cvwine.com Blog

Wow, for those of you who have been following the story of my adventurous travels up throughout the majestic Pacific Northwest lately, I have an absolutely amazing update that I had to rush directly back to the Pig Pen here at www.BaconFreak.com and post right away for all of you loyal Baconistas out there!

Those unbelievable stories that I told you I heard from some of the locals up throughout the region turned out to be true, there really is a BIG FOOT and according to our good friends over at www.Jerky.com, he is absolutely delicious.

Turns out that those mysterious SUV’s full of out of state poachers were actually the guys from Jerky.com, driving in from Texas to fill the quota of “Sasquatch” just in time for the Grand Release of their latest Jerky Product, and this one is going definitely going to be a real humdinger.

It’s simply called Sasquatch Jerky and it’s a bit pricy, so this will most likely be strictly a delightful little delicacy for those with a profound connoisseur’s palate and a fat wallet to match! The List Price is a reasonably steep $549.99 for an 8 oz. bag, but then this is a very rare and hard to procure product, made of only the finest, free-range, forest-fed Sasquatch available!

Right now, as a special introductory offer, the guys at jerky.com are offering their 8 oz. bag to Jerky enthusiasts for a paltry $ 499.99, which includes Free, Fast Shipping & Delivery!

It’s listed on their website as “Item JCB022.” Here’s what they have to say themselves about this exciting, first time offer. “The search is over! Its time to taste why Jerky.com brand Sasquatch Jerky is #1. Our hand-sliced strips of rare, 100% premium choice Sasquatch meat are seasoned and marinated with the finest of all-natural ingredients to create a savory flavor which will satisfy your taste buds every time.”

A couple of my buddies who had a chance to taste the jerky before it was officially released said that the best way to describe the taste is: “It tastes like chicken. A 9 ½ foot tall, 368 pound, furry chicken raised primarily small dogs, rodents, fish, kittens and slow campers!

Be sure not to hesitate and to order today as there most definitely is an extremely limited quantity available. Because when it’s gone, well … who really knows? I suppose it will be time to rev up those SUV’s boys! I’d love to tell you that we have some of it for you to try here at http://www.cvwine.com/shop/baconjerky.html but as this just got released today, it’s exclusively at www.Jerky.com

Made from 100% Sasquatch meat, low in calories, high in protein, with No added preservatives or MSG, it’s like eating a little bit of America History! Enjoy!

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Visit our Bacon Jerky Page by clicking here

If you live in a place like Southern California as I do, you are very familiar with Ceasar Chavez. He is a well known and respected civil rights activist who co founded the United Farm Workers which is a labor union that protected many workers and gave them rights not seen under the law before.

The truth of the matter is that Cesar was vegan and didn’t eat meat but he still provided protection for the farmers that raised hogs for great bacon!

Cesar in celebration of your birthday today, I will be sprinkling some all natural Boss Hog Bacon Seasoning on my veggies for lunch today!

For those of you who just aren’t vegan, but want to celebrate may we suggest you try our Coastal Caliente Bacon which was influenced by our Latin culture here in Southern California! Its muy Caliente!

Thank you for your contribution to our workforce!

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Visit our Bacon Club by clicking here

As many of you fellow “Baconistas” know, I’ve had the awesome opportunities to do some extensive traveling all throughout the Pacific Northwest this year on some very official www.baconFreak.com “Bacon Business!” While there I got a chance to meet some really cool people and visit with some old friends.

I especially spent a lot of time visiting the tourist sites and hanging out with various “Bacon Buddies” seemingly strewn randomly between Portland and Seattle. This year a lot was going on in Washington, so I had a chance to hang out with my writer buddy Larry and do everything from fishing the Lewis River winding down from placid Lake Merwin to hiking through the wild and wondrous wilderness trails leading right up to foot of restless Mount St. Helens.

Larry’s a good guy; sharp as a tack and we’ve been friends for years, as he used to live down in SoCal before escaping up to his magical mountain manor. Being a professional writer, he’s got quite a creative mind and being a “people person” he spends a lot of his off time hanging on with the locals.

