Category Archives: Cooking

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Recipe: Easy Merlot Steak Sauce with caramelized onions

I made a great steak sauce the other night… one that took my slices of steak from “tasty” to “wow” in such a short amount of time that even I was impressed.  I wanted to come up with something that would bump up the flavor of dinner and, while my non-wine loving guys were unimpressed, I thought it turned out really well.

I heated some olive oil in a saute pan, then added in some thinly sliced onions and let them cook for a good half hour, stirring occasionally.  There’s really no shortcut to caramelizing onions – time and low heat are needed to get that toasty sweet taste from an onion – but it is entirely worth the effort.  I started the sauce as soon as I walked in the door from work and made that the focus of the meal, time-wise.  I still had dinner on the table within 40 minutes, but it was the sauce that needed the brunt of cooking time and attention.  While this is an incredibly easy sauce, it’s not going to be quick.Merlot Steak Sauce

Once the onions hit that “toasty/caramelized” stage, I poured in some Merlot from James River Cellars Winery.  I was using The Force for this recipe, so amounts were going to be approximations no matter how much sauce I was making.  You might be able to tell by the pictures that I only used one onion and about a cup of wine… if you’re making this for a group of wine lovers, I would definitely increase everything for this recipe.

Once the wine was reduced to an acceptable thickness (by about 60% or so), I added a pat of butter to “gloss the sauce”, so to speak.  This bit of fat contributed a shininess to the visual presentation of the sauce on my steak and I later went back and topped some of my roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli with sauce as well.  Since I was the only one sampling, I had enough to spread throughout my dinner and, wow, was it ever tasty.  Whoever said that a sauce for your steak wouldn’t make other foods taste good as well was (IMHO) nuts!

Easy, simple sauce… that’s what I was hoping to create, and that’s what I got.  As I said earlier, it did take time, but the effort was truly minimal for the amount of flavor that I gained.

Feel free to mix up some of the ingredients in this recipe to cater to the favorites in your own family.  You could easily replace the onions with mushrooms… swap out the Merlot for a Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon… this is a basic recipe, meant to allow you to tailor flavors to your preferences.

Have fun playing with your food… that’s what makes cooking so enjoyable!

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Recipe: Merlot Risotto with Goat Cheese and Carmelized Onions

This is one of those “O M G” recipes for those of you who like a creamy rice dish.  It’s got flavor and just enough texture… it’s decadent yet simple enough to make for a quick dinner… and it’s got lots of ingredients that can be flipped around to suit almost any finicky guest.  Even better, it’s based on a recipe that my boss uses at her house!  It became a staple in her house after her trip to Rome… it’s going to become a staple in my own house because it’s just so darn tasty.  You’ll have to try it and see what YOU think.

Merlot Risotto

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons of olive oil (divided 2T +2T)

Garlic (to taste – I like a lot, so I use 3-4 cloves worth)

1 1/4 cup arborio rice (I used a medium-length rice since I couldn’t find arborio but might use a short-grain next time)

1 cup James River Cellars’ Merlot (You can also use Cabernet Franc or another deep red wine of your choosing)

3 cups beef stock (If you’re making this for a vegetarian, simply use vegetable stock instead)

4 oz goat cheese (Use what you like and the amount you prefer – it’s the creaminess that you want here)

2 large, thinly sliced onions (You can substitute 3 cups of mushrooms or a mixture of both if you prefer)

Salt and pepper to taste

  1. In a large skillet, heat 2T olive oil over low heat, then add onions.  Allow to slowly cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are caramelized.  If you’re using mushrooms in any form, this is where you’re going to cook them.
  2. While onions are cooking, heat remaining 2T olive oil in a large saucepan (don’t use something too small!).  Add garlic and cook until fragrant.  Add rice, tossing to coat in the oil, and allow to toast for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add in wine, stirring occasionally.  Once the wine is absorbed, add in 1 cup of stock and allow the rice to absorb the stock as it did with the wine.  Repeat this 2 more times until all the stock has been added and absorbed.  I didn’t stir this constantly – I didn’t feel it was necessary.  I kept an eye on it and then tasted the rice when all the liquid was absorbed – if you like a softer consistency, feel free to add another cup of stock to the rice and stir as before.
  3. Reduce the heat to low and add salt/pepper, goat cheese and onions, then stir.  I like the cheese to be thoroughly incorporated before I serve it, so I don’t top each serving with bits of cheese, but feel free if that’s what you prefer.

