I don’t blog nearly enough on BG about all of the amazing wines you can grab at TJs for $10 or less, so here’s a quick-and-dirty list of 10 awesome bottles you can grab and stick in your eco-friendly Trader Joe’s wine tote ($1.95). Two of those bad boys make it pretty easy to carry a case of wine up the stairs, for sure.

Also, if there’s no Trader Joe’s in your neck of the woods, a well-stocked Whole Foods will carry about 60-70% of these as well.

The Whites:

1. Honey Moon Viognier ($5): This is possibly my favorite low-priced white these days, and it drinks as well as many $20 Viogniers, at 1/4 the price.

2. 2007 Gaetano d’Aquino Orvieto Classico ($5): A dry Italian white, perfect for a light pasta or fish supper.

3. 2003 Fuerza Malbec ($4): I can’t think of a better white at this price point, in 2009, period.

4. 2004 or 2003 Screw Kappa Napa Chardonnay ($9-10): Although the price of this Sebastiani bad boy has certainly increased a little since its release, this is still a keeper, and in the right price range.

5. Charles Shaw Blush Zin ($2): Possibly the best sangria wine I’ve found in a long time. Aerate a couple of bottles with an immersion blender (or even in your regular blender) and mix. Just get a case, and prepare for summer (slowly).

The Reds:

1. 2006 Bogle Zin (or ’07) $10 or $8: This one tastes way fancier than the price point would lead you to believe. Pair it with turkey meatballs, veggie burritos or any rich entree.

2. Red Truck Merlot ($9-10): This Sonoma all-American is just fine for a weeknight. When I still ate meat, I loved it with burgers or a Brokeass flank steak.

3. Cycles Gladiator 2005 Central Coast Merlot ($8-10): Cycles calls this one “the wine to drink while you wait for your Cabernet to age.” I’ve bided my time with worse, for sure.

4. Charles Shaw Cab ($2): Buy this one by the case, and aerate before using. A rock-solid Monday night wine, but try to avoid drinking the whole bottle yourself, as the tannins bug me after a while.

Who doesn’t like good old-fashioned rice crispy treats? No one! They’re comforting, familiar and always satisfing to the sweet-tooth. The trouble is, these innocent-seeming snacks aren’t vegetarian friendly, or Kosher for that matter! Sure, marshmallows seem like the most harmless things in the world—all billowy and full of childlike whimsy, but, to my great dismay (and that of many other sugar-loving vegetarians) these classic confections get their consistency from gelatin, a meat by-product. For years I thought I had to say goodbye to one of my favorite childhood treats, but thanks to the sticky help of peanut butter and rice syrup, marshmallows have met their match! This rice crispy treat recipe has a chocolate twist, giving it a slightly more complex flavor then the Saran-wrapped ones you used to find in the school cafeteria. But not to fret: they haven’t grown too old for unicorns or the Tooth Fairy just yet…

Beers are like mushrooms. Different kinds come and go throughout the year, following the seasons, each appearing and vanishing as the months make their way through the calendar. Now, as Lagunitas Brewing Company’s phenomenally strong, delicious, and (so call me cheap) cheap Brown Shugga’ dwindles, its successor arrives: Olde Gnarley Wine Barleywine – and just in time for the spring Agaricus bloom.

Brown Shugga’ is a beer worth loving. It is dark amber, sweet, brewed with brown cane sugar, and runs about 10% ABV. Among beers, it’s an oddity, and the story behind it is as good as beer stories get. It was the winter of 1997 and the Petaluma brewery was in the midst of making a barleywine. However, the brewers goofed and didn’t secure quite enough barley malt to complete the brew’s recipe. By the time they noticed the shortage, the rest of the recipe – including all the bittering hops – had been portioned into the kettle. To skimp on fermentable sugar at that point would have resulted in a hugely bitter, off-balance beer, so company owner Tony Magee directed his boys to take the van, hit up every supermarket in town and buy approximately 350 pounds of brown sugar. They followed the order, brought back the loot, dumped it in the pot, and finished the brew. As it fermented, the beer tasted awful, reports Magee, but toward the end of fermentation this brewing blunder abruptly took a turn for the better. The final product was a potent beer, sweet like candy, colored like whiskey, not quite as thick as a barleywine, and destined to become a favorite annual release. Brown Shugga’ usually runs 10 to 12 bucks for a six-pack – a splendid deal when you remember the beer is twice as strong as most others and three times as flavorful. The beer has been rated as a fine one to sip with expensive aged cheeses, but if your pants are anything like mine, you couldn’t keep cash in your holey pockets even if you had any. So skip cheese and swipe wild mushrooms for free. Brown Shugga’ works well with most edibles, though the anise-and-almond-scented species of the Agaricus genus complement the beer’s sweetness just perfectly. On the savory side, try a hot simmering stew of Chicken of the Woods to match with this hearty ale.

If you can’t find the 2008 release of Brown Shugga’ – for it may be dwindling – a solution is on the shelves already: Olde Gnarley Wine. This beer, in fact, is the beer that Brown Shugga’ was supposed to be until the aforementioned sugar accident diverted it to its happy fate. Olde Gnarley Wine, like most Lagunitas beers, goes by a name that is almost as fantastic as the beer itself – but this beer’s a hard one to beat. It runs 11% ABV, is sweet and chewy, nutty and balanced, and contains no overbearing bitterness. Olde Gnarley Wine works well with The Prince and other sweet Agaricus species; try dunking the mushrooms in egg, then preparing them like French toast. Sliced porcinis also make a good match; brown them in a pan of olive oil, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and wash down with the beer.

• Brown Shugga’ (in 6-packs only) $8.99 to $9.99
• Olde Gnarley Wine (in 22-ounce bottles) $3.29 to $3.99

This dish is mac and cheese’s sexy older sister. Not slutty sister, mind you. This dish takes the wholesome creaminess of macaroni and cheese serves it up with the sophisticated flavors of sweet fig and peppery arugula. So take a hint from your dinner and serve it with an equally sexy and sophisticated Mionetto prosecco.

Everyone should have a ball of fresh pizza dough in their refrigerator at all times. It’s ridiculously easy and you can make SO many things out of it. Here’s my recipe for enough pizza dough to last several days…