cvwine.com Blog

Women Who Moderately Drink Red Wine Stay Thinner & Lose Weight Easier!

foodlover — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:56:05 +0000

This month, The Archives of Internal Medicine just released the results of a thirteen year study that reported the fact that science has now medically proven the long time hypothesis that women who drink alcohol in moderation, particularly those who drink “red wine,” are far less likely to gain weight and will loose weight much quicker and easier, in comparison to those women who do not drink “any” alcohol at all!

According to Dr. Lu Wang; of the “Preventive Medicine and Aging” division of the Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a 13 year study was conducted of 19,220 healthy, non-obese women from the United States, who were at least 39 years of old, carefully tracking these women’s health statistics to discover what they could determine about the role alcohol played in their life style and health.

Surprising to some, but hypothesized by many others, as it turns out, the data turned out to prove that women who were advised to stop drinking in order to avoid extra calories, actually gained more weight than any of the other test groups being tracked.

Meanwhile women who regularly consume moderate amounts of alcohol proved to be 30% less likely to gain weight than those who women who didn’t drink any alcohol at all.

After the thirteen years experiment, it was discovered that most of the volunteers had put on at least a few pounds and that now, approximately 40% of the ladies in the study had reached weights that put them in the category of “overweight or obese.”

However, those particular ladies who honestly “fessed-up” to enjoying a glass or two of wine, beer or a cocktail on most days of the week, proved to be much less likely to get fat and those who regularly drank a couple of glasses of wine, particularly red wine,” such as: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Merlot, or Syrah / Shiraz, gained the least amount of weight than any other group of women in the study.

And exactly “why is this so,” you ask? Well according to some of the Scientists, Doctors and Researchers participating in the study, it seems to be a three-part answer, involving the facts that (A) alcohol calories are burned differently in the body than protein calories (B) alcohol increases the body’s metabolism and (C) women tend to substitute alcohol for other foods, such as many of the fattening and starchy, “high carb” or “high sugar” items that pound on the pounds, thereby quite naturally keeping their calorie totals relatively low in relation to ladies eating up the “C Foods” (cakes, cookies, crackers and candy) of the notorious “SEE Food Diet!”

Cheers!

Signing off at Pigging out!
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock

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Drinking In The Simple Pleasure of Carl’s Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger!

foodlover — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:14:42 +0000

OMG … it looks like Carl’s Jr. (http://www.carlsjr.com) has done it again my fellow “Baconistas!”

While all of the “fast food” giants are desperately trying to impress a world gone crazy with “Baco-Mania” by coming up with more and more complex and clever creations based on the average “Bacon Freak’s” (http://www.baconfreak.com) obsession with bacon, Carl’s Jr. has quite wisely chosen to take that path less traveled and move further and further toward absolute simplicity.

So while many of its competitors continue on the path of constantly tossing more and more elaborate ingredients onto their burgers, Carl’ has effectively broken the magic formula down to it’s essential basic, fundamental, foundational “bacon blueprint” of consummate, consumable simplicity.

Introducing Carl’s new Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger! (http://www.carlsjr.com/company/releases/carls-jr-launches-ultimate-comfort-food-grilled-cheese-bacon-burgers)

We’re talking something as basic as a grilled cheese sandwich, made of American and Swiss cheese on sourdough bread, with a tasty charbroiled hamburger patty and some bacon stuck in up top, for good measure.

Executive Vice President of Marketing, Brad Haley admits that originally, idea for the new burger initially was part of a plan for Carl’s corporate “mother company”, “CKE Restaurants Inc.” (http://www.ckr.com) to better serve their ever growing menu needs of their ever growing “vegetarian” customer base.

So the plan was to introduce a delicious, top quality grilled cheese sandwich that tasted like something more than mere conventional fast food …”Hold the meat!” Haley adds … “But, being Carl’s Jr., a chain known for its decadent burgers, someone suggested that we try it with a charbroiled burger patty and bacon for our carnivorous customers,” Mr. Haley explains, “and the Grilled Cheese Bacon Burgers were born.”

