We B Smokin'

Terry has asked me many times to come out and cook with him, he says he will be glad to teach me a few things. I will make this happen soon. He has been on Food TV. He is now world famous.

I didn't know Terry was so famous 'til I read today's Miami County Republic newspaper. He just got voted into the top ten restaurants that people fly into to eat in the USA. They came from Florida to present this award.

He is one of the Top 10 fly in restaurants in the nation. WOW!!!!

Look at this web sight. http://www.100dollarhamburger.com/

Terry and I have been friends for 8 years, since he came to Paola and I fell in love with his bbq beans. The are to die for!!! I have had bbq beans many places, but never as good as these. You have to fly in or drive in to taste them.

It is a family affair. His wife Gloria, I think is the one really in charge. His Daughter Shannon is his best waitress. His mother in law keeps them all in check. There are more daughter in laws, sons, grandkids that are involved in the restaurant. I am not sure that the grandkids are old enough.... there ought to be laws about this! :-)

He does so many barbeque contests. He was one of the first graduates of the Johnson County Culinary program. I am only half way through.

We B Smokin http://www.websmokin.com/ Check it out, also the beans. The BEST BEANS !!!!

Casa Somerset , February 21st

The sheet rock is almost done. We will begin painting this week. The garage doors are going soon. Maybe the cabinets will be installed this coming week???

CASA SOMERSET!!!! is coming. I am soooooo excited.

I told Christine you should have married a sane man. I am crazy to get the project done. We both are so lucky to have the friends we do. This will be a place for our friends to come.

The picture with Christine is our pool room. It is on the 3rd floor and is next to the media room. Both sides are open so that you can see the 2nd floor as well. Christine has a pool table that we will relocate when she sells her house. If you know anyone who is looking for a great house in Overland Park, give one of us a call. :-)

The other picture shows the beams that are open from the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor. These will be distressed and will have an "Old World" look.

If anyone has an interest in coming to see the house, please come out next Sunday around 12 to 3 .

We will be painting next Saturday and Sunday. We will be inside and we do have heat now, the furnace is running. . We can use all that want to come. Bring some wine... and if you are good painters, bring your paint clothes!!!! This would speed Casa Somerset up greatly. Give one of us a call .

Casa Somerset is happening soon!!!!!!

Love

Christine and Mike

Mike, my husband, my friend

Every year when Valentine's Day comes around, the people that I work with start asking, "What will Mike do THIS year for your Valentine's Day surprise?" I always have to reply that I can't even imagine what he has up his sleeve. Ever since he sent the pink "Love Machine" to my work, I just try to take it all in stride and enjoy it!

This year, on Tuesday, I received a bag with fun items in it. One of them was an animated stuffed bear with a holographic readout that says "I love you" and several other things. People would walk by my office and see it and come in to play with it! On Wednesday, I received a beautiful bouquet of red and pink roses. It has lots of ferns and other flowers as accents. This came in a huge red heart-shaped vase. Along with that, I got some "just out of the oven" blueberry muffins for my department. They were wonderful! That day, when we were getting ready to go home, one of my associates said to me, "I am so glad WE married Mike!!!" :-) They all love him!

We went to dinner at Jasper's Wednesday evening ,he was the best man in our wedding.

I am so lucky to be married to my best friend.

Christine loves Mike

Why did I marry this woman????

The table was set so romantically ,

I knew I was in trouble then.

Chocolate and Red Wine....... lots of candles....

It was a hard week and I had to work Saturday till 5. Well, I stopped by the new house to see all that was done. There have been so many changes! It is really starting to look like a house!

We have drywall in most of the rooms. You can actually see what it will look like eventually!

I then headed to our house in Overland Park, where we live pretty much now. When I arrived, there is a glass of wine waiting for me. Then I saw the steaks on the counter, Christine had been very busy with our first Valentine's dinner as a married couple. Baked potato, asparagas, salad, steaks and rolls.

There was a bright red plate with a note that said "a Mountain of Macaroons for Mike". This is first time she made them for me. They are wonderful!!!

I peeked in the refrigerator and saw a whole plate of Chocolate. Then in my recliner was a basket of kitchen goodies for her favorite"housewares freak". We enjoyed a glass of wine and then started the steaks on the grill.

In the candlelit dining room we had our wonderful dinner. She had planned it so well. All of my favorite things in one evening. She is my Favorite!! My Friend and partner. The one I am enjoying my life with. Now I know why I married her. It was the Best Valentine's Day.

Mike Loves Christine

Where else would you take your Valentine??

