M.I.A. Part Two

Opps.  I missed day of blogging...again.  How lame-o of me!  To make up for it, today I'll do both a Wine Wednesday review and a Grocery Outlet product review.  

First, the wine.

Today's selection is a white wine from Spain called Triana.  According to the label on the back, "Triana is the name of the neighborhood in the city of Seville, Spain.  Triana means 'three river' as in that area the river is dividing itself in three sections."

My good friend T. and I shared a couple glasses of this wine and here's what we thought about Triana:  This $2.99 bottle of wine is sweet at first and dry on the finish.  It is non offensive and won't overpower your meal.  We thought it was fruity, but we couldn't decide what type of fruit.  Overall we found it to be an acceptable bottle of white wine.

Now for the product review.

I decided to pick a product that you can find pretty consistently at your local Grocery Outlet.  It's the Organic Broccoli Florets.  It's a great deal at only $2.99, especially considering it's 32 oz. of organic goodness!  I like the fact that the broccoli comes packaged as two smaller, more manageable bags inside the larger bag (Less spillage in the freezer is always a good thing!).  The next time you need broccoli, consider trying Grocery Outlet's Organic Broccoli Florets.  If you do, let me know what you think!

Cheers!
Kami

P.S.  Below is a link to the current Grocery Outlet ad.  There's a coupon for $5 off a $20 minimum frozen food purchase.  Grocery Outlet Coupon

M.I.A.

Opps, I was missing in action on Sunday (one of my two regular blogging days).  Actually, I wasn't missing.  I was on a mini-vacation to Portland and got back too late to blog.  My bad.  But to make up for my lameness, I'm reviewing two wines today!

The first one is a sauvignon blanc called Patianna Estate Vineyards.  I bought it because it says it's made with biodynamic grapes...I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds intriguing!  (From reading the description on the back of the bottle I deduced that biodynamic has something to do with how the grapes were grown and it's apparently good for the environment.)

Cheers to wine tasting!

Anyway, my friend Amy was over, so she got to be a taste-tester too.  I thought the wine was fine, maybe a bit tarty, but nothing particularly special about it. Amy, on the other hand, thought this wine was, "crisp like an autumn morning," and it reminded her of, "liquid Pop Rocks."  (Again, I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds intriguing!)  With that being said, if I were you, I'd give this wine a try.  It's definatly worth the $4.99 price tag.

The second wine I'm reviewing today is a pinot grigio called Queen of Hearts.  I give this company two thumbs up for great packaging!  The graphic is eye-catching (especially considering I found it the day before Valentine's day!) and I love the extra touch of printing a heart on the cork.

The wine was refreshing and easy to drink.  It wasn't too sweet and it won't overpower your meal.  This fun and tasty bottle of wine would be a great "just because" present for a friend or loved-one...especially considering it only costs $2.99 a bottle!  Pick up a bottle or two before Grocery Outlet runs out of them!


Cheers!
-Kami

Another One Finds The Drain...

I bought this bottle of red wine a few weeks ago to give to a friend as a "classy" housewarming gift (Nothin' says classy like a foreign name written in shiny, gold letters!).  It's a 2006 Zinfindel from California called Dios Triumph.  I'm happy to say though, this bottle never made it to her!

What happened to the bottle?  My good friend Amy and I decided we needed to cleanse our palates after a bad experience with a South African wine (There's A Reason Why South Africa Isn't Known For Wine Making).  We decided to switch to a red wine, and the Dios Triumph was the only one I had on hand.

Why am I happy I didn't give this bottle as a gift?  Because this was another yucky wine destined for for the drain!

Maybe it was a bad bottle, the cork did look a little weird, but I'm not going to risk trying another bottle of Dios Triumph to know for sure.  The few sips Amy and I took were more than enough for us.  You're on your own if you try this one!

Until Sunday,
Kami

A Quick Dinner Idea

Looking to make an inexpensive dish for your next work potluck?  Perhaps you need a quick idea for a red-themed Valentine's Day dinner?  Or maybe you're just tired and don't know what to make for dinner tonight?  Well, whatever your reason, you may want to pick up these two staple items from Grocery Outlet and get cooking!

While Grocery Outlet always seems to have some sort of pasta sauce available, this particular brand turned out to be quite tasty.  It's called Grandessa Signature, and I tried the cabernet marinara this time.  Yum!  And it only rang up $1.99.

The pasta in the photo is called fideo, and I've been told it's quite common in Mexican households.  It cooks fast and only costs around $0.40 a package!  (If you're not into red sauce, consider picking up some fideo for your next pot of homemade soup!  It's perfect for that!)

Happy cooking!
-Kami

What did I purchase from Grocery Outlet?  Grandessa Signature cabernet marinara ($1.99) and Pagasa cut fideo (~$0.40 a package)

There's A Reason Why South Africa Isn't Known For Wine Making

I was intrigued when I found the 2008 Fairhills South Africa Chardonnay at my local Grocery Outlet.  I had never seen a bottle of wine from South Africa, and I was eager to try it.

I liked the fact that it was Fair Trade Certified, but that's about it.

The first couple sips seemed strangely bubbly and had a sort of musky aftertaste.  Yuck.  I immediately  began to question if wanted to keep drinking it (for the sake of the blog) or if I should put it in the fridge and hope someone might stop by so I could pawn it off on them...

Enter my good friend Amy.  The poor girl was enticed to come over for some wine when I told her she could be a guest blogger.  We've been friends for over twenty-one years, but little did she know what I had in store for her.

After her first sip she declared it, "Tastes like rotten cheese, dirty socks, a barn cow with a lot of manure."

That's bad.

Against her better judgement, I convinced Bobo to give the African wine at least one more taste.  After a sip, a cough, and a sputter, a disbelieving Bobo moaned, "It gets worse.  It gets worse."

Sorry Amy.

So if you're ever at Grocery Outlet and you see this international bottle of chardonnay for $4.99, don't get it!  It may claim to be, "Embraced by the winds, Kissed by the sea, [and] Guided by the stars," but it still ended up being poured down the drain.

-Kami

I'm a Winner!

I know you've probably suspected it for quite a while now, but it's been officially confirmed by the Crown Hill Grocery Outlet...I'm a winner!!!  

You see, Grocery Outlet has a monthly drawing called "Win What You Save," and I was one of two lucky people to have their names drawn for the month of January!  What did I win?  $81.05! (Actually, the owners were kind enough to round my winnings up to $82...Thank you Steve and Blanca!)  Yay for winning!

The next time you go to Grocery Outlet, make sure you enter this drawing.  It's totally easy to do!  After the cashier announces how much money you've saved, he or she will hand you your receipt.  Rip off the bottom portion of your receipt and write your name and phone number on the back of it...neatly.  Then look around for the big box that says, "Win What You Save," and put your receipt inside.  And that's it...Now you too can be a winner!

-Good luck!
Kami

P.S.  I think I might use my winnings to throw a Grocery Outlet cheese and wine party for my friends and family.  What do you think I should do with it?

Happy Hour Wine

If you read my blog last Saturday, you'll remember I had a homemade happy hour on Friday night.  I made some tasty nachos (using quite a few ingredients from Grocery Outlet) and opened up a fresh bottle of wine.  I wasn't sure if nachos went better with reds or whites, so I chose a random chardonnay called Bulleen Estate.  This 2010 wine from Napa, California was fine, no particularly strong flavors coming through or weird aftertaste, and after a couple glasses I had forgotten all about the stresses of teaching third graders.  You could say it was well worth the $4.99 price tag.  
Happy Wine Wednesday!
-Kami