He then went on to make sure that he mentioned that Carl’s vegetarian customers can still order the “Grilled Cheese Sandwiches” without the burger and bacon.

From my personal experience, Carl’s has always been very good about looking out for it’s vegetarian friends and customers, who for decades now, have been able to “special order” several of the items found on their menu without the meat and according to many of my friends, they actually taste pretty darned good as vegetarian fare as well.

Still … as for me, I prefer to have my grilled cheese sandwich with the delicious and nutritious burger and bacon tossed in for good measure, so that I can enjoy some of that
awesome protein powered “taste extravaganza.”

But I certainly do applaud Carl’s Jr. for having the insight and vision to buck the trend toward complexity and complications, and simply “go simple,” succeeding at doing the just the right thing, for all the right reasons!

Signing off at Pigging out!
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock

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Swine and Wine Party

foodlover — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:04:45 +0000

Swine and Wine Club

With the ever-growing popularity of baconfreak.com’s Swine and Wine Club, I was thinking, how could we get as many people together to enjoy two of the finest things in life; bacon and wine. Why not try a Swine and Wine Party.

First, set the date, time and location. I was thinking a Sunday afternoon, not so late that you and your guests are feeling the effect the following morning.

Second, you need lots and lots of bacon.
Baconfreak.com has a wide variety of different bacon products. One specific kind of bacon that caught my eye was sun-dried tomato bacon. Why not pair the bacon with fresh mozzarella, on a toasted baguette for an easy light snack. Another easy and tasty bacon appetizer was something I found on Cooks.com. This recipe combines scallops, bacon and a sweet and sour sauce. Also, choose a few types of bacon to cook up and serve by themselves for your guest to enjoy, because what party isn’t complete without a few sweets to go along with the other food. Keeping with the theme of bacon, how about trying Bacon Chocolte Sueyts. These delectable delights pair the salty, savory flavors of bacon with the sweetness of dark chocolate for an unmistakable taste.

Lastly, to complete the swine and wine party, you are going to need the wine. I am going to suggest a wide variety of wine to complement the different flavors of the bacon and food, and suggest when hosting a swine and wine party yourself, doing the same. To match with the freshness of the bacon and mozzarella a nice Pinot Noir with its richness should bring out the flavors. With the Bacon Chocolte Sueyts nice Merlot would be a great match.

The most important thing to remember about a Swine and Wine party is to enjoy the good food, the good company and good wine.

Signing Off and Pigging Out,

Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock

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Bacon Today premiers Rick Bayless recipe from Bacon Freak Bacon Cookbook for FREE!

foodlover — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:38:52 +0000

In honor of Bacon Freak’s “Grand Release Celebration” of their brand new gourmet Bacon Cookbook the fine folks over at Bacon Today, normally a staunch competitor of Bacon Freak, requested the opportunity to premier a FREE RECIPE on their own corporate blog as part of the Ceremonious Celebration taking place within the gourmet bacon world and Bacon Freak was quite thrilled to be asked and to cooperate.

Bacon Today chose to feature the Avocado Mango Salad Recipe Which was custom created by world renowned Chef, Rick Bayless.

For those living under a rock the past decade, Rick Bayless is chef of both Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago, as well as being the creator of “Frontera Gourmet Foods,” multiple Best Selling cookbook author, host of his own popular television cooking show, called “Mexico - One Plate at a Time” and winner of the James Beard “Best International Cookbook of the Year” award in 2001.

In his own words about his personal and professional adoration of bacon, Chef Bayless explains … “Everyone has seen me wear the bacon is meat candy T-shirt on my TV show…but it is more than just a T-shirt slogan to me…it’s a way of life. Whenever I am stuck on what to do in a particular recipe, I always think. WWBD?”

What Would Bacon Do? … indeed!

Enjoy Chef Rick’s free Avocado Mango Salad Recipe!

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Be sure to visit our Bacon Club by Cicking HERE!

