You Know Fall Is Fast Approaching When......

I just placed my 2012 summer pre-release offering for the last of Carlisle Vineyard's 2010 wines.  They plan to ship in early November, hurry up and wait.

A Winery Revisited

Recently we had the opportunity to visit and tour J Vineyards winery near Healdsburg, California.  As you can see from the photograph, the winery is beautiful. What I found most interesting was the automated champagne riddling process.  Each of the riddling containers holds 1008 bottles of champagne.  The process used to be done by hand, with a person having to turn each bottle periodically throughout the process.  

Last night we re-visited J Vineyards by opening a bottle of their 2009 Russian River Valley Chardonnay.  I found the wine to have a lush mouth feel with a lovely finish.  I have provided the winemaker's tasting notes below.

TASTING NOTES:

The 2009 J Vineyards Russian River Valley Chardonnay is a combination of old world minimalism and new world verve. Notes of Meyer lemon, peach, vanilla, toasted almond, and honey delight the nose and mouth. The weighty, seamless palate has a creamy texture reminiscent of crème brûlée. A long, luxurious finish exhibits hints of caramel, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

Our Take On Quadrucci Con Pollo

Below you have our attempt at recreating Broders' Pasta Bar  quadrucci con pollo recipe.

Served with a  2010 Dolcetto di Dogliani Doc San Luigi  
Ingredients:
1 lb pasta (I used Cavatappi)
4 Garlic cloves, minced
¼ C of fresh basil, chopped
2 C of  greens (I used a blend of escarole, lettuce,radicchio and endive) 
10-15 grape tomatoes, halved
½ C Cream
1 C Chicken broth
¼ C Dry white wine
5 T Balsamic vinegar
1 T Corn starch
asparagus, cut into 2” pieces
2 chicken breasts, cut into 1” strips
3 oz of prosciutto
3 oz of Mascarpone cheese
Parmesan cheese, shaved

Directions: Brown the chicken in olive oil, about 5 minutes Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds Add the broth, vinegar, wine, and ½ of the basil.  Simmer for 5 minutes (cook the chicken). Meanwhile, steam the asparagus. Add cream and slowly whisk in the corn starch. Add the asparagus, greens, prosciutto, mascarpone cheese,  tomatoes and remaining basil. Toss immediately with al dente pasta.  Add parmesan and freshly ground pepper to taste.

81 Degrees at 9PM...... Rose!

The perfect wine for the summer heat.  A bottle of 2011 Valley of the Moon Rosato Di Sangiovese.  As you can see, the wine has a wonderful pink hue with hints of pomegranate and flavors of strawberry and melon on the finish.  An inexpensive wine at $14 for a Sunday evening.

It's Open!

Happy days, the local produce stand is open for business!

  Corn on the cob for dinner tomorrow night with rosemary grilled lamb chops.

Heirloom Tomato Salad

When the temperature approaches the century mark, its hard to find something that sounds appetizing.  
I have a dish that can beat summer's heat, Heirloom tomato salad.
Ingredients:
2          Heirloom tomatos, quartered
1          cold hard boiled egg, also quartered
1/2       shallot, coarsely chopped
1tsp     lemon zest
3          basil leaves, coarsely chopped
            sea salt, to taste
            light creamy balsamic vinaigrette(I prefer Girard's) 

Bacon Jam Recipe, Yup Bacon Jam

I plan to have this along side grilled asparagus and sirloin steaks.  Now all I have to do is pair a wine with this meal, yikes!

Here's My Take at Bacon Jam

makes approximately 2 cups

Ingredients:

1 lb bacon
1 medium Vidalia onion, diced
3 to 4 cloves of garlic, diced
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed (I use Splenda brown sugar, calorie thing)
1 airline size bottle of Markers Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
3 Tbsp of Balsamic Glaze of Modena

Directions:

Cut bacon the short way, into 1/4  inch pieces.  Place the cut bacon slices into a large pan, cook bacon until nicely brown and crisp at the edges. Drain off grease, reserving 1 tablespoon; remove cooked bacon to paper towel-lined plate to cool.  
Turn the heat to medium low. Place 1 tablespoon of reserved bacon fat into the pan, add onions and garlic, and cook until onions are translucent. Add balsamic glaze, brown sugar, and bourbon. Bring to a boil to cook off the alcohol.  Add cooked chopped bacon.  Salt and pepper to taste.Simmer for approximately 1 1/2 hours, stirring frequently

Cooking Complete:

Place the cooked bacon mixture into a food processor, and pulse the mixture until the consistency of chunky jam.  It can get a bit sticky and thick, so you can add water to achieve the desired consistency.
Refrigerate after use.  Remember to serve warm, 15 to 20 seconds in the microwave should do the trick.
Enjoy on burgers, steaks, even quality beef hotdogs!  

Blue Water Seafood Market and Grill - Chioppino Soup Recipe

If you love fish tacos, fish sandwiches, and seafood soups and salads, then Blue Water Seafood Market and Grill in San Diego is a must stop. Below is a recipe I found online from a soul who kept watching an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives featuring Blue Water until he had all the ingredients of their Chioppino soup.  Thanks to him, you can now enjoy this wonderful soup at home. 

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 large fennel bulb, sliced
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 zucchinis, chopped
• 2 leeks, sliced
• 1/4 cup of tomato paste
• 1 (28 ounce) can of diced tomatoes in juice
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• 1 tsp of dried crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp of worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp of salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cups of fish stock
• 1 cup of claim juice
• 1 1/2 cups of dry white wine
• 1 pound of salmon, cubed
• 1 pound of mahi-mahi, cubed
• 1 pound of ahi tuna, cubed
• 1 pound of large scallops
• 1 pound of shrimp

Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat up olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook just for a few minutes.
2. Add fennel, celery, carrots, zucchini, leeks, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, black pepper, red pepper, Worcestershire, salt, bay leaf, fish stock, clam juice, and white wine.
3. Stir and bring mixture to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until vegetables get soft.
4. Add all seafood and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to let fish overcook.
5. Serve over cilantro rice

Revisiting Flora Springs Trilogy

It's been a number of years since I last tried a bottle Flora Springs wine, so Saturday night I decided to give it a try.  The 2008 Flora Springs Trilogy is a Bordeaux style blend made from 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 2.5% Petit Verdot and 2.5% Malbec.  The wine has a deep ruby red color; it tastes of cherry and other dark fruit notes, along with spice and oak in a full bodied wine with silky smooth tannins.  
While I enjoyed the wine, I feel that at $62 you could find a more satisfying bottle at that price point.
Ratings: WE94, RP91