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This weekend I hosted a wine tasting at my house. The rules were simple: everyone brought a bottle of wine that could be purchased for under $20. The unofficial rule with my particular group of friends involves choosing wines with interesting labels. Serendipitously, the wines with the interesting labels turned out to be some of the most delicious and affordable wines--which was, of course, the goal. We ended up trying two white wines and five reds. Yes, we tried seven different wines. Then ended up talking late into the night while we polished off a wheel of brie. We've come a long way since the heady days of beer pong and bottles of Boone's Farm with giant straws sticking out of the top. The Whites The first white wine we tried was Apothic White . It is a blend of chardonnay, moscato, and riesling. For those of you not in the know, this is a fairly sweet blend. However, despite not being white wine drinkers, everyone at the table admitted to enjoying this wine. The tr

Sorry about the blur. Normally I don't go in for oddly flavored sodas. I love the colors and creative labels of the Jones soda empire, but in general, we are a Coca-Cola Classic household. But when I saw this Chai Cola at Sprouts Farmer's Market in Tulsa, I impulsively purchased it out of curiosity. It always starts out so great...  An initial taste of the chilled soda revealed a perfectly portioned chai flavor. It was spicy and sweet and aromatic in a way that a soda has no business being. This is fine in itself, but wasn't quite enough. What ultimately threw it off for me was the carbonation, and I found myself thinking, "This would be fantastic with ice cream." I think, ultimately, what I was still really craving was that creamy complement to the spicy chai that is found in chai lattes, and something to tone down the bite of the carbonation. See that foam? That's what I don't like. Yum! So I got out my trusty blender and some B

My husband and I love English muffins. This is a deep and abiding love. A love that borders on obsession. A lot of times, on days when I am not at home, my male counterpart will consume nearly an entire package of muffins. They are delicious. The sourness of the dough. The crunch of the toastiness. The way the little nooks and crannies catch whatever spread is placed upon it. They are frequently used to make homemade Egg McMuffins. In fact, I plan on devoting a post to those homemade Egg McMuffins quite soon. They are that good. But usually, the English muffins are topped with nothing but plain ol' butter. But there isn't anything plain about this butter. It's Land O'Lakes * Whipped Butter. Salted of course. To my mind, there is no point to butter unless it is salted. If you use unsalted butter, you are cheating yourself out of real butter flavor. Land O'Lakes understands this, and they provide glorious, whipped, salted butter in a convenient

The Mule, 1630 N. Blackwelder Suite 1, Oklahoma City, OK Visit their website for a full menu. They are open Tuesday-Saturday, 11:00am-10:00pm (the bar stays open until 2:00am on Friday and Saturday nights). When we were little, our mothers would throw two slices of Kraft singles between two slices of bread, with a little mayo and butter, and griddle it to perfection, usually serving it alongside a bowl of Campbell's classic tomato soup. Now that we are all grown up, we are discovering entire restaurants devoted to the craft of this beloved childhood classic, taking that simple sandwich and raising it up to epitomize trendy eating. I recently had the pleasure of eating at one such establishment: The Mule, in Oklahoma City's Plaza District. Fans of OKC's local food scene will no doubt be familiar with this restaurant already. I had been there once previously, immediately after it opened, but waited to give it a second chance before sharing my views with the worl

I am sure that most people who are interested in this film have already seen it and thus reached their own conclusions, but as I sit here listening to the soundtrack (the original London cast recording), having sung "I Dreamed a Dream" to my baby to put her to sleep for the last week and a half, I simply can't resist the call to review the latest film version of the musical, Les Miserables . First, a sidebar. For those of you who do not appreciate musical theater, there is a wonderful film of Les Mis that does not have singing. It stars Liam Neeson (Jean Valjean), Uma Therman (Fantine), Clare Danes (Cosette), Geoffery Rush (Javert), and Hans Matheson (Marius). It is a wonderful movie. It's only downfall, in my opininon, is that it does not include Eponine or Gavroche, who are two of my favorite characters. But watch it. Also, a caveat. I have love, love, loved this story since high school. I am a tiny smidgey bit obsessed with the French Revolution. I have a ma