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Bacon Today Squeals With Delight For Bacon Freak’s Bacon Cookbook

foodlover — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 08:45:57 +0000

The fine folks over at Bacon Today just released what could only be classified as an “A+” rave review regarding the new gourmet Bacon Cookbook that it’s competitors, Bacon Freak, just put out this week.

In the usual “cut throat” and “back-stabbing” world of business, even in the much more tastefully refined world of fine dining and gourmet food, it’s so very rare to see such a glowingly positive review of someone else’s work, particularly a direct competitor, that we thought the world would get some enjoyment from the taste of pure kindness and graciousness exhibited between these two popular and powerful industry leaders.

Here’s the whole story, presented “straight from the pigs mouth”, just as they posted it on their blog.

Enjoy …

“Not too long ago, a reader came to us with the idea that we should write a bacon book. You know, a book about bacon. We tossed around a few ideas that all centered around bacon and books and how to combine them into a book about bacon but we haven’t nailed down a bacon book concept just yet.

Today we received an email from Boss Hog over at BaconFreak.com announcing that he’s released the first edition of his Bacon Cookbook. What better book about bacon could there be than a bacon book that helps you cook the meat candy?

According to the web site (with the oh-so-catchy URL of BaconCookbook.com) they’ve got recipes from some renowned chefs that will help you get your bacon fix for breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizers, and even bacon desserts.

We got a chance to peek at the bacon cookbook ahead of time and were impressed with the quality of the bacon recipes included in the book. Don’t be surprised if you see a couple examples of bacon dishes we test out here at Bacon Today. We’re planning to cook up a few of the meals to give them the official Bacon Today taste test.

The Bacon Freak Bacon Cookbook is available in both downloadable PDF and paperback formats. Head on over to BaconCookbook.com and get your copy today!”

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Be sure to visit our Bacon Club by Clicking HERE!

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Finally … bacon with the gourmet flavor to stand on its own

foodlover — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:57:17 +0000

I’ve enjoyed gourmet bacon for years both in my kitchen and in restaurants, but have often felt that I needed to contribute and add additional enhancing flavors to the experience.

In one way or another, I felt the need to add salt, pepper or another spice or accompaniment to make it even better. Bourbon Street Cajun Style Country Bacon has relieved my largely non-cook self of trying to figure out how to best contribute to a packaged bacon product.

Now I can put the bacon in the pan, and watch it grow and develop its zest as it sizzles to perfection without any additional seasoning on my part! The hickory, smoky, slightly spicy flavoring engages in a harmony of exceptional bacon flavors in my mouth which simultaneously delights my taste buds.

When people try to describe bacon, I have heard a myriad of descriptions including greasy, salty chicken. This Cajun Bacon is definitely not anything like chicken. The slightly crispy highly flavorful exterior of a thicker cut of bacon is juxtaposed to a softer interior that is a bit milder in taste. It was a great co-star of my dinner as a few delightful slices of protein were beside the vegetable stir-fry I whipped up.

I invited my friend over for dinner, who is also a bacon lover, and I watched happily as she too ate all the bacon before the vegetables. I can almost taste the dance the Cajun Bacon would engage upon in a BLT with the satisfying crunch of lettuce, fresh tomatoes and a few slices of turkey. Coupling this with an egg white omelet would be an excellent way to start any Saturday morning!

Unlike all other bacon I have cooked, this did not shrink to 1/2 the size that it had in its uncooked original packaging - what a delight! It smells as great cooking in the pan as it does when you actually eat it. As someone who enjoys a bit of a spice with my meals, I highly recommend Bourbon Street Cajun Style Country Bacon to those who also would like to enjoy bacon on a new level.

Lauren Armanino

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Be sure to visit our Bacon Club by Clicking HERE!

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Drinking a Toast To Oscar!

foodlover — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 06:25:31 +0000

The Oscar’s is a night that can make a winner out of anyone. This Sunday is like the Superbowl for movies and moviegoers alike. The beauty of an event like the Oscars is that any kind of party to get together can be suitable. To celebrate the 82nd Oscar’s ceremony, I’ve decided to give my friends an opportunity to wear that old cocktail dress that’s hiding in the back of their closets.

