Last Saturday night was one of those nights I reflect on fondly. It was one of those nights where all the friends aligned properly like the stars. The food and drink fell in right beside and there was pure enjoyment and laughter.

It was, by the way, one of those nights when you may wonder – all that food, all that wine? How did you drink and eat all that? The answer is we didn’t make complete gluttons out of ourselves. We were full. We had plenty to drink. But we started our evening around 6pm and ended it about 6 hours later. Perfect small courses made for the right amount of food.

Many years back I was intrigued by Dorothy & John, wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal, I’ve devoured their books & columns and their brainchild, OTBN, officially called Open That Bottle Night. This upcoming Saturday, February 27 is OTBN11, the 11th annual, where you’re encouraged to indeed open that bottle you’ve been saving for many years.

Because I’ll be unable to participate in OTBN this year on the right date, we and the friends picked our own and officially had an evening of wine bliss. Pictures below were endearingly taken in the snow by the recycle bin where sadly they all went the next day. Curious what we ate? What we drank? Join my reminiscing!

None of us in the group had Champagne or even bubbles worth anything in our cellars, so I raided the store for one of my favorite Farmer Fizz selections. Guy Larmandier 1er Cru a Vertus Champagne is on my list of all time favorites and graced us with all its yeasty, slightly lime & apple, seriously fragrant presence. Along with this, a Robiola ~ 2 lattes, a favorite cheese of mine from Italy and also stuffed mushroom caps – goat cheese & apple was the best match for the bubbles.

Our salad course was the best pairing of the evening. The food was mixed greens topped with pears, roasted parsnips, macademia nuts, blue cheese and a very light vinaigrette. The sublime Uroulat Jurancon Sec 2006 is thick and sweet with nuances of ripe pear & pit fruits. It was so good we all could have just stopped there.

But we didn’t.

Mayacamas 2000 Chardonnay. A blast from our past as we had visited Mayacamas winery shortly after this wine’s release. We and the denDulks each bought a bottle. The assigned friends to make the course lived up to Mayacamas wine standards. A stunning acorn squash bisque was pureed to the perfect consistency and topped with perfectly seared scallops of the large variety.

Moving on to a little something Steve and I picked up in a wine shop in Beaune, France a few years back, this wine was in a beautiful place. A 1999 Joseph Drouhin Charmes-Chambertain Grand Cru didn’t need decanting but only a few swirls in the glass to make for a nose full of full, dark dirty cherries. Definitely calmer tannins and easy going with our grilled salmon steaks and mushroom sage risotto.

Our next course proved slightly disastrous as we had an outdoor grill malfunction. Sirloin steaks in the broiler are just not quite as lovely as those on the grill, however, no one complained. No time to complain as we were also drinking a 1994 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges DeLaTour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. This was slightly underwhelming in the scheme of the other things we were drinking. I feel like it probably needed drinking a year or two ago but it was great nonetheless.

Finally it was time for our dessert which was a toffee lace shell filled with chocolate mousse and topped with whipped cream. A nice light crisp end to the evening. Its companion was a 1999 Corte Sant’Alda Amarone della Valpolicella. Both the dessert and wine were amazing!

Because we weren’t quite done sitting around enjoying each other’s company, we ended the evening with one of our cellar favorites, the Lolonis Orpheus, a Petite Syrah from 2000. A decent but ever so slightly over the hill wine was enjoyed by all.

And so you know, I did not make all the food – all eight of us had a hand in it, including our friends Chigger and Buddy. I can’t wait until the next time we get to delight in the old stuff and I encourage you all to do it too!

On Thanksgiving, following an absolutely brilliant meal – one of those we all contributed in, appetizers, salad, turkey and sides brought by people like me (my contribution was homemade peppery broccoli & cauliflower mac’n'cheese, which, sadly, was way dry by the time we ate it) – there wasn’t to be dessert right away, so we were offered a little beverage treat. I happily received a little espresso cup with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Who wouldn’t, right?

Under this dollop of whipped cream was the delight of all delights. Not a day has gone by since Thanksgiving without me thinking of this appropriately thick and amazingly heavenly sipper. Seriously when I get to heaven and don’t have to worry about how big my rear is, I think I’ll have a few of these every day!

Thanks, Tante, for making my Thanksgiving Day particularly sweet. She even offered a refill, which I accepted and promptly sipped. I don’t know who ‘owns’ this recipe but I’m hereby borrowing and sharing it, because you won’t be disappointed to liven up your next dinner gathering with it.

Christmas Eve Hot Chocolate
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12oz strong black coffee (can make ahead of time)
8oz chopped dark chocolate (Scharffenberger 70% +)
1/4 cup sugar
****Melt at medium heat in a saucepan on the stove****

Stir in:
3oz coffee liqueur (Tia Maria)
3oz dark creme de cacao (Bols)
2oz brandy (Vendome VSOP)

Serve in tiny espresso cups and top with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.

We have in stock all of these things except the coffee, sugar and whipping cream! Stop by for the fixings and make your guests really really happy.

