GRAB YOUR BFFS – LET’S WINE DOWN AND CHILL
This article was originally published on May 10, 2019 at https://gritdaily.com/grab-your-bffs-lets-wine-down-and-chill/
Are you a wine snob?
Fahgettaboudit! Since you’re still reading, that tells me that you are ready to wine down and chill. And, that you’re not a wine snob!
Each Friday, we meet here for our wine-food-movie pairing on “Wine Down and Chill”. This column is all about making it easy. Easy to afford wines, dinners-at-home that are easy to whip up and a movie suggestion made for you so you don’t have to squander away precious time flipping around trying to find something decent to watch. We’re here to help you sit back, wine down and chill.
We launched this column three months ago. Happy three-aversary! It’s fitting that our first column was about Prosecco and here we are again, back to the bubbles. In order to “max the dash”, you need to celebrate whatever moments you can.
GET YOUR BUBBLES ON
I don’t know about you and how you roll when you’re with your besties: note the correct usage of “you’re” and “your” in the same sentence, it drives me mental when people get that wrong. But, when I get together with my BFFs, alcohol is usually involved. Less of it than in years past but we all seem to imbibe a little extra when we get together. And we all love bubbles. That said, it made sense to pick up the 1.5 L magnum, that’s right, the BIG bottle, of La Vostra Prosecco. For $20 at Total Wine, you will have some to share.
Like most bubbly white wines from the Veneto region of Italy, this Prosecco offers light notes of apples, peach, and honeysuckle. Given the surge in popularity for Prosecco, Veneto has now eclipsed all other areas in Italy to stand as the top wine producing region in the country. The appellation along the coast of Austria brings a crispness and acidity to the wines, making them dryer and not so fruit-forward.
SIZE DOES MATTER
In a go-big-or-go-home kind of way, sometimes two bottles are better than one. Or, at least in the case of this La Vostra Prosecco, upsize your purchase to the 1.5L version. The bubbly goes down too smoothly, too quickly. You will definitely need a little extra to wine down and chill through the whole movie. If you were curious, here are some the original and not-so-original names for wine down and chill bottle sizes:
1 Glass = Piccolo (aka Split, aka not enough) is 187 mL
2 Glasses = Demi (aka Half) 375 mL
4 Glasses = Standard (aka Bottle) 750 mL
8 Glasses = Magnum 1.5 L
16 Glasses = Double Magnum 3.0 L
24 Glasses = Jeroboam 4.5 L
32 Glasses = Imperial (aka Methuselah) 6.0 L
48 Glasses = Salmanazar (aka Case of Wine) 9.0 L
A LITTLE BIT OF THIS AND THAT
Again, reflecting on friendships that have spanned more decades together than they have apart from each other, the theme of what to eat had to be about nourishment. Like soul-level nourishment. And it had to reflect a bit of this and that, accounting for our various backgrounds, perspectives, and the things that we do.
So, of course, a jambalaya made the most sense. With the good times of NoLa and the southern hospitality, the area is known for baked in, this seemed like the right choice. Of course, sans seafood, because we don’t want a repeat of that allergy attack, do we girls?! But the wine down and chill part? Indeed, bring it on!
FIVE INGREDIENTS AND FIVE STEPS
One, Zatarain’s jambalaya spicy rice mix. Make two boxes – you’re having friends over tonight!
Two, an extra large can of Goya red kidney beans, juice and all.
Three, here, you can get creative with your protein. Use spicy Italian sausage, Hillshire Farm’s turkey kielbasa or a can of Goya black beans, juice and all. Or you could go seafood style and add crab, shrimp, oysters and everything else.
Four, fry up some onions and garlic.
Five, add a can of Hunt’s stewed tomatoes.
Throw it all into a bowl, drizzle a little olive oil and prepare to wine down and chill.
GIRLS’ NIGHT IN
Could there be a more perfect movie than Wine Country, set to debut tonight on Netflix? Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph and a large cast of other hilarious women take on Napa Valley. Over the years, they’ve seen it and done it all and their friendships have stood the test of time. And then, after a little too much wine, they start to sound off. Will their friendships survive?
Another thing that I like about this movie is the Wine Country leading ladies are not oenophiles in real life. Check out their hilarious wine-tasting video. They just like to have a few drinks, wine down and chill with their besties. Plus, actress Paula Pell couldn’t make it to their wine-tasting promo so she paid her castmates a virtual visit. That sounds like my kinda peeps that would totally blend into our girl group. If you can’t get together to watch it with your besties for a girls’ night in, phone it in! Tonight, I’ll be video conferencing in my girls to do a virtual happy hour and movie night.
Cheers!