Intimidation comes in many flavors

Saw this today courtesy of our friends at The Wandering Palate.
NOTE: You may need to turn your speakers down a bit.

Hot Tub, Wine, Dine, Sleep (Repeat)

We just read about the DeLoach Winery Guesthouse, a new hot-tub-and-pool-equipped villa in the heart of wine country, available now for all your weekending needs.

Located in the former house of Cecil DeLoach, this is where you'll go for an overnight retreat from the city. Equipped with three suites, you may wish to bring along some coupled friends (or you can rent out the whole thing for a grand). Here, you'll find all the comforts of home—assuming you live somewhere with a 1,000-bottle wine library, and a private chef who will make you steaks for dinner and locally grown eggs for breakfast.

DeLoach Vineyards, a Demeter USA certified Biodynamic® estate vineyard and garden, is among an elite group of sustainable winegrape growers committed to farming in parallel with the Earth's natural cycles. This 17-acre estate is one of only 65 wineries or vineyards in the United States to achieve Demeter certification.

But you're not coming here (only) for the private chefs and vineyard views: there's also a swimming pool (just in time for summer, when the temps can get about 20 degrees higher here than they are in the city). And, the coup de grâce, a fully fledged hot tub, ready to help you and your guests ease those aching muscles.

There's even a new contest (in conjunction with Organic Gardening Magazine) where you can enter for a guest house weekend getaway.

DeLoach Winery Guesthouse

1791 Olivet Rd

Santa Rosa, CA 95401

707-526-9111, ext 100

But SaucyJoe, what does this have to do with wine, bbq or music?

Hush, and enjoy the show. There will be time for that other stuff this weekend.
First, we have a little offering from Pee Wee. Some clever stuff here.

Pee-wee Gets An iPad! from Pee-wee Herman

A Little Musical Interlewd

Sent to me by an esteemed member of the SaucyJoes Blog, this music is definitely a great way to kick off your week.

The magnificently indefinable Asylum Street Spankers began in 1994 at a booze and hallucinogen-fueled party at the Dabbs Hotel in Llano, Texas. There Christina Marrs and Guy Forsyth met Wammo.

The Beer Wench –- Beer w/ Breakfast

Ed Note: This post came across my desk today as I perused a Twitter dialogue of great import. Not only does this author have a great and expansive knowledge of great beers, she has an admirable grasp of all things Spamalot/Holy Grail.

Anyhoo, here's her introduction to a great essay on The Perfect Beer with Pancakes:

The Perfect Beer For Pancakes
January 14, 2009 by The Beer Wench
Whereas some people may frown upon consumption of alcoholic beverages before noon, I encourage it. (Some people may read that statement and tell me that it is an indicator of a problem. Those people are silly folks and prefer to ignore them.)

If you think like me, then you will agree that the consumption of alcohol is appropriate at any hour … day or night.

I am not opposed to drinking during breakfast. In fact, a great brunch is incomplete without some sort of hooch. Typically, The Bloody Mary (double vodka, extra spicy) is my poison of choice. It goes really well with savory breakfast foods such as eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, etc.

But as much as I love my extra spicy, double strong Bloody Marys … they are a horrible pair for pancakes, waffles, french toast, scones, danishes, blintzes, cobblers, muffins, fruit and all the other sweet breakfast goodies.

When it comes to the sweeter side of breakfast, one can always reach for a Mimosa or a Bellini (classic brunch cocktails). OR … why not try a fruit beer?

Normally, I would go straight for the fruit lambics of Belgium for this post. Although this blog is not about fruit lambics, they would make an excellent pairing with a number of breakfast items - particularly those made with fruit.

The other day I stumbled upon a bottle of Melbourn Bros. Strawberry Beer. The bottle said spontaneous fermentation … and we all know that The Wench is a sucker for wild yeast beers. So naturally, I purchased the beer and did some research on its origin.

To read the rest of her post click here

What food day is today?

Just in case you were wondering what day today is, in foodie terms, we have a Twitter buddy, Foodimentary, who calls out each day on a blog just what part of the pyramid we should be embracing.

All entries are posted by an anonymous author/critic who writes under the nom de plumeThe Life and Times in The World of Food, the blog reveals a vast research base and knowledge of good food and living. This blog is one of several in the group ( Foodimentary, Foodimentary Recipes, Foodimentary Cooking, from what I have seen, 11 Bonita Drive), all of which are revealed when looking at the profile.

Lots of work, and fun, reading the exploits of a "Southern Foodie." Yum.

I Say Old Boy, Where the Hell is Matt?

Sometimes you just have to take a few minutes out of your morning to visit hundreds of locations around the world, enticing natives and various other ne'r-do-wells to engage in public acts of unbridled silliness while you work out a few kinks with a little power dance.



Rock on Mattie.

Getting BUSY at XMAS

Okay, so my neighbor Sonya is a NUT about Xmas decorating, festooning her domicile w/ all manner of whites, reds, candy canes and faux trees to create a spectacular display.

Evidently she placed third in a Grand Prairie Lights or Nottingham Neighbors Lights (our little slice of heaven in N. Texas) and she was hooked. Now illuminating our street at a feverish pace, she was gunning for the gold. While I personally have no idea whether this effort required massive caloric intake ala Michael Phelps, it does seem to require a Scotty-like devotion to the physical plant. We often see her out at all hours of day and night, attaching new accessories or repairing the grid.

It is an amazing effort, which makes our humble decoration look, um, humblish.

But, in comparison to Richard Holdman, she's a piker 1st class, and there's no mean intent or envy attached to that statement. Really. Honest.

We present exhibit #1


See, what we mean? This guy gets it in terms of what it takes to create a truly innovative and beautiful display. Not too far afield from what we at SaucyJoes do for a good fire, glass of wine or smoke-ringed brisket.

Now whether or not it is a truly great use of time, consider that his efforts do raise money for Make-A-Wish so he's got that going for him.

If you are considering ramping up a similar effort, be mindful that there are critics out there who rate and evaluate the holiday display and advocate handing out citations to those who would violate lighting etiquette. Now if we do a comparison of Holdman vs Perlow on good use of time we're siding w/ Holdman. We noted Mr. Perlow was willing to critique but had no displays of his own to offer up for comparison. Hmmm.

To quote a noted philosopher and cinema buff:
"I know you are but what am I?"
PW Herman

And now Bailout Wine...

Not sure but wasn't it was just this type of thinking that got us here in the first place?

Actually this is serious fun from Crushpad, one of those make-your-own wine establishments that found a cool gimmick and had the wherewithal to execute the idea.

From their site, an explanation, and then their feature video.
Here's how it works:

You buy bottles of the "2007 Bailout Napa Valley Cabernet" on this website for $39/bottle. Comparable wines go for $75 and up, so you've already won in a sense.

We record the closing value of the Dow Jones Industrial Average the day you buy the bottles.

Then for every 100 points the Dow drops from your starting point, you get $2 off each bottle.

We will bottle the wine on August 14, 2009 and use the Dow closing level to determine your final price. For example, if you buy the wine when the Dow is 8,800 and then it closes at 7,300 when we bottle, then your final price is $9/bottle and we'll cut you an economic stimulus check of $30/bottle in September. If we're lucky enough to find the Dow at or above the level it was when you bought the wine, then you've already paid your $39/bottle – it will never go above that.