Month: October 2017

Wine & Spirits Master Class

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Non-branded education is an appealing concept in this age of perpetual marketing. That was one of the first things that struck me at a demonstration of Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET)’s “Masterclass” tasting for members of the wine and spirits media. WSET provides four levels of qualifications in wines and spirits, and now has introduced qualifications for sake. The programs are offered to beginners and professionals in 70 countries, including London, Hong Kong, and New York City. WSET’s goal has been to codify the language — standardize it so that professionals can communicate in purer terms. This “Systematic Approach to Tasting,” based on sight, smell, and taste, breaks away from scoring systems that drive sales.   Since I began writing a drinks column for Moffly Media, (Greenwich, Stamford, Darien-New Canaan, Westport and Fairfield Living Magazines), I realized how many descriptions of wines, beers and spirits come straight from the company websites. “It’s an immense challenge to avoid brand influence,” says Allen Katz Director of Spirits Education and Mixology for Southern-Glazers Wine & Spirits and head distiller/co-founder of New York …

Best Tomato Season Ever

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This long, warm summery fall has extended tomato season in our little garden. Last year, we harvested only green tomatoes. This year, we’ve had the best harvest ever, growing this heirloom variety for first time. I don’t know their official name. My husband grew them from seeds he saved from an heirloom tomato we bought from Sport Hill Farm the previous summer.  They’re multi-colored, showing shades of yellow, orange, pale green, blushed with red. They grow to be over a pound.  The sweet flavor takes well to quick sauces filled with fresh herbs.  They also slice up beautifully as a side dish for dinner, or for sandwiches. For a size comparison, here’s one of our Peachy Giants (which is what I’ve named them because when I chop up a quart to freeze, they look a lot like the quarts of frozen peaches)  with tomatoes we got at the Black Rock Farmers Market. Of course, those tomatoes were delicious too. Juicy and ripe. Sliced, sprinkled with salt, drizzled with olive oil, and scattered with fresh herbs, basil, chives, fresh mint, …

Peach Tart

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Start with beautiful peaches. These were grown in New York State, and sold at Sport Hill Farm in Easton, CT. At home, they ripened. They were so ripe, it was easy to slip off their skins, without using boiling water. Then I made a crust. Ground up almonds with a little sugar in the food processor, then added flour. Half almonds/half all purpose white flour. Add butter and pulse. Add water, and press dough into tart pan and refrigerate. Back to the peaches. Slice the juicy ripe peaches, and arrange slices in tart pan, top with butter and bake. It looks like this when you take it out of the oven. To make it glisten, heat up apricot jam with some lemon juice. Sieve it, and brush the glaze over the top of the tart. But I didn’t use apricot jam. In the very back of the refrigerator, my husband discovered the last of last year’s peach jam. A most delicious peach jam. See those big pieces of peach in the pan? And here is the peach-glazed …