Food Thread: Pop! Goes The Bottle...Happy New Year!

Champagne is the traditional celebratory drink, and its place as the preferred New Year's Eve bottle is cemented in our culture.

But...there is a lot of crap champagne out there that isn't much fun to drink! Too sweet...to acidic...too bubbly...not bubbly enough. And when I say champagne I mean the real stuff from France and the sometimes excellent copies from around the world. Just because it isn't real Champagne doesn't mean it isn't going to be good, and real Champagne is no guarantee of quality.

But the really important part is whether you even enjoy a carbonated drink! There are lots of people who don't, and that is fine, because the only important calculation when choosing something to drink is; "Do I like it?"

Like Bourbon and Scotch and fine wines, there is a lot of hype surrounding champagne, and those $500 bottles are mostly advertising and scarcity. Sure, there are great bottles out there, and I have had a few bottles of vintage, aged Champagne that were pretty damned delicious.

So if you are looking for a celebratory bottle but don't have much experience, then a bottle from one of the several good American producers is a good bet, and they are a fraction of the cost of the French stuff. There's even one from New Mexico (Gruet) that isn't bad for the price. The Italians make Prosecco, which is a lower end sparkling wine, but it can be loads of fun and delicious. And the French make sparkling wines that are not from Champagne but are still delicious, and reasonably priced, so you can go that route as well.

Regardless...it's just bottle of fermented grape juice; it doesn't have mystical properties that will make your date into Claudia Schiffer or Chris Hemsworth!

I hope all of you have a happy and healthy New Year!

Beef Wellington is a great dish, and a pain in the ass to make. It takes a long time and there are lots of steps, but if you like beef and mushrooms and puff pastry, it's hard to beat as a festive dish.

Here is Tyler Florence's version, which is classic and actually not insanely complicated. I like most of his recipes, and I think that he and Ina Garten are probably the two best chefs on the Food Network when it comes to accessibility and just overall quality.

The Ultimate Beef Wellington

If you make it, please send along a photo!

Taylor Ham...Pork Roll...either one is fine, and which one you use simply locates you geographically in New Jersey.

I don't have much use for the stuff in my kitchen, but there is something to be said for a Taylor Ham, Egg And Cheese sandwich on a bagel or a round roll after a long night...

Go ahead...guess the state. You get one chance.

Of course it is California. And the sad thing is that the drink sounded good until I reached the last ingredient. How f*cking stupid is ruining a good idea for a cocktail with a monumentally dumb idea that caters to...um...idiots.

And don't think that the rest of you are off the hook with maple syrup and French Toast: so why don't you put maple syrup on your steaks and chops and chicken?

But the real culprits are those poor deluded souls who shake their Manhattans

And yes, I used to demand fancy bourbon, but let's face it, $1,200 for a bottle of bourbon is just stupid, insulting, and a ghastly affront to most people's palates and wallets. I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.

posted by CBD at 04:00 PM

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