Sheree asked whether or not white wine would be safe for someone with an allergy to white oak. Unfortunately, the answer is no. Although white wines are not aged as long as red wines, some of them do spend a bit of time in oak barrels or otherwise in contact with oak. Chardonnay, one of the most popular grape varietals worldwide, is known for being an “oaky” wine. Much of the flavor of Chardonnay is dependent upon its processing and how much oak has been used to create the wine’s flavor structure. If a wine is described on the label as “smoky” or “nutty,” chances are very good that it spent a bit of its fermentation time in an oak barrel or with a bag of oak chips soaking in it.

Other flavors that may indicate that oak was used are clove, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, caramel, coconut, tea, smoke, mocha, toffee, butter, and vanilla. The intensity of these flavors increases as the amount of time spent in contact with oak increases.

Chardonnay is not the only white wine to be fermented with oak. Pinot Grigio, Pinot Blanc, Semillon, and Sauvignon Blanc are all receptive to the influence of oak and thus must be regarded with some suspicion by those who are allergic to white oak.

As I discussed in my previous article, the species of oak matters. I am allergic to Quercus alba, which is favored in the production of American wine barrels. American wine barrels are less expensive than French wine barrels which contributes to their popularity outside of the United States. Someone who was allergic to a different species of oak would have to take similar precautions but the guidelines they would develop for themselves would be necessarily different from mine.

Some wines will indicate that they used a certain percentage of “new” oak barrels. This is important because a new oak barrel obviously has not been used yet and the oak’s influence is at its strongest when it is new. A good analogy is that of the tea bag. When you steep a cup of tea with a fresh bag, you get the full impact and strength of the tea’s flavor. As your meal goes on, each cup you steep with the same tea bag becomes weaker. The same is true of each vintage fermented in the barrel. The influence of the oak decreases from one vintage to the next. From an allergy standpoint, this means that wines fermented in new oak barrels should be avoided while those that use older barrels may be tolerated to a greater degree. How much that matters depends on the individual and the severity of the allergy.

Wine bottles do not often disclose very much about the methods used in producing the wine. Therefore, it can be difficult to know if the degree of toasting that was done to the oak barrels. The greater the degree of toasting, the greater the influence of the oak on the wine. Allergy symptoms will naturally increase as the degree of toasting increases.

For a long time I worried that Chardonnay was simply off the table for me unless I purchased a French Chardonnay. In fact, there are quite a variety of “unoaked” or “naked” Chardonnays out there for me to try. I do not yet know what I will think of them because I like the oaky Chardonnays. I will definitely try them out. One that has me particularly intrigued is Buried Cane. I have an affinity for Columbia Valley wines and would love to try their No-Oak Chardonnay. I am a bit unsure what to expect because although the cooperage is 100% stainless steel, the website mentions “oak-spice” notes. That did not carry through into the tasting notes, though, so it may be a cut and paste error.

I am also interested in trying some Australian Chardonnays. I do not know what type of barrels they use there, but I intend to try to find out. 

Unfortunately, while I can write about what has worked for me and how I try to make informed choices with regard to my allergy, everyone is different and will have to find their own way. I am often left with unanswered questions and can only try the food or wine and see what happens. For example, Williams Sonoma markets an Oak-Smoked Chardonnay Sea Salt. It is made by smoking the salt over fire made from old Chardonnay wine barrels. It is a product of France, so I’d probably be okay with it, but I am not really going to know until I try it.

Red wine varieties that tend to use oak in their processing are: Pinot Noir, Merlot, Pinotage, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, Zinfandel, Nebbiolo, and Tempranillo. I am always careful when selecting bottles of these varieties.

References

Slinkard, Stacy. Wine and Oak: Oak – An Essential Part of a Winemaker’s Toolbox. About.com Guide. 

Australian Good Food & Travel Guide. Chardonnay.

Buried Cane, 315 E. Main St., Walla Walla, WA 98550. (509) 522-7724.

The fall harvest brings so many delightful foods and drinks to our table. One of my favorites is cherry juice, with apple cherry juice close behind. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that I was very happy to discover Van Twee Belgian Ale — a dark Belgian ale brewed with cherry juice!

