Here we are Sunday night and quickly realizing that another weekend has bit the proverbial dust.  Albeit busy, it was a great weekend.  Friday night we attended the CASA Mardi Gras gala and had a wonderful time.  Saturday was mostly a lazy day – complete with an afternoon nap in preparation for heading north to Georgetown last night.  We had the pleasure of attending St. Helen Catholic School’s annual gala/fundraiser.  It too was a Mardi Gras theme – so the leftover beads from Friday night served us well when getting dressed for the evening.

If you’ve never been to a school or non-profit fundraiser – do so.  The passion and dedication to “the cause” is like nothing you’ve ever seen.  Last night we witnessed parents of kindergarten students in a fierce, but very friendly, bidding war for the class project – which so happened to be a cookbook with recipes written by these Top Chef wannabees.  As the auction took place, snippets were read aloud – didn’t know that something needed to be cooked at 800 degrees for 6 hours – can only imagine what it would taste like after being in the oven so long . . . hmmmmm.  Bottom line is that a terrific amount of funds were raised to support a wonderful educational institution – Hats off to all those who work hard to support what they believe so strongly in.

We must admit that in her youth, Daughter #1 had a similar project and documented how to make her favorite dinner – “Chicken Corn on Blue”.  Surprisingly, or maybe not so much if you knew her, the recipe was relatively similar to the Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe that Jean makes.   Having passed down the real recipe, Jean is proud that D#1 makes a wickedly good version – and has learned that one must use white wine for the cream sauce as red wine makes purple cream sauce which does not excite the eater.  Ironically, D#1 called this evening and mentioned in passing that she was making CCB for dinner tonight.

Well, since it was Sunday and we do live in Texas, and Jean, her sisters and Dad did a Texas Wine tour last weekend, we are going out on a limb (or perhaps a branch) and tasting Messina Hof’s 2010 “Paulo” Primotivo.  Now, we must admit – we are not big fans or endorsers of Texas wines.  Call us “wine snobs”, but historically we have not been overly impressed with the taste, and more so the price, of Texas wines.  As you may recall, we did blog recently about a new “find” for us – Saddlehorn Winery outside of Brenahm, in Burton.  But, again we’ve never liked most of the Texas fare.  So – while visiting the winery last weekend, Jean met Keith at the tasting counter.  Keith, to sum it up, was really good – he literally “made” Jean taste all the wines, and kept the best for last.  The “Paulo” wines are the vineyards premium wines and truth be told are much more impressive than the others.  Jean, with the help of sister Cathy, purchased three bottles and tonight arm twisted Brian into trying the first.

So, the verdict is in and “very tasty wine, great nose, full body, lots of fruit, and all the things you look for in a wine – except one thing . . . a little on the high side price wise”.  Bottom line, we liked it and look forward to posting about the other two.- we do however, caution our Texas vineyards into not overpricing themselves.  We’ve had many, many out of this world wines from other parts of the globe, including the U.S. that are lower in price and as good, if not better, in quality.  Does this mean we won’t ever purchase Texas wines – No, we will continue to expand our palate and look not just for “bargain” wines, but wines that are priced appropriately, and are available to a wider audience.

We encourage you to expand your wine world, and continue to share with us your “finds” – we do appreciate the suggestions – keep them coming . . . we still have 202 days to go with this “adventure” of ours.  We so appreciate the following that we have  – thanks for being along for the “ride”

As you wind down your weekend, remember to enjoy a glass of your favorite wine, or perhaps a new one, responsibly and recycle whenever possible.