Today we are going to do a wine review for a wine that you cannot buy at the market or the store. It is not under nine dollars like some the wines we have talked about in the past. My In-laws live in Temecula, CA which has a number of wineries, which means we spend a lot of time out here visiting.
Being a lover of wine, we have visited a number of the local wineries to see what they had to offer. In general I would say that the wines of this region are hit or miss. There are a lot of big commercial wineries here and their grounds rival anything I have ever seen in terms of beauty. But those big wineries just don’t have the consistent quality, especially within a reasonable price range, that we are looking for.
But there are small wineries in this region that seem to put all of their effort and emphasis on the wine instead of the Marketing.
Baily’s winery one of those wineries. And I can honestly say that I put my money where my mouth is in this case because we have been members of this winery for some time now.
2011 Malbec Review
I have always likes the Malbec Grape, it’s a varietal that can be drank by itself but is definitely more at home with a nice piece of meat. My introduction to this varietal was during my trips to Argentina and Chile. The former being the epicenter of the varietal in the modern era.
When I first saw this bottle I was a bit skeptical / snobby. I had never had California Malbec that I had really liked and didn’t think this would be any different. Boy was I wrong!
The Nose
- The Nose has an interesting mix of strong earth tones with a deep rich berry note
- You get full experience right out of the bottle, the nose is just as consistent on the first pour as it is 30 minutes later on the decanter
Tasting Notes
- The overall taste of the wine is dry with but very smooth
- The berry flavor you get in the nose translates to smooth subtle blackberry jam flavor. It is not in your face however and the traditional Malbec Tannic dryness subdues the berry flavor.
- You get a slight hint of the berries but it is by no means a fruit bomb.
Pairs well with
This wine begs to be paired with a nice big steak or other piece of meat. It also pairs fabulously with smoked foods.
I highly recommend trying this bottle out. It’s not too expensive, about $25 for the bottle and it is well worth the price of admission.
You also couldn’t be buying from a greater group of people. The winery is full of friendly knowledgeable people. Here is the link where you can check them out.
If you buy it, let me know what you think!
Nonna’s No Bake Easter Cookies
This episode is a mother in law special, because well, it’s her recipe. When it comes to decorating for a holiday event it’s hard to outdo my mother-in-law. Whenever she prepares for a holiday everything, including the food she makes, has to adhere religiously to the theme being prepared.
This recipe is a perfect appetizer or dessert if you are having people over for Easter. What really make it great is you don’t actually have to bake these cookies.
Here are the ingredients you will need to assemble your Easter treats.
- Pepperidge Farm Milano Mint – Chocolate Cookies
- Orange Candy Melts
- Green Candy Melts
- Green Sprinkles
- Orange Sprinkles
Preparation
- Use a bread knife and cut the Milano Mint Cookies into the desired carrot shape.
- Once the basic shape has been made, use a paring knife smooth out the edges.
- Melt the desired amount of Orange Candy Melt into a “dippable” container
- Dip the shaped cookie ¾ of the way into the Orange Candy Melt.
- Place the dipped carrots on a pan with parchment paper and sprinkle them with the orange sprinkles.
- Wait 15 minutes for the sprinkle Melt to dry.
- Melt the desired amount of Green Candy Melt into another “diappable” container, this one does not have to be as deep as the first one.
- Dip the cookies so that the remaining ¼ of the cookies gets a green top.
- Place the dipped carrots on the same pan with parchment paper and sprinkle the newly dipped portion with green sprinkles.
- Wait another 15 minutes and you are ready to serve.
That’s all there is to it. Let us know what you think!
Grilled Skirt Steak with the “Green Sauce”
Yesterday we made the Green Sauce to put on our dinner for Taco Tuesday and it ended up being a big success. The only problem that we were left with was that we made far too much of the sauce and using it for Tacos and dip were not enough to finish what we made.
Our Tacos had sour cream, Guac, lettuce, ground beef, and cheese to go along with the green sauce. As you can see there are a lot of flavors to compliment the sauce. The sauce made the Tacos great but how would it stand up when it was the only thing being put on something?
So I decided to test the versatility of the sauce by pairing it with a grilled skirt steak. The results exceeded my expectations.
The recipe is exceedingly simple and took only about 15 minutes to prep and cook the entire meal. Just what the doctor ordered for a Wednesday night. Here are the details:
- Let the skirt steak sit out until its room temperature.
- Season the steak with Salt and Pepper to your taste.
- Throw the steaks on the grill and cook to the desired level of “Doneness”. Keep in mind that skirt steaks are much thinner than a typical cut of steak so the will finish more quickly.
- Once the steak is done take it off the grill and let the steak rest.
