Pinot Evil

Pinot Evil

Pinot Evil: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
Pinot Evil: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

This Pinot Noir at a cost of $5.99 is a great Chile wine.

5/5 stars on the Linda Scale

The following notes are short and tend to be quickly taken after a quick sampling in the evening.

Pinot Evil is a great deal at the cost.  The bottle is clever which is often a bad sign, but this wine won me over.

It has a very delightful smell with hints of cherry.  Overall is was a great wine for drinking.  My notes to do gush over this wine, but for the price it is hard to pass on.

This is probably ok to serve at dinner, but more appropriate for a night of drinking than a fine dinner.

Pulled Pork

Pulled pork for sandwiches made in a Crock Pot.

Gather the following ingredients:

Pork shoulder or tenderloin
Rub – Find one you like or combine chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, and red pepper
Apple Cider Vinegar
BBQ sauce

Crock Pot

Buns

Optional topping:
Coleslaw

Cover the pork with the rub liberally. Place the pork into the crock pot, fat side down.

Pour 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar onto the bottom of the Crock Pot.
– Dot not pour over the meat.

Cook for 6-7 hours on low.

Pulled Pork with BBQ sauce, just stir.
Pulled Pork with BBQ sauce, just stir.

When the pork is able to be pulled apart with two forks remove it from the Crock Pot. Dump out the vinegar. Replace the pork and shred the meat.

Cover with your favorite BBQ sauce, stir, and cook for another hour.
– Sweet BBQ sauces can burn, and become bitter, if cooked too long in the Crock Pot which is why you wait until the end to add it.

Place the pulled pork between 2 buns and eat.

Add coleslaw on top of the pulled pork if desired.

Sterling Vintner’s Collection

Sterling Vintner’s Collection – Pinot Noir

Sterling Vintner's Collection Pinot Noir 2012
Sterling Vintner’s Collection Pinot Noir 2012

This 2012 Pinot Noir at a cost of $12.99 was extremely good.

5/5 stars on the Linda Scale

The following notes are short and tend to be quickly taken after a quick sampling in the evening.

Sterling Vintner’s Collection is one of the best wines I think I have tried.  The reason I say this is as I look through my notes on this wine I clearly enjoyed it more and more throughout the night.  I returned to my notepad several times to indicate I thoroughly enjoyed this wine.

My initial comments indicate Sterling Vintner’s Collection has a very pleasant smell.  Upon tasting the wine I note it tastes delightful and not bitter.

The following notes are word for word out of my journal:  Seriously a great wine.  One of the best wines I have had in a long time.  Seriously good.

I would not hesitate to serve this wine to guests.

Coleslaw

A simple salad, coleslaw.

Gather the following ingredients:

Cabbage
Carrots
Miracle Whip
Apple Cider Vinegar
Sugar

Miracle Whip, sugar, vinegar, cabbage, and carrots
Miracle Whip, sugar, vinegar, cabbage, and carrots

Slice or chop the cabbage and carrots in a vegetable slicer.
– I don’t have one either. I chop the cabbage with a knife, bigger ones work best. I slice the carrot with a potato peeler.

Add Miracle Whip to cover the cabbage and carrots. Mix in 1 tbls. vinegar and 1 tbls. sugar to 1 cup of Miracle Whip.
– In my experience increasing the vinegar and sugar when increasing the Miracle Whip is not always a good idea. Especially the vinegar.
– It can take a surprisingly large amount of Miracle Whip to cover the salad depending on how covered you like the vegetables.

Stir and you are finished. Put in the fridge to chill.

Serve as a simple side dish or add to the top of a sandwich.

Hackers, DVD

Hackers, 1995

This is a bit of a throwback at this point, but at the time Hackers was a very fun and exciting movie.  A bit of a fight the system movie.  A young man is banned from using a computer until his 18th birthday because one of his previous hacks crashed the stock exchange by 7 points.  Back online he meets new friends to compete on more and more high end hacks.  They stumble upon a computer virus designed to steal and cause chaos and only they can help their friends from going down for the virus.

This film has excitement and is very fast pace.  This film is the embodiment of all true hackers, the good ones, not the lame ones.

4/5 for this one.  I highly suggest watching it if you come across it.  Just keep in mind it is from the ’90s.

For more information go to IMDB.