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I’m also excited about this holiday punch which was described as “a bowl of traditional punch (that) combines richness and complexity with a frankly dangerous drinkability.”

Admiral Russell’s Christmas Punch
Makes 12-18 servings

6 lemons
1 cup raw sugar
1 – 750mL bottle VSOP grade Cognac (Vendome is inexpensive and should work here too!)
1 cup lightly sweet oloroso or amontillado Sherry
Freshly grated nutmeg

(we’ve got all but the lemons & sugar!)

Having an ice ring/mold is very helpful with this punch – if you don’t have an ice ring, use any metal bowl. Fill with water and freeze into a “lunk” of ice for the bowl in any shape or size.

Remove peel from 4 lemons in strips (need a zester? we have those too!)
Put the peels in a medium bowl.
Add sugar and muddle the mixture. Let stand 30minutes and muddle it again. (need a muddler? look no further!)
Cut peeled and unpeeled lemons in half/ juice enough lemons for 1cup of juice.
Bring 1cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan;
pour over lemon peel mixture & stir until sugar dissolves.
Strain syrup into large bowl; discard peels.
Mix in lemon juice.
Add Cognac, sherry and 4cups cold water.
Cover punch and refrigerate until cold, 2-6hours.

Put in punch bowl and sprinkle with a little nutmeg. Drink. Wow!

In a few short weeks it will be our 6th Anniversary! To honor our 6th anniversary AND the 5th anniversary of Stonesthrow Furniture, we’ve bonded together as business friends to bring you a fascinating party @ Stonesthrow! You’ll need a ticket, so read on:

October 23, 7-10pm

The plan is to relax for the evening with a wine & beer & food tasting where you can mingle with and learn from our beer & wine distributor reps and our staff. Walk around, sit around and chat with people who know a lot about what you’re sipping – or noshing – on! Speaking of noshing…

This year, you’ll get a serious taste of Art of the Table with appetizers from Chef Kate Leeder. We’ll give you a chance to taste many of the items we carry on a daily basis ~ from sauces and dips to chips and crackers to cheeses and meats. Then to top the evening off, there will be delightful little cupcakes from Serendipity Cupcakes, chocolates from Patricia’s Chocolate and little cheesecakes from Las Vegas Cheesecake Factory (all locally owned businesses!)

As if this weren’t already enough, we’ll be having entertainment too! We’ll have background music around the place to warm your October soul!

And by attending, you’re helping one of our favorite non-profit entities, Local First, as proceeds from tonight’s event (around $10 per ticket) go to Local First!

What should you wear? We think the designation “comfy cocktail attire” will let you dress how you want. Dress up, have fun ~ but don’t feel like you have to go to the nines. Though if you want to? Knock yourself out!

We don’t expect you to drink yourself silly at this event but if you if you are inclined, check out Grand Rapids’ newest taxis for a lift to & from the party at 616.617.8232 or www.greenchauffergr.com

Tickets are $55 per person and are being sold now, please call Art of the Table or Stonesthrow to purchase! Sign up is limited so purchase sooner than later – must purchase by October 19.

We in the Uptown business district continue to give you fun things to do on the weekends…This weekend, ride the trolley to shop the districts and eat as you go, or relax in one of the many relaxing green spaces…It takes place the third Saturday of the month May-September. It’s completely FREE to you!

You can ride anywhere you want from the farmer’s market to Art of the Table and Eastown’s Streetfair.  Ride it for fun, ride it all day, it’s our treat to you!  Check out the map for details!

No, I didn’t say lo-cal food blogs…just ones I could find locally.  I wrote an article for Rapid Growth Media that will be online this Thursday that presents all the blogs we could find on the subject of food in the Grand Rapids area.  As the article says, I was stunned to note how few blogs there are!

It doesn’t make sense because there is a lot of choice for us here in Grand Rapids and surrounds – over what we eat, where we eat, how we eat it…and I know there are opinionated people around!

But it also makes sense to me in that this city of  “doers” we are all far too busy to talk about where we ate or what we cooked AND then blog about it.  But I know we’re cooking and eating out and it would be nice to know more about how people feel about fresh, local, restaurants and such.  From time to time I actually feel inspired to do one but then I can’t even find moments to write on THIS blog and then I don’t.

I have loved reading the skinny on happenings and outings at restaurants and why people will or will not go back.

Enjoy and I’d love to hear your opinion on why there aren’t more blogs ~ and I’d also love to hear it if you have one and I can’t find it!  I’ll update the post as I hear of new things – as I already have!

Crumbles Cupcakery – I haven’t had one of these delicious cupcakes yet but here’s the scoop – and some talk on local products!

You all know the history and tradition of Oktoberfest, right? Right? The basics, Germany.  Last weekend in September, NOT in October!  Grand Rapids has its own version of Oktoberfest at the John Ball Zoo.  It used to be the Germanfest on Calder Plaza, but it’s been reorganized in the last many years.

Most exciting to me is all the German beer that will abound.  We love great German beers here.  Each time (that is twice) that I have visited Germany I have come away loving certain beers they produce.  Since opening the store, one of the highlights of our beer year is when the Oktoberfest beers arrive.  They will arrive in about 2-3 weeks. 