Van Twee (From Two) is the fruit of a 2009 collaboration between Bell’s Brewery of Kalamazoo, MI and De Proef Brouwerij of Lochristi, Belgium. From the label:

Special emphasis was placed on using ingredients from both Belgium and Michigan in designing this beer. Michigan is renowned for producing sour, dark cherries of superior quality, and a significant quantity of cherry juice was added to the brew. Deep hued Belgian candi sugar adds to the complex flavor of the beer. The sugar used for bottle conditioning came from native Michigan sugar beets. A finishing fermentation with the vinous Brettanomyces strain of yeast complements the unique New Zealand hop variety Nelson Sauvin.The result is broadly a cherry infused ‘mash-up’ of the Porter and Dubbel styles, brewed to an original gravity of 1.072 and fermented with multiple strains of yeast. Each ingredient used brings a subtle hint of varied fruit such as plum/prune from the roasted malts; gooseberry/grape from the hops’ pear/banana from the yeast and specialty sugar; and of course cherry. These flavors are wrapped in a rich and complex roasted malt base that imparts flavors reminiscent of chocolate and coffee-much like the famous filled chocolates of Belgium.

The result was delicious — dark but not heavy, flavorful but not overwhelming, and able to be characterized as refreshing. I thoroughly enjoyed this despite the non-optimal consumption conditions. It was easy drinking and was gone way too soon. I hope to enjoy more of it at a later date.

Van Twee is part of the De Proef Brewmaster’s Collection. I believe the closest retailer for this is Wade’s Wines in Los Angeles.

Bell’s Brewery, Inc. 355 E Kalamazoo Ave, Kalamazoo, MI 49007-3807. (269) 382-1402.

De Proef Brouwerij, Doornzelestraat 20 – 9080 Lochristi, Belgium. Tel. 0032 9 356 71 02.

Denny’s has been working on their menu again. They had a few surprises for me this time! I ordered the chicken strips and had them tossed in buffalo sauce before being served with ranch dressing. That in itself was a welcome change because for years, I haven’t been able to get buffalo chicken strips from them as an entrée. I always had to order the appetizer and make do without side dishes or order them separately. The crispy seasoned fries and dinner bread haven’t changed at all and are still tasty.

There are some new side dishes available too. I was pleasantly surprised by the sautéed spinach. You can have it plain or sautéed with pico de gallo and bacon. Of course, I chose the bacon and pico de gallo. SO tasty! The spinach wasn’t over cooked. It had a good flavor without being overpowering or overpowered by the bacon. The only complaint I had was that there was too much onion in the pico de gallo. By the time I was done, I was thoroughly done with onions.

Denny’s has realized something that IHOP hasn’t. People like pumpkin pancakes to be around throughout the holiday season – not just the beginning. I didn’t order them, but they looked tasty in the menu. They are served with pumpkin whipped topping and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar instead of plain whipped cream and they are billed as Pumpkin Pie Pancakes. I may have to make an effort to go try those before the holidays are over. The holiday menu also includes Red Velvet Pancake Puppies with Cream Cheese and Arthur’s Christmas Cookie Pancakes where the cookies are mixed into the pancake batter.

Denny’s, 2137 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92101.

I was excited when I found Kona Brewing Company’s Pipeline Porter. I love Kona coffee and have been known to enjoy a good porter from time to time, so this beer seemed like a great idea. I picked up a six pack and headed home with plans to try it right away.

As you can see in the photo, this porter pour very dark, almost black, with a nice thick head. I was a little surprised at how thick the head was. The aroma is strong and heavy with the scent of roasted coffee. The coffee flavor is not nearly as strong as the aroma suggests, and comes through more in the after taste. I was a bit disappointed in the coffee flavor. I am not a Starbucks fan, because I feel that they burn their coffee and it turns out to be bitter. Unfortunately, that is what this porter reminded me of. I had John try it, and he independently drew the same parallel. That said, it was not an unpleasant brew and it was not as heavy as other porters I have tried.

When I bought the six pack, I wondered if I should buy two right away because it is a limited release. I am glad I didn’t. I have been very slow to work my through it, and even with help, I still have a bottle left about two months later.

The coffee is 100% Kona grown at the Cornwell Estate on the Big Island. The 2007 and 2010 releases of this porter won awards in Australia and America.

