“Santa” (aka my hubby) gave me a bread machine for Christmas. I finally had the chance to make bread with it the other day and it turned out wonderful. I have a feeling I’m going to be making a lot of breads in the near future. I can’t wait to try gourmet breads.
I know there are many interesting ingredients you can use to make bread. I know you can make bread with a bottle of beer, and you can use Coca-Cola to make bread. Did you know you can use WINE to make bread too? I didn’t know that until I made a loaf of Vino by the Slice from Old World Gourmet (OWG).
Vino by the Slice from OWG was super easy to make, and I didn’t need a bread machine. All you have to do is pour the bread mix in a large bowl and add in 12 ounces of your favorite wine (I used Pinot Grigio), mix it up and pour the batter into a greased pan (9″ x 5″) and bake for 30 minutes. When it’s done baking you have a sophisticated gourmet bread that your family and friends will rave about and they will think you spent all day baking.
Vino by the Slice bread goes great with fresh fruits, cheeses, hearty soups and would be great cut up in cubes and used with a fondue. I enjoyed the bread with some of my homemade cranberry-grape jelly.
The bread DOES have a wine-like taste to it. If you didn’t know it was made with wine you might suspect it was when you have your first bite. It has a bit of a “kick” to it.
The bread is really thick, much thicker then bread I am accustom to. I read on the site that it freezes well too.
I didn’t let my kids try the bread because it was made with wine. I know that alcohol can burn off when cooked, but I wasn’t about to take any chances.
You can use just about any wine to make the bread. I wonder what it would look like it I would have used a red wine instead of a white wine?
Overall I enjoyed the bread. It was great with jelly and just plain old butter. I think this would be nice to serve on a platter with a selection of cheese.
The only downside is that the cost per loaf is $10.00. That is a bit pricey, but then again I don’t buy gourmet breads so I am not sure if that is the going rate or not.
Another interesting and unique product carried by OWG is their line of Vinolicious. Vinolicious is a mix that you use with your favorite wine or champagne to create a frozen cocktail treat. Available flavors include Blueberry Pomegranate, Lemoncillo, Margarita, Peach Bellini, Sangria and Wine Ice.
I received several samples from OWG to try out. The first one I wanted to try was the Wine Ice, but I couldn’t find my corkscrew to open up a bottle of red wine I had. So I opted for the Peach Bellini. This mix can be made with white wine or your favorite champagne. I went with the white wine because I’m saving my champagne for if/when we sell our condo.
The Vinolicious mixes are a bit more work then the bread, but worth it in the end.
Simply pour the mix into a large bowl and add 12 ounces of your favorite wine. You will need to add some water too (the directions are on the package). Stir the mix up and either pour the mix into a pitcher or a Ziploc bag and put it in the freezer. I went with the freezer bag because I didn’t have room in my freezer for a pitcher.
For the next few hours I would take the bag out and mush it around with my hands so it didn’t turn solid. The idea is to keep it to a slush like consistency. If you use a pitcher you’ll have to mix it around to turn it into slush. After a few hours it was done.
I clipped off a corner of the bag and gently squeezed the Vinolicious Peach Bellini into a nice glass. It was a little too icy at first but once it started to melt it was the perfect slush consistency.
Oh my goodness! It was SO GOOD! It tasted EXACTLY like a Peach Bellini. It was like something you would enjoy on the beach on a tropical island. I didn’t even need a mixer to make it. I love that is tasted just like peach. Mmmm!!!!
I’m saving the Margarita and Sangria for my cousin (she LOVES Margaritas!). Now to find my corkscrew or buy a new one so I can open up my bottles of red wine. I’m anxious to try the Wine Ice flavor.
Vinolicious frozen mixes would be a great addition to a pool party, barbecue or a summer brunch. It would be great to keep on hand if you have your own bar to serve to party guests who want something different then beer or regular wine. You can whip up delicious frozen cocktails in just a few hours. No one would ever have to know it was made with a mix.
Each Vinolicious package comes with two bags of mix which is enough to make plenty of cocktails for your guests. Each box is $10.00 or you can buy a 3-pack for $24.00.
If you love to entertain, love gourmet treats or simply love wine, then you should check out the products available at OWG.
For more information visit www.OWGShopOnline.com. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.
Kimberly
*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and were not influenced in any way.