More Food and Wine + a 'Southern' Medical Trip!

There is nothing like good friends, good food and good wine…plus a little southern whimsy thrown in for good measure!

To begin, it was time for another food and wine fest, aka a ‘wine tasting’ at our home here in East Tennessee…

Laurie and I decided to serve up this beautiful hunk of beef brisket.  We didn’t smoke it but we did get it from our fellow wine and food gourmand, Larry. (He blogs about food, family and travels under the handle of Big Dude, aka http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/) Unfortunately, Larry and his better half Bev were traveling when we had this little party, so they missed the fun and food… The brisket was a hit!

Larry had packaged the juices with the brisket, so we heated the brisket in its own juice and then sliced it into smaller slices so our guests could make sandwiches with the buns we’d purchased from a nearby Fresh Market.  If you’ve never been to a Fresh Market, you should make the trip!  Lots of goodies to be had… Check these stores out at http://www.thefreshmarket.com/.

Our ‘wine tastings’ have evolved into a food tasting/eating experience that’s paired with the consumption of a fair amount of wine.  Everyone brings appetizers or more substantial food to consume as well as their favorite bottle of wine.  The host provides food as well…along with wine and other alcoholic beverages to start out the party. 

Here we have, from left to right, Jenny, Karen, Holly and Martha.  In addition to the brisket sandwiches, other offerings included bacon wrapped grille jalapenos, hot cheese dip with crackers, stuffed mushroom caps, chips and veggies with dip and salsa, nuts and candy.

The guys tended to gather around the dining room table.  From left to right…yours truly, Joel and Charlie.  We were probably talking about ‘Obamacare’.

Here’s another photo of the counter where part of the food was spread out.  Looking over the scene is Fred, who had recently undergone shoulder surgery.

Absent from this little soiree were Larry and Bev as well as Susan and Dick.  As I mentioned before, Larry and Bev were on a road trip, (with their RV).  Susan and Dick were in Florida.  In the photo above...from left to right: myself, Joel, Holly, Karen, Charlie, Martha, Jenny and Fred. (Laurie was as usual taking the picture!)

Did I mention that we also had a ‘light’ dessert courtesy of Karen & Charlie. It was a delicious Mascarpone Cheesecake from Costco and it was very good indeed!  Even yours truly liked it & I don't like cheesecake!

We always enjoy our wine tastings & we look forward to attending each & every one!  Great food, great wines & great friends!  Who could ask for more?

Now…onto totally unrelated whimsy…

Laurie and I were at the podiatrist’s office when Laurie noticed a label on the trash can.  Usually, the only labels on trash cans in the doctor’s offices are for hazardous waste…or biohazards.  Not this time!

You know that you’re in the South when the label on the wastebasket or trashcan states “DO NOT spit Tobacco in Trash Cans”!  We asked the nurse if it had really been a problem and she told us that the biggest problem they’ve had was with women who ‘chew’… Yikes!  That sounds really attractive and sexy doesn’t it?

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for our ‘wine tasting’ party!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave