Food and Drink Center

The Best Cup of Drip Coffee Possible
By Chiacchia Del

With a “good” cup of coffee costing almost as much as a good sandwich these days, more and more people are taking to making their coffee at home from an “old fashioned” drip coffee machine. With the influence of Starbucks and the others out there, people are demanding a better cup of coffee all of the time. This article should help you make the best cup of drip coffee possible.

Coffee from a can just doesn’t work for the general public anymore. You know what I’m talking about and it sounds as lousy to you as it does to me. The good news is that great coffee beans can be obtained at pretty much any grocery store. If you use coupons (and if you don’t, shame on you), you should do quite well if you aren’t too worried about the brand name. My tip for you - worry about quality more than anything else. The big stores like Sams Club and Costco offer big bags of coffee beans at some very good prices. Your author’s favorite, in case you’re interested, is Kirkland brand (two pound) of Espresso Roast (Starbucks) that you can find at Costco.

Be willing to experiment with different bean types to find the kind of coffee you like best. For what it is worth, more times than not, I’ve found that a good espresso roast makes a great cup of drip coffee as well. Do experiment though, you just might be surprised at what you find.

Good beans deserve a good grind. You’d be surprised at the difference between a good grind and a bad one. If you don’t have a good grinder at home, consider grinding the beans at the store where they were purchased as the grinders there often do a great job. Burr grinders are the best, and the most expensive.

It is probably obvious but good water makes a difference as well. The more things you take out of the water, the better your coffee will taste.

A good drip machine is also a must. More than anything else, the warming element is what you need to worry about. If you find that your coffee often has that scalded burned taste, the warmer might be too hot. And, of course, there is seldom a way to change that so, you’ll need a new machine.

Consider the French Press alternative. French presses are dirt cheap, make an incredible cup of coffee, and never leave you worrying about overactive warmers, water tube build-up and the like. Remember that the grind for French Press is different than normal drip coffee so grind accordingly.

What about people stuck in a bad coffee situation in the office or somewhere else? Here’s a trick that can help with some issues: Bring in a cinnamon shaker and dash a little on the grinds before starting the machine. This will give the coffee a bit more taste, hide some of the bad taste and help with the aroma. Grab the coffee as soon as is brewed and, most of all, lobby for better coffee.

You’re worth it.

About The Author

Chiacchia Del is the webmaster of Yo! Coffee, the Internet s hot spot for all things coffee. You can read more of her work at http://www.yocoffee.com.

chiacchia@yocoffee.com

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Wine Racks - A Guide To Home Wine Storage
By Caroline Smith

Home wine racks are specially designed for storing bottles of wines in a horizontal position, to help preserve the quality of the wine. Storing your bottles in a wine rack is a great way to prevent the corks from drying out. If this happens, the cork can shrink and let air in, resulting in oxidization, which will spoil the taste. Wine storage racks usually have separate compartments for holding individual bottles, allowing gaps between each one to allow air to circulate. Ideally, wines should be kept at a consistent temperature of around 55 degrees farenheit, with a relative humidity of 70%, away from light.

If your wine collection is growing rapidly and you don t have a wine cellar, then there is a huge choice of wine racking that s designed for home use. If you d like to keep a few everyday bottles within easy reach, then wall mounted wine racks offer a solution. This type of rack is hung on the wall, which saves space, and allows you to always have a couple of bottles on display. Often, these racks come with built-in stemware holders, so you can conveniently keep your glasses in the same place. Wall wine racks are generally pretty cheap to buy, at around $40-$50.

Other types of rack include compact designs to fit on a counter top, or stackable towers to place on the floor, whose capacity can grow to meet your storage needs. Wooden wine racks are very popular, made from all sorts of wood, including pine, oak or mahogany. For a more contemporary look, a metal wine rack can be an attractive feature in itself, made from ornately crafted iron, stainless steel, chrome or aluminum. Whatever the style of your d?cor, there s sure to be a wine rack design that fits in perfectly and provides you with a functional way to organize your wine collection.

Whether you re after a DIY self-assembly kit, or a custom wine rack, online stores are full of all kinds of wine racks to suit your budget and your wine storage requirements.