So I wasn’t all that surprised to discover that he’s already gotten pretty well, completely “De-Californicated” and I think maybe his vivid imagination has been spending a little bit too much time alone up on those mountain peaks and forging through the forests, because he and a few other friends of mine had some strange tales to tell.

You see, the indigenous natives throughout the region have always told stories of surprise visitations and sightings of what they call “Sasquatch and what we normally simply refer to as “Big Foot!” Well, even though the jury is still out on whether Sasquatch ever did exist, let alone still exists, people in that region, even to this day continue to share stories about personal “run ins” with “Big Foot.”

Now Larry is no kook by any means and while he has a writer’s vivid imagination, he’s a pretty solid and sound, rational thinker with his head on straight and his heart in the right place. So I was a little surprised to hear him defend some of the locals who keep talking about such nonsense as if it’s truly REAL!

What is this obsession with Sasquatch and why won’t people just “Let It Go! I just don’t get it. Now, according to a few of Larry’s local friends, there have been sightings and encounters with a few small parties of poachers driving around the mountain road and through the forests with SUV’s with Texas license plates, dressed up like vigil ante snipers, with all the camouflage gear and sniper rifles.

Seems a few of these good ole’ boys started chatting up some of the locals after a few whiskey shots and beer chasers, and they claim their looking for Sasquatch, but then they immediately laughed it off as if it’s a joke. So now no one knows what to believe. Are they joking, or are they actually trying to capture or maybe even kill themselves a real Sasquatch? No one knows.

Now we have all these tree hugging crazies writing to the local government officials, seeking some sort of official political sanctuary for a mythological creature that no one has been able to prove exists for over 100 years.

I think it’s just plain crazy, but Larry’s already taken kindly to the locals and so he just smiles and says Welcome To The Pacific Northwest Rocco, Please check your doubts and judgments at the border Sir! Maybe he’s right, they do eat an awful lot of bacon and Bacon Jerky up in “them thar hills,” so maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree.

Something tells me this isn’t the last I’m going to here about Big Foot. I guess maybe he’s over, hanging out with The Tooth Fairy, Casper The Friendly Ghost Writer and The Loch Ness Monster. Anyway, it’s a beautiful area and if you’ve never been, check it out on your next vacation, you’ll be glad you did!

Just watch be sure to watch out for the big, strong hairy guy swinging through the trees up there! Oh, never mind … that’s just Larry. “Hey, get a haircut you dang hippy!”

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Visit our Bacon Jerky Page by clicking here

This may come as little bit of a surprise to some of you Bacon Freaks out there, but the truth is, “Man (And Woman) Cannot Live On Bacon Alone!” That means even Boss Hog himself has to occasionally take a little break from my own gourmet bacon and other fine gourmet products provided over at www.BaconFreak.com and feast on something truly, uniquely special.

When I’m not eating pork and lobster, you can bet I’ll be eating beef! One of my favorite beef flavor experiences from outside of The Bacon Freak Pig-Pen comes to us in the form of some extremely delicious “Beef Jerky” and “Steak Kabob Chunks” from a really great company called Enjoy Foods in Fontana California.

They’ve got some absolutely amazing traditional beef jerky, offered up in four maximum mouthwatering flavors and styles such as: Hot, Jalapeño, Old Fashion and Teriyaki. But that’s only the beginning! As you know, I’m a huge fan and a little bit of a connoisseur of smoked meats, and “Enjoy Foods, International” has four different versions of their mind blowing Hickory Smoked Beef Jerky as well: Hot, Sweet & Spicy, Teriyaki and their original “Old Fashion” style jerk.

When I’m not in the mood for Jerky and craving something with a little more depth and succulence, I have their delicious “Steak Kabob Chunks.” My favorite is Jalapeño, but you can also get them in Hot, Old Fashion and Teriyaki, which to be honest with you, gives Jalapeño a pretty good run for its money in the derby to be my favorite flavor of the bunch!

