After one too many plastic cups of Pabst Blue Ribbon, I’ve moved on to wine as my new drink of choice. But, like beer, there are many kinds of bad wine that are too easy to accidentally drink. So what makes a good wine? And what’s the difference between a chardonnay and a Cabernet?

Here’s the rundown on the mot popular kinds of wine and what to drink them with.

Reds

Cabernet Sauvignon is produced mainly in France and California. This red is what’s called “full bodied,” meaning it’s got a rich, strong flavor of dark fruits like black current. The best Cabernets taste a bit earthy and dry and they tend to get better with age, so pick-up a bottle with the earliest date (as in, 2003 rather than 2008).
Pair with red meat, grilled vegetables, or pasta with red sauce.

Merlot is arguably the most popular red wine. Merlot can range from medium to full-bodied and is high in alcohol and low in acidity. Flavors include plum and chocolate (yum!). Grown all over the world, this wine is easy to enjoy.
Pair with pasta with red sauce, beef, or grilled or smoky meats.

Pinot Noir is made from a velvety grape that is one of the hardest to grow, which makes a good pinot great and a bad pinot terrible. A good pinot will be complex, with flavors ranging from black cherries to earthy spices. Pinot Noir grapes traditionally come from Burgundy, France, but are now being perfected in Oregon and California.
Pair with salmon, pasta, or pork. Read More »

By now you’ve probably heard that fish is good for you—really, REALLY good for you! Besides being a lean and healthy form of protein, lower in saturated fat than poultry or beef, fish contains omega 3 fatty acids, sometimes referred to as fish oil. Although “fish oil” sounds kinda gross, it’s good for your heart, and may even contribute to healthy skin and strong immunity. Good stuff.

But how the heck do you cook it? A lot of fish is breaded or fried (or both), which sort of defeats the purpose of it being a health food (kinda like tempura. Seriously people…fried veggies?) However, one of the healthiest ways to cook fish is also one of the easiest.

Have tinfoil and an oven? You can cook fish. Read More »

A wise Alpha Kitty said, “Let them eat salmon.”

Damn! If only I would have known sooner, I wouldn’t have such a mammoth pimple on the side of my chin…ha!

Have I lost you? See what I mean and watch.

Atoosa Rubenstein, creator of CosmoGIRL! and pervious Editor In Chief of both CosmoGIRL! and Seventeen is feeding the hungry kitty in us all with new video content on her Alpha Kitty You Tube Channel.

I watched, I laughed, and I think Atoosa brings the… for lack of a better word, weirdness, in us all.

Aren’t you a little curious?