Hello everyone. I'm back again, up early and ready to head to the gym for one of my 4-5 weekly work outs. The Watchful Wino works out? Well, yes, I'm afraid so. I've found through laborious experience that if I am to consume the sacred beverage in the quantities I desire without inflating like a hot-air balloon, the calories have to go somewhere. In short, the old must move on to make room for the new...

I've been patrolling my memory banks to bring my valued readership something interesting to read, perhaps even motivational enough for the bolder among them to try their hands at the same sort of shenanigans. After all, the world of good wine and cuisine can be intimidating to the novice...I was once there myself. My advice to anyone on the fence about trying their hand at learning about wines and the preparation of great food is simply to dive right in. Your first couple of recipes will likely be disastrous, but you'll get the hang of it fairly quickly. As for wine, there are actually quite a few places to go where the staff is expert and eager to help out; people in the industry generally know that the snob factor is not likely to help them move many bottles...

Anyway, So There I Was. Chicago, IL, that is, to celebrate Christmas with my family this past year (2011). It turns out that I've gotten a reputation and was therefore on the hook to prepare the Christmas dinner for everyone. Great. Once again, a chance to shine, or alternatively a chance to fall flat on my face to the sound of my family's guffaws. Sure, they'd find amusement in my failure, as most were half-in-the-bag by the time dinner rolled around anyway.

So, what to do? Well, I'm not the type to shy away from a challenge. I put my helmet on and stepped off. Having acquired the 12 pound turkey from D'Artagnan, as well as chestnuts and fresh mushrooms, I was already in really good shape to prepare something great. Burgundian Turkey was the recipe, and all I needed to get into the zone of preparation was a little of my favorite grape-based product. It just so happens that my family has a tradition of uncorking the bubbly well before noon on Christmas, so that was taken care of, and I could get down to business.

I set about roasting the turkey, braising the chestnuts in milk before roasting them, and preparing my fresh (i.e. not dried), just-off-the-boat mushrooms from France. The kicker was a red-wine gravy using the turkey's own giblet and pan juices, with a bit of creme-fraiche mixed in. Here's a shot of the end result:

As you might imagine, the dinner approached the interstellar. My dad had procured a Hermitage and a Cornas to go with the turkey, chestnuts, and mushrooms. I was literally shocked at how good it was, all from a recipe that I found on www.dartagnan.com.

At the end of the evening, there was a bit of a pickle. We had quite a bit of that oh-so-tasty red-wine/creme-fraiche gravy left over. It would have been a sin to let it go to waste. Someone needed to take one for the team. I'm usually that guy, so I volunteered, and quickly pounded the gravy, straight from the sauce boat. My was that good.

On that note, I'm beginning to hear the hum of the Refined Redneck's latest boomerang message. He's telling me to get my rear-end over to the gym. As he's not one who likes to have his orders disobeyed, I'd better comply. Have a great weekend everyone, and until next time.

Loose!