OK, you know I won’t lie to you and I’ve made it clear for years that I’m not a huge fan of “Turkey Jerky” and probably never going to change. But I do have friends that eat the stuff, and according them, the “Turkey Jerky” made my “Enjoy” is far superior to most of the other Turkey Jerky out there. It comes in: Hot, Old Fashion & Teriyaki.

These guys definitely know precisely what they’re doing and they take it very seriously, which impressed the heck out of me. They’ve been bringing you gourmet jerky since1971 and have just gone through a major overhaul of their operations to increase both quality and customer service above their already exemplary levels.

Besides the obvious re-branding and repackaging efforts with a colorful new graphics, they have recently purchased their own fleet of delivery trucks, including a refrigerated eighteen wheeler to pick up their meat and other ingredients, thus assuring the utmost freshness.

New meat slicers and other major pieces of equipment have been updated to present a more consistent quality as they continue processing their products with the same recipes, made only name brand ingredients such as Kikkoman Soy and Teriyaki sauces, C&H sugar, and fresh garlic.

Plus the proudly assure us that they use absolutely “NO MSG or Preservatives” and all orders are made fresh to order. To be honest with you, these guys really put out a great product and if I were to out looking for something bodaciously “Beefy” that we don’t carry over at ourselves over at www.CVWine.com, then the place I would turn to make sure I truly “ENJOY” my snack would be our good friends over at “ENJOY!”

Hey everyone, enjoy “Enjoy!”

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Visit our Bacon Club by clicking here

Several months ago Coastal Vineyards Gourmet Food Clubs launched a Steak of the Month Club offering the world’s very best, top 1% of all USDA rated steaks available! Our focus is to bring our customers the optimum levels of ultimate taste, tenderness, palatability, marbling, maturity, color and consistency. Most people aren’t even aware that most companies offer lower quality product (Select Steaks are only USDA rated in the Top 60% of all steaks available on the market, while Choice Steaks merely rate in the Top 40%) to an unsuspecting public, but that’s not our style. If you’re looking for the most outrageously succulent, tender, savory, juicy, flavorful, steak experience in your lifetime, we have it! So what were saying is that when it comes to steaks no one can say they offer better quality!

We got to thinking about this and starting considering how we could make our offering even better and started considering some really neat products! After a bit of time we came across Leslie Haywood of Grill Charms who offers a truly amazing item that are dime-sized solid stainless steel charms that are placed in your food BEFORE grilling. The stems are serrated to hold securely while moving, flipping and grilling like you normally would. So your asking your self, what is special about this? Ahh!! How many times while grilling have you forgot which steak was supposed to be medium or well done or which had the spicy BBQ sauce or the mild? Well that is what Grill Charms is designed to fix. See prior to cooking you insert your Grill Charm into your food to distinguish spices and flavors, steak temperatures, or to avoid health or allergy issues. When dinner comes off the grill everyone knows which one is theirs. They make the perfect host or hostess gift for those memorial day cook outs, housewarming, birthday, groomsman, Father’s Day, Christmas, you name it!

In speaking with Leslie she told me that she came up with this idea during a dinner party she hosted in her Charleston SC home. She had Jamaican Jerk chicken and her husband being a sauce/rub/marinade junkie, is never satisfied with having just one flavor on the grill. He spiced some up super hot for him and his friends and he left some mild for hers. Well don’t ya know, after a few “beverages”, talking to his friends, flipping, moving and finally plating the chicken to be served, by the time he and the food made it to the table, he couldn’t remember which was which. He served what he thought was the mild to Leslie… I’m sure you can see where this is going right? After that very spicy light bulb moment, she started sketching prototypes that very evening for what is now known as Grill Charms.

Grill Charms offers several different charm collections, The Steak Collection, Spicy Collection, Charmed Life Collection and The Pink Collection.

As we consider this exceptional product for our Steak of the Month Club, visit www.grillcharms.com for more information.

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Visit our Steak of the Month Club by clicking here

I had the chance to chat briefly with the owners of Lane Café and Tavern in Miami Florida recently. Lane Café and Tavern is a neighborhood eatery that serves fresh fare in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. They have been pleasing palates for over 20 years using recipes such as their Swiss Apple Melt which they created for Bacon Freak Lovers. Owners Jahn Kirchoff and Mike Maler create tasty and satisfying dishes that appeal to their wide customer base.