Hackers sketch
Hackers sketch

Gone in 60 Seconds, DVD

Gone in 60 Seconds, 2000

Eleanor, oh Eleanor, do you come in orange?

This film is great!  It has action, hot cars, excitement, and feeling.  Nicolas Cage plays Randall a legendary car booster that comes out of retirement to save his brother.  Angelina Jolie plays the love interest, but she is secondary to these beautiful, fast cars.

The excitement is multiplied by the deadline:  50 cars in 3 days, with a 1 night boost, impossible, or is it.

Yes, watch this movie.

5/5 for a great story, a believable love story, a ton of gorgeous cars, a great cast, a reason to care, and a great ending.

To find out more go to IMDB.

Gone in 60 Seconds sketch
Gone in 60 Seconds sketch

The Invisible, DVD

The Invisible, 2007

A young man, Nick Powell, is beaten and left for dead.  He is left in a limbo and only Annie can hear him.  We watch these two try to solve his murder and possibly save his life.

It is a strange premise.  It also it a lie.  The invisible is about a kid who is invisible in life and in near death.  You know you should care about him, but what about him is worth missing?  Is he alive or is he dead, who cares?  And Anne, sigh, oh Anne, wow, not sure what to say about her.

This is well filmed, but dull.  The premise is kind of interesting.  There is nothing good about this film, but at the same time nothing all that bad.  I just really wish it made me care more.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch this, but it makes pretty good background noise.

I would give this a simple 3/5.

To find out more go to IMDB.

The Invisible sketch
The Invisible sketch

Dr. Heidemanns-Bergweiler

Dr. Heidemanns-Bergweiler

Dr. Heidemanns-Bergweiler 2013 Riesling
Dr. Heidemanns-Bergweiler 2013 Riesling

This 2013 Riesling at a cost of $9.99 was very good.

4/5 stars on the Linda Scale

The following notes are short and tend to be quickly taken after a quick sampling in the evening.

Overall Dr. Heidemanns-Bergweiler is a very good Riesling.  It has nice apple tones to it.  The taste is quite rich.  It smells good, very pleasant.

This is an easy wine to drink.  I would be willing to serve this to guests.

Alfie, DVD

Alfie, 2005

Jude Law plays Alfie an English man living in America and loving as many women as possible.  It is all about relationships and recklessness.

This movie is utterly disappointing every time I watch it.  A movie about a man and his multiple relationships and nothing about it is remotely sexy.   The climax comes late in the end and falls a bit short, just like the rest of the film.

If you like Jude  Law I guess check it out.  If you want a great film you can skip this one.

3.5/5 and the extra .5 is only because of the cast.  The story leaves a lot to be desired, like emotion.

If you are interested check out more on this film at IMDB.

Alfie sketch
Alfie sketch

Spaghetti Casserole

Spaghetti Casserole – almost like mom’s

Whenever I made mom’s spaghetti casserole it just did not get the praise that hers does, so I made a few modifications.

Gather the following ingredients:

New York Strip – 3/4 lb. or more
2 tbsp. Olive Oil
Spaghetti
Marinara Sauce
Can of Artichoke Hearts
Shredded Mozzarella 2 cups

Large frying pan
Large pot
Large glass pan

Slice the New York Strip into 1/2 inch cubes. Heat the Olive Oil in the frying pan. Sear the outside of the steak to seal in the flavor, maybe 5 minutes on medium heat.

– The meat should not be cooked through. It will finish cooking in the oven.

Fill the large pot with water and heat on medium high until it boils. Take a large handful of spaghetti and break it over the sink. Add to the pot and cook as directed.
– I bite one of the noodles to check to see if it is done. It should be the same color all the way through and not taste pasty.

Drain the spaghetti and add the cooked noodles to the bottom of the glass pan.
Pour 1/3 of the marinara sauce over the noodles and stir. You just want to color the noodles slightly.

Marinara sauce over steak, artichoke hearts and spaghetti.
Marinara sauce over steak, artichoke hearts and spaghetti.

Drain the artichoke hearts and pour them over the noodles evenly.

Spread the cubes of steak over the top of the noodles evenly.

Cover all with the rest of the marinara sauce. Spread the sauce as evenly as possible.

Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook for 30 minutes. The cheese should melt and turn slightly golden.

I like to sprinkle garlic salt over the top before eating if I do not have garlic bread or French bread to eat with it. This dish is very good the next day.