Alice White... a lovely cheaper bottled wine

As a follow up to my box wine blog, I wanted to share my discovery of Alice White wine.  Although, it has been distributed since 1996, I have only recently noticed it in my area.  It is not a box wine, but a very affordable bottled wine.  On average, Alice White goes for $4-$5 per bottle and it tastes great!  From South Eastern Australia, her Riesling, Chardonnay, Lexia, Shiraz, and Pinot Noir have all been fabulous.  I only have two other varieties to sample and I have not been disappointed yet.  Alice White can easily be found in your local grocery store or specialty liquor store.  At such a bargain, it is a lovely wine you can drink every night of the week.  Go out and try a bottle... I promise you'll be pleasantly surprised.  As her website says, "...kick back, relax and have a glass with Alice..."

Is box wine the new trend?

I've noticed recently that many more box wines are available at my local grocery store.  I never thought much about the idea.  It always seemed cheap and tacky.  But let me tell you something... if you buy the right brand, you won't be disappointed.  Due to a much tighter wallet, I have experimented lately with several different brands of boxed wine.  Some have been so so and others fairly bad.  But every once in awhile I'll find a box that tastes just as good as from a bottle.  If you're like me and you're the only one in your household to drink wine, it's a real plus to find a great tasting wine that will last more than a few days.  I hate it when I open a bottle of wine and either have to commit to drinking a couple glasses with dinner for the next few nights.  Or end up pouring several dollars worth of my favorite wine down the drain because it became too oxidized.  That's where the box wine becomes a real hero!  Finally I can drink a glass of wine and have another glass later in the week... and another the following week.  Therefore stretching my budget and my enjoyment of the particular wine.  I have many more varieties to try.  But before I declare my favorite, I challenge you to pick up a box of your own and put the box wine cliche behind you.

Substitute ingredients for more affordable recipes

I just watched a great segment on Fox 10 News this morning on how to substitute expensive recipe ingredients for more affordable ones.  I've used substitutions in the past, but simply because I didn't have the ingredient on hand.  So it is wonderful to look at substitutions as a way to save some cash too.  Often I have had to make a special trip to the store for a particular item such as mascarpone cheese, buttermilk, creme fraiche or the like.  Now I know how to use cheaper, more accessible ingredients that I probably already have in my kitchen.  For example, instead of buying expensive mascarpone cheese, I can mix some heavy cream into cream cheese and the recipe will taste the same.  Mixing a little lemon juice into whole milk is a great substitute for buttermilk and some sour cream and heavy cream is a perfect replacement for the hard-to-find creme fraiche.  Check out some more great substitutes on the segment here: http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/azam/girls_club_031109

I'd love to hear your ideas on how to replace expensive ingredients with cheaper versions.  Happy cooking!

Bye Bye Restaurants... hello home cooking

Gone are the days when we would frequent restaurants several times a week.  Now we struggle to make the groceries last until payday.  My husband and I have even begun to plan our meals so we only buy the food we need... and items that can be turned into a meal.  This, in addition, to clipping coupons and searching for good deals, is the way we're getting by.  I'll tell you one thing, though... my culinary flare is really starting to burn.  I now find it a challenge to modify complex recipes I find online to suit our needs.  For example, if we have chicken to use and I know we have certain spices, I start brainstorming creative ways to use these same ingredients to make new and inspired dishes.  I recently came across an amazing recipe for BBQ sauce.  Now I'm not the type to dip hardly anything in BBQ sauce and I never order ribs in a restaurant, but one day I splurged and bought a rack at the grocery store.  Much to my surprise, they were the best ribs I had ever tasted.  And my husband even agreed they were fall-off-the-bone tender and delicious.  Since then, I have adapted the same sauce to use with cheaper cuts of meat, including chicken.  It has been an easy, affordable way to experience new dishes in a way that fits our budget.  I can't wait to discover the next thing to give a boost to our budget-friendly meals.  I'd love to hear how you and your family are making ends meet and keeping your culinary experiences interesting in these difficult economic times.

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