Swiss Apple Melt Recipe:

1 sliced green apple
2 pieces cinnamon raisin pumpernickel bread
four bacon strips
2 pieces swiss cheese

1. Butter bread on one side of each piece
2. Place one of swiss on one slice of bread. Then add sliced apples and slices of bacon. Top off with second slice of cheese and other piece of bread
3. Add butter to saute pan on medium heat. Add sandwich with butter side of bread into the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted. Flip sandwich and repeat.

If you are in Miami or Sarasota visit their restaurant! For more information, please visit www.delilane.com.

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Visit our Bacon Store by clicking here

Seasonings Greetings ” my fellow Bacon Freaks!

You asked and asked and asked for it and now you`ve finally got it! Our Bacon Freak Bacon Flavored Seasoning ” is finally here and boy oh boy ” did it turn out awesome!

Thinking back on it all today, I suppose we all subconsciously knew that once our Boss Hog Hickory Smoked - Brown Sugar Cured, ” Country Style Bacon became so widely and wildly popular, it was just a matter of time.

People started contacting us asking if we were truly sincere about or proudly proclaimed assertion and affirmation that in an absolutely perfect world, Everything should taste like bacon! ” of course we were, but what could we do if some people weren`t eating gourmet bacon? Was it really our job to play bacon cop for the rest of the world?

However, our concern for others did not subside, but rather dramatically increased. It got to the point where there were too many sleepless nights worrying about the fact that there are still so many meals being served out there in the world that don`t taste anything at all like our Hickory Smoked, Brown Sugar Cured, Country Style Bacon that`s found over at http://www.cvwine.com/shop/bacon/home.html.

We knew we couldn’t just sit back and enjoy like knowing that our fellow human beings were eating food that tasted nothing at all like bacon. It just wasn’t fair, it just wasn’t right. So we enlisted the help of esteemed Professor Porker Pigginton of BFU (Bacon Freak University) and he jumped into action to come up with the perfect solution to this world crisis.

Here it is Ladies and Gentlemen, Bacon Freak`s very own Bacon Flavored Seasoning ” has arrived to save the day. It`s specifically designed to help everything from soups and salads, to eggs and sandwiches, taste as delectably delicious as our Boss Hog Hickory Smoked - Brown Sugar Cured, ” Country Style Bacon.

Many people are actually using it to help improve the flavor of their less than gourmet ” cuts of meat, from steak to pork chops and from lobster to chicken. We were even quite surprised to discover that you can actually use it to make store bought ” quality bacon taste nearly as good as real bacon!

It`s 100% completely vegetarian, with no meat products added, so all you vegetarians out there or those of you who for whatever reason, including religious reasons, don`t ever eat any pork. Now you can enjoy the most delicious flavor in the entire universe, without the guilt of breaking your oath to abstain from bacon.

I find that I even like to shake it onto freshly cut vegetables to give it that extra oomph of bold baconosity! ” For snacks, you can melt some cheese on some bread and season it with this Bacon Flavored Seasoning and instantly create something that you would pay $6.50 or more at a restaurant. It honestly goes on pretty much anything and you can get it for a price that is so ridiculously low right now, I`m already worried we might run out of the stuff before Professor Piggington gets the next batch prepared.

Get it while you can at http://www.cvwine.com/shop/baconseasoning.html

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Learn more about Boss Hog’s Bacon Seasoning by clicking here

Have you ever tried to mix olive oil and balsamic vinegar to make the perfect spread for bread? Now Extra Virgin Olive Oil is available as a spread! The olive oil experts at À l’Olivier have been “perfuming” olive oils for over 10 years, and have now created a spreadable version. Flavors include Natural, Garlic & Herbs, Lemon and Basil.

This patented innovation from France combines the health advantages of Mediterranean olive oil with savory flavours and a unique texture.