- Pour the desired amount of sauce onto the Green Sauce onto the steak and serve it.
That is it, it’s really that simple and I promise you that it delicious. So the next time you get home and don’t have time to prepare a big elaborate meal, give this recipe a try.
Thanks for reading.
“Green Sauce” Salsa & Taco Sauce
Today was Taco Tuesday in my household. We normally keep it pretty simple. Ground beef, store bought taco seasoning, some lettuce some cheese and some sour cream. We usually top it with some citrus or a store bought salsa. It’s quick, it’s easy and who doesn’t like Tacos?
But today I wanted to take Taco Tuesday up a notch. Enter the “Green Sauce”. I found a similar recipe to this years ago and have been adjusting it to my taste.
This is a sauce that you build from scratch, unlike some of the other sauces we have covered in this post. The sauce is a little bit creamy, a little spicy, citrusy and salty. Then you throw in the brightness of the cilantro and you have a truly special little sauce.
Tonight we used it as both the sauce for our Tacos and as the “Salsa” for our chips. It did a great job of both. If you decide to make it you will see that this is very versatile, and tasty little sauce.
Here are the ingredients that you will need:
- 1/4 head of lettuce, torn into pieces
- 4 jalapeno chilies, seeds and veins removed
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 5 green onions
- 1/2 bunch of cilantro leaves (try to avoid the stems)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 Limes
Please note that this makes a large quantity of sauce. If you are alone or with your significant other you may want to cut this recipe in half. Or you could store it and use it for later, it stores pretty well.
Preparation Steps
You are going to need a food processer, we used the small cheap one that you can get for about 20 bucks from Walgreens. If you have a nicer one by means use that.
- Cut the lager components up so that they fit into your particular food processor.
- Put the lettuce, jalapenos, onions, cilantro into food processor and chop it to a paste.
- Once all of the solids components have been processed add the lime juice, mayo, salt, pepper and garlic and run the processor until you get a creamy consistency that looks something like this:
That’s all there is to it. The prep time for this should really only be about 15 minutes. And trust me, once you taste the results you will see it’s well worth the effort. Try it out and let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading
Stuffed Chorizo Portobellos with a Tequila Lime Sauce
One of my favorite parts having people over and entertaining is getting to cook an elaborate and tasty meal. It also usually means that I’m making appetizers to go with the main dish. I love making appetizers, I think appetizers allow to be more creative than other dishes. You can experiment with flavors that might be too much in the context of an entire meal but work great as bite sized snacks.
This dish ware originally conceived on a weekend when we were going to have family over. We were making our Beer Can Chicken and we wanted to something tasty to munch on while the main course finalized.
Enter the baby Portobello. If you haven’t cooked with these mushrooms let me assure you that they are very versatile. In this instance, we decided to give the meal more of a Mexican flair. Here are the ingredients that we used:
- 1 dozen Portobello mushrooms with the gills removed
- 1 package of Pork Chorizo
- 1 package of Monterrey Jack Shredded Cheese
- ½ a Cup of Tequila
- Juice of two Limes
- 1/3 of a stick of butter
- A pinch or two of the EME Fish & Poultry Seasoning
- 5-10 Shakes from a Sale Shaker depending on your preference
- 1 tbsp. of flour to thicken (I used low carb flour)
Prepping the Mushrooms
- Use a small spoon to remove the gills from the mushrooms. You have to be careful and gentle while you are doing this because it’s fairly easy to break them. And once their broken it’s hard to stuff them. They should look like this:
Making the Sauce
- Now it’s time to make the sauce you’ll need a small sauce pot for this step. Grab the butter and put in the pot at high heat until it fully melts.
- Once the butter melts, pour the tequila in and squeeze the lime.
- At this point I back off the heat to about medium and let the sauce reduce.
- Once it has reduced I put the flour in and whisk it with a spoon, this will thicken the sauce.
- Keep the sauce on a low heat so it doesn’t overly thicken.
Final Cooking Instructions
- Once the sauce is made it’s time to cook the Chorizo. All I do here is put it on a pan on high heat until the chorizo is fully cooked. I did not bother seasoning it at all since we already have a sauce for it and chorizo is flavorful on its own.
- Once the chorizo is done, put it in a bowl and put it aside.
- Heat up your grill to about 400 degrees or so and put the Portobellos on the grill BY THEMSELVES. This step is key, because as the mushrooms heat up they produce a lot of liquid.
- Use tongs to grab the mushrooms and drain the liquid into the grill. You want them to be as dry as possible so that your sauce doesn’t get watered down by the mushroom juice.
- Once the mushrooms have been drained, use a spoon to stuff them with the chorizo.