You’ll notice that this post looks like an actual recipe… because I started with an actual recipe.  I’ve added tons of places where you can alter things to fit your preferences, but this is your starting point.  If you want to add some protein, feel free!  There’s no “RISOTTO POLICE” who will come and tell you that you’re doing things wrong.  As with any recipe where I use The Force to create a new rendition, feel free to make your own changes.  The idea is to help you think outside the box and come up with a dish that will become a favorite at your house.

After all… don’t you think the famous chefs took some inspiration from the food they ate when they were out?  It’s scary, but try it every once in awhile.  You might create a new “famous” recipe too!

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Recipe: Bacon-wrapped Dates with Merlot

I did it again… had to come up with a tasty treat for a holiday party and decided to add wine to the mix.  Thankfully, it worked out well and tasted terrific!  This is one of those simple, quick, and easy recipes that begs to be repeated again and again.

I had just been to my best friend’s surprise birthday party and her sister (also a major foodie) was providing the food that inspired this creation.  While L’s version had no wine, hers did include a delicious type of cheese tucked neatly inside the dates… oh so decadent, but more than I could manage in the short amount of time I had to make my own rendition.

As sometimes happens when using The Force,  I ended up purchasing way too many dates and not enough bacon.  I probably could have cut the package of bacon into thirds instead of in half, as I did, but it was really yummy, as evidenced by the photBacon-wrapped Dateso I’ve included here.  I simply used a package of pitted dates from my local grocery store and wrapped each date with a half piece of bacon, then secured the bacon with a toothpick.  Once the dates were all wrapped, I drizzled them with maple syrup and then “thumbed” James River Cellars’ Merlot over top the entire recipe.  I probably could have mixed the syrup and wine together and brushed the mixture over those little morsels, but I wasn’t thinking far enough ahead.

Once all these sweet and salty treats were ready, I popped them into a 400 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes.  I could have used a 450 degree oven and had them done in 10, but I was working on some other things and the extra time worked to my advantage.  The final product was worthy of a New Year’s Eve party with dear friends… easy on the eyes and oh, so yummy.

I hope you’ll consider trying this recipe out on your own.  See if you come up with another way to use these ingredients to make something that covers both sweet and savory snack lovers.  Besides… isn’t most everything made better with bacon… and WINE?

Happy New Year to you and yours… May 2013 be a stellar year for one and all!

 

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Recipe: Chardonnay Cranberry Sauce

I’ve been looking at cranberry sauce in a different light this year…  I used to make a simple cold relish-like cranberry mixture, but have found that I really like the thicker consistency of a cooked cranberry sauce instead.  It works better in a leftover sandwich and just tastes better to me.  I posted a sauce recipe that was blended with figs and cassis, but that just didn’t seem “clean” enough for me.  I wanted that true, tart cranberry taste on both the first bite as well as the finish so here, dear reader, is the result of that search.

Cranberry Sauce Collage

I started with my sister, Jessica’s, cranberry sauce recipe and deviated a bit.  Here are the directions to Jessica’s Cranberry Sauce:

Empty a 12-oz bag of fresh or frozen cranberries into a saucepan and transfer 1/2 cup of said cranberries to a small bowl.  Add 1 cup sugar, 1 strip orange or lemon zest, and 2 Tablespoons of water to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries are soft, about 10 minutes.  Increase heat to medium and cook until the cranberries burst, about 12 minutes.  Reduce the heat to low and stir in the reserved cranberries.  Add sugar, salt, and pepper to taste and cool to room temperature before serving.

