White Wine In Winter? With Red Meat? Hell yes!

I confess, I’m a rule breaker.  Too many musts and must-nots get in the way. I can make up my own mind!  I say, free yourself from those iritating rule shackles!  

White wine goes with fish.

Red wine goes with red meats.

Only serve sparkling wines for special occasions.

Bad luck to walk under ladders.

Step on a crack and break your mother’s back.

Of course, the last two are absolutely true.  But, the wine rules?  Toss ‘em!  Lately, I’ve had some wonderful whites that I drink anytime I damn well please!  Last night we had friends over for a chili party.  Nope, not talking about hamburger chili.  I’m talking hunks of beef, simmered for hours and hours, until the meat falls apart and people wander in off the street, following the aroma.

The first drink I served was Margarita Tea.  Well, that lasted no longer than you could say, “Gimme another glass!”  After that, I cracked open a chilled bottle of my newest favorite white wine, UBY Collection Unique 2016 (about $12 ).

Ok.  You’re intrigued by Margarita Tea, so I’ll patiently give you the recipe before getting back on track with the white wine.

14 Cups brewed tea

2.5 Cups Tequila

2.5 Cups Triple Sec

Simple syrup to taste  (Dissolve 1 Cup sugar in 1 Cup water)

Juice of 1 lime or lemon or to taste.  Serve over ice.

If you stand too close to the punch bowl, you’re taking your life in your hands, so don’t be greedy.  Grab a glass-full and move swiftly outta the way!

See how you’ve distracted me?  Back to the fav white wine… I’ve had several UBY wines from Domaine UBY , a family vineyard in the southwest of France.  I’m only sorry I didn’t marry into the fam.

Look in the southwest.  See Armagnac?  UBY vineyards are close to the c.

UBY’s full range of wines goes from the lusciously sweet Number 4 to the fruity, dry Number 3.  All are delicious.  Then comes the latest product, Collection Unique.  Well named, Collection Unique is light, but with a fruity nose that makes you think you’ve landed face down in a grove of ripe mangos and been pelted with peaches.

So, it’s sweet, right?  Not at all.  Dry, with a well-rounded finish.  For the uninitiated, when I say well-rounded, I mean a smooth-ending, with none of the bitterness or harshness normally associated with the title “dry.”  The huge question is: Can a light, fruity white stand up to the heavy spice of chili?  Oh, hell yes!

Don’t hold back! Buy a few bottles of UBY Collection Unique.  You’re going to need them as your guests polish off your chili, hold out their empty glasses and give you a look that says “We ain’t leavin’ yet!”

UBY Collection Unique 2016 is a blend of three grapes, Colombard, Ugni-Blanc, and Sauvignon Blanc.  Very different tastes, but put them all together and the balance is amazing.  I know 2016 is young, but that’s the kind of wine this is.  Young and frisky and as fresh as a stroll through the springtime vineyards.  Best to drink it within a year.

Colombard

 

Sauvignon-Blanc

Ugni-Blanc

No trouble recognizing Colombard and Sauvignon, but Ugni is a different matter, even though it is France’s most commonly grown white grape.  You may not recognize the name. That’s because Ugni goes under dozens of names, spread across a dozen countries. The taste ranges from very acidic to more politely nuanced.  Want to impress your wine-snob buddies?  In its home region, Tuscany, Ugni is known as Trebbiano.

And, my main point (which almost got lost as I rambled) is that you can toss out the wine rules.  The only important rule is that taste rules!  Pick a wine that suits YOUR palate and forget the snobs at the other end of the table who mumble under their breath about your lack of sophistication.

Now, a little more chili and a top off for that glass of UBY?  I thought so. Good choice!

And, the rules about symmetry?  Don’t even get me started!

Here’s where to find out about the full range of UBY wines and Armanacs?  http://www.domaine-uby.com/uk/the-history-domain.aspx

Mushy Peas to Warm a Beer Drinker's Heart

Everyone who has ever sat in an English pub…..and by that I mean a REAL English pub, with hand pulled ales, dark wood everywhere, and real Victorian era mirrors, not some make believe abomination in a drive-by mall with faux wood beams and where all the beer is fizzy and cold enough to crack tooth enamel….

So anyway, anyone who has sat in an English pub begins to salivate at the mere sound of the words mushy peas, which is pronounced, by the way, mooshy peas.

I know my well-traveled readers are salivating now!  But, but for the times you’re home-bound, and in my undying quest to bring you sights, sounds, and especially food from mother England, I offer this simple, handy, mouthwatering recipe for the fabulously green concoction I just mentioned.

Now, just relax, pour yourself a pint of England’s finest…but, first a word about English beer.  No, it is not flat.  No, it is not warm.  But, rather than being infused with gaseous waste from a cylinder, English beer or REAL ale is a product of natural fermentation, meaning the amount of fizz is just what mother nature intended.

And as for the temperature, in England pubs, barrels of real beer are kept in the cellar, at a natural temperature of about 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ok, so you’ve poured your cool English brew.  Now what?  Another question for the curious, and by that I mean beer drinkers.  Where do peas come from?

