I’ll Drink to That!

If you love potatoes, maybe too much, and are trying to stay away, try this recipe in place of mashed spuds. It’s really delicious, even to a carb fiend like me.

Mashed Cauliflower with Butternut Squash

MASHED CAULIFLOWER WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Ingredients:

1 large head of white cauliflower, core removed and cut into large florets

1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2″ pieces

2-3 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

2 Tbsp minced fresh sage

3 Tbsp grated parmesan

1/2 cup shredded cheddar or goat gouda

Salt and pepper to taste

Toast squash in 425 degree oven till golden and tender, about 30-40 minutes, turning half way through cooking time.

Cook cauliflower in rapidly boiling salted water till tender, but not falling apart. Drain well. Add roasted squash to pot and mash till it looks like large crumbs. Mixture should not be smooth. Stir in butter then rest of ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

Great with ribs or steak and a medley of roasted root vegetables, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and topped with crumbled goat cheese and a sprinkling of Herbs du Provence.

Beef ribs

I’LL DRINK TO THAT!

Tobin James Fat Boy Zinfandel - 2005 - Paso Robles

This bad boy weighs in at a whopping 16% alcohol and is thick, rich, jammy and over the top. A Paso Zin in all ways and perfect with any beef you are thinking of BBQ’ing, especially if you are using a sweet heat glaze like I used on these ribs.  Cheers!

Just south of Paso Robles in an area known as the Templeton Gap, there is located a small family run winery - Laraneta Winery. They don’t have a tasting room, yet, and are not open to public tastings, so you would drive right by the property on Templeton Road going to and returning from the many other wineries in the area.  But if you’re lucky enough to have received an invitation to visit or are in need of lodging, at the end of the Liquid Amber tree lined driveway lies Honey Oak House and B & B where Melinda and Joseph Laraneta warmly welcome their B & B guests to old fashioned hospitality and, of course, a glass of their wine.

Liquid Amber lines the drive

Joe and Melinda Laraneta

My husband and I were lucky enough to be on the receiving end of all that hospitality when, on one beautiful Paso Robles day last Autumn, they invited us to taste their line-up of award winning wines.  I had tasted a few earlier in the year at a tasting in the LA area, and was anxious to spend some time with the Laraneta’s learning about them and their wine making adventures. As we entered the drive, we noticed the olive orchard situated opposite the vineyard. They also have a line of hand-crafted olive oils, which we tasted that afternoon as well. The Laraneta’s and their dog Peaches greeted us and brought us in to meet some friends and we spent the next hour tasting and chatting. The Laraneta’s enthusiasm and passion turned into an invitation to take a golf cart tour of their estate which we eagerly accepted.

Owl box

Who knew chestnuts come from a crazy looking pod?

View of the Laraneta estate from the front veranda

We learned about planting, harvesting, owl boxes, protection from cold and wind and birds, and even what chestnuts look like just off the tree.  We saw the different kinds of olives and Joe proudly explained about the many varieties of shrubs, trees, flowers and roses he had lovingly planted about his property.We left, glad to have made new friends in the Laranetas and making the commitment to “stay in touch”.

As luck would have it, Melinda and Joe were planning a visit to family and were going to be in the LA area for just two days in March. We asked them if they would like to come to our home and share some of their wines with a few of our close friends who really appreciated wine and those whose passion it is to create it. They said yes, and a week later we were hosting them and a small group of eager tasters.

We greeted each guest with a glass of Segura Viudas Cava to set a festive mood for the evening. Being a strong believer in food and wine bringing out the best in each other, I decided to create a tasting menu pairing an appetizer or dish with each of the 6 wines they would be pouring. They also brought four different olive oils which I put out for tasting with bread dippers.

After all the introductions were made Melinda poured their first wine. Cameo is made from  Vernaccia, a white wine grape from the San Gimignano area of Tuscany. It is  crisp, clean and a bit lemony with a buttery mouthfeel and a slight vanilla finish.  The guests were offered  rich, creamy Clam Fondue on sourdough toast. They happily noshed while Melinda elaborated further on the background of the grape and how they came to plant it.