Caroline Smith is a successful author and regular contributor to wine-racks.ws - an online resource for wine racks, including
wall wine racks, metal wine racks and more.

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Superbowl Recipe Idea - Grilled Good n Spicy Drumsticks
By William Purtee

When it s your turn to host the annual Superbowl party, why not impress those armchair quarterbacks with a batch of good n spicy drumsticks. You can cook these during the game, or better yet, grill them ahead of time and keep em warm and waiting in the oven. You don t want to miss any of those great commercials, do you?

Chicken drumsticks are bigger and meatier than the smaller drumettes from the wings, so fewer of them are needed. A tangy sauce made with pepper sauce, butter and other ingredients adds a flavor kick that will surely score a touchdown with your guests.

Good n Spicy Drumsticks

• Four pounds of chicken drumsticks
• Salt and black pepper
• Cayenne pepper powder (optional)
• One and one-half cups of Louisiana hot sauce
• One cup (two sticks or cubes) of butter
• One cup sour cream
• Two tablespoons of honey
• One tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Season the chicken legs with salt, black pepper, and a bit of cayenne pepper if you re brave. Cook the legs in a covered grill over medium-low heat for one to one and one-half hours, turning several times. The goal here is for the meat to be falling-apart tender and the skin to be browned and crispy.

While the chicken is grilling, combine the remaining ingredients (except for the sour cream) in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir the sauce occasionally to prevent scorching. Cover and remove from heat.

When the legs are done, dip them into the sauce and place them back on the grill. But this time, use medium-low indirect heat to finish them off. In fifteen to twenty minutes, the sauce will have thickened and the good n spicy drumsticks will be ready to serve. If you grill them ahead of time, they can be placed in a covered dish and kept in a warm oven for up to four hours.

Serve the drumsticks with a dip made of the remaining sauce combined with the sour cream. If you like, serve a variety of raw vegetables alongside the spicy legs. Good choices would be baby carrots, celery sticks, cherry tomatoes and broccoli florets.

Enjoy the Bowl Game!

William Purtee is a longtime fan and practitioner of outdoor cooking in its many forms. Smoking, grilling and campfire Dutch oven cookery are a few of the methods that he practices. William created and maintains the website smoker-cooking.com as a way to share the cooking knowledge he s picked up over the years.

Smoker-cooking.com is a place to find recipes for ribs, brisket, salmon, chicken and turkey. There is also useful information that will help the reader become a pitmaster to be reckoned with.

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Wine for the Dogs? Well, Not Exactly
By Jennifer Jordan

Many of us, myself included, tend to slip our dogs a table scrap here a table scrap there: a slab of meat, a piece of cheese, a stalk of broccoli ol’ Fido will spit out on the carpet and make us clean up. While most of our offerings may seem harmless, there is one thing we should never give our dogs: wine. No matter how much our dogs beg, plead, or promise to clean up their own mess in the backyard, wine is one thing that just isn’t for those of the canine kind.

Now, most dogs probably wouldn’t even drink wine if offered it. I can imagine many would simply stick up their noses and go off and lick themselves. But, there are a few dogs out there that will simply consume anything placed near their mouths. My dog, for instance, once ate a Starburst wrapper and begged for another, leaving me to believe if I ever offered him wine, he’d toast me before quickly chugging it down.

But my dog, and yours, simply must live a life never knowing what good wine tastes like (ironically, many dogs think that humans must live a life never knowing what good cat poop tastes like). The reason wine and dogs don’t go together is simple: wine, or anything that contains grapes, is potentially damaging to dogs. Drinking it can cause them to develop kidney failure, an inability to produce urine, and, of course, slurred barking. Some dogs with this kind of reaction can survive but unfortunately, it can also prove fatal.

Science is unsure why wine has this affect on canines, and unsure why some dogs don’t react poorly to consuming wine and others do. It is assumed that the source of blame lies in a mycotoxin, a poison that can be generated when a fungal infection attacks grapevines. This kind of poison can be prevalent in a variety of grapes: those grown in the backyard, and those bought at the market, those of red color and those of green color, those with seeds and those without, those that are dried (such as raisins) and those that are fresh.

