Denver first-taste of The Boulder Burgundy Festival. Chef/Owner Alex Seidel has created a mouth-watering 5-course menu suitable for heads of state! I am pinching myself with disbelief that I am one of the lucky 16 that will be enjoying this feast! Check out the menu below, which is being published for the first time on this blog. Check back next week for a review and photos of the dinner. Cheers! CD  ------------------------------------------   Brett Zimmerman, Master Sommelier Wilson Daniels Presents Domaine Leflaive and Olivier Bernstein Burgundy Wine Dinner Thursday October 6, 2...

Buy the Right Wine Every Time: The No-Fuss, No-Vintage Wine Guide Author: Tom Stevenson Publisher: Sterling Epicure Rating: Exceptional! Must buy for winos! Format: Soft (flex) cover,320 pages ISBN: 1-4027-6341-7 US Price: $14.95 Webpage: http://www.sterlingpublishing.com/catalog?isbn=9781402763410 Tom Stevenson is the quintessential wine book author with more than 30 years under his belt writing wine books. His latest book is a virtual cheat-sheet for wine novices looking to glide through any restaurants wine list. It helps you pick the most popular, reliable bottles based on varietal and price range. As a bonus you will benefit from the authors many useful wine tips. Grab this book and you will buy the right wine, every time!

--> Richard Sandoval’s New Latin Flavors Hot Dishes, Cool Drinks Authors: By Richard Sandoval Rating: Exceptional! Must buy for foodies! Imprint: Stewart, Tabori & Chang ISBN: 1-61769-124-0 EAN: 9781617691249 Format: Hardcover, 224 pages Price: $29.95 Webpage: http://www.abramsbooks.com/Books/Richard_Sandoval%E2%80%99s_New_Latin_Flavors-9781617691249.html Richard Sandoval is a member of a distinct group of chefs that will be recognized as making their mark on global cuisine during this century. Emeril Legasse is known as the king of Cajun and Creole Cuisine, José Andrés is the king of Spanish Cuisine, but Sandoval is the king of Contemporary Latin Cuisine. Today Sandoval has over 30 restaurants worldwide. His most famous concept Zengo, fuses an original blend of Asian and Latin Cuisine, with locations in New York, Washington DC, Santa Monica, Denver and Dubai. This new book is well designed and laid out with step by step tip...

Judges taste food & wine at a Contrada We were honored with an invitation to be judges at A Tavola con Il Nobile in Montepulciano, Tuscany. Our “job” would be to taste foods created by chefs at eight different contradas (divisions) of Montepulciano with select Vino Nobile wines over two days. To top it off, we were thrilled to learn that this year’s main ingredient would be duck (locally called Nano), one of our favorites. The trek from Denver to Rome via Detroit was smoother than one could imagine. Considering that Detroit was actually in bankruptcy, we were concerned about changing flights there. To our surprise, the Detroit airport was modern and loaded with restaurants, bars and shops. The flights took a combined 16 hours and when we arrived in Rome the next morning, a friendly man named Guido of Etruria Tours greeted us. After gathering up three other journalists who flew in from other US cities, we boarded Guido’s Mercedes van for Montepulciano. The ride took just ...

--> Homemade Red Sauce-With Meat #156 Over the years, I have made many versions of red sauce. As my career blossomed to include interviewing top chefs from around the world, I have fine-tuned the recipe more than 156 times! Just like with wine where you need great grapes, using authentic San Marzano tomatoes makes a big difference in taste. I usually use Cento brand. Currently both Walmart and Target have been discounting this product to around $3.49, which is about $1.50 less than small shops. Careful! Cento also sells canned tomatoes from California. These are not San Marzano Certified from Italy.  Serves: 6-8 people Prep & cooking: 2 hours Ingredients: 2-28OZ Cans of San Marzano Certified Peeled Tomatoes 1-Whole Yellow Onion chopped finely ¼ -Cup of Olive Oil 2-Carrots peeled and chopped 2- Teaspoons of fresh or frozen Basil 4- Garlic Cloves 3-Bay Leaves 1-Teaspon Italian Herbs Seasoning Mix 1-Tablespoon of Tomat...

Champagne Everyday: Champagne at Julia Child Memory Lane luncheon in D... : Champagne at Julia Child Memory Lane luncheon in Denver, Nov. 13, 2013 Placemat with menu Sunday, a week ago today, I traveled M...

The 9 th Annual Denver International Wine Festival was our best ever! Wine loving ticket holders booked 167 rooms on Friday November 8th enthusiastically supporting the move of venue to the luxurious, Four-Diamond, award-winning Omni Interlocken in Broomfield .   All ticket events were sold-out in advance. The five day festival stepped-up the focus on wine education and culinary greatness. Three educational seminars were moderated by Brandon Tebbe, Master Sommelier. Seminars included : Artisanal Cheese & Wine Pairing Adventure Seminar by: Barrie Lynn – The Cheese Impresario and Mike Andrews of Coyote Canyon Winery Champagne Styles by Madeleine de Jean, “Madam Champagne”. Riedel Vinum XL Glass Tasting by Price Kitchem, National Sales Manager, Riedel Crystal America A 4 th seminar was presented by The International Wine Guild Wine and Food Pairing Seminar Instructor: Claude Robbins, GWM, MWE The stars of this year’s...