Hello Kitty Wine - Yes you read that correctly

Italian winery, Tenimenti Castelrotto has launched four wines featuring the iconic bobble headed cat under a partnership with Italian luxury goods company Camomilla and Japan's Sanrio Company. And just to make sure your Hello Kitty wine drinking experience is absolutely purrrrfect, Camomilla has also released a line of Hello Kitty wine glasses studded with pink rhinestones, because drinking your Hello Kitty wine out of anything else would of course be uncivilized.

Japan's Sanrio Company launched the Hello Kitty brand in 1974, and now accounts for well over 1 billion dollars in sales worldwide. Sanrio also has an entire theme park devoted to Hello Kitty - Sanrio Puroland in Tokyo. That would be an interesting vacation.

Winemaker, Patrizia Torti had this to say about the Hello Kitty wines, "Hello Kitty is not just for children. She is a recognised cult fashion icon among teenagers and adults around the world....She has been trendy for years. You see her on everything from bags and clothing to Porsches and Smart cars. We're very proud for our wine to be associated with her."

All four wines are made within the Oltrepo Pavese district of Lombardy. Although, I have not tried any of these wines, I have had other wines from the area and they range from decent to downright delicious. What I find most amazing is that the TTB actually approved these labels for sale in the US market. Typically, the TTB has a history of rejecting alcohol labels that may appeal to children. Maybe someone at the TTB is a Hello Kitty fan?

The Brut Rose is Pinot Noir based and light pink in color. Each bottle is adorned with a special Hello Kitty pendant featuring the Italian flag. I will say, the packaging is suspiciously similar to the Dom Perignon label. I'm just saying....

Then there is the Sweet Pink - a sparkling, aromatic rose also slightly pink in color but much sweeter in style. The bottle is adorned with a heart, how sweet.

Next we have the Angel Pinot Nero (I'm sorry but these names are killing me). This is a Pinot Noir based wine that is vinified without any skin contact making it a white wine. It is suggested that you enjoy this wine as an aperitif.

And then finally we have the Devil Pinot Nero. This is also Pinot Noir based but red in color. Suggested food pairings include red meat, rabbit, lamb, roast beef, “Zampone” and “Cotechino”, wild owl, hard cheese. Who would have guessed Hello Kitty had such ambitious taste in food? By the way - where the heck am I supposed to get wild owl?

Personally, I never got into the whole Hello Kitty craze but I went to grade school with this girl named Margaux who had an almost cult-like fascination with anything Hello Kitty: pencil toppers, watches, stickers, coin purses, erasers, backpacks, lunch boxes, clothing - you name it, she had it. I actually really liked Margaux. She was one of those overly friendly, well mannered girls who would offer to share one of her Hostess cupcakes with you, lend a few sheets of notebook paper (Hello Kitty, of course) if you ran out and didn't get mad if you pressed down too hard with her crayons. I guess it was part of her Hello Kitty code to be super chipper and gracious since you can't really be a mean girl and worship an overly adorable wide-eyed fluffy cat at the same time.

Something tells me, Margaux wherever she may be, is probably still into Hello Kitty as I don't think it's something you can outgrow. I bet you, she's turned into one of those really polite people who instead of saying something bad about someone will just put a hand to her chest and say, "Oh bless her heart." I can just picture her having a house party and walking around offering to top off her guest's Hello Kitty wine glasses with one of these pink labelled bottles. And I'm sure if you commented on how much you loved the kitty charm, she would offer to let you keep it.

Summer Wine Dinner at Reel Club

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Last night I hosted a wine dinner at Reel Club, a Lettuce Entertain You Restaurant. I frequently post notices about these wine dinners but I thought it would be fun to share photos of the event and detail what we ate and drank.

We do these dinners about 4 times a year at Reel Club and we try to coordinate them with the change in the weather and highlight what is fresh and in season. Summer is just around the corner so we thought it would be fun to do some outdoor grilling and drink wines that are ideal for warm weather sipping.


We started the evening off on the patio with some Prosecco and white and red sangria. Chef Mychael Bonner manned the grill and demonstrated how to prepare boneless quail kebabs, mini Wagyu burgers and grilled octopus.