I loved the idea of making a cooked cranberry sauce, but wasn’t so sure about having so many whole berries in the final product.  Apparently, when our mum made this for Jess, she stomped all the berries down and made jam instead of cranberry sauce, so I was warned to make this ahead of time.  We each have our preferences, so my version uses the following changes to Jessica’s basic Cranberry sauce recipe…

  • Grate half an orange instead of using a strip of zest – next time I’ll probably try grating the entire orange or grate half an orange and half a lemon.  The citrus taste is pretty darn yummy.
  • Replace the water with 2 Tablespoons of James River Cellars’ Reserve Chardonnay.  I think our stainless chardonnay would work well in this recipe as well, but I’m planning to use an entire bottle of the Reserve Chardonnay throughout my Christmas dinner, so you’ll see it pop up a few more times before the holiday meal is complete.
  • I lightly chopped the 1/2 cup of reserved berries (as seen in the center photo) so the uncooked berry pieces aren’t as huge.

I like the small changes I made to my sister’s fabulous cranberry sauce… they seem more in keeping with the way I cook and the final product is really tasty.  Feel free to experiment with flavors that you enjoy and come up with your own version of a new family favorite.

It’s really all about playing with your food…and using The Force to come up with something new… are you ready to try it?

 

 

 

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Recipe: Cranberry Fig Sauce with Cassis

Just a warning…. Cassis is NOT wine.  It’s a black-currant flavored liqueur you can find at the liquor store, labeled “Creme Decassis”.  It’s lovely when added to a Chardonnay to create a drink called “Kir” and especially tasty when added to a sparkling wine, creating a pink concoction called a “Kir Royale”.

But I digress…  Cranberry Fig Sauce with Cassis2

I was searching for a new cranberry sauce recipe to use for our Christmas dinner.  I’ve been using the same recipe for years now and wanted to find a cooked sauce recipe that would be easier to use for sandwiches and such after the holiday when I came across one on epicurious that called for Cassis.  Since I happened to have a bottle in the fridge, I thought this was worth a try.

Their recipe calls for the following ingredients:  1 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup + 2T creme decassis, 1-12 oz bag fresh cranberries, 1 cup dried cranberries, 1 T ketchup.

For my version, I adjusted the dried cranberries down to 3/4 cup craisins and added 5 diced dried figs.  I also added 1T orange juice and 1/2T lemon juice.  It seemed to need a little citrus flavor but not an entire piece of fruit.  These two juices did the trick.

I actually followed their directions – since I’d never made this before, I wasn’t comfortable straying too far from the written word this first time out of the gate.  They read as follows:  Bring 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup cassis to boil in heavy saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Add fresh cranberries (ok… I’ll admit that mine were frozen, but it hardly mattered); return to boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until cranberries pop and sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in dried cranberries, ketchup and 2T cassis.  Note: This is where I also added the dried figs, orange juice and lemon juice.  Chill until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 3 days.

Since we’re a week away from Christmas, I’ll most likely use this sauce for sandwiches and the like and make another batch on Friday.  Maybe by then I’ll have come up with some way to incorporate wine into the recipe, but until then… buy a bottle of Creme Decassis, make a few drinks (it’s delish with champagne) and try this recipe.

May your holidays be warm and bright… and spiked with wines in some tasty new ways!

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Recipe: Deconstructed Shepherd’s Pie

My younger son came home from college this past weekend and, as luck would have it, I was working on Sunday… so I decided to make an easy dinner in the crockpot that we could use for a day or two.

For Dinner #1, I put a sliced onion, two fairly large pot roasts (on BIG sale at my local grocery store), salt, pepper, and a half bottle of James River Cellars’ Rad Red wine into my crock pot.  I then turned the thing on as low and slow as it would go and let it cook the entire time I was at work.  **It’s ok, really…I was only working a 6 hour shift.

