On this fabulous Fridge Friday, I’d love to introduce one of my favorite foodies, bloggers and all-around great Momma, Nanette Johnson (also known as Ms. Gourmet). She makes me wanna be a better foodie, blogger and Momma (someday!) She also had me at “hello bella” way back when we first started following each other on Twitter.

Nanette spends her time, in her own words, “running after two kids, cooking, daydreaming and writing about food and travel.” I feel a little like kindred souls when I read her fine words at GourmetWorrier.com, where she worries about what she eats, like many of us do, but sums it all up so eloquently. She also documents her fabulous travels, whether it be back to Malta or in her homeland of Australia.

Nanette was gracious enough to share her fridge and some stellar photos. I feel blessed to have her on this site today. Thank you, Nanette!

What three things are always in your fridge?

Organic milk, cheese (various & lots) and organic eggs

Is there a rhyme or reason to how your fridge is organized?

No real rhyme or reason – larger (alcoholic) bottles on the top shelf out of reach of children (not that they’d drink it anyway), eggs in the egg trays & cheese in their given compartments and the rest is placed in Tupperware containers as I loathe a smelly fridge.

When was the last time you cleaned your fridge?

I’m a clean as I go kind of person and tend to err on the obsessive compulsive side of cleanliness – so the fridge is always organised and clean.

What guilty pleasure is in your fridge right now?

I don’t know about ‘guilty’ but I look forward to my 5pm ‘Pink Gin’ with great pleasure, so there is always a bottle of gin & pink grapefruit juice in the fridge!

There is also some walnut & fetta dip, hummus, baba ganoush, a jar of stuffed olives, chocolate halva, crème brûlée and half a bottle of New Zealand sauvignon blanc.

What’s your first priority when filling your fridge?

I always make sure I have fresh fruit and vegetable in the crisper bins, followed by eggs, milk, cream, yogurt, butter, cheese, grana padano and pesto.

Which ingredients in there are a fabulous meal just waiting to happen?

Not too sure about fabulous, but there is some homemade walnut pesto and grana padano and there is also some left over cardamom crème brûlée for dessert – oh and the wine.

Do you have a dream fridge in mind for the future?

It’s a toss up between a Smeg 50’s style retro fridge in red or in the bold colours of the Italian flag. Or a state of the art Liebherr Side by Side Premium Vinidor Biofresh Nofrost. Um – I just looked at the spec’s again on the Liebherr and I think that’s my ultimate ‘dream fridge’.

I’d settle for any of the three, but am partial to that Italian flag – wow! – and must try that pomegranate molasses someday. Again, thank you, Nanette!

Dale Cruse’s fridge makes me happy in a way that’s quite different from my fridge. While my fridge may be loaded with 10 different types of jams and jellies, Dale’s got the equivalent in wine, many of them show proof of having been opened, sipped and, perhaps, guzzled – no judgment!

That’s a joke. Dale doesn’t guzzle wine. (I guzzle wine.) Dale tastes. In fact, he does it quite well and writes all about it on his  site Drinks Are On Me. Though we’ve never met, Dale’s awesome because he keeps his wine talk real or “without all the B.S.” He also happens to be a rock star, Website developer and helps top clients realize their Web dreams. I could tell you more about him, but he does it so well here.

Dale, thank you for sharing your fridge and your stellar wine knowledge. And in addition to all that delicious wine, I’m sort of enamored with the fact that your fridge is filled with a few accouterments for an easy wine party. A few crackers and we’d be all set!

Now to our regularly scheduled interview…

How did you find food? (You know, besides the eating-it-every-day-to-stay-alive thing…)

Since I’m much more into wine than food, I’m going to explain how I found wine. A few years ago I mentioned to a website client that I had drunk a few bottles of wine and enjoyed them. Unknown to me at the time, he was VERY into wine. He said, “If you’re going to do this [get into wine], you’re going to do it right!” He started sending me mixed six and 12 packs of wine with his own personal tasting notes. That meant the world to me and allowed me to taste fine wine and identify what it was I was tasting. I’ve had a love affair with the fruit of the vine ever since.

What three things are always in your fridge?

Besides butter, milk, and tomato sauce? I’d say bubbles (Champagne), white wine, and capers.

Is there a rhyme or reason to how your fridge is organized?

Oh yes! I’ve always been spatially organized and my dairy is all located together, as are my wines, meats, veggies, cheeses, condiments, etc.

When was the last time you cleaned your fridge?

That reminds me….

What guilty pleasure is in your fridge right now?

Hot dogs. Good ones, though!

Which ingredients in there are a fabulous meal just waiting to happen?

Chicken, capers, butter, Sauvignon Blanc. Add some pasta and I’ve got a delicious Chicken Piccata.

Do you have a dream fridge in mind for the future? Do you already own your dream fridge?

My dream fridge is a wine fridge! Though I have several small wine fridges, I dream of one day owning a Euro Cave. Anybody want to buy some smaller units so I can afford my Euro Cave?

And, in an effort to assist all those weekend grillers, what wine goes well with the stuff we throw on the grill?

Grilled hot dogs (like the ones in his fridge drawer!) go well with a tannic red wine, like a young Bordeaux or a bottle of Petite Sirah. The fat will cut through all those tannins, allowing the fruit to shine through, making the wine drinkable.

You’re saying: “Wait, what?! Where’s the picture of your fridge?!”