We then moved indoors for the main event. My goal was to take photos of all the dishes but I remembered to do so only after I had taken a few bites and nobody wants to see a photo of a partially eaten plate. You know how it goes - eat first, think later. Our first course was crispy Chinese eggplant with first of the season tomatoes. This was paired with a tangy, citrusy Sauvignon Blanc. Then we had marscarpone cheese enriched polenta with morel mushrooms paired with a super Tuscan blend of Merlot and Sangiovese. Our main course was a surf and turf duo of Block Island Swordfish and Jamison Farm Lamb Chops with an Aussie Shiraz. I managed to get a photo of the smoked oyster amuse bouche and the dessert which was a key lime tart served with blackberry sorbet and Moscato d'Asti. We also had chocolate chocolate chip cookies and chocolate coconut macaroons. I ate these before getting a photo as well. As you can imagine, I would not make a very good food stylist.

The cost of this event was $55 per person plus tax and gratuity.

And just for fun, here is Charles posing in front of a very funny ad at the mall in Oak Brook before the event.

How to Chill a Magnum of Champagne

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A quick and easy way is to do it in your bathroom sink. Just make sure you drain the basin before your guests arrive otherwise, they'll have to wash their hands in your bath tub.

12 Wines for the Summer Under $12

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For some reason, the weather in Chicago is refusing to let go of winter this year. I have lived in this city for almost 10 years and I don't remember it ever taking so long for the temperature to warm up. By now, I should be complaining how hot it is and my hair should immediately frizz up from the humidity when I walk outside. Instead, I'm still wearing a sweater and my winter coat. Ugh!

The calendar will soon say it is summer despite the actual temperature indicating otherwise which means lots of parties to attend and throw. Here are my affordable picks for you to grill, chill and entertain with. As seen in my column Bottle Service today in the Chicago Tribune's Red Eye.

Alpana & Julia

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Last year Charles gave me a copy of Julie and Julia, a memoir penned by Julie Powell who decided to escape the doldrums of her sad, ambition-less existence by cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I, in a period of 365 days. Julie started blogging about her culinary escapades which eventually landed her a book deal. I have not read the book but Nora Ephron found it interesting enough to turn into a motion picture for the silver screen. The adorable Amy Adams is playing Julie and the great Meryl Streep portrays Julia Child (the Academy should just automatically give her the Oscar). I've seen previews for the film and it looks really good!

Like so many, I grew up watching Julia Child's show on PBS and would drool over every single dish she made. In fact, my brother and I were addicted to cooking shows in general. We loved Yan Can Cook, Frugal Gourmet, Chef Cuisine, Jacques Pepin, Great Chefs of America and Graham Kerr. If it involved food, we watched it. Julia was our special favorite since we liked the way she talked and her calm and joyful demeanor was soothing to watch.



I was fortunate enough to meet Julia Child when I was 20. She came in for lunch at the restaurant I was working at in Monterey and as you can imagine it was an impressive moment. She was very tall and sounded exactly like she did on television. I remember in high school, my physics teacher showed us a video of Julia Child cooking a diamond in order to demonstrate how carbon is isolated. I was so nervous and the only that I could think of was that video and I asked her was what was it like to burn a diamond. Of all the things we could have discussed, this is what I chose. She took my hand, gave it a firm warm squeeze, smiled and recalled the experience as absolutely fascinating. She then gave me the story of how she became involved in the project and agreed to do it because she felt strongly about the importance of math and science in the education system. Well, the video worked because years later, I still remember it.

I have both volumes of Mastering The Art of French Cooking and the 40th Anniversary edition in my cookbook library. I've never followed any of the recipes, aside from a failed attempt to make Bearnaise but the recent attention on the upcoming Julia Child movie inspired me to prepare something Julia would make. The 40th Anniversary edition has an introduction from Julia Child of how she came to do the original book and the years that followed. It's a fascinating story of why and how she learned to cook and the reason she felt it was important to share the message of great food. It made me ponder what the American culinary landscape would have been like if Julia Child had never taken an interest in learning how to cook. Green jello mold anyone?

