Pruning 2010

This is what happens when you prune 10,000 grape vines. The biggest bird nests, ever! woof!

Man Candy

Few things in life cause such instinctive satisfaction as bacon. The aroma alone is enough to cause drooling of epic proportion. And, yet, there is more...

And entire industry is growing around bacon: flavored bacon; gourmet bacon; farm fresh bacon.

There are also bacon novelties like soap; bacon adhesive bandages; even bikinis made of actual bacon, which is treat upon treat if you ask me. Lurking in the shadows, however, is one baconized treat that has eluded me, until now: Bacon Candy.

I have heard legends of such a thing, emanating from the deep, secretive southern United States, like the candy you can make by boiling a can of sweeten condensed milk, which sounds a lot like napalm to me so I don't advise it. Armed with the internet and a few different approaches, we made an attempt at Bacon Candy or what we've decided to call MAN CANDY.

Here's the recipe:
one lb of bacon cut into bite size pieces
two cups of brown sugar in a large ziploc bag
one nonstick cookie sheet on top of which is a nonstick rack
brown paper grocery sacks

place the bacon pieces into the bag of brown sugar 2-3 at a time and shake until coated. place on baking rack which is on the cookie sheet and bake on 400 for 25 minutes until crispy. i cannot emphasize enough how important it is that everything be nonstick. or plan to throw it out. seriously. remove and cool on brown paper grocery sacks - any other paper will stick like a bitch, so don't try it. again, totally serious about this. consume within an hour or two.

We had planned to serve Man Candy for Valentine's Day Open House at Styring. Sadly, we cannot make 500 pieces required for open house and serve within an hour or two. Out test of overnight storage was a fail. The candy gets slimy and does not store well. Theoretically, if you leave it uncovered, it may keep overnight, but in a house with the wine dog and a home kitchen, it's just not realistic. Besides, being a dog strong of nose and greedy of stomach, Molly would not get any sleep with all that bacon resting in the kitchen.

Try this at home and let us know how it works for you. I'm tempted to add some cayenne pepper next time to take it to a whole new level. Woof!

Styring Perfect Pair Celebration Feb 12th, 2011

Please visit Styring Vineyards for the Perfect Pair Celebration Feb 12th from 11 - 5, the Saturday before Valentine's Day. Enjoy 5 wines, each paired with a special food selection AND preview our Syrah Port. Help us decide when to bottle and release it!

Singer, songwriter Jessica Parsons Taylor will perform 1 - 4. Bring friends. You and anyone you bring is complimentary if you mention this blog.

Cheers! The Styring Family (and Molly the Wine Dog, WOOF!)

http://jessicaparsonstaylor.com

Skunktown

While patrolling this evening, nose high, itching for a fight, I heard a rustling from the thicket and turned my attention there. Padding over, ears keen, certainly something was coming. Cat. Black shiney nose, golden eyes, oblivious to my presence and soon to learn of my superiority.

Edging from the bramble, the cat comes to full view and I charge, coming up fast upon the interloper, making my fierceness known.

Turning its back and I could not put on the brakes fast enough. Scrambing hard against my own momentum and reeling from the shock of the double white lines down its back.

"Skunk! Woof! ah, CRAPBAG!" tumbles from my mouth as I dig into the soggy winter soil, but it's too late.

"PpppFFFffffTtttt! Pft!" it shoots its rank, dreaded skunk spunk all over my face and into my open mouth.

Elvis Costello once said that writing about music is like dancing about architecture. To describe for you the full intensity of skunk vile is a feat beyond my mere dog words, but I can tell you that I lost full control of my dinner; sneezed and snotted beyond any dignity and rolled in the mud for hours to soothe my eyes. Then came the bad part.

The wine man tried everything: tomato juice, soap, vinegar... all manner of unspeakable cures and finally resulted to leaving me outside to nature. After a week in the barn, shivering myself to sleep on old newspapers and averting my eyes from all inquiries as to the cause of the dire vexation, my odor was calmed enough to return to duties as a wine dog.

The next time a skunk was spotted, it was menacing the cat food and while the wine man called and called me, I did not respond. In fact, I hid in the shadows and watched the drama unfold. It was an academy worthy performance repleat with expletives and interpretive dance. He may be the alpha dog of this pack, but I am the wine dog and thus not attuned to tomato juiced baths.

skunk illustration from http://mbartonblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/skunk.html . used without permission we hope she likes this plug.