Taking my cue from the celebration of the ceremony just miles from my own house, I may not get a red carpet but dinner and wines are definitely a must. With this year’s award ceremony recognizing the work of Meryl Streep with a Best Actress Nomination for her role as Julia Child in Julie & Julia what better choice for dinner than something from her cookbook itself.

More importantly than the French cuisine though would be to find a perfect French wine to compliment the food itself. Keeping true to the spirit of the awards being in California as well as our French dinner, a bottle of wine or two from the vineyard Lyeth might be perfect. Lyeth, a Coastal Vineyard’s favorite, is a vineyard located in California that’s traditions; processes and inspiration all come from France. My well-dressed guests are going to be treated to a dinner fit for the stars.

Now it’s time for the award show to start. To make the viewing of the actual awards a bit more entertaining for my guests I have two things planned. A betting pool, costing the price of a ticket to the very first Oscar’s of five dollars to participate. The guest that guesses the most winners correctly would win the money.

While the guest or guests to guess the correct winners for the top categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screen Play would win their very own Oscar. I plan this prize Oscar to be a bottle of wine. Maybe a bottle from Rotta, yet another featured vineyard in the Coastal Vineyard Wine Clubs, one of the oldest vineyards in California being founded only nineteen years before the first Oscar ceremony in 1927.

I might place one of the Rotta wines within an Oscar themed gift bag, taking a page from last year’s Oscar bags that actually did include a bottle of wine for celebrities. Or I could create Oscar statues out of bottles of Chardonnay , already a golden light color and perfect in shape and color for the craft. Coastal Vineyards features a great wine club for Chardonnay’s of just California wines that would be perfect for keeping in our California Movie theme.

Fancy Dresses, dinner, prizes and plenty of wine throughout the night the 82nd Oscars are going to be fun even for those of us on the outside of the Kodak Theatre. The winner of the night … anyone enjoying the show with me.

Lesley Lopez

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Be sure to visit our Wine of the Month Club by Clicking HERE!

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Bacon Freak Releases “Bacon Cookbook” To Widely Anticipated Acclaim.

foodlover — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:55:21 +0000

Not to be outdone by the late blooming “wannabes” who have just recently jumped onto the “Bacon Freak Band Wagon,” The Original “Bacon Freaks” just released the much ballyhooed and long awaited “Bacon Cookbook,” and the response and buzz amongst fellow “Baconistas” has been nothing less than spectacular.

If you’re truly a legitimate “Baco-holic” who has been riding the surging wave of “Baco-Mania” since long before the early “daze” of this magnificently trending movement … or if you know someone who is …then you most definitely need to immediately click over to “The Bacon Cookbook” website right away and check this out for your self or your loved ones, while supplies still last.

According to Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock, “this is a life-long dream finally manifested into reality, not just for our entire loyal monthly bacon club members and bacon store customers, but for “Baco-Maniacs” all across the country and globe, as well as for all of us here at “Bacon Freak.”

“We wanted to make sure that the cookbook was something spectacular and not just a collection of typical bacon oriented recipes.” explains Boss Hog. “So we sought out the creative culinary insights and inspirations of some of the most well respected and professionally renowned chefs in the industry, to create completely, all original, unique recipes specifically for our bacon, and the outcome has proven to be even well beyond our own expectations, hopes and dreams!”

Included in this Epicurean Encyclopedia of enticing entries are custom creation recipes from such chefs as:

Henry Adaniya

Rick Bayless

Scott Burnett

Kathy Casey

Ratha Chau

Gianni Cicilot

Holly Clegg

Laura Jakosky

Erik Kelley

Mary Beth Lawton-Johnson

Maria Liberati

Kate McAloon

Jason McClure

Patricia Mendez

Georges Mokbel

Johnna Rowe

Donna DeCunzo-Taddeo

Gary Unger

Thus, Bacon Freak’s “Bacon Cookbook” turned out to be Hog Heaven for those who truly love the seductively sultry, sweet and salty sensuality of the world’s all time favorite “Meat Candy!”