Next up was their Vera Sano Rose, which is an unusual blend of  80% Vernaccia and 20% Sangiovese. One taste of this delightful wine had us all thinking “salmon”. So luckily I had made  salmon salad with Dill nestled in Endive leaves with a drizzle of the Laraneta’s Lemon Olive Oil.

Their Merlot, which they call Sa Va, is actually the wine that  attracted my attention to Laraneta in the first place. Dark and full bodied, this 100% Merlot is layered with black cherry, roasted coffee, sage and red currant. For this wine, I made a Merlot Risotto, then shaped it into bite size cakes, pan fried them and topped them with a dollop of aioli made with Laraneta Rosemary Olive Oil. What a beautiful color these tasty morsels were!

Red wine risotto cakes with Rosemary Aioli

Next in the line-up was the Sangiovese, and of course I thought, pasta! So a quick pour, some education on Italian wine, and everyone grabbed a plate of  Baked Rigatoni with Sausage and Mushrooms served with some good crusty rosemary/olive oil bread.

With everyone well fed and feeling good, we moved into the “decadent” portion of the evening, and the last two pairings. First, the cheese course served with Laraneta’s Cabernet Sauvignon. This elegant cab, enhanced with Merlot and Sangiovese, was extra yummy paired with Cambezola and an aged Gouda. We all had great fun determining our opinions of which cheese was more delicious with the wine, and of course we had to keep trying them just to make sure. It was a task happily taken on with much gusto.

Wine, bread, pasta, cheese - only one thing was still needed. Yes, chocolate! And lucky for us the Laraneta’s had brought with them their ‘05 -No. 5. This is also a blend with the predominant grape being Merlot at 75%, supported by 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Sangiovese.  This velvety wine boasts characteristics of dried cherry, plum and toasted hazelnuts with aromas of cocoa, blackberry and sweet spices. All that was needed here to compliment this delicious wine was an assortment of chocolate truffles, and I was happy to oblige.

The tasting line-up

So…if you plan on visiting the Paso Robles area for a special event or festival, or just need a weekend away, consider Honey Oak House and Laraneta Winery - good wine, good friends, good times!

I’ll Drink to That!

Traditionally, Champagne, or sparkling wines as they are called from anywhere outside France, seem to be relegated to “special occasions” and celebrations. Case in point, last Thursday night I made farfalle with salmon, asparagus, Gorgonzola and walnuts in a light cream sauce. After some thought, I decided on serving the dish with a Prosecco, sparkling wine from Italy. Both my husband and my daughter upon seeing the flutes arrive at the table, wanted to know, “what’s the occasion?” Simply put,  I just thought this was the right choice. It is after all, just wine, but with “frizante”. And besides, isn’t every day a celebration of something?

So with that in mind, the tasting at this month’s “I’ll Drink to That“, networking for wine enthusiasts event featured four sparkling wines from different countries. We started with a Prosecco, (Prosecco being the grape varietal), from Borgo Magredo in the Friuli region of Italy. Light straw-yellow in color, this sparkler offers a delicate balance of acidity and fruit, with hints of green apples on the palate.  Proseccos are generally modestly priced making them affordable for anytime drinking, this one retailing for about $18.00.  Paired with Pecorino Ginepro, a sheeps milk cheese from Italy, we were off to a good start.

In Spain, sparkling wines are called Cava, and that was next on the line-up. Aria, made by  the French methode champenoise , is from the Segura Viudas Estate in Torrelavit, in Spain’s Alt Penedes region and is styled after the popular Segura Viudas’ top-of-the-line cava, Reserva Heredad. (Yes, that’s the one with the cool pewter coaster attached to the base of the bottle). Aria is a blend of the Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo grapes.  Together they produce a wine with a honeyed aroma with flavors of fresh pineapple, almonds, honey and pears.  Tapas anyone?

Next up was a Brut Rose from Marquis de la Tour located in the Loire Valley of France.  Some of the attendees thought this wine was a bit too “sweet” with it’s long red fruit finish. I thought it was a wonderful wine that could easily be enjoyed with a summer lunch or a light dessert maybe with a bit of milk chocolate. The bright salmon pink color of this wine adds to it’s festiveness.

The last of the sparkling wines was a wonderful offering from Laetitia Vineyards located in southern San Luis Obispo County. This Brut is made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc, and is creamy with an abundance of very tiny bubbles and notes of warm bread and ripe apricots. Paired with a creamy Friesian sheep’s milk cheese from Rapidan, Virginia, it was just delicious!