Relax, it’s coming, it’s coming. It’s just down below. But before I share the entire contents, let’s dig into my guilty pleasure (or, in this case, pleasures!) I snapped what I thought was a decent photo of my absolute favorite thing in the ENTIRE WORLD. Sure, ripe pineapple is heaven. And I *adore* hot sauce. But nothing screams pleasure and brings along as much guilt (for me!) as a well-chilled, soon-to-be-open bottle of Champagne.

The gold wrapper mesmerizes. It’s shine hints of plenty of bubbles, effervescence and celebration to come. Whether pink, lightly crisp or golden honey-colored, the liquid inside promises good times and a party. A party in a bottle. Champagne is literally a party in a bottle and I’m a party-in-a-bottle kind of gal.

While most would agree that this sprightly liquid indeed oozes pleasure, you’re wondering where the guilt comes in? Well… I always try to have one bottle of Champagne in my fridge at all times. ALL TIMES, people. Not just when I’m throwing a dinner party, or when guests are due to visit, but simply whenever. Sometimes, you just need the look of the bottle, the promise of a party, the anticipation of splendid times, to make everything okay, to ease you during a crappy day, to celebrate the little things like when you lose 5 pounds after eating half a pizza!

The guilt also comes into play when you think of popping open a $40 or $60 or – gasp! – $80 bottle of the stuff simply for those little celebrations. It’s very extravagant, super luxurious and the kind of thing one just shouldn’t do every day. And, I don’t. I promise! But once in a while, for the simplest, mini-celebration, I do pop it open. I like to celebrate the little things – the weight loss, a sunny day, or just the fact that we’re healthy and alive and lucky to have such a bottle in our fridge. I feel bad about it, but somehow I get over it once the second glass settles in…

My fridge is fairly empty this Friday otherwise. Lots of leftovers crowd in before a big shopping trip planned for today. And don’t you dare think that I actually keep FOUR bottles of the sparkling stuff in my fridge every day. I felt like a little fun exaggeration this beautiful Friday.

Notice my French passions peeking through too. Bottles of champagne nestled against a Tupperware container filled with freshly boiled and peeled local hen eggs. Those eggs are ready for a quick appetizer – either for fancy deviled eggs or an entire egg simply sprinkled with coarse sea salt. Champagne and hard-boiled eggs are like New Jersey and you = perfect together! (Remember that commercial?! No?! I guess you had to be from the tri-state area…)

One last guilty pleasure this gorgeous Friday morning – It really is going to be beautiful today in New England, unless the weather Gods are playing with us! – I love, love, love a little spoonful of chocolate syrup. In some milk. On some ice cream or a plate of strawberries. On a spoon!

This bottle is quite worn and probably needs to be replaced. I really don’t have much all that often. But I do try to keep the organic stuff around for an equally sweet, guilty treat! Not as perfect as Champagne, but it’ll make me feel like I had a huge hot fudge sundae, without all those icky calories. What’s in your fridge?!

After a little time away, I’m resurrecting FridgeFridays, but this time from it’s own blog! (Big thanks and loads of kisses to @donc for setting it up so quickly!)

I really think it’s critical (and enlightening) to examine the food we keep in our fridge. And, in a wonderful turn of events, you think so too!

When I was taking photos earlier, I was investigating the door of my fridge and realized, “Wow, it’s a mess!” Do we ever clean out our fridge doors? My last cleaning of the often overlooked spot had to be… years ago. So, cleaning ensued.

My “wow” #2 (like Oprah’s “a ha” moments) hit me when I remembered, “Boy, I love hot sauce!” I gathered them onto a shelf and counted 1, 2, 3 … 7 different bottles that add heat to my meals, along with a bottle of liquid smoke and a pile of fresh ginger. (Okay, hickory seasoning isn’t really heat, but it’s such a cute bottle, right? And there are count ‘em two (!) bottles of Tapatio Salsa Picante, but that’s how much we love it, so there!)

I decided to check if my love for hot sauce was a lone activity and, of course, Flickr produced thousands and thousands of hot sauce photos. I love finding out the Web can link me with all the other crazies who love the hots. How about you? Do you like it hot too? Share your fridge and hot sauce photos on your blog and link to them from the comments here, and/or tag photo uploads with #FridgeFridays on Twitter!

So what’s my favorite of all these bottles? That’s super easy. A few years ago, I discovered Chachi Voodoo at my local Flatbread Company restaurant. It’s made by the same folks who make those fab Maine Root all-natural sodas. I couldn’t find a website dedicated to the hot sauce, but there should be a huge fan site for the stuff because it’s delicious – hot, bright, sweet, delicious and organic. There’s nothing wrong with that!

Oh, lest you think I’m just bottle crazy, I also love hot produce of all types and, in fact, have a secret stash of habaneros on hand all the time (how else do you heat up your chili?!) and a huge pile of ginger (when you need a different kind of heat). I drink big pots of steaming hot ginger and lemon tea most nights. I guess it helps with digestion, but I love how it soothes me, a spicy lullaby that preps me for peaceful dreaming.

What’s in my tea? It’s too easy! Boil some water and toss in a small pile of sliced up ginger, a couple wedges of lemon and, if you want some sweetness, a touch of honey. Sometimes I alter up the recipe by adding a couple mint leaves or some maple syrup instead of honey.

What do you do with your ginger? Any favorite hot sauces out there? Take a photo and share in the comments below, or tag it #FridgeFridays on Twitter.