The potential toxicity of each glass of wine if consumed by a dog relies on two things: the amount of grapes used to make the wine and the size of the dog. Wines that are made solely of grapes, with no other fermented fruit, are potentially more dangerous than an apple wine or an apricot wine. The size of the dog is the other factor: just like a smaller human will be more affected by one glass of wine than a larger human, a smaller dog may get sick from a little wine while a larger dog may be fine. Still, even if you have a 160 pound Saint Bernard, he could possibly get sick from just a sip. Wine seems to affect many dogs differently.

If a dog does happen to consume wine, perhaps by licking up a puddle accidentally spilled on the floor or, less likely, getting a key to the wine cellar, there are certain symptoms to look for warning you that your dog is sick. The dog may initially experience vomiting, or loose stools only to progress to symptoms of lethargy, a refusal to drink, and a lack of appetite. Full blown kidney failure can begin in as little as 48 hours after the wine is consumed.

In the event symptoms are present, you should call your vet or an animal poison control center immediately. If the dog consumed the wine within a few hours, treatment may include inducing vomiting. The vet may also give your dog something to absorb the rest of the poison and start him on IV fluids. Several medications to protect the stomach, buffer the kidneys, and ignite urine flow may also be given.

Even if you dog receives quick and efficient treatment, there is no guarantee the kidneys won’t fail. For this reason, your best bet in keeping your dog free of this fatal illness is to keep wine, grapes, and raisins out of his mouth. This allows you - with a bottle of wine in your hand and a dog at your side - to keep both of your best friends.

Jennifer Jordan is the senior editor at http://www.savoreachglass.com. With a vast knowledge of wine etiquette, she writes articles on everything from how to hold a glass of wine to how to hold your hair back after too many glasses. Ultimately, she writes her articles with the intention that readers will remember wine is fun and each glass of anything fun should always be savored.

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Wine And Fruit Baskets
By Richard Romando

Lush, elegant and evocative, wine and fruit baskets are hugely popular gift offerings that thrill and titillate. The sight of those colorful fruits snuggled around impossibly mouth-watering wines hits the senses immediately. Who can look at these distinctive gift baskets without a pang?

Your goodwill and generosity of spirit are ideally conveyed through wine and fruit baskets during the holiday season, as well as at weddings, housewarming parties, birthdays or other personal celebrations. It speaks of the mutual joy and happiness that you share with the recipient, and a call to celebrate with vigor!

Seasonal and tropical fruits, usually crunchy pears, crisp red apples and juicy oranges from renowned sources, take the top spot in a classic wine and seasonal fruit basket. Royal Fuji apples from Japan, South African baby pineapples and chocolate-covered cherries or blueberries are other exciting fruits that make for a basket with a difference.

Dried fruit assortments, nuts, cheese and chocolates are added to the fresh fruits to make a heady combination. Fruit preserves, dips and savory mixes are also integrated into this creative basket to cater to a family or office team and to linger long after the fruit and wine have been consumed.

A full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, a smooth Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or other sparkling wine bring out the multiplicity of fruit flavors. Champagne, fruity, dry wines or sweet dessert wines also work well with fruits.

Another intriguing innovation that adds to the magnetism of these baskets is to offer combinations of fruit and wine that result in a new product. Pineapple and passion fruit juice or kiwis and lime, when combined with white wine, can result in a delightful Sangria that will leave your loved ones dazed. Fruit wedges, sliced peaches, and strawberries with chilled white wine can result in a memorable super-fruity sangria. Traditional mimosa drinks are another alternative with fruit and wine. Your beloved champagne with orange juice can result in a heady mimosa that will embellish a Mother’s Day brunch like never before.

So weigh your options, look at your budget and decide how best you want to toast the occasion. Unleash your creativity and zest for life with the ideal wine and fruit gift basket. Let your popularity soar, and may you bask in oceans of eternal love and friendship!

Wine Baskets provides detailed information about wine baskets, wine gift baskets, wine picnic baskets, wine and cheese baskets and more. Wine Baskets is the sister site of Bakery Management.

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