When I got home, there wasn’t much more I had to do before dinner was ready.  I ladled out all the liquid into a fridge-friendly container (this stuff is gold… like a beef consume that I didn’t have to babysit?  Awesome!) and set about shredding the beef for sandwiches.  I’d already bought rolls and M sweetly went out and picked up some BBQ sauce (would have sworn we had some in the house), so this weekend dinner was a quick fix for everyone.

For Dinner #2, I started with 2 Tablespoons of flour and 2 Tablespoons of margarine.  Once the margarine was meltDeconstructed Shepherd's Pie2ed and the flour was bubbling away, I began to add some of the reserved beef consume that I’d saved from Dinner #1.  I added enough, slowly to allow things to gel nicely, until I had a good amount of sauce.  I also added a splash of worchestershire sauce and some Viognier white wine to add some depth to the sauce.   I could have eaten this with a spoon… turned into such a yummy gravy.

While playing with the sauce, I made a small, quick batch of mashed potatoes.  You could certainly use instant mashed potatoes if you’d prefer, but making homemade seems easier to me (as long as I have a little time).   When the potatoes were “mash-able”, I added some milk, margarine, and a half teaspoon of horseradish before mashing them for the topping and setting them aside.

Into the gravy went a nice amount of the shredded beef from Dinner #1.  I stirred it into the sauce and then sprinkled frozen peas on top everything.  Since the peas were frozen, I stirred them into the mixture and then topped everything with the homemade mashed potatoes and a liberal dash of paprika (for color).  It looked so tasty!

Your Shepherd’s Pie is now made… and just needs to bake a bit.  I popped the entire skillet into the oven and added a package of frozen biscuits, using the time and temperature needed to bake the bread.  Once everything was done, I plated dinner for the four of us and sat down to eat… simple, filling, and really comforting.

There’s something so great about being able to turn out an old-time dinner on a “new age” time schedule.  If you have a favorite from your childhood, there’s nothing better (IMHO) than being able to create it using some current cooking tips.  I love coming home to a house that smells of something baking in the oven.  It makes me incredibly happy to create meals for my family that remind me of when I was a child.  This dinner was one of those meals.

I hope you’ll try something like this for yourself… and may the warmth and comfort of “home” bring you a few moments of peace in an otherwise hectic day.

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Office Party treats

When I’m trying to think of what to bring to the office (since I work at James River Cellars Winery), I always try and incorporate wine into the recipe.   I’m sure you’ve noticed that I tend to replace water with wine in almost anything… dinner, desserts,  rolls (ok, those are a bit tougher),  appetizers… you’ve seen what I do when I start to experiment in the kitchen.

Today, I wanted to make bite-sized treats for my company Christmas party tomorrow night.  I’ve got an appointment before the party, so this had to be something I could make a day ahead and still have it be yummy.  Thankfully, I already had a fabulous recipe to use as my base… Mocha Wine Cupcakes!

I RedVelvetBrownieCupcakesstarted with the basic recipe that I posted under the title “Mocha Wine Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting”.  That recipe is my all-time GO TO when it comes to chocolate cake.  It’s a recipe that needs no milk, butter, or eggs… it freezes beautifully… it tastes great after thawing… and it was what our baker used a “million” years ago for our Chocolate Wedding cake.  It totally rocks!

This time, I decided to make a half recipe and add in 2T Nutella to the recipe.  I’m not sure that it made a huge difference, but I liked the creamy velvety feeling of having Nutella in my cupcakes, so I chose to use the Red Velvet name.  You could certainly add an entire container of red food coloring to make this chocolate batter turn a beautiful deep red, but I thought they were pretty without the extra addition.

I snapped a few shots throughout the process this morning (yup… had them baked before 10AM… while I was drinking my hubby-made latte’… it was a good morning!) and then frosted them with most of a container of cookie frosting so they’d be done pretty quickly.  I even added a glimmer of gold sugar-glitter on top to make them sparkle for our holiday party.  Fancy! 

