a toast to lillie

The Guenoc 2007 Victorian Claret is  a fine and fairly inexpensive holiday wine which also features British actress and beauty Lillie Langtry on the bottle.  Lillie tread the boards on stage and had her share of royal and otherwise romances, along with chumming around and exchanging choice words with Oscar Wilde.  The wine has an appealing chocolatey-spicy taste and can stand up to other strong flavors, although general wine buff advice is to let it breathe for a good half hour before serving.  

The sentimentalist ages far more quickly than the person who loves his work and enjoys new challenges.  -- Lillie Langtry   (Pictured:  Lillie contemplating her next challenge and/or glass of claret.)

random tea gift picks

I haven't tried this Presto electric kettle that has specific temperature settings to steep various types of tea right inside the kettle itself, but I certainly am curious about it.  Sounds like a good gift for a tea lover, and even not-too-frequent tea drinkers seem to love Harney & Son's Holiday and White Christmas teas -- especially tucked inside little gossamer silken sachet-type bags.  And speaking of Harney's, I'm not a big green tea fan, but Harney's lightly delicious Bangkok blend with lemongrass and coconut makes sipping green more exciting and exotic.  If you're my mother and you like to brew tea by the pot yet take a good while to drink it, Harney's votive flame tea warmer base might be apropos.  Smith Teas' No. 45 Peppermint features peppermint and chocolate notes -- quite perfect for this snowy/frosty time of the year.  An easily found, affordable and interesting stocking stuffer from Target's grocery section is Archer Farms Chocolate Berry Earl Grey.  One might raise an eyebrow at the concept of cocoa, carob, berry, pink pepper and licorice combined with bergamot, but it works well and the bags are also the silky sachet type, adding more panache to your present at $3.99.   And if you want to get continental and splurge a little, Kusmi Teas offers a variety of blends with irresistible names like Prince Vladimir and Anastasia, and with beautiful keepsake tins to match.

glug a glögg

'Tis the season for the magical brew of glögg, which comes from the Scandinavian lands and makes winter worth living through.  In Chicago, one of the greatest places for glögg is at Simon's Bar in Andersonville up on Clark Street, where $5 gets you a small but heady glass cup of cheer and accompanying ginger cookies.  Simon's itself is a worthwhile experience, having been there since 1934 when the Swedes dominated Andersonville and still maintaining its unique ambiance of the pleasantly rundown combined with the curiously magnificent.  An old-fashioned cash register, fireplace and comfy sofa, bar stools scraping the weathered floor and hitched up to the mahogany bar itself, which has served many a round.  Making glögg at home is a fun adventure too, with the combination of warmed red wine, brandy, spices, orange peel, nuts and raisins adding to any holiday party--or something to spirit up writing out all those cards or wrapping, taping and sticking on the big shiny bows.

(Pictured:  side view of Simon's from the bar, while glögging)