In a few words, peas come from the deep dark time before recorded history.  Evidence points to domestication of Pisum Sativum sometime around 7800 B.C.  Now they’re served all over the world, including China and India. Yeah, but who decided to mooshy the peas?  No idea.  Now, take another sip and let’s get to the heart of good cooking.

Mushy peas (a traditional accompaniment to fish & chips, or meat pies.)

This recipe is part Jamie Oliver and part your author’s scintillatingly delicious interpretation.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 lb bag of frozen peas, cooked according to package directions (and quickly drained, but not dry)

About 10 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

½ medium red onion, finely diced

2 generous pats of unsalted butter

salt and pepper to taste (do not go heavy on either)

Put the oil in a medium sized frying pan and bring to medium heat.  Add the peas, mint, and onion.  Stir once or twice and periodically after that.  Allow the mixture to steam until the onions are soft, about five minutes.

Put the pea mixture and butter in a food processor (or use a potato masher) and pulse until the peas are well blended, but not silky smooth.  See photo.

That’s it!  Fry your fish and chips (we call them French fries), or bring your meat pie out of the oven and add a big spoonful of mushy peas on the side.  Hey, folks, if you’ve been doing this correctly, it’s time for another pint as you listen to applause from your enthusiastic crowd. 

Cheers!

Note:  Hunting for a good recipe for meat pies?  Try my version of steak and ale pie:  https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4277603850536693845#editor/target=post;postID=2562771961949503113;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=1;src=postname

Buckingham Palace: Changing of the Guard Part II

Are the weapons real and are they loaded?  Yes and yes.  Impressive that these are real soldiers and well trained, and when not guarding the Queen, they’re deploying with their units around the world. Many of them have had combat tours. And the weapons you see are real and loaded.  They aren’t at the palace just for show.

At the beginning of a guard’s tour of duty, he is told the following: "You may not eat, sleep, smoke, stand easy, sit or lie down during your tour of duty".

At Buckingham Palace the guards are inside the gates, mainly to prevent incidents with tourists who in the past have interfered, but also because of the terrorist threat.  When the guards are outside the gates, as they sometimes are, there is a procedure for dealing with unruly miscreants.  The first thing they do is come to attention, loudly stamp a boot and say, “Stand back from the guard.”

The second step is to move his weapon into a ready position.  In the third step, he will point his weapon.  Following that, the next step is to signal for help (there’s a button inside the guard station), or detain the person himself.  That seems to be all that is needed. To date, no weapons have been fired while on duty at Buckingham Palace.

Should you get in the way of a marching guard, he will shout, “Make way for the Queen’s Guard.”

What about the bearskin caps?  Real or fake?  REAL, made from Canadian black bear skins.  Cost is exorbitant:  £1,224 (2016 price), or about $1555.45 each. 

Are animal rights folks going crazy?  Yep.  Have the British backed off?  Nope.  Still, bearskin may be on its way out after a couple of centuries of tradition, not because of animal rights, but because of cost. My observation is that from the beginning of recorded history, economics have played a more important role in change than any other single factor, whether the topic is “the divine right of kings,” the rise and fall of dictators, who wins an election, or the cost of bearskin caps.

What about the bands?  Each regiment has its own, except for the Household Cavalry regiments, who only have one combined band.  They march from Wellington Barracks to the palace for the ceremony.  In the Changing of the Guard, normally two bands play, one for the oncoming regiment and one for the retiring regiment.

The cavalry rides from the nearby Hyde Park Barracks.

Cavalry?  Really in the 21^st Century?  Yes and no.  When not guarding the monarch, the Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR) horsemen are also ‘real soldiers’, serving in their operational role as a Formation Reconnaissance Regiment, riding in armored fighting vehicles.

Things to know about the Cavalry:  The horses are known as Cavalry Blacks and stand at least 16 hands high (5 1/3 ft or 64 inches).  No stallions and most are geldings.

In the 1982 Hyde Park Bombing, four horsemen and seven horses were killed.  On their ride to Buckingham Palace, the Household Cavalry salutes the monument.

Want more? Juliet Blaxland has written a book on the horses, titled:  Nimrod, A Cavalry Black, from foal to retirement, with part of the proceeds going to The Household Cavalry Foundation charity.

Yes, there is a lot more to know, but you already know more than 99% of the folks who view The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace!  Relax, enjoy the music and the ceremony and the pageantry that has been a part of British history for hundreds of years.

As a side benefit, here’s a free mental check on your short-term memory.  If you fail this quiz, put down that bottle, sober up and try it again.

Does that guard have a white and green plume on his hat?  Then he’s a member of…………

That right, he's a Welsh Guard.

And from which regiment are these red-coated Cavalry? 

The Life guards, of course.

Check this photo.  Is the Queen in residence?

 You bet she is!  Another way to tell?  Four guards in front of the palace, she's there.  Two guards means she's not.