These low fat dinner recipes are among the best I've collected from the best cooking sources. They are tasty and easy to prepare... and very different to your average dinner meal!

just-drinks is back off to Scotland tomorrow for the second meeting of the World Whiskies Conference’s working party on Scotch whisky image and innovation. It should be a fascinating day as we will be joined by a broader spectrum of delegates than last time, including representatives from Chivas Brothers, the Scotch Whisky Association, Field Packaging, Highland Distillers and, via a video link-up, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario – one of the single largest customers of Scotch anywhere in the world. The aims of this second meeting are to review and debate the outcomes from the first group session, which just-drinks was present at last month, and to refine and develop some conclusions about how to move the category forward. It will be interesting to see if such a broad base of stakeholders can agree on any such conclusions as there is bound to be a wide spectrum of views on offer about where the industry is at present, let alone how it must proceed in the future. There were some pretty far-reaching topics discussed at the last meeting (these are still under wraps for the time being) so I am expecting a lively debate.

Anyone familiar with Robert M. Parker’s newsletter, The Wine Advocate, is probably also familiar with Dr. Jay Miller. A clinical psychologist by training, Jay Miller assisted Bob Parker with tastings, visits, and editing for the Wine Advocate, on a part-time basis from 1985 to 1998. Bob “discovered” Dr. J., who was working part-time to support his wine habit, at Wells Discount Liquors in the Baltimore area. Over that 13 years, Jay has tasted 65,000 wines.

Dr. J. continued to dabble in the wine trade while working full time as a child psychologist, but eventually decided to plunge full time into the trade. Then, in September of 2006, Robert Parker decided to bring in some talent to help expand his wine coverage, and in the process Jay became the specialist for the Pacific Northwest, South America, and the land down under, Australia, as well as the fortified wines of Portugal.

Bob has the highest admiration for Jay’s palate (and claims he’s one of the two best tasters he’s ever encountered), and the two have continued to taste together for 25 years. Join us as our own Dr. Ted M. Burns (with guest Andrew Greene and Toby Beard ) sits down to taste with Dr. J, and get his impressions of the wide wine of world.

For More Info - eRobertParker.com: www.eRobertParker.com

Sponsor: Champagne USA: www.champagne.us

Show #174 (1:21:45 min 56 MB)

Baking has almost become a forgotten art in the context of people with different professions and career improvement. Baking is done with a cake or brownie mix purchased at the local grocery store. Many old fashioned baking recipes are sorrowfully lost in modern days and the skill to bake a wonderful cake is [...]

The low price of alcohol, beer in particular, has been a major bone of contention between UK supermarkets and brewers for quite some time over here. With the retailers using beer as a loss-leader, driving footfall into stores especially in the run-up to Christmas, we can all look forward to some pretty good bargains in the coming months – whether the brewers like it or not. However, word reaches just-drinks of a supermarket website which has been taking this cost-cutting to the extreme. Earlier this week, Asda was selling 20-packs of Heineken bottled beer for GBP0.10 (US$0.21), rather than the GBP10 the cases usually go for. “Its very rare for something like this to happen,” the supermarket said. "It appears to be human error which has occurred despite our regular checks and diligence." And then, the killer blow to a good friend of mine, who is looking forward to 24 slabs of Heineken arriving at her house on Saturday morning. “The disclaimer online makes it very clear that pricing errors like this will not be honoured, so anyone who has attempted to purchase this product at the incorrect price will not receive this product.” That’s her weekend ruined already, then.

Goosecross Cellars releases 2005 Napa Valley Merlot!

As always, our Merlot is fruit forward and lush on the palate. Geoff is looking for rich flavor concentration and round, polished tannins so, following a few days "cold soak", he guided the wine through a warm fermentation to coax the dark, plummy lusciousness out of the fruit. Full, rich and complex, it's loaded with black cherry, sweet boysenberry, dusty earth and mocha finishing with lingering toasty oak and a hint of aromatic herbs. "This vintage has the generosity of fruit and supple elegance I look for in a Merlot."

The abundant fruit and soft tannins make our Merlot an easy-going match for a variety of foods. It's a delicious partner for everything from roast chicken or pork, to grilled rib-eye. Merlot is a time-honored and sumptuous favorite with grilled or roast lamb. Geoff loves it with Colleen's recipe for Cornish Hens with Merlot Glaze. "The rosemary and thyme bring out the subtle herb and woodsy character in the wine. It's great!"

There are many more recipes to choose from in Colleen's Kitchen recipe collection.

You may listen to the audio winemaker notes for this wine online!

Visit Goosecross on line at www.goosecross.com for your complete virtual wine tasting experience!

Experience Napa Valley Wine Radio. Goosecross was the first winery in the world to offer this educational and engaging service! A podcast, blog, direct access to our Director of Wine Education, recipes, and wine forums, all in one location!

This is the snow pea, mushroom stir fry: a delicious healthy Chinese dish that you can prepare in minutes, and have with steamed rice, or any other deliciuos dish.

In 1982, Maison Deutz followed the lead of several other French Champagne houses by heading west to make California sparkling wine. Deutz found a premier location on the central coast, and in 1982 they began planting a 160-acre vineyard with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc. In the ensuing years, Deutz was sold and became Laetitia Winery. Then finally, in 1998 Laetitia Winery was acquired along with Barnwood Winery by Selim Zilkha.

Fast forward to today, and Laetitia Vineyard and Winery has 620 acres currently planted to grape vines, and produce both sparkling and still wines - in fact, they have a separate winemaker for each program (though they are father and son). Coincidentally, Selim’s daughter Nadia had also developed a keen interest in fine wine and food, and now presides as Executive Vice President of the family’s three succsessful brands: Laetitia, Barnwood, and Avila. Join us as we talk with owner Nadia Zilkha Wellisz and vineyard manager Lino Bozzano about the past, present and the future of this marvelous estate.

For More Info - Laetitia Vineyards and Winery: www.laetitiawine.com

Sponsor: Champagne USA: www.champagne.us

Show #173 (31:15 min 22.5 MB)

Charcoal smokers are the fore-runners of all the other types of smokers we have in the market today. Let's face it; these smokers still come up with the best-tasting smoked meat in the land. Early Americans have enjoyed smoked meat for centuries and they all learned how to cook and love it using charcoal smokers. Charcoal smokers have become more modernized now in the sense that they already come with heat indicators and all that, making smoke cooking with a charcoal smoke...

A recent study of over 5,000 American households found that Americans throw away almost 70 percent of the food they buy. When asked why they waste food, survey participants cited spoilage as the number one reason. If you're interested in some techniques that may help you save money by wasting less food, read on. We've compiled some simple ideas to help you better utilize plastic food storage containers.