See?  A fun office treat doesn’t have to take a great deal of man-hours… just the desire to create something tasty and pretty!  Try this recipe and see if you don’t get asked for the recipe over and over again…

Oh… and when you get asked for the recipe?  Feel free to point them to this blog!  🙂

Red Velvet Brownie Cupcakes

1 1/2 cup flour

1 c sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons cocoa

6 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup espresso

2/3 cup red wine

2 large Tablespoons Nutella

Mix all ingredients together until thoroughly incorporated and smooth.  Spoon batter into cupcake liners (I used mini muffin liners and was able to make 48 mini cupcakes) and bake at 375 degrees for 14-16 minutes.  Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting or icing.  I like to make a zig-zag pattern in white icing and then sprinkle with colored sugar.

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Recipe: Taco Pasta Bake

Are you looking for a quick and easy “go to” dinner for the holiday season that doesn’t involve turkey?  Are you stumped when it comes to making something for your family that everyone will eat without complaint?  If you’re like me and have a household of big eaters, I want to share one of my favorite dinners with you… a Taco Pasta Bake.

You may remember that I’ve mentioned my niece a few times – she writes a fitness and lifestyle blog called “Peanut Butter Fingers” or PBFingers?  She posted a recipe that my husband raved about… but he wanted me to make it “exactly like the recipe says”, which meant “no wine involved”… but what was the fun in that for me?  After mulling over the recipe for a few days, I came up with a version that could make everyone in my household happy… my guys (because they would get a dinner that tasted yummy) and me (because I could experiment and play with wine in my cooking).   I hope you find it as tasty as we do!

I started by browning a package of ground turkey.   If you can get away with it, this is where I would add diced onion and some diced green pepper if my family liked that Taco Pasta Bakesort of thing.  Once the turkey is nicely browned, I sprinkle the meat heavily with taco seasoning and a nice dry red wine (like James River Cellars’ Rad Red) and let everything cook until it’s nice and dark.  Next, I add some salsa and some more red wine so your food is a bit soupy.  At this point, I add in some dry pasta.  My hubby likes bowtie-shaped pasta, so I try and do things that he likes.  I’ve also made this recipe with jumbo elbow macaroni and it’s also tasty.

Now you need to cover the skillet and allow the liquid to be absorbed by the pasta… I know it’s hard not to peek and keep checking on the dinner, but try  and resist so the pasta has ample time to plump up and become al dente and just right.  If all the liquid gets absorbed and the pasta is still underdone, feel free to add more wine (or broth) and then allow time for the pasta to cook until it reaches the right taste for your family.

At this point, you have a few options.  If you’re ready to have dinner, feel free to serve this straight from the skillet.  If you’ve got some time, I would suggest putting your dinner into a casserole dish, spooning in (and on) some shredded cheese and then popping into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes when you’re almost ready for dinner.   It totally depends on what you want to do… hence; this is a great example of using The Force when making your dinner.

I hope you try this recipe sometime and let me know how it turned out for you.  It’s similar to the mazetti recipe that my mother-in-law makes, with a tasty taco twist.  It’s simple… it’s easy… and it’s a recipe that you can adjust to please everyone in your family.  What more could you want?

Seriously…. what more would you want from a recipe?  Enjoy!

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Recipe: Pumpkin Wine Brownies

Yup… you read that right… there’s pumpkin in these things.  PumpkinWineBrownies  If you can possibly get past the idea of adding pumpkin into something that is supposed to be a chocolatey, yummy treat, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the results.  That is, of course, if you can get past the idea that you’re adding a vegetable into your treat.  Can you??

I was hungry for brownies last night.   I wanted to use some red wine in the baking process but I also wanted to experiment with making something yummy.   I’ve made brownie muffins using only pumpkin and chocolate cake mix (Hungry Girl, Lisa Lillian, calls them “Yum Yum Brownie Muffins”) but I wasn’t sure about adding red wine to the mix… so I experimented, I used The Force, and came up with this dessert.