Kona Brewing Company, 75-5629 Kuakini Highway, Kailua Kona, Hawaii 96740. 808-334-BREW (2739)

Sprecher Brewery’s Red Apple soda is a wonderful surprise. You can smell the apple orchard as soon as you twist off the cap. Your taste buds squeal in delight as the apple flavor bursts over them. If you’ve ever been apple picking and remember cool crisp days with the smell of apples and the taste of apple cider, then you want to try this soda. It is sweet, but not overly so. At first I thought it was just the sweetness of the apples themselves. Then I double checked the ingredients. This variety has a second ingredient of “glucose syrup.” Carbonated water is first and apple juice concentrate comes in third. That was a little disappointing. There is also raw Wisconsin honey in the blend. The result is a crisp, cool, refreshing soda with a nice amount of carbonation. I am not too familiar with another ingredient in the list – Quilliaia/Yucca Extract. Another surprise is that the soda itself is also RED. FD&C #40 makes this soda BRIGHT RED, a fact I discovered when my toddler stole my bottle and dribbled it all over her pajamas. The glass bottle is dark enough, that if you are drinking straight from the bottle, you aren’t likely to notice the red color. Red Apple is a seasonal variety, so I plan to head back out to the store for some more before it disappears. As of this writing, the Red Apple Soda does not appear on their website’s soda page and can only be found from a link on the main page.

The Cherry Cola is also quite good. The cherry flavor is prominent and lingers but the cola comes shining through. I’m disappointed to discover that the second ingredient is High Fructose Corn Syrup and that it comes in ahead of the Door County Cherry juice that the front label boasts about. The raw honey is there, and, like the Red Apple soda, the carbonation is at a good level. No artificial color this time. The Cherry Cola, like all of Sprecher’s sodas, is both gluten and caffeine free. It’s a welcome change to find a cola that is both high on flavor and missing the usual caffeine.

Sprecher’s sodas aren’t cheap but they are definitely worth it. The generous pint serving per bottle leaves you refreshed and sated. I would buy them more often if they didn’t have the syrups in them and were just made with real juice and raw honey. If you can’t find Sprecher in a local store, and you are in the United States, you can order direct from their website. They hope to begin shipping to Canada in the future.

Sprecher Brewing Company, 701 W. Glendale Ave., Glendale, WI 53209. (414) 964-BREW.

For years I have wanted to make the Gumbo Shop‘s Turkey and Hot Sausage Gumbo. One of the first steps is to make turkey stock using the stripped turkey carcass, which makes the day after Thanksgiving a great time to make this gumbo! It calls for 1.5 lbs of the leftover turkey meat, too, which should make leftovers more exciting than usual. I had my mom buy a slightly larger turkey than usual and we are getting ready to make gumbo!

The sausage dictated by the recipe is Chaurice, a fresh, spicy Creole pork sausage that is similar to but not to be confused with chorizo. I went to Seisel’s Meats looking for the sausage because, as they proclaim, they are “San Diego’s meat specialists for the serious cook.” I figured if anyone in San Diego was going to have Chaurice, it would be Seisel’s or their sister store, Iowa Meats. Sadly, they did not have the Chaurice. They recommended that I consider substituting chorizo, but I wanted to try this recipe without substitutions.

Even more disappointing was the fact that they informed me that the Sausage King in Mission Hills closed a couple of months ago. While I do not know if they would have carried Chaurice, I do know that this incredible source for handmade German sausage will be sorely missed. Sausage King Manfred “Fred” Spenner died of natural causes in June at the age of 82 after making sausage at the same location for almost 50 years. Although NBC reported that talks were underway between Spenner’s widow and a couple of long time employees about continuing the business, I do not know if they will reopen.

At any rate, I digress. Without Chaurice from either Siesel’s or the Sausage King, I decided that my only acceptable course of action was to make the sausage myself. I wish that I could say that the sausage you see above is some of my handiwork. In fact, it was made by my dear husband, Gregory. He quite enjoyed making it and I can’t wait to find out how it turned out.

Seisel’s provided me with the natural hog casing and meat curing salt that I needed along with 3 pounds of Boston Butt. For the Chaurice sausage recipe and instructions on how to link homemade sausage, I turned to Nola Cuisine. The instructions are thorough and easy to follow. This was our first attempt at homemade sausage and if their appearance means anything, then Gregory did an excellent job. He was able to link about 2.75 of the 3 lbs. The remainder he plans to cook up for breakfast in the morning.

The Gumbo Shop doesn’t have the recipe for the Turkey and Hot Sausage Gumbo online, but they do sell their cookbook there. Believe me, it is a must for your bookshelf if you enjoy New Orleans cuisine. There isn’t a recipe in there that hasn’t been fabulous. They are a bit time consuming, but they are worth every minute. And the Gumbo Shop is accommodating and helpful as well. I once called them and was put through to the kitchen to speak to the chef when one of my gumbos when horribly wrong. I can not say enough about them or their food. If making these things from scratch seems like a bit more than you can handle, or if you can’t get all the ingredients that you need, you can always order direct from their website. They do not sell and ship everything from the cookbook, and the Turkey and Sausage Gumbo was not available by mail order when I looked earlier this week. In fact, I wonder if some things are only available online seasonally as I do not see the Aligator Sauce Piquante as an option at this time but I have had it shipped to me in the past. Any of the prepared foods that you might order from them will arrive frozen and in rather large amounts. They also sell some spice mixes and other merchandise.