The cookbook is conveniently put together in such a way as to allow you to chose the very finest recipes for a number of specific meals, from Breakfast and Lunch, to Dinner and Dessert, even Appetizers are included.

Having no idea just how amazingly popular this first edition of the Bacon Cookbook would be, supplies may prove to be beyond limited and stretched to the breaking point for those who hesitate and put this acquisition, even temporarily on the back burner.

Clearly the second edition printing will eventually come along, and with its numbers greatly increased, now that the massive popularity of the cookbook has officially now been have gauged after the Grand Release, but for those who don’t want to have to wait till then, you can buy a copy or three right here, right now … without delay.

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Be sure to visit our Bacon Club by Clicking HERE!

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Imbibing the seductively sensual, sweet & sultry fares of Baconopolis

foodlover — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:05:42 +0000

Baconopolis … Baconopolis, by any other name would you … could you possibly smell and taste so seductively sweet, salty, sizzlingly savory and sensually sensational! I for one, think NOT!

Baconopolis (Round Two) “This time it’s Porkual!” … took place on Friday night, February 26th from 6:00 -8:00 PM at the ever so awesome Palace Ballroom in the wondrously Washingtonian city of Seattle.

Surprising to none, the event featured bacon, bacon and more bacon.

Specifically… 10 delightfully different, delectable dishes of bacon oriented fine dining fare, from items that seem to naturally go together like a “hand and glove,” to other recipes that go together more like “penguins on unicycles” and “low salt, none fat nuclear submarines.”

The entire event was brought to us by the good folks over at the Palace Ballroom
and their illustrious owner, Mr. Tom Douglas, who is also noted in the “foodie” world for being a semifinalist for the prestigious 2010 James Beard Foundation award for Best Restaurateur.

The menu included:

B.L.A.T. (the classic with avocado)

Bacon Cured Whole Pig

Bacon Cornbread Muffin

Pork n’ Beans

Bacon Explosion

Elvis’ Favorite: Hot Peanut Butter, Banana and Bacon

Classic Carbonara

Bacon Fried Rice

Bacon Biscuit Sandwich with Gravy

Bacon Filled Doughnut with Maple Glaze and Bacon Salt

OK … so I was momentarily distraught to discover they were NOT servi9ng my favorite “Pork At The Bottom Yogurt, the entire event was utterly amazing?

Absolutely everybody had a wonderfully awesome time and as predicted, totally PIGGED OUT!

We can’t wait till next year.

Senseless In Seattle!

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Be sure to visit our Bacon Club by clicking HERE!

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Lottery Winners Bring Home The Bacon.

foodlover — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:08:27 +0000

If you won the lottery, what would you do? A lucky couple in Bath, England, won £56 million in the EuroMillions Lottery Draw and celebrated by noshing on bacon butties.

“Butties” are what they call sandwiches in England. Aren’t the English cute? It’s apparently short for “buttered bread.” I still can’t help but giggle like a 12-year-old though when I read the word “butties.” The imagery is just too much when matched with my immaturity…

I really hope that this event spurs more people to celebrate with bacon.

I, for one, did just that in my (first) wedding. I’m not kidding, folks. We actually spoke of bacon in our vows. Oh sure, we sullied bacon’s good name by splitting up 4 years later, but that’s neither here nor there. The point is, bacon is just that awesome. (PS - I go the bacon in the divorce. Squeee!)

That said, I think there are plenty of other events that could use bacon as a celebratory prop/meal:

• Sporting events: “Screw Disneyland, I’m eating some bacon.”
• Holidays: “I hope I got the rasher in your size.”
• Emotions: “I want to show you how much I love you with this pork. Plus let’s sleep together.”

The list goes on and on, but I’ll stop there. I’d like a shot at getting married a second time.

 Jennifer Eolin

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
Be sure to visit our Bacon Club by clicking HERE!

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