- Pour the sauce onto the chorizo as it will do a good job of absorbing it.
- Finally, put the cheese on top of the chorizo and close the lid of the grill.
- Once you have the mushrooms stuffed you just need to leave them long enough for the cheese to melt.
Once the cheese is melted the mushrooms are ready to eat. They were a big hit the last time I made them. If you make them let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading.
EME Fish and Poultry Seasoning
Yesterday we discussed a quick and easy way to “enhance” a common condiment like BBQ sauce to give it and your food a much more gourmet feel. Our recipe today is going focus on another way to easily transform your food into something delicious, seasoning.
If you like to cook, most of you have probably purchased many different types of seasonings and used it on everything from beef, to chicken to veggies. Used correctly a good seasoning can add interesting new flavors to a dish while complimenting and enhancing the flavor of the food itself.
The problem with most store bought seasonings and rubs is, as my Father in Law taught me several years ago is that they are pricey and the main ingredient in them is salt. Now don’t get me wrong, I do not hate salt, quite the opposite actually I think it does a great job of helping to enhance food flavors. The problem I have is that salt is cheap and these seasonings and rubs are not.
This means you are spending 6 or 7 bucks for small container of seasoning or rub whose main ingredient you can buy by the pound for just a few dollars. I get why they do it, salt does improve the flavor and it helps them make money.
But as you will see in the post, making your own seasoning is not hard and it will leave you with a superior product. If you want to add a bunch of salt to your seasonings, by all means go ahead but at least when you make it you decide how much to put in.
This Fish and poultry seasoning recipe came to me as I was thinking how to prepare some personally caught rockfish for a Friday meal.
Here are the ingredients you will need:
- 12 Parts Lemon Pepper
- 4 Parts Garlic Powder
- 4 Parts Dryed Minced Onion
- 3 Parts Dill Weed
- 2 Parts Mustard Powder
You can see I went pretty heavy on the lemon pepper. For this reason I highly recommend not applying this liberally like a rub unless you are a big fan of pepper. 2 or so pinches on each side of something like a fish fillet should be more than enough.
If you wanted to make this more like a rub I would probably cut back the Pepper to like 8 or even 6 parts. Who knows I may even do so and let you know the results?
As with all the recipes that we talk about here, I highly recommend that you experiment and tweak them to fit your taste buds. Recipes should really only be a guide that try and then use as a launching point.
If you make the seasoning, let us know what you think. I haven’t tried it on poultry yet but I imagine that it would work very well on say a chicken breast especially if you combine it with a little bit of citrus like say a lemon.
Thanks for reading!
Dressing up your everyday BBQ Sauce
One of the benefits of living in Southern California is that sunny warm days come early and often. And when it’s warm there are few things I enjoy doing more than firing up the grill and making a delicious meal.
The only problem is when you fire up the grill on a weekday, you don’t have the time prepare an elaborate meal like you might to on the weekends. That doesn’t mean that you can’t make a delicious meal, it just means you have to get creative.
In this post we are going to look at a staple ingredient that you use when grilling, BBQ sauce. While it would be great to have the time to make your own BBQ sauce from scratch, most of us don’t have the time to do so.
That doesn’t mean however that you have to just use what you buy in the store. With minimal effort, you can spruce up your store bought sauce so that it has much more of a gourmet flavor.
We started with between three quarters of a bottle of Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce (Which you can buy at the super market.)
We then added the following ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons of Onion powder – here is the one I used on Amazon.
- 2 Tablespoons of Garlic powder – here is the one I used on Amazon.
- 1 Tablespoon of Chipotle powder – I used the Tradewinds Chipotle Powder
- 2 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar
The prep for this is simple, you dump in the powder, mix it thoroughly with a spoon and then add the vinegar and mix it thoroughly once more. The vinegar not only adds a tangy flavor, which I like, but it also thins out the sauce. Adding that quantity of spices and powders make the flavors more interesting but it also thickens the sauce to the point where it’s harder to spread.
The sauce we made today was destined for BBQ chicken. We cooked up a delicious assortment of thighs and drumsticks. A few notes on cooking the chicken with the sauce. I like to add the sauce as the chicken is cooking so that cooks into the meat. This infuses the sauce into the chicken and reduces the overly sweet flavor that BBQ sauce can give.
As with all of the recipes that we give you, I highly recommend that you experiment and find the flavors that best suit your taste. Recipes should only be a guide, don’t be afraid to get creative.
Thanks for reading
Wines under Nine – Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc
Today we are going to talk about our second entry in our Wines under Nine series, the Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc hailing from Marlborough New Zealand.
