Food & Wine Experience

Andrew and I attended the Twin Cities Food & Wine Experience this past Saturday. This is our second annual trip to the event and it was as much fun as we remembered! The wine was fantastic. The highlight was at The Wine Company table and tasting room. We signed up for a special tasting in the room (a free extra, you just had to know what website to go to to sign up beforehand!) and met Luc, the 9th generation winemaker from Bouchard Pere & Fils, a French Winery (located in the the Beaune region of the Burgundy region) whose history dates back to the 1700's. We tried 4 Premier Crus - two whites and two reds... at $50-$60/bottle they were way beyond our budget but incredible to taste while listening to live commentary from one of the members of the Bouchard family (French accent and all)! If only we could have been sitting amongst the vines in Burgundy... sigh....

Back to reality, we came across what could possibly be our new favorite "go-to" red and white wines that each retail at $11/bottle! Four Vines Winery (Paso Robles, CA) makes an awesome unoaked Chardonnay (2006 "Naked" Chardonnay, Santa Barbera, see bottle, right) and a tasty Zinfandel (called Four Vines OVC (Old Vine Cuvee) Zinfandel). I know that you can find them at France 44, we ordered up a few bottles right away from their website - FYI, if you order online you can get this wine for $9.35/bottle, as they are offering a F&W Experience discount. Just search "Four Vines" from their home page. You can pick the wine up right at the store.

Cheers!

Chicken Scallopine with Saffron Cream Sauce

We tried this Giada - Everyday Italian - Food Network recipe last night and it was delicious! The saffron gives it an special kick. I didn't make any alterations to the recipe below except add a second clove of garlic. The recipe was extremely easy and is so pretty to entertain with. Enjoy!

Chicken Scallopine with Saffron Cream Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound chicken cutlets (scallopine)
2 shallots, sliced 1
clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken until golden and cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to serving plate and tent with foil to keep warm. Turn the heat to medium, add the shallot and the garlic and cook until tender, about 2 minutes.

Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine is almost evaporated. Add the chicken broth and saffron threads, bring to a simmer and reduce for 10 minutes. Add the cream, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and simmer for 1 minute to blend the flavors. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

Tasty Chardonnay

I had this delicious 2002 Beaucanon Estate Chardonnay last night at Meritage in St. Paul. It's a very full, buttery Chard with pleasant hints of fruit, vanilla and oak (the latter of which I really like in my Chardonnays).

Our server recommended it with my entree - a delicious roasted striped bass with lobster. The meal itself was amazing and the wine was a perfect complement to the fullness and richness of the seafood.

I think I've seen this wine at a few shops in the area, or at least I'm hoping I did, because I would love to pick up a bottle or two for home dining. It retails for only $16 on the Beaucanon web site.

Update (5/11/08) - I found this wine at Solo Vino in St. Paul for $16.99. I'm excited to try it again - we'll pair it tonight with fish tacos.

Bulgar salad with grapes and feta cheese

This makes a delicious lunch or side dish salad. Enjoy! http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/recipes/Bulgur_Salad_with_Grapes_and_Feta_Cheese.html

Tenderloin Steaks with Red Wine Reduction

I found this recipe on the Food Network Website - simple but defintiely a special treat! Since it is going to be an extremely cold evening, we are staying in and I am making a special dinner. I'll let you know how it turns out.

UPDATE: This recipe was wonderful! The sauce was a rich but subtle addition to the steaks, definitely a treat! I recommend only 1/2 tbsp. of butter to finish the sauce. We also used 1 1/2 tbsp. of shallot in place of the scallions in addition to a tbsp. of chives and a tbsp. of parsley. We paired the steaks with a 2004 Hanna Cabernet Sauvignon. (The bottle was a gift from my Mom and Dad, I have to do some research to see how hard it is to find in the Cities. It was a very elegant, full-bodied cabernet, perfect with the steaks!)

Sauteed Tenderloin Steaks with Wine Sauce

Two 1 1/4-inch thick (8 ounces weight) tenderloin steaks, top loin center cut
1 tablespoon olive oil
Nonstick pan
Tablespoon or so finely sliced scallion
1/2 cup good red wine
1 tablespoon butter
Minced parsley or chopped chives
Salt and pepper

Trim steaks of excess fat and pat dry with towels; brush them lightly with some olive oil and lightly oil a nonstick pan. Saute steaks 1 1/2 minutes to 2 minutes a side for red rare; longer for medium. Remove steaks to a warm plate. Degrease most of the fat, leaving only a teaspoon in skillet. Add the scallions and stir for a moment. Pour in wine and scrape deglazings; boil down until syrupy. Remove from heat, add butter and parsley or chives if you wish; pour over steak

Another Wine Blog

I really enjoy reading The Rake's wine blog, mostly because I find Ann Bauer's writing to be amusing and her life to be rather dramatic (warning: she seems to be Andrew Zimmern's arch nemesis).

http://www.rakemag.com/blogs/beyond-cask

But I have had pretty good luck with her wine picks too, so if you're reading purely for the type of information, you'll enjoy it too.

Sunday Dinner

Tonight we invited a few friends over for dinner. Usually it is just Andrew and I on Sunday evenings so it was fun to have company! Whether with friends or not, my family's stuffed pepper recipe is a yummy, healthy winter meal! Above all, it is GREAT to eat leftover for lunch and/or dinner the first couple days of the work week. Try this recipe with a light Pinot Grigio (I recommend Kris Pinot Grigio, which you can find at many wine shops for $13-$14).

Stuffed Peppers
4 large green/red/orange/yellow bell peppers - whatever your favorite is :)
1/2 cup Italian Dressing (I use a light Italian)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 lb of either ground chuck OR 1 lb. ground turkey OR I use 1/2 lb. lean ground turkey and 1/2 lb lean ground turkey with Italian seasoning (tastes like Italian sausage) *look for Jennie-O ground turkey
2/3 cup cooked rice (I use brown rice) *this is 1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs (either regular or the Italian seasoned kind - I use the Italian though)
3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
1 egg, well beaten
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Parboil peppers in salt water after removing stems, seeds and cutting them in half (this means boiling them for 2-3 minutes), drain the peppers
In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup of Italian Dressing, add Italian seasoning and onion, saute onion until transparent
Add meat to the onions and brown meat well
Transfer meat/onion mixture to a bowl, add cooked rice and allow mix to cool slightly
Stir bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley and egg into meat mix
Place peppers in greased baking dish and scoop meat mix into the pepper halves
In a small bowl, combine the remaining Italian dressing with the tomato sauce and water. Pour over peppers
Bake peppers for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, remove peppers and sprinkle with Mozz. cheese, then put back into the oven until cheese is melted (about 5 mins)

I sprinkle the peppers with a little Italian seasoning on the top to finish them.

Tip: You can make this recipe ahead of time up to the point right before you put the sauce over the peppers - refrigerate covered until you are ready to cook them.