For years, no one really knew where Zinfandel came from, so in typically American style, we made it our own. Zin became California's grape like Riesling is the grape of Germany and Pinot Noir is the grape of Burgundy. California Zinfandels are often similar to Americans themselves: loud, brawny, a barbeque lover with bold flavors and plenty of opinion. Zinfandel inspires such passion in the U.S. that it even has its own professional organization, aroma wheel, and annual festival.

Finally scientists did DNA testing on Zinfandel and discovered it came from the same stock as Italian Primitivo and Croatian Crljenak. Now here's where the grape gets interesting. When wine geeks talk about terroir, or the sense of "place" you can taste in a wine, they're referring to everything from the specific minerals and elements in the soil that help flavor the grape to the region's climate to the vineyard's altitude and relative position to the sun. All of these elements add up to taking what would be a generic grape that tastes the same no matter where it's produced (like when you're on the road and all the restaurants look scary, and then you find a Panera and think, well at least I can get a decent sandwich), and making it into something completely distinct.

With Zinfandel and Primitivo, the two, though genetically twins, are more like cousins when you throw terroir into the mix. Zinfandel/Primitivo is a versatile grape, able to make light and fruity wines like Beaujolais and deep, dark, alcoholic, jammy wines, which represents the style of most American Zins.

Continue reading "Wine of the Week: Primitivo" after the jump.

Tall, rich and topped with a candle, this Chocolate Layer Cake from the Canadian Baker is enough to make me wonder if we should extend the tradition of adding candles to cakes to New Year's celebrations, in addition to our own birthdays. It's another birthday, in a way, for the earth - not to mention that it's kind of fun to eat cake, blow out candles and make a wish.

But getting back to the cake, it is a classic. The layers are moist, made with cocoa powder and buttermilk, and it is finished with a simple chocolate buttercream frosting. You can find the recipe here, but you might be able to find a cake just like this one at local bakery or a restaurant that specializes in classic comfort food. This type of cake is a great one to have in your recipe book because it can be brought out on so many occasions, from birthday (or New Year's) parties to Valentine's Dinners or casual family gatherings.

What is a birthday party without a birthday cake? A disappointing celebration, that's what. Any dessert can be appropriate for a birthday if you stick a candle on top, but a lovely cake doesn't need candles to be appropriate - especially if the birthday boy/girl doesn't want to think about how many candles should be topping of that cake. This cake recipe is from Cooking Light and is a lovely, easy-to-make layer cake.

The cake itself is light and moist, and the frosting is fantastic. The brown sugar mix melts in your mouth and develops a slight crunch on the outside as it sets. I had to double the original recipe to make enough frosting to cover the cake and a tiny bit left over that was a great dip for some pretzel sticks. I would make the icing alone again and serve dipped pretzels as a salty-sweet snack food, but I wouldn't hesitate to make the whole cake again, either. I just need another occasion.

The Greedy Goose is a Singaporan food blog with commentary as beautiful as the photos. And it's not quite as hard to get those breath-taking shots when you have someone who just happens to be a professional photographer in the same house. Lamenting the fact that it is that photographer who doesn't like fancied up desserts, Eggy whipped up something very simple and very delicious for dessert, in the form of this cake. Sometimes the best desserts are the simplest: a scoop of ice cream, a slice of pound cake, strawberries topped with whipped cream. This layered butter cake is no exception. The recipe is from Baking Illustrated and clearly turned out perfectly, equally appealing to those who like fancy desserts and those whose tastes run more simply.