Monday, June 29, 2009

An Afternoon of Wine Tasting and Shopping


HuzBen and I had the opportunity to attend a grilling seminar/wine tasting at Fleming's Steakhouse and Wine Bar in Chandler on Saturday. The event was a joint venture with Fleming's and Barbecues Galore.

After a few basic tips on the meats we would be grilling we all headed outside to the patio where Johnathan Pyant of Barbecues Galore showed off the Odeon, and its' CrossRay technology. The Odean has infrared burners built into the sidewalls rather than underneath, thus reducing flareups. It works with liquid propane or nature gas and it's a beauty.

When the steaks were finished we returned to the dining room and tasted the three cuts of beef (filet, NY Strip, ribeye) and the wines picked to accompany them. Bruce Duffy and Candy Taylor of Flemings's were on hand to answer any and all questions about the pairings. The food was tasty, the wine was delicious and we received quite an education. The best part - the cost was a mere TEN DOLLLARS each!

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we signed up for their class on marinades and rubs in July. (And we're planning on stopping in for happy hour next week!)

Fleming's is located in one of my favorite shopping plazas, Casa Paloma. Casa Paloma is a foodie's dream, with Sur La Table and AJ's Fine Foods just a few feet apart.

I couldn't resist. Sur La Table was having a Summer Sale. I finally purchased the Baker's Edge Brownie Pan I've been wanting, along with new placemats, napkins and a few goodies from the clearance rack I'll be blogging about in the future.