The Sauvignon Blanc’s are a light crispy and refreshing varietal that are easy to drink and perfect for a hot summer day.
The Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc is one of my favorite examples of this varietal regardless of the price. When you consider its price tag of only $8.99 it’s an absolute steal.
Here are some the characteristics to look for you drink it:
- The nose is clean with strong citrus characteristics
- Your first taste will definitely present those citrusy flavors that you smelled but there will an almost “grassy” flavor as well.
- The finish is crisp and clean without the tannic aftertaste of something like a big red wine.
- This wine doesn’t need a ton of time to breathe to get the best possible flavors. It’s going to be pretty much good to go as soon as you open the bottle.
- As with any white wine, I prefer to drink them chilled.
- This wine pairs best with fish but we have also paired with poultry to good effect.
- Like the Peachy Canyon before it, this wine is remarkably consistent. We have also been drinking this one for years and have always enjoyed it.
I typically purchase this bottle from Trader Joes but it is also available in local super markets here in southern California. If you can’t find this particular bottle, I highly recommend experimenting with other Sauvignon Blanc’s from the Marlborough New Zealand area. They all have a similar citrusy flavor which I think that you will enjoy.
We have tried several bottles from the region and even though we think the Nobilo is the best bang for your buck, they have all been pretty good.
If you do pick up a bottle, let us know what you think!
Thanks for reading.
Beer Can Chicken and Potatoes
This weekend was a bit colder than normal which us allowed to do a favorite cold weather recipe of mine, beer can chicken. What’s so great about this recipe is that not only is it delicious but it makes the entire house smell amazing as you prepare it.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- One chicken, I prefer organic but it’s up to you.
- One small bag of baby red potatoes.
- One small bag of baby yellow potatoes.
- Rub for the bird, I used my Father in Law’s proprietary blend.
- Two cups of Chicken stock (I used the homemade stock we discussed in our first post).
- One can of the beer of your choice.
Food Prep
- Check the chicken for gizzards, you really don’t want to be baking those accidentally in your meal.
- Put the beer can inside of the beer can chicken rack and put the chicken on top.
- Put the chicken & rack on a deep baking pan
- Apply the rub on the chicken, it’s ok if some of it falls to the bottom of the pan, which will add to the flavor of the potatoes. In fact I often apply my Father in Law’s rub liberally because it makes the potatoes taste a whole lot better.
- Cut the baby potatoes into halves and place them inside of the baking pan.
- Pour the chicken stock on top of the potatoes.
- Wrap the chicken completely in aluminum foil, this will help to keep the juices inside of the bird.
Cooking
Once the prep is done you have literally done 99% of the work to make this dish. All that’s left to do is heat your oven up to 400 degrees, put the bird inside and wait. On my oven, it normally takes about 1:45 minutes.
You will want to make sure you keep an eye on the internal temperature of the chicken so you don’t overcook the bird, 165 degrees is your magic number.
What I love about this recipe is how juicy the chicken turns out. It’s a combination of the beer moisturizing from the inside while the foil keeps the juices trap from the outside. The juices that do fall down go to the potatoes, infusing them with flavor.
If you don’t have the beer can chicken rack, here is the link to Amazon.
Give this recipe a try and let us know what you think!
Thanks for reading
Product Review – The Spiralizer
We have recently begun a Paleo/ Low Carb style diet to lose some weight and get healthier. If any of you have attempted this lifestyle change, you know that you begin to miss certain types of foods and textures.
I’m married to an Italian, and so the concept of not having pasta or something that even resembles it is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of trying to go paleo.
Enter the Spiralizer.
This product allows you to slice fruits and vegetables in all shapes and forms. In our recipe, we made “noodles” out of healthy foods like Zucchinis or Squash. Do they taste like pasta? No, of course not, they taste like the vegetable that you used to make the “noodles” but the can still be delicious.
How to use
Using the Spiralizer is easy you simply cut the ends off of the vegetable you are going to use and secure it to the Spiralizer.
Once secure, all you have to do is crank the handle and the vegetable or fruit you put on will become noodles or whatever form you choose to attach. In this recipe we are choosing to make noodles out of zucchini.
As you can see, the end result are some beautiful zucchini “noodles”. In this case, we sautéd the “noodles” with some olive oil, butter, salt, garlic powder and granulated onions. The end result was a delicious side dish that paired nicely with our meal.
Cleanup
Once you are finished using the Spiralizer, the main components can also be easily removed and washed individually so cleaning up after using is easy to do.
I highly recommend this product, especially if you are cooking paleo or low carb meals.
Here is the link to Spiralizer in Amazon
If you end up picking up a Spiralizer and using it, let us know what you think.
Thanks for reading.