Just for fun, the evening’s tasting ended with a dessert wine from Martin & Weyrich of Paso Robles, California. Their Moscato Allegro is made from Muscat Canelli in the style of northern Italy’s muscat, and is even bottled in the traditional, long and sleek “Renna Punto” bottle used only for the finest Moscato d’Asti.  The wine is fresh and spicy, with exotic floral and fruit aromas of orange blossoms, honeyed apricots and peaches. We were served a stilton with this wine and the pairing was perfect. Dessert in a bottle.

So whatever the un-occasion may be, don’t forget to consider a sparkling wine to add fun and festivity. Try Champagne or sparkling wine with smoky or salty foods such as lox and eggs for brunch. As an aperitif, it sets the mood for a celebration. Try some with Asian food - great contrast between the bold, often salty flavors of the food and the brisk acidity of the wine. Always serve Champagne and sparkling wines well chilled and in flutes to best appreciate all those tiny bubbles.

I’ll Drink to That!

Mike, anxious to get the next phase of his first wine making endeavor under way, called to let me know that the brix was down to nada and it was time to go press off the wine. Who knew that Woodland Hills is the location to  one of the only home wine making supply shops in the LA area? So last weekend I met Mike at the Home Wine,Beer,Cheese Making Shop just off the 101 freeway where he was to press his 130 pounds of Syrah grapes.  The store was mobbed with customers purchasing jugs, bottles, corks and wine presses so I had some time to look around. They have everything there, even a small de-stemming machine. Hmmmm….

When it was our turn, “the guy” went to the back to get the wine press out, took it out to the curb and instructed Mike on how to use the press to get the juice from his grapes. I found it amazing that after hundreds of years, the process and the machinery have changed very little. Very basic really. First Mike hosed off the machine - winemakers are apparently big on “hosing” everything, before and after using. I’ve seen plenty of video footage of people hosing off equipment this harvest season.

Then right to it. First the macerated fruit was poured by bucketfuls into the press, and the “free run” juice allowed to flow freely into another bucket. The color of the juice was an incredible deep raspberry color.

As the buckets filled up, the juice was poured into jugs. Mike kept this up until all the free run juice had been collected. Then it was time to press the grapes to get every last drop of his “wine” out of the must. He piled on the blocks and began to ratchet until no more liquid ran and the “cake” was pressed hard. The yield was over nine gallons!

Disassembling the press to remove "the cake"

Compost anyone?

Michael has a lot to show for his efforts.

And then more hosing…..

I’LL DRINK TO THAT !

Trueblood Syrah - Napa Valley - 2004 - $29.95 - Long legged beauty was my  first thought when I poured a glass of this blood red wine. The viscosity of the “legs” was incredible, slowly making their way down the inside of my glass after a good swirl. Dark, rich, lush, elegant…spicy with figs and licorice in a long finish. Bloody good wine.

The crowd excitedly gathered , willingly casting aside their silver stakes and ropes of garlic in exchange for wine glasses from which to taste the tantalizing wines of Vampire Vineyards. As the sun was setting and the darkness of night loomed, the  October networking/tasting event of I’ll Drink to That! was visited by Michael Machat, owner of Vampire Vineyards and Anthony Pescione of Mega Wine Distributors. Together they took eager tasters on a tasting frenzy of 9 wines, mostly made from grapes from the Paso Robles region of the Central Coast of California.

Tasting lineup....

Michael showed his “coffin” wine boxes he had originally designed in the early years of the brand, and dropped the names of some of his first victims, I mean clients, such as Alice Cooper and the Anne Rice Fan Club.

Michael casts his spell on Debbie Miller of Logo Woman

Anthony Pescione of Mega Wine

Anthony also brought two special vodkas to show our now satiated group of tasters. He explained, (we did not taste the vodka at this event), how the red Vampyre Vodka was the perfect vodka for making the ultimate “Bloody Mary”.  He also brought along Blavod Black Vodka, which I had tasted at another event mixed into a cocktail called “The Black Dahlia”. This is one delicious cocktail - perfect for greeting your guests when they come visiting on All Hallows Eve.