After poring through the recipes and narrowing down the choices based on ease and what I had in my pantry, I decided to make an apple clafouti dessert. Clafouti is somewhat between a pancake and a custard. In fact, this particular clafouti reminds me of the apple pancake at the Pancake House. It's really not that sweet and would be ideal as a Sunday brunch item.

The recipe was very simple to execute and the success of this dish has inspired me to have many more moments with Julia.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Lightly buttered fire proof 7-8 cup baking dish or pie plate, 1 1/2 inch deep

1 cup milk
1/3 granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 cups sifted all purpose flour

Blend all the ingredients in a blender at top speed for 1 minute - this is your batter

Apples -

1 1/4 lbs crisp apples
3-4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup dark rum, Cognac or Calvados (apple brandy)
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar

Peel, core and slice apples lengthwise 1/4 inch thick - you should have about 3 cups, sautee apples in butter to a very light brown. Add liquor & cinnamon. Remove from heat. Let stand 30 minutes.

Pour 1/4 inch layer of batter in baking dish or pie plate. Set over moderate heat for minute or two until the batter sets somewhat on bottom of dish. Remove from heat, spread the apples and sprinkle sugar. Pour the rest of the batter over apples and smooth with back of spoon.

Place in middle position of pre-heated oven and bake for about an hour. The clafouti is done when it has puffed and browned and when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve warm with powdered sugar.

Toso Brut Argentina

I discovered this sparkling wine last year while shopping at Whole Foods. Actually, Charles saw it first and since it was only $7, he put it in our grocery cart. We figured, we pay more to valet our car and how bad could it be? We chilled a bottle and tried it and I couldn't say anything really good or really bad about it and filed the experience away in my memory bank as boring.

We were at an event last night and they were serving the Toso Brut. I braced myself for another mundane experience but this time I found the flavor to be much richer and slightly more toasty than what I had before. It could have been my palate was not as sharp the first time around - I have days where I can't taste as well because of allergies, stress or a cold which can dull my sense of taste -call it a job hazard. This time, I was pleasantly surprised by the Toso. I'm not saying it's on par with expensive French Champagne but if you're looking for something inexpensive, well made, clean and bubbly - it will do the trick - especially for large events when you need a large amount of sparkling wine, e.g., weddings, receptions, birthday parties.

The Toso Brut is an Argentine sparkling wine from Pascual Toso - a family owned company that has been around since 1880. A few years ago, legendary California winemaker Paul Hobbs joined the team to assist winemaker Rolando Luppino revitalize and modernize the wines. Most of the domestic sparkling market in Argentina is controlled by Moet and Chandon - so much so that the locals refer to sparkling wines simply as Chandon. According to Enrique Toso, Toso is the number two selling sparkling wine in Argentina.

Toso is made from Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay - I'm not sure of the breakdown. The secondary fermentation takes place in large tanks rather than individual bottles which is what they do with Champagne. By using the tank or Charmat process as it is sometimes referred to, the production costs are drastically reduced hence the lower price tag. According to their website, Toso also makes sparklers using the more expensive methode champenoise process.

The label reminds me of the Dallas Cowboys logo which could fun to feature during game time if you're a Cowboys fan. But then again, the Cowboy star is blue not white so maybe not. I grew up a 49ers fan and the Cowboys were our arch rivals so what do I know?

Joe Montana for ever!!!!

10 Budget Friendly Wines for the Summer

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A friend of mine who has not had much luck in the budget wine department asked me for summer wine recommendations. He tends to enjoy wines from Italy, Spain and France and he doesn't like anything too overly oaked or really high in alcohol. Here is the shopping list that I made for him based on what I think would work for his palate. I tried to keep the price point around $15 or less but keep in mind that prices will vary according to your retailer.

2008 Domaine La Fage Cote Est Blanc, Roussillon $11 - stainless steel fermented blend of Grenache Blanc & Gris, Chardonnay and Marsanne is lively and fresh with candied citrus notes. Perfect for the summer.

2007 Domaine le Hautes Noelles Muscadet Cotes de Grandlieu Sur Lie, Loire Valley $11 - crisp, lemony and minerally, it's a great wine for shellfish platters

2008 Dr Loosen Dr L Riesling, Germany $12 - tart green apple flavors with a slight sweet finish makes this a great match for sushi and Asian fare.

