Ruth Kalinka Designs

Happy Thanksgiving! I am grateful for so many things this year, including a growing number of supporters appreciating my culinary creations and instruction.

Today, I surprised myself with the best vegetable dip I’ve made so far. It’s a huge improvement over my first attempt to use yogurt as a dip base many years ago – a watery, tangy concoction that caused my uncles to tease me mercilessly for many family gatherings thereafter. (We all have to start somewhere!)

Mediterranean Vegetable Dip

Ingredients: Greek yogurt (Trader Joe’s 2%, 1.5 cup), olive oil (1 tsp), garlic (3 cloves), olives (6 Kalamata), sundried tomatoes (1 tsp), home grown herbs, spices (together about 2 tsp – basil, sage, oregano, rosemary, thyme, lemon verbena, white pepper, smoked Spanish paprika, cumin)

1. Cut garlic, olives, and sundried tomatoes into small pieces.
2. Sweat (avoid roasting/burning) garlic, olives, and sundried tomatoes in olive oil.
3. Mash mixture with a soft spatula as ingredients soften.
4. Powder herbs, pepper, and paprika in mortar and pestle.
5. Add herb mixture to pan with heat on low briefly to warm and release flavors while blending into paste.
6. Turn off heat.
7. Add yogurt briefly to pan to blend ingredients.
8. Pour mixture into a bowl to mix more thoroughly with remaining cold yogurt.
9. Refrigerate for an hour or more to allow flavors to blend.

Thanks to Stonyfield for posting recipes to inspire this improvisation and to my friends for encouraging me to share my recipes!

What are you creating this Thanksgiving?

Prioritizing sometimes means saying “no” to things you REALLY want to do in the long term but do not belong in your schedule in the short term.

I’m very passionate about the topic and co-speaker I planned, but I have decided not to submit a panel for SXSW 2013. This has raised many mixed feelings, but ultimately I feel fantastic about making the decision to focus my time and energy on other priorities. In the meantime, I’ve begun preparing my SXSW 2014 panel submission!

Are you submitting a panel? Let me know when I can vote for yours!

Saturday evening, I attended the Philadelphia Wine Festival 2012, my first big wine event. Prepared with several years of wine study and tips from the wine specialist who runs my weekly tastings, I was ready. Still, as I entered the room of nearly 200 wineries, half a dozen restaurants, and bright lights reflecting from sparkly glassware and bottles, I was dazed.

Taking a moment to compose myself, I made my way to a beguiling Italian Rosé twinkling under the lights (Lunae Mea Rosa Golfo dei Poeti IGT 2011 by Lunae Bosoni Winery). Ignoring, for a moment, professional wine taster rule #1 (always spit and dump), I walked with my rosé while getting my bearings.

Having quickly given up on juggling the floor plan, wine glass, and tasting notebook, I had no idea how the wineries were organized and just made my way toward a few familiar French names. Serendipitously, I’d placed myself in the heart of Old World wines and a very enjoyable evening studying the classics.

In under three minutes, I was meeting new people and enjoying friendly conversation. It was easy once I got started. Afterall, most of the wine people I know are passionate about learning and sharing. I especially enjoyed my conversations with vendors who were enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and unpretentious.

Bob Trimble, The Wine Guy, represented Louis Latour and introduced me to my first Grand Cru in a vertical tasting of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Barbara Eden of Luxe Vintages sampled a variety of artisanal wines that can be found at Garces Trading Company, including an aromatic Sancerre that would be perfect with soft shell crab.

Gail Nyvelt of the Wine Merchant provided my first taste of a wine recommended years ago, E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2006.

Not only did the representatives share wonderful wines, but they also offered insight into opportunities for me as a designer, social media consultant, and brand representative in the wine world.

Bob Trimble, The Wine Guy representing Louis Latour at Philadelphia Wine Festival 2012. Photo by PAWineSpirits

Overall, it was an excellent first wine festival. I enjoyed some of the best wine I’ve ever tasted, expanded my palate, met passionate wine people, and made professional connections. I didn’t taste the food (there was a whole dessert lounge!) or as many wines as I will next time, but I met new people and took my wine education to a new level, which is exactly why I was there.

Did you attend the festival? What wines do you recommend?

Luxe Vintages imports sampled at Philadelphia Wine Festival 2012. I liked them all, but I was particularly smitten with the Sancerre. What a gorgeous nose!