Last night I made dinner, wasn’t anything exciting, Chicken Picatta and Whole Wheat Pasta. Very easy and yummy dinner. However, the snow started to fall and Ccelli finally got home. We ate and then we kinda just stared at each other blankly. I knew what he was thinking … dessert.

Earlier that day vanilla pudding popped into my head and I have no idea why. I decided to make it. There is something about pudding that you make on the stove and not out of a box that is so comforting. It seemed perfect for the snowy night outside.

Vanilla pudding is easy: sugar, cornstarch, salt, milk, egg yolk and vanilla. This was a good start but it wasn’t enough. I made individual graham cracker crusts and some home made whipped cream. Threw it all together and voila … the perfect snow storm food.

RECIPE (Courtesy of AllRecipes.com):
VANILLA PUDDING
Ingredients
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup 2% milk
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat.
Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolk; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in butter and vanilla.
Cool for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to dessert dishes. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

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About 11pm, I decided that I wanted to see what it was like outside. I walked downstairs and opened the door and it was beautiful! A blanket of snow covering the street and we probably had about 10 inches or so… at least thats what it looked like. At that moment it occurred to me that I never went to the liquor store … #FAIL!

What is it about snow storms and liquor that go so well together?

Growing up, my family had a tendency to name rooms in our home. There was the “blue room”, the “office”, and in my Grandmother’s house she had the “middle room”. I loved the middle room. It housed her sewing machine, a big old dresser she unlocked with a skeleton key, and a little wine rack full of wine. When she passed I took all those bottles of wine, some of them were really old.

Wine racks are specifically designed to hold the bottle and slightly angle it down towards the cork. This prevents the cork from drying out. The cork won’t get porous so no air will get into the bottle. If the cork is moist and the bottle is stored in a cool environment … you can keep a bottle for years. All those years stored on my grandmothers wine rack and the way I stored them for years after, I figured they are probably still good.

I grabbed an Italian Red. This one wasn’t the oldest, it was dated 1992. I grabbed the cork screw and went to work. The cork came out easily and I decided to let it breathe for a few minutes. Then I found my glass and indulged. I was greeted by one of the smoothest, delicious, red juice’s of heaven that I’ve ever had!
It was delicious and topped off the snowy night in Philadelphia perfect.

So Grandmom … Salute!
Thank you for the wine 🙂