I’m really looking forward to Thanksgiving now, and I’m excited to make this gumbo!

The Gumbo Shop, 630 Saint Peter Street, New Orleans, LA 70130. (504) 525-0747.

Seisel’s Meats, 4131 Ashton Street, San Diego, CA 92109. (619) 275-1234.

Iowa Meat Farms, 6041 Mission Gorge Rd.San Diego, CA 92120. (619) 281-5766.

When I stopped at Sonic for a quick snack, I wasn’t planning on a milk shake or a post extolling its virtues. One sip in and I was hooked and had to take a quick picture for the inevitable post. The drive through menu ads caught my eye with their command to “Drink More Pie!” As I’ve mentioned before, if it has pumpkin in it, chances are good that I want to try it! This was certainly no exception.

But it was a surprise. Not only was I not really expecting Sonic to have a pumpkin milk shake, I was not expecting it to taste so good or be so much like drinking a pumpkin pie. Sonic describes the shake as,

An indulgent hand-mixed shake made with real ice cream, real pumpkin, nutmeg and cinnamon blended with pie crust pieces, finished with whipped topping and more pie crust pieces.

What they don’t tell you is that the pie crust is a graham cracker crust. It give the shake a very interesting texture and they blend in enough of them that the crust is part of every sip. The result is a tasty, substantial treat that I will definitely want to enjoy again. In fact, I will probably grab one to keep me fueled on my drive to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving.

I also tried their new Mushroom and Swiss TOASTER Sandwich. It’s a bargain at only $1.99 and quite filling. It wasn’t really photo worthy but I enjoyed it. I particularly appreciated the sauce they put on the mushrooms. It was not, however, a good substitute for the sandwich I had planned on enjoying when I arrived at the drive through. I was planning on enjoying a Bacon Cheeseburger TOASTER Sandwich, but my local Sonic has removed it from their menu. I was very disappointed. It still appears on the Sonic website as a menu offering, but I do not know if it is being served anywhere.

Sonic, 10515 Mission Gorge Rd, Santee, CA 92071

In October, Pumpkin Pancakes were back at IHOP! One of my favorite things about Fall is the way you can find pumpkin served in a wide variety if preparations. I tend to be a buttermilk pancake girl, but pumpkin pancakes get my attention every time.

I was a little surprised that IHOP only had two pumpkin pancake menu options: the Pumpkin Pancake Combo and the Pumpkin Pancake Plate. The combo was two pumpkin pancakes with 2 eggs, hash browns, and a choice of bacon or sausage. The plate was 4 Pumpkin Pancakes with whipped topping and cinnamon sugar.

The pancakes were moist and sweet without being overly sugary. They did just fine with whipped topping on top and nothing in between. I almost wished for some more whipped topping in between, but I think it might have been overkill. The cinnamon sugar was well balanced and didn’t overpower the whipped topping. The texture of the pancakes was also good. They were heavier than buttermilk pancakes but they weren’t too dense. I was definitely chewing on something instead if having them just melt away. I didn’t use any syrup this time and was happy without it. These pancakes were just good enough to make me wish they were here all year.

I think the reason there were only 2 pumpkin pancake offerings is that IHOP was also running an All-You-Can-Eat Pancake special that lasted through Halloween.  Sadly, when I wrote this post on October 29, I thought I was going to be heralding the beginning of pumpkin pancake season and not writing its post mortem. I’m going to have to see if any other restaurants are offering them for a more reasonable time frame, like say, through Thanksgiving. IHOP has already moved on to Holiday Hotcakes in four different flavors. I’m not interested in anything like that before Thanksgiving.

In the meantime, maybe I should try making some pumpkin pancakes at home. Although IHOP doesn’t share their recipe, they did share some tips about making them at home.

IHOP, 9708 Mission Gorge Rd, Santee, CA 92071.

I always look forward to what I consider to be my first real taste of Fall. It usually involves pumpkin in some or another form. This year, it was Pumpkin Cheesecake at Lestat’s Coffee House. It may not look like much in the picture above, but this was a delightful treat and a very nice cap for my day.