I started with a box of brownie mix.  I poured in some red wine and then added a half can of pumpkin (that solid pack pumpkin stuff… not the “pumpkin pie mix” stuff) but it was still a bit too thick, so I added some more red wine to the mixture.  Once it looked smooth enough, I poured it into a 9 x 13 pan and baked it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

See?  The Force in its truest form… helping me make dessert that tastes so good!

As always, when using The Force, I’ll tweak this recipe when I make it the next time.  I’m going to try making this recipe in a 9 x 9 pan so the brownies are a bit thicker (which means I’ll be cooking them a little longer).  I’ll probably find another box of brownie mix that I want to try, especially since this was the box mix that my darling hubby had picked up to make for his own work event.  I may even come up with some other crazy ingredient to add and see how it turns out.

Whatever I do, I’ll do my best to always share my experiments with you on this blog.  Isn’t that what writing a blog is all about?

Enjoy the experiments in life… they are what can make things fun, unique, enjoyable, and ultimately your own.

Take time to try different things and don’t be afraid of failing… sometimes its the failures that allow you to be the most creative!

Oh… and have a brownie!

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Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Tartlets

Ok… so this recipe doesn’t have to be made in “tartlet” form, but I was trying to make something that would be easy to transport to a Happy Hour function and the amazing sale on filo dough shells at my local grocery store sealed the deal for me.  I made a double recipe and used it for two boxes of filo shells AND an extra large graham cracker crust pie shell… and it worked perfectly.  The filo dough shells aren’t my favorite choice for this recipe – the shells are a bit too “papery” and I much prefer having something with a buttery or graham cracker-y taste – but they served their purpose and allowed me to make a “single serve” treat for my friends.

Since I’ve been working at James River Cellars for over a year now, I knew that I was going to try and incorporate some wine into the recipes that I traditionally use for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.  I’ll probably use more wine (in slightly concealed amounts) when I repeat this meal for Christmas, but I started with the pumpkin pie recipe, with great results.

This recipe, given to me by my mother-in-law, only calls for 2T of water so I felt fairly safe substituting it with James River Cellars’ Reserve Chardonnay.  What took me most by surprise was the consistency change that happened when I added the milk mixture to the dissolved Knox brand gelatin.  Thankfully, the glue-like consistency loosened as the mixture came up to temperature, but it was a little disconcerting at first.

My version of Mom’s No Bake Pumpkin Pie (my husband’s favorite pumpkin pie)

1. Blend together  1-14oz can sweetened condensed milk (I use the fat-free version), 1 egg (slightly beaten), 1t ginger, 1/2 t nutmeg, 1/2 t salt and set aside.

2. In 2 qt saucepan, sprinkle 1 envelope Knox gelatin over 2T water (in this case, James River Cellars’ Reserve Chardonnay), let stand ONE MINUTE, then stir over low heat until gelatin dissolves.

3.  Blend in milk mixture that you made in step 1.

4.  Stir over low heat until slightly thick, about 5 minutes.  NOTE:  Don’t worry if the gelatin mixture seems like glue at the beginning… it will loosen up as the heat brings everything to temperature and allow the entire mixture to thicken.  Don’t be hasty and remove from heat too early – this is how the pie eventually sets up as it cools.

5.  Blend in 1-16 oz can solid pack pumpkin (not seasoned can of pumpkin pie) and whisk thoroughly.

6.  Pour into pie shell (I use a pre-made graham cracker pie shell, cuz that’s what M likes best – feel free to substitute a traditional pie crust if you prefer) and chill for several hours.

7.  Cut and serve with cool whip or Redi-whip.

If you decide to make an entire recipe of little baby pumpkin pies, know that you’re going to need three boxes of shells… it makes a lot of those things.  I simply like the idea of using the word “Tartlets” in a post after hearing John Lovitz turn the word into something hysterically funny on Friends so long ago…  if you’re not familiar, feel free to click on the “tartlet” link above… you’ll be laughing pretty quickly!

I wish you all a joyful Thanksgiving and a most blessed Holiday Season!