TBA Wins The Versatile Blogger Award!

As some of you who have been reading a bit know, I am not much for the blog awards; or at least that is what I espoused. I am now changing my tune. I was too new to understand what this meant and way too self-focused to notice that I was ignoring the most important aspect of life as a blogger: community.

It is the community of creative and curious friends that has kept my streak of posts, laughs, comments, and vision for the future alive. It is this community of true kindred spirits that has influenced me to believe in my work and that I am not nearly as alone on the planet as I had believed. In fact, I may even go so far as to say I like people more than I did 3 months ago because of all of you.

I am not cynical, I am just funny. The humor may not always be so cheerful as an episode of the Smurfs or slapstick like the Three Stooges, and it is definitely much more akin to Larry David than Larry the Cable Guy; however, take me lightly and you will laugh all the way to the toilet. Seriously, I am actually so excited about this award that I am interrupting the telling of my Mexico story to fulfill the obligations of this blog.

Ahem...so now the funny part is over and here is the truth

Tania Jessica Smith - nominated me for this award. Tania is one of the most gifted photographers and visual artists on the web. I do not know her personally yet her work speaks volumes. I just saw her photo for the first time and she is incredibly young to be so accomplished. It is work like Tania's that makes me in awe of WordPress. Who the hell am I to shun any honor this woman would bestow upon me? Please check out her work, it is phenomenal.

Thank you Tania, you do indeed Rock!

7 Facts About - The Blissful Adventurer

I think people who believe in the death penalty should be shot (OK, that was a joke)

seriously....

1. I started cooking when I was 11 years old and at one point in time had a sideline business cooking wine dinners for clients and friends

2. From 2009-2011 I ate over 1000 meals in restaurants - I believe it is hard to discuss food and restaurants without being an expert on eating in them

3. When I was a child I created an entire make-believe world for my brother and I. We had country names, world maps, various regime types, races, accents/languages, socio-economic circumstances, and of course football teams, tennis players, and lots of wars. My home country was called BLUE LIGHTNING

4. I have a gluten sensitivity which has virtually forced me to abandon some of the foods that I hold dear which include and are not limited to the following: wheat pasta, pastries (too numerous to list), biscuits, gravy, gravy and biscuits, malt-o-meal, ice cream cones, rolls, sourdough, white bread, sourdough bread, cinnamon toast, cheese toast, garlic bread, hamburgers, hot dogs, and beer. If I eat gluten my stomach swells to twice its size and I am plagued by incessant farting deep in the night.

5. I have a genetic flaw in the enamel of my teeth and I require extensive restoration. My condition has now deteriorated and I must get this done in the next 2 years or I could lose my denti. My brother has already done this so he has a killer smile. I have not so people always assume I am always in a somber or contemplative mood. Few people know that I am always laughing on the inside or that I am not an imposing giant with a stoic half-grin. This has been the hardest thing I have ever had to accept about me (an otherwise dashing figure) and this is easily the first time I have ever admitted it publicly. The procedure is $50,000.00 that is a lot of travel and hence the reason why I have yet to commit. :-( One of the reasons I love to blog is that only the sweeter and more likable parts of me are visible and so everyone's first impression of me is not as intense as I come across in person.

6. I was married and divorced once before. I have no intentions of ever going down that path again, the divorced part :-)

7. I have every intention of turning my travels into a television product as well as writing for television and film in the coming years. I sold my company and changed my whole life to write and I will not accept any other path but success. Naysayers be damned I would rather die a pauper than return to doing anything I find to waste my precious time on this planet. So if anyone has any hopes that I will give up on this dream and return to the working class; just know I would sooner die.

Much live Adventurers!

People who deserve this and may have already been nominated, so, if so I am nominating you again category:

The Rules (should you choose to accept them)

• 1. Thank and link to the person who awarded you (you are allowed to be as gushing with this as takes your fancy!)

• 2. Share seven random facts about yourself.

• 3. Pass the award on to more blogging friends.

• 4. Contact those friends with the link and congratulate them!

• 5. Post your award with pride.

Mike's Look at Life - M5Son is one of the finest bloggers and funniest guys on the web. He knows no bounds to his self-deprecation, yet I know his genius is in the underestimation of this talented man. He may post amazing and thoughtful photos, yet his writing is something to behold. I would trust this guy with anything. He also has a very cool first and last name. I admire Mike and his look at life

This Little Light - Cara Olsen may have converted me back to my Christian roots with her wit, devotion, and resilience. She is one of the most gifted people on the web and she marries that with an exhaustive work ethic. I admit freely she is one of the best friends I have whom I have never met. I look forward to augmenting that status.

Italian Wine Geek - Joanie Karapetian makes me smile everyday. When I was her age I lived and breathed Italian wine with no outlet for my passion other than toiling away in a wine shop where Italian wines were second-class citizens. Joanie brings all the passion and knowledge to our community everyday. She is one of the best in the biz and easily one of the nicest.

The Culinarian Guild - The Passionate Culinarian is as straight forward as an F5 Tornado. This guy cooks and he knows why. He is one of the people I knew I liked in the first exchange because there was no need for flowery formality. TPC is also damned funny and so if intensity and honesty are your bag, he is a winner. I would not be surprised if he told me that this nomination was ridiculous because it had nothing to do with food :-)

She Kept a Parrot - Her name is George (not a typo) and she may be the single most insightful and supportive member of this community. I am 100% certain she has been nominated for this award a few times, yet I am doing it again. George is a  woman of letters and a heart of pure luster. I would have quit this long before now if she did not read and support my work while delivering photos and short observations that make Hemingway look like a drunk and Faulkner a verbose pedant. This woman is like Moses come down in disguise to lead all of us. She could call to Heaven at any point for an express ride to the top yet she chooses to love amongst us mortals so that we may experience a snippet of truth in our lives.

