Upcoming trip
2003-01-28 @ 12:21 p.m.
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I'm finally starting to get excited about a trip I'm going on in February. My boss and another co-worker and I are going to South America on a wine trip. Since I'm getting along much better with my boss I'm not dreading the trip at all. (I had mixed feelings about my trip to France and Germany a couple of years ago because I had to spend so much time sitting next to my boss on an airplane. He can be a real asshole when he wants to be.) The other guy who's going with us is someone I really like, so it should be lots of fun.
We leave Valentine's Day (so I have to give all my Valentines their love early) and coming back Feb. 22.
The wineries we will visit make wines we've been selling for years. This importer has been very good to us as far as setting up trips for selling lots of wine. I think Adam and I are the last ones to go on this particular trip. The boss has been more than once.
First we fly to Punte del Estes, Uraguay. It's a beach resort city on the bay across from Buenes Aries. It's summer down there! I think I need a new swim suit. Since I've lost a full size in the last months and kept it off, I'm treating myself to a tankini.
Then we'll fly go to Santiago, Chile and to Mendoza, Argentina. I know we'll be visiting wineries of Catena, Valentin Bianchi and Casino Macul. All make good wines, and from what I hear serve up excellent dinners. From having traveled with this importer before I know we'll be eating well and drinking well all week. Yeah, I'm excited.
I'll have a little time to myself in Mendoza and lots of time to myself in Punte del Estes if anybody has any recommendations for anything to check out.
P.S. Mulher, I'm sorry I missed your romance emergency. I'm sure you handled it your usual charm and panache. Cin, I've never made cheesecake, but I have two favorites - one is the kind they make at the DeKalb Farmer's Market (here in Atl) which Bad describes as so dense it's like eating a chunk of sweet cheese. My other favorite is a cheesecake recipe that one of my father's girlfriend's used to make with jello pudding. I think we should call it White Trash Cheesecake. If I find the recipe or manage to replicate, I'll post it. If anyone else has it - why have you been keeping it from me all these years?!
Wine with cheesecake is tricky. Personally I wouldn't want something too sweet because the cheesecake is so sweet, so probably a sparkling wine. I would rather have a sparkling Alsace wine or a dry sparkling German (sekt), but I don't know how easy those would be to find. If you like brandy, that would be my preference over wine with cheesecake. There is a Spanish brandy called Felipe II that is really good and usually very inexpensive compared to comparable Cognacs and California brandies. Germain-Robin is a good California brandy. Cles des Ducs is a good Armagnac. These two are not terribly expensive. Kelt is an excellent Cognac, but more pricey.
And as to the grits, I don't know any particular secrets. Are you sure your friend had sweet grits or was it cream of wheat (the Yankees call it farina)? They have a similar consistency but I usually eat cream of wheat sweetened. I've never had sweet grits. Getting grits the right consistency is just a matter of getting the right amount of liquid and taking them off the stove at just the right time. They require careful attention to keep them from making a huge, charred mess on the bottom of the pan.
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