This is where I took Christine for our Valentine's dinner, what a great evening. We had the Banfi representive, Bill Whiting there to present the wines, and Jasper to tell us about the delicious food he prepared.

Bill Whiting is the wine educator for villa Banfi wine. Bill is constantly traveling the world to educate restauranteurs and liquor store owners, as well as liquor salesmen about Banfi and their products. Bill constantly sends Jasper and Leonard post cards from around the world on his travels. Bill worked in Kansas City for three years learning our marketand developed a friendship with Jasper and Leonard.

We had a wonderful time last night. We had 5 courses, all paired with Banfi wines, mostly from South America. The first was the appetizer course. It was a Wisconsin Cheese Board with roasted peppers, artisan breads and olives. After that we had scampi alla Livornese. This was all paired with Palo Alto Sauvignon Blanc. It has a citrus, herb, and grapefruit nose and palate. I really enjoyed it, and I am not much of a white wine drinker.

The prima piatti was Lensi Rigatone Piccolo with pork ragu. Lensi is an artisan pasta, but more on that later. Just delicious. This was paired with Novas Carmenere/Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a Chilean organic wine that is hand harvested. The Carmenere grape is a lost variety of Bordeaux grown in the Valley Central. It is a full-bodied wine that goes will with pasta and red meats.

Next we had crispy sweetbreads with polenta and a balsamic reduction. This was a new experience for us. It was good! It was paired with Amado Sur, a predominently Malbec wine from Argentina. It is a deep red with peppery tones. Very rich and enjoyable.

The piatti del giorno was Tagliata "Trattoria Style" It was slices of delicious beef served over greens. This was paired with Casillero del Diablo Riserva Privada. Casillero del Diablo means "Cellar of the Devil". This wine, from Chile, was wonderful! It is a Concho y Toro wine that is great with grilled and roasted meats. It was a perfect pairing!

Last, but not least, we had the dessert course with "Death by Chocolate" and Nana Mirabile's cream puffs. The chosen wine for this was Rosa Regale from the Peimont region in Italy.l It is well suited to desserts. Bill said that it is the wine that seduced Cleopatra and Julius Caesar!!!!

Bill Whiting was so knowledgable about Banfi wine. He explained that Chile is unique in that it is surrounded by 4 natural barriers; the Atacama Desert, the Strait of Magellan, the Andes, and the Pacific Ocean, that keeps pests way from the grapes. He also told us that there are no grapes indiginous to South America. They were all brought in by Europeans.

We had such a great time last night! We were able to sit with our Slow Food friends and really enjoyed the wine and the food. Thanks for a great evening!

Mike and Christine

The Great Depression at Jasper's Tonight

Christine and I went to Jasper's tonight for our Valentine dinner. We looked at the crowd on a Wednesday night.

I listened to the news this morning and a expert said he did not believe in the stimulus package. He said let people start like Bill Gates working in a dorm room or Hobby lobby started in a garage, Dell in a basement ,this is what will get us out of this,don't have so many things stopping people from producing wealth, not as many rules. We are our own downfall. Turn America loose!!!!

It was a great meal and many more blogs will come from this one.

Amore

Mike

Casa Somerset , February

I worked out at Casa Somerset today. I was cleaning things up. We are getting very anxious and happy. Ready to move in. Got permisson from the county to sheet rock, we passed inspection.

It is amazing how many decisions there are to make on a house. Every day we have multiple things to decide which will be permanent in the house. People say that if a couple can build a house together and still be happy and in love, they can survive.

We will do it! Just think of the parties we will have with friends. The future to us looks like all of our dreams.

We are going to plant another 300 vines this year. I would never have thought of owning my own vineyard.

It was a beautiful day, picked up the leftovers of winter. Oh please let spring come, we have so much to do. We will never in our lifetime get it all done.

(Christine) I talked to my friend Carmel today who lives in Oklahoma. She and I have decided that we will spend many days together as we get old, sitting on the deck looking over the lake, with a glass of wine. It is so peaceful out at the house. I love listening to the birds and watching the small animals.

What do you think about the color of the house? We would love to hear from you.

Mike and Christine

Today at Casa Somerset

Christine was the first in our new master bathtub with a glass of vino. I followed, but it looked so much as it should be. The fireplace is on the second floor and it will have gas logs. We think we have found the mantles for both fireplaces.

We were just enjoying the day. It was fairly warm for February. Not the high 60s like yesterday, but still bearable in a house with no heat. We spent four hours picking up and cleaning. There is so much to do. We were thinking of what will be someday.

They started insulating the walls on Saturday. It should be done by Tuesday. The drywall will then start. I am getting excited. They say that getting the drywall installed really makes it feel like a house. We are ready!