There are so many more of you who deserve this. These 5 are people I believe I know a bit and who know me. We are certainly connected in a way that WP could have never imagined was possible when they began this project.

I love being versatile :-)

IMO Thursday - My Favorite Italian Wine "Geek"

After the drama I wrote over the past 3 days I wanted to discuss something that makes me smile almost everyday: the wonderful wine blog, Italian Wine Geek by the talented and implacable wine explorer Joanie Karapetian. Joanie is an Italian -American, fully fluent in la lingua bella, and a top-flight wine professional based on the west coast.

Italian wine has gotten me out of bed in the morning and driven me to late night philosophical rants since 1995. I have been to 18 of the 20 Italian states and drank wine in them all. I taught classes on Italian wine and was the leading retailer of these wines in Texas for years. I know and love these wines. Joanie knows and loves them more.

I am rarely surprised by the notion of an indigenous grape or wine I do not know in Italy, as there are purported to be over 25,000 of them. I am constantly surprised by how many of these wines Joanie finds, tastes, and suggests where to drink in the good ol' USA. This is not an academic blog geeking out on detail that only a scientist could love. This is a blog about tastes, excitement for a place, and the joy in discovery and camaraderie of like-minded drinkers. Joanie's blog is also about great food (which wine actually is to me as well) and where to eat it :-)

I think her title only suggests a modern nomenclature for this wine talking endeavor. Joanie is affable, charming, and witty without ever seeming the pedant. She knows her stuff and if you read her lovely blog, you will too. I am so thankful to have found this piece of wine enlightenment floating about the web and I am more thankful Joanie and I have become friends.

Take a read and if you like wine at all, you will be hooked.

Congratulations Italian Wine Geek, you have captured and re-kindled a passion in me I thought may have waned.

Killer Wine Review - My First Germano and the Talented Women who Inspire Me

Inspired by the insightful wine writing of Paprika and Pinot yesterday in her blog post challenging  preconceived wine pairing notions; I decided to do a little experiment. My dear friend Joanie Karapetian, author of the wonderful blog Italian Wine Geek has for months extolled the virtues of the winery Ettore Germano in Piedmont (northwest Italy) and I went in search of this producer.

I was lucky enough to find a bottle of Ettore Germano Balau at a lovely wine shop in Arvada, Colorado called Primo Vino. I was turned on to the shop after a lovely wine dinner at Bella Bistro, also in Arvada, hosted by the indomitable Shelly Hunsucker Steinhaus.

These three women have really reached deep into my wine psyche and opened some doors to trying new things that an old curmudgeonly veteran like myself may not have tried otherwise. Thank you ladies and on to the experiment.

The Balau 2005 is a blend of 50% Dolcetto, 25% Barbera, and 25% Merlot. Merlot? Yeah, this guy is out there and I can tell you; I like it. The wine was a little closed (not very aromatic) at first while tart with cherry and lactic acid on the palate (lactic acid is the same acid found in milk and is not nearly as bracing as other forms of acid we eat). I find this lactic component almost always with Barbera from the Langhe - an area of great repute in Piedmont.

The challenge was to pair this bad boy with Szechuan Chinese food left over from Friday evening. Lo Mein with crispy chicken thighs, Ma Po Tofu with Pork, and Eggplant with Mushrooms. There was some spice, some sweet, a lot of savory and plenty of umami. So while I would normally grab a Riesling I thought this high-toned red blend would pair well and I wanted to challenge my natural tendency to pair white wine with Szechuan Chinese.

As it turned out the wine seemed flat and a little tired alongside the very flavorful food. The noodles were extraordinary re-heated and maybe even slightly better than Friday with a bit of added olive-oil crunch from the hot pan. The tofu really broke up in the cooking process and while the eggplant remained impeccable and tasty, the final two dishes as a whole were a bit weaker on the re-heat.

Now, once the food was gone, the wine began to sing. The dark cherry fruit from the Merlot and Barbera were jumping from the glass while the racy Dolcetto backbone seemed to be a perfect frame to showcase the two other grapes in the blend. Now, the reason the wine improved could have been one of two things.

A. The wine was just better because it needed to be open longer and evolve in the glass

B. The wine just paired poorly with the food and once the food was gone the wine began to show its true nature.

I am just going to have to get another bottle of Ettore German Balau 2005 and find out. There is going to be a tasting of Germano wines at Bella Bistro on March 20, and I for one cannot wait to see more of what this guy is doing in one of my favorite parts of the world.

Stay Thirsty My Friends!

A New Favorite Italian Wine Geek

My love of Italian wine is rooted somewhere close to my love for breathing. Lately, I had been sticking with old favorites when choosing Italian wines and perhaps I was even beginning to be stuck in a rut.

Suddenly, along comes JOANIE KARAPETIAN with a comment on one of my blog posts and I immediately knew she was for real. I went to her blog ITALIAN WINE GEEK and after reading for 30+ minutes my passion for interesting and esoteric Italian wines had been re-ignited by this talented young woman, who truly gets it.

Joanie, like many of us in the Italian wine world is highly educated, driven to eat and drink by some immovable spirit, and has a sense of humor that marries well to her passion for all things Italia. Joanie works for a really super importer and is based in Southern California

Please check out her blog if you are into Italian Wine, and I think the only question I have for this Italian Wine Geek is:

Does Joanie indeed love Ciacci?