Ingredients for "The Black Dahlia" cocktail

Recipe:

For each cocktail, stir together in cocktail shaker or pitcher filled with crushed ice,  3 oz Blavod Black Vodka, 1/2 oz Chambord black raspberry liqueur, 1/2 oz Kahlua and a twist of orange peel. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a twist of orange peel.

Artisan created a sumptuous array of “finger foods” including these crostini with roasted pumpkin, roasted shallots and pepita garnish.

Melody Dosch, owner of Artisan Cheese Gallery

Vampire t-shirts were given as door prizes, but the big winner of the day was Debbie Miller of Logo Woman who won a basket of 5 bottles of Vampire wines.

The evening concluded with the IDTT Wine Swap, allowing guests the opportunity to do some networking and take home a new wine to try.

Wine Swap Networking

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

I’LL DRINK TO THAT !

Vampire Vineyards - Dracula Syrah - Paso Robles - 2005 - $17.99

The bottle reads, “reminiscent of the Master’s true love, this wine is exquisite. This Syrah has black cherry and dark chocolate flavors that launch into an intense, dark, rich and flavorful wine. Its texture and balance of spices set up a silky texture and balanced jammy finish.”

I paired this wine with slices of rosemary roasted pork loin with a crust of onions, bread crumbs and parmesan along with fresh corn and pancetta bread pudding and haricots vert with thyme. Bloody good pairing.

To hear Victor Abascal, owner of Vines on the Marycrest in Paso Robles, tell his story about how he got started in the business of making wine, is to once again learn what happens when someone just “fires” to pursue their passion. Last Monday night at I’ll Drink to That!‘s monthly networking/wine tasting event, Victor regaled the attendees with his story of how he secretly planted a vineyard on a vacant hillside belonging to a nunnery, got caught, had to pull the vines out and ultimately decided to forgo the “5-year plan” and replant his passion and his vineyard in the beautiful countryside of Westside Paso Robles.

Victor Abascal, owner, Vines on the Marycrest

The anxious “wine tasters” were then guided through a tasting of four of Victor’s luscious red blends, all named after some of his favorite songs. Plenty of humming could be heard as guests tried to remember the tunes to: “Summertime”, a Grenache based rose, “Heart of Glass” and “‘Round Midnight”, both Rhone blends, “Satin Doll” (Cab,Syrah, Cab Franc) and “My Generation”, a blend of estate Zin and Rhone varietals. Victor described his wine making style as balanced and food friendly. I would describe it as delicious!

Gourmet mini grilled cheese sandwiches made with Gruyere, caramelized shallots, blue cheese and apple were passed around with the wine, as well as other delectable treats made by executive chef Tori Rodriguez of Artisan Cheese Gallery. And to “cleanse the palate”, SanTasti, “the world’s first palate cleansing beverage”, was available for guests to try.

Although Victor did punctuate the fact that blended wines are his preference, he did bring along 3 bottles of his reserve single varietal wines which he donated to the “opportunity drawing”, with all proceeds benefiting the non-profit organization, Make a Senior Smile. Attendee, Sara Polinsky, representing the organization, spoke about their mission to fulfill “wishes” of members of the senior community who might find themselves without funding or family to otherwise support them.

Xochitl Maiman, IDTT founder, Victor and drawing winner, Michellene Debonis of Debonis Consulting

Blake Goodwin, owner of Video Optimize, was on hand to speak about the benefits of utilizing video as a powerful SEO tool, and his videographer was there to film the event.

Blake Goodwin of Video Optomize

The evening ended with some networking done via I’ll Drink to That’s “wine swap”. Each attendee brought with them to the meeting a favorite bottle of wine, and after breaking off into small groups, had the opportunity to swap their bottle and their business information with each other.

Barbara Cohen, IDTT Marketing Coordinator with Sara Polinsky

I’LL DRINK TO THAT!

Vines on the Marycrest - Heart of Glass - 2006 - 72% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre, 13% Syrah - $22

Victor served this delightful wine slightly chilled making it the perfect wine to sip while  preparing dinner, or enjoying a sunset during these last warm days of summer. With fresh strawberries and cherries on the nose, the fruit carries through to the palate with the addition of smoky, earth and leathery touches. Beautiful clear, bright color.