We checked the vines today and they look dead as can be. We are ready for the spring so that the current vines will come back to life, and so that we can plant some more this year! If you are interested in helping, let us know. It is work, but it is really fun!

Mike and Christine

This could be your Valentine dinner

This is going to be Christine's and my Valentine dinner. We went with Jasper to Banfi's winery in Italy ,the largest in the world. What an event for this years Valentine.


Jasper's Ristorante Presents

WHERE IN THE
WORLD IS WALDO?

WHO CARES?
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS BILL?
THAT IS THE QUESTION!

BILL WHITING IS THE WINE EDUCATOR FOR VILLA BANFI WINE.
BILL IS CONSTANTLY TRAVELING THE WOLD TO EDUCATE
RESTAURANTEURS AND LIQOR STORE OWNERS, AS WELL AS
LIQUOR SALESMAN ABOUT BANFI THEIR PRODUCTS. BILL CONSTANTLY
SENDS JASPER AND LEONARD POST CARDS FROM AROUND THE
WORLD ON HIS TRAVELS. BILL WORKED IN KANSAS CITY FOR THREE
YEARS LEARNING OUR MARKET AND DEVELOPED A FRIENDSHIP
WITH LEONARD AND JASPER AT JASPER’S.

FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT, JASPER’S WILL BE HOSTING
A WINE EVENT WITH BILL ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2009.

JASPER WILL PREPARE DIFFERENT DISHES TO COMPLEMENT
THE WINES THAT BILL WILL BRING WITH HIM FROM AROUND THE
WORLD. BILL WILL HAVE WINES FROM HIS FAMILY’S WINERIES
IN ARGENTINA, CHILE AND ITLAY. THE PRICE OF THIS EVENT WILL
BE ONLY 40.00. plus tax and gratuity ALL OF THE WINES WILL ALSO BE
AVAILABLE FOR SALE, DURING THE EVENT, SO THAT GUESTS
MAY BRING THE WINE HOME WITH THEM. PLEASE JOIN JASPER
& LEONARD IN WELCOMING BILL BACK TO KANSAS CITY.

February 11, 2009 6:30 PM

Jasper's Ristorante
1201 W. 103rd. St.
Kansas City, MO 64114
816.941.6600
www.jasperskc.com
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Jasper's Ristorante Banfi Wine Event Feb. 11, 2009

Name_____________________________________________
# of Guests____ Phone #________________________
Credit Card #_---_____________________________Exp___

The best dancer and cook in Colombia

Soledad Henao, My daughter in law's Grandmother. My son told me about her before I left for South America. He told me about her non -stop energy. Her enthusiasm for life, her involvement with her family, and how she could cook. He did not tell it enough, I had to witness it for myself. She is now 84 years old. Hasn't slowed a step.

We took to each other as soon as we met. As soon as she arrived she took over the kitchen, the maids just had to get out of the way the food was on the way.

I went to the market the day of the pre wedding party, I was collecting fresh produce to make a risotto for the party. So many rices to choose from . I will write later of the market.

When I got back to the house , she was already in the kitchen. She welcomed me in, but I knew there were limits. This was going to be challenge. She was in a whirlwind movement, her instructions were flying everywhere. I looked through the refrigerator for ingredients. I asked many questions, but me not speaking Spanish and her not speaking English made a pair in the kitchen.

I started my sauce that I was going to add fresh sausage purchased at the market, the stove was limited, but I pushed forward. When that was well on the way, I then set up my pans to make risotto. You have to have a pan for stock to dip in slowly a ladle at a time. I was using the copper pan for the first time that my daughter in law had helped me purchase that day. It is still my favorite pan. I put my onions and garlic in to saute with butter and oil, then the rice to coat it. I then started adding the hot stock one ladle at a time. This was working, when Grandmother thought the pans should be in different order, while I was still dipping stock. I was obviously in her way! I knew the guests were going to arrive any time. The risotto has to be served when it is ready, it does not wait well. Hurry was the word!!! I still was going to make a bananas foster, which in Colombia no one had tasted.

Soledad was still the ruler of the house and kitchen. She ran everywhere. The guests arrived and all was well, they came to the kichen to taste the food and visit with Grandmother. She talk to all of them. The dinner ended and she was still center stage. Soledad and I danced that evening and at the wedding. She wore me out, I could not keep up with her. She was everywhere for the eight wonderful days I spent there. She lives life like it should be....as God would want you to. She is all about family and friends. Beatriz and all love their Grandmother. Me too!!! My best dancing partner. I have to thank her for sharing all of her advice.

Love to all of my South American friends.

Mike