This year we are hosting (or helping host) two events for Oktoberfest.  The first, the one at the zoo takes place September 25 and 26.  Basically for two days straight we will be sponsoring and volunteering at the “Winestube” at the event…we’ll serve all the German and Austrian wines that people are after when they’re not in the mood for – or in addition to – beer.

This should be a great event – especially since all the beer & wine will be chosen from one of our favorite distributors, Elite Brands.  With names like Hammerschmidt and Heikkenen how could one not have great German finds?

Our second event will fall on Wednesday, September 30 and will be at Graydon’s Crossing on Plainfield.  We are super excited to have a tasting where we sit down and analyze all the great stuff for the season.  Along with that, awesome “warm” foods.  You’ll have to sign up for that one.  Please call us to do so – we’ll need your credit card at the time of sign up and it will be $25 + tax/gratuity.

It’s never been the case that I watch a video – and then blog and link the thing.  I mean, it’s practically against my internet ethics…but if you were me, you would think twice in this case.  First the story:

Two summers ago I decided that sold these really cool popsicle molds reminded me of my childhood so I should sell them in my store.  Cheeky? Yup. probably. As a child, though, my popsicle molds were from Tupperware – does that mean I led an indulgent childhood that my mother could afford the Tupperware kind? or what? – oh that’s a deep post.  Let’s go back.  Popsicles.

Soothing yet exciting to both children and adults, popsicle molds can be filled with delights of all kinds.  There’s a 50 recipe book that one can buy to make funky, fun popsicles.  In the meantime, if all one wants to do is add Kool-Aid or lemonade or just crushed blueberries to their popsicle mold, well, more power to them!

The nice thing is that they’re a great size, fun shapes and include RING POPS! Remember ring pops for your finger?  Though they were in sucker form then, NOW they’re in popsicle fom!   Happy happy life we old “kids” lead.

Anyway,this video from a friend reinvigorated my excitement for popsicles again today – AND it made me laugh and I’m not sure if I laughed because I’ve already been awake for 17 hours today or because it just really was endearing and really true.  Watch!

And when you need popsicle forms for fun and treats, stop by. We’ve got ‘em.

star pops

I wish that I had the where-with-all every day to add a new product or tell you about the coolest thing I saw or ate or heard.  I wish I had the time!  Running a business takes a lot of time and so does restoring a home and so do friends and family.  And seriously, it’s ALL enjoyable.  My balance has just tipped a bit to the work side lately.  We’ve been going through some transition at the store with staff – and we’re always transitioning with displays and product!

So back to the staff.

We have been so blessed with great staff throughout our years and there’s one in particular on my mind that can’t go unmentioned.  She’ll be embarassed that I mention her because she’s like that – never wanting to call attention to herself.  Christine Klimek has been with me since the beginning of the store in some capacity or another.  For a long while she was just a friend of the store and she helped out for “fun” when I needed her – but she became a full fledged employee a few years back and will be sorely missed…I keep banking that family & Canada aren’t as fun as us, but I think I’m fighting a losing battle there!  I keep telling her she won’t like it – but she grew up there. So she and her husband, Bertrand and son Paris have set out on a trek to reaquaint themselves with parents, siblings and cousins.

Christine’s job was jack of all trades and master of so many.  She was the queen of organization and always wanted to clean and sort.  One of her strengths was her ability to be Energizer bunny like and work late.  She could keep up with me – and i’m the queen of late night – we would often work til 3am together or all day Sunday to set up something or other.

I also appreciated all the smiles she brought our customers, the friendships she formed through them and with our staff.  So if the placemats are askew or the dust is piling up, it’s all her fault!  And if we look sad, it’s because Christine has taken part of our hearts with her!

christine & andrea

I am so thankful that I’ve been able to surround myself with people like Christine.  It makes running a business a little bit less harried.  Below, a picture of Christine with Andrea – who I also hope will never leave.

Christine – best wishes, great travels and happy family.  Someone will LOVE to have you on their team up in the cold white north.

Still searching for the perfect gift for someone?

A gift basket? The perfect tray with some goodies and wine atop?

Let us know how we can help guide your holiday gift giving to some serious recipient happiness – and givers’ too!

the holidays bring us ample time to reflect on…wait, what?

the holidays seemingly bring us parties and company dinners and family things that may or may not be all that fun…

so we want to tell you that whether you need boss’ gifts, client gifts, gifts for the impossible-to-buy-for friend or your in-laws, please…let us help.

we’re really good at making custom baskets or gift bags filled with goodness that…

A. you can’t find elsewhere

B. someone just might be impressed with because they already didn’t get 12 of those this year…

C. they might actually enjoy because you, yes you, thought of giving it to them and we helped you pick it out!

Gift ideas that won’t quit. Join us in the festivities daily.

And if you didn’t read it before, there’s 40% off one ‘mystery’ item every day during the 12 days of Christmas. Tomorrow you’ll find peanuts from Williamsburg, Virginia. They’re giant and with just the right amount of salt. Perfect in your gift pack.