This personal sized cheesecake was absolutely delicious. I ate it plain, without any added whipped cream or sauce. It was a few inches thick, with a paper border around the edge and a graham cracker crust underneath. I must confess that I ate the whole thing myself, but I think it could also be comfortably shared between two people.

The cheesecake was moist and a nice balance between fluffy and dense. It had just the right amount of sweetness and the pumpkin flavor did not overwhelm the cheesecake flavor. It was rich but not heavy and didn’t leave me feeling miserable even though I was saying, “I can’t believe I ate the WHOLE thing.” The graham cracker crust was a little crumbly and did not hold together well once the fork hit it. It was also hard to get the graham cracker crust to hold together while trying to dig the cheesecake out of its paper ring.

Lestat’s is now serving Diedrich Coffee. I had a Double White Espresso Mocha to accompany my cheesecake. It was good, but I still far prefer a Ghirardelli White Mocha.

Lestat’s is a great place to relax, chat with friends, read, study, or enjoy live entertainment. If you haven’t been in there, I highly recommend it. I have enjoyed every visit at all hours of the day. Lestat’s is open 24 hours a day and different times of day have a different but always diverse clientele. The cheesecake, mocha, and a specialty soda to go was about $10.00.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Avenue, San Diego, CA 92116. (619) 282-0437.

For my daughter’s Halloween potluck, I wanted to bring a treat that would be healthy, tasty, toddler friendly, and thematically appropriate. So I trolled the Internet looking for ideas. Almost everything I found was sugary and full of empty calories. Then I found an article by Kimberly Bilger MPH, RD, LD, Pediatric Dietitian at Marni Paul Specialty Care Center, Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas. Stick-y Spiders was an obvious recipe choice for me because it combines several ingredients my daughter loves: peanut butter, crackers, pretzel sticks, and raisins. Her recipe actually calls for the addition of Halloween sprinkles, but I am not a sprinkle fan, so I omitted them. Also, at the last minute, I found out that one of the children attending the party has a peanut allergy. I decided to substitute SunButter Natural for the peanut butter to ensure a more relaxing day for all.

Stick-y Spiders were really easy and fun to make. It took a little trial and error to get the sunbutter amount right, but it didn’t take long and I enjoyed both the process and the results. The first step is to apply SunButter to the top of one of the crackers. I chose Breton Original crackers because they seemed to be the right size for use with the pretzel sticks. Luckily, they were also baked in a peanut-free facility. You want the layer of sunbutter to be thick enough to hold the pretzel sticks in and the top cracker on, but not so think that it tries to leak out the sides. I experimented with applying the pretzel stick legs and then adding a bit more SunButter on top of them, but that resulted in SunButter leakage. Instead, I recommend applying the top cracker BEFORE you add the pretzel stick legs.

To add the legs, hold the cracker sandwich by the edges, being careful not to press the crackers together too firmly. Stick a pretzel into the SunButter layer between the two crackers. At this point, the top cracker will tilt down on the opposite edge and stick more firmly to the bottom cracker. The best way to combat this is to stick the second leg into the opposing side of the cracker. That will stabilize the top cracker and level things out without allowing the SunButter layer to leak out the sides. Continue adding legs until you have a complete arachnid. Next, hold the spider by its front and rear edges. Apply more SunButter to the top of the spider. Select two raisins of roughly equal size and stick them onto the top of the cracker sandwich to serve as eyes.

Stick-y Spiders are not small. Each one takes up quite a bit of room and they require a bit of ingenuity to transport safely. You can not stack them on top of each other because of the exposed coating of SunButter. In the photo above, you can see that 5 Stick-y Spiders will fit in one layer in a Tupperware Round Cake Taker. I used the Pie Stackable to give me room for a second layer in the cake taker. This still only allowed me to transport 10 Stick-y Spiders. I used a vintage Round Container to take along 6 more spiders for a total of 16. I used about 4/5 of the jar of sunbutter to make the 16 spiders. The box of Breton crackers provides enough bodies for 26 spiders.

SunButter is remarkably like peanut butter and I found it to be a good substitute. The texture is almost the same. It is a little bit thinner/runnier than peanut butter. The aftertaste is of course different, but it is actually easy to forget that you are eating a peanut butter substitute. I am sure I will buy it again for my family to enjoy. I’ll also definitely be making more Stick-y Spiders before Halloween night’s driveway bonfire.