À l’Olivier Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spreads are a healthy alternative to butter and margarine. They are 100% natural and contain no additives, colorants, preservatives or chemicals. Rich in monounsaturated fat acids (69%) and with less than 25% of saturated fat, they fit nutritionists’ recommendations for proper fat intake. Thanks to the solid texture, they can replace butter or margarine in cooking or as condiments.

I agree that Bottles of oil can be messy at parties and difficult to proportion in cooking. These compact spreads come in convenient flat plastic containers. They are shelf stable, but are best kept in the butter case or refrigerator to maintain a solid texture. The spreads have a shelf life of 12 months.

Their applications are limitless. Serve them on breakfast bagels or anywhere else you use butter or margarine-in an omelette, toasted on crostini, spread on sandwiches instead of mayonnaise, and for sautéeing or frying meats, fish, or vegetables.

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Visit our Olive Oil Club by clicking here

In 2005, Defcon Sauces, LLC was formed. Being purveyors of fine Buffalo-Style Wing Sauces, they entered the market with a loud explosion. With the owner, John Dilley, also known as The Creator, donning a sort of retro-futuristic, Mad Max-style scientist uniform, the hot sauce industry quickly took notice of this strange, yet incredibly tasty company. In 2006, they began entering major award competitions, and have quickly tallied up over 40 major awards, including 4 Golden Chile Awards, and numerous Scovie Awards, the two largest and most well-known competitions in the hot & spicy product arena. They seem to be quickly becoming the team to beat in many competitions.

At the large trade shows they exhibit at, it becomes quite apparent that John and Margaret Dilley have nothing but fun. With a booth full of laser lights, plasma devices, strobe lights and an incredibly powerful ultraviolet wash, they have been named “Vendor-tainment” by more than just a few onlookers. They attract a large audience at nearly every trade show they set up at, as John, is happy to not only let you taste his standard wares, but usually has a small vial with his own naturally-distilled Habanero extract on his person, and will cast an evil smirk as the tasters of this evil elixir fall like dominoes in front of him.

“Hey man, it’s all about the fun. If you had told me we would be where we are 5 years ago, I would have laughed in your face”, says John. In addition to their 3 heat levels of Buffalo-Style Wing Sauces, Defcon Sauces has also released other multi-award winning products, like their mild and hot Habanero horseradishes, aptly named the Habby Pony and Habby Horse, and have recently come out with a dehydrated version of their medium wing sauce, The Smokey Dust.

With no end in sight for this dynamic duo, Defcon Sauces continues to blaze the trails in a perpetual search to fulfill their motto, “Future Rulers of Earth”. I dare say, with their amazing track record thus far, their sought after “Global Assimilation” is inevitable. Check this company out at www.DefconSauces.com, and see what these crazy people are up to next. You never know where they will turn up, as they do numerous events at bars and restaurants, known as Defcon Days, where the wings are free all afternoon, and there is a chance they will have their signature Wing-Eating Deathmatch, a truly Hellish experience in itself.

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Visit our Hot Sauce Club by clicking here

I love eating chocolate. I can eat a piece or two almost every day. Just recently I met Sarah Endline. She grew up in a small farming township of 500 and somewhere along the way dreamed of building her own mission-based business.
After years of contemplation, she founded sweetriot, a small mission-based company in nyc, which strives to build tasty little morsels in a different way for a different generation.

Through Sarah’s travels, she stumbled upon cacao and knew she had to share it with others. The rioter team began testing it with their friends and learning that many did not know the true story of cacao. Discovered in the 1500’s, cacao is a magical, spiritual, and celebrated food from South America, Central America, West Africa, and Asia.

Sweetriot is a human, globally responsible, irreverent and built for a new generation.

They Focus on:

Using premium, high quality, and all-natural ingredients.
Fair trade with developing countries. Celebrating the culture and diversity through our products. Creating sweet experiences for our customers, partners and employees.

Being young at heart, energetic, down-to-earth and contribute to the greater good. The next time you are in the mood for a chocolate fix consider the environmentally conscious chocolates of Sweet Riot.

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Visit our Chocolate Club by clicking here