A Rose by Any Other Name?

While I was laying awake last night thinking the sort of random thoughts that only seem to float around in your head when you should be sleeping, it hit me that my blog about wine is, thus far, almost as much about coffee and beer as it is about the main topic. Which got me to thinking--should I change the name of my blog? After all, anyone hoping to read about wine would have to skip the first few paragraphs entirely before they could get to the subject at hand. So then I tried to come up with other names, but the best I could do at that hour was "The Pour Blonde: Adventures in Wine (and Other Refreshing Beverages) on a Budget"...Which is a tad too lengthy and distracting even for my taste. Therefore, unless a brilliant alternative hits me one of these days (or in the middle of the night), I've decided to leave it the way it is for the time being. If anyone objects, please say "aye"......

Okay, now that we've got that business out of the way, I thought I would tell you about our latest coffee and beer trials. =) This morning, I drank Green Mountain Nantucket Blend from the variety pack that came with our Keurig. And I did make it to the grocery store yesterday, so I got to add half and half this morning--yay for no more black coffee! Anyway, this one is okay...Nothing special, but definitely not bad. Yesterday, I tried the Gloria Jeans Hazelnut in the morning and Van Houtte French Vanilla in the afternoon, and I really didn't care for either of those. Both of them were too bold & bitter for my taste, and had that almost burnt taste that I could definitely do without. Out of all the different coffees I've tried so far, I like the Coffee People Donut Shop Coffee the best. It's just a basic, unoffensive, well-rounded coffee that would probably to appeal to almost anyone. I bought some Belgian Chocolate Toffee and some kind of Almond Something-Or-Other creamer at Walmart this afternoon, so I'm excited to try them. I also ordered several different sample packs of various flavored coffees to try, and those should arrive by next Tuesday. I figured I better try them before ordering a whole box of any of them!

Now for the beer update. Dennis tried Shiner Black from his variety pack last night, and he ended up liking it! If that isn't a surprise, I don't know what is...I never dreamed he would like the darkest beer of the bunch, especially since he's such a Bud Light devotee. The only other dark beer I've tried was Guinness (I was using it in a recipe), and I hated it...It reminded me of beer mixed with coffee! This one was nothing like any other he or I have ever tasted, but in a good way. It didn't have an aftertaste, and it was a lot milder than the color suggests. Although he plans to let his buddies sample it before making a final conclusion about it, I think we may have found a winner!

As far as wine is concerned, I used almost all of the rest of the Arbor Mist Blackberry Merlot to cook a roast in that I put in the crock pot this morning before I left for work. I seasoned the roast with pepper, the Original Blend of Mrs. Dash, and garlic and onion powder, then I mixed a can each of beef broth and golden mushroom soup with a little of the wine. It all went into the crock pot, and eight hours later, it should be nice and tender...I hope! I didn't go from a recipe, so you can never tell how those things are going to turn out. Last night we had orange marmelade & brown sugar glazed ham (another recipe from the confines of my head), and I have to say it turned out pretty good. I've about decided that all you can do is put a little love and effort into everything you make, and it never turns out bad in the end. It's the stuff that you throw together in a hurry from a box or the freezer that doesn't come out so great...

Anyway, while I was at Walmart today (which is 30 miles away), I ended up buying three more bottles of wine...I just couldn't help myself! My mom asked me why I was buying more, and I told her I was collecting it. =) I was joking (sort of), but strangely enough, she didn't question me further! The total wine bottle count at my house is now nine, plus a bottle of sparkling chardonnay for our wedding toast. My wine rack only holds eight bottles, so it looks like I've got some serious sampling to do!

Which reminds me...My wine books and tasting journal were delivered today, so I'm excited to get home and look through them. Then I'll get down to business. ;)