2008 Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand $10 - no summer would be complete without a bottle of NZ Sauvignon Blanc. Bright and citrusy with grapefruit flavors.

2007 Maculan Pinot & Toi, Veneto $12 - blend of Tocai, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Grigio is a great wine for lighter summer salads, grilled fish or something to sip on while you are cooking

2006 Domaines la Millieres Cotes du Rhone $13 - old vine Grenache based wine with bright raspberry and white pepper notes. A great wine for grilling.

2007 Altos de La Hoya Monastrell, Jumilla $10 - a big rich style that offers tons of juicy blackberry fruit flavors but still maintains a degree of elegance without going overboard.

2005 Capcanes Mas Donis, Montsant $12 - concentrated and minerally blend of old vine Grenache and Syrah. I've always been fond of this wine.

2006 Susana Balbo Crios Syrah-Bonarda, Argentina $13 - Susana Balbo is an extremely gifted winemaker and I just love this wine. Bonarda is much lighter than Malbec so the Syrah gives it a bit more weight.

2007 Li Veli Passamante Salento, Italy $11 - ripe, raisny Negroamaro with a smooth, soft texture. It's a great wine for every day enjoyment.

Operation Gravlax

My husband seriously needs to stop watching the Barefoot Contessa. He ends up craving whatever she makes which is a problem considering he doesn't know how to cook and in the end this translates into a cooking project for me. I must say I absolutely adore Ina and I covet her Hampton's lifestyle and cachet of handsome friends. Her beach side picnic world resembles an ideal utopia where the weather is always perfect (apparently it never rains in the Hamptons), only the best of everything is available and everyone is fabulous and knows how to arrange flowers and set a table. Seriously - I would love to have my very own Miguel or Michael to help me decorate.

image via foodnetworkhumor.com

Yes there is plenty to love about Ina but I must admit, sometimes I find her recipes can be a bit involved and she makes me feel guilty if I don't make my own chicken stock (because it's a perfect Sunday project) or decide to fill my neighbor's refrigerator with food after they've been away on a long vacation. Or worse - if I fail to make a mini replica of my wedding cake to celebrate my anniversary. By the way, do you think her husband Jeffrey explodes in a fit of rage if she doesn't use two tablespoons of "good vanilla"? Just wondering.

image via foodnetworkhumor.com

On a recent episode, Ina demonstrated how easy it is to make your own gravlax - one of Charles' favorite foods. She made it seem so simple- all you have to do is rub a mixture of salt, sugar, fennel seeds, cracked white pepper and some dill onto 3 lbs of salmon, wait 24 hours while you bake off some scones and voila - GRAVLAX!

Of course, Charles gets this crazy idea in his head that he needs to cure his own gravlax and for the past three weeks, he has been pleading with me during each grocery trip to purchase what would be $30 worth of salmon. I finally broke down and suggested he try a smaller version of the recipe. This way if it didn't work out then it would be 1 lb of fish rotting in our refrigerator instead of 3.

We followed the recipe to the letter - which meant turning the fish every twelve hours. We started the recipe at 1 pm in the afternoon and Charles woke up at exactly 1 am to baste the salmon and turn it. I have to give him credit for this. About two days later, it was ready to go and I must say - it is by far some of the best gravlax I've ever had. Delicious!

Here is the recipe if you would like to try it yourself. You can pair it with a bottle of sparking wine such as Prosecco or Champagne, although I find the Prosecco works better since gravlax tends to have a bit more sweetness to it. Szigeti Sparkling Gruner Veltliner from Austria ($20) could also be a fun pairing. It's slightly fruity and similar in style to a Prosecco. If you wanted something really authentic then serve the gravlax with Scandinavian Aquavit which is a distilled spirit flavored with caraway seeds or cumin and other spices.

I suppose we can all have the Barefoot lifestyle - as long as we're willing to put in the time and effort. And in case you're wondering - we tried the recipe again but this time with the full 3 lbs. That's a lot gravlax and as Ina would say "how bad could that be?"