Independence Day at Sculpterra

Ron and I met friends Maria and Alex and Sherrie at Sculpterra Winery for a unique and sumptuous celebration of USA independence!

Winemaker Paul Frankel's 2010 Chardonnay and Viognier were palatable and refreshing at the tasting bar, and a few of us took advantage of the free hotdogs outside (the folks at Sculpterra think of everything that my Inner Archivist would love).

Then Paul invited us into his barrel room to marvel at the collection of wood barrels from all over the world of varying sizes, housing multiple single varietals and blends of his amazingly delicious, as-yet unbottled wines.

Paul navigated the racks of barrels with his stainless steel thief and a glass, all to treat us to his first Rhone blend, the prized Bentley Cabernet Sauvignon, perfect Primativo, and precious Petite Syrah -- all absolutely delectable, with beautiful deep color to turn even the whitest of teeth temporarily purple!

Sherrie is also the enologist at Castoro Cellars so it was fun to share in her "shop talk" with Paul, as these two industry professionals are enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable yet pleasantly unpretentious. (Read about Sherrie and Paul in my book "Cravings, Ravings & Misbehavings!")

But no matter how many discussions we engage with experts like Paul and Sherrie, we always have questions about every stage of the winemaking process, and they graciously increase our knowledge bases.

After the tasting, we purchased a few bottles of wine and two boxes of custom wine-filled chocolates. We found a lovely table in the shade and sated ourselves on a late afternoon picnic in the sculpture garden.

The weather was perfectly warm with a healthy breeze, beautiful blue, blue sky, and plenty of incomparable California sunshine. Summer has arrived!

Just above is a picture in the barrel room (L to R): Alex, Maria, Sherrie, moi, Ron, Paul.

Finally, I got in a photo!

Great thanks to Paul and everyone at Sculpterra, to Sherrie and Maria and Alex and Ron for putting up with my big crush on Paul and Sculpterra wines, and to Mother Nature for a memorable day that we all secretly wished would never come to an end!

Italian Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf

Yesterday, I was inspired to make a dish from my new "Cooking Pleasures" magazine when I saw this recipe. I was also inspired to use ingredients already on hand, so I didn't have to make a wasteful trip to the market for one or two items! I used turkey instead of ground beef, added ground fennel seeds to replace sausage, and used one of our favorite cheeses, Handmade English Cheese with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, in place of Fontina. The result: a tangy, succulent meat loaf that was fine-textured and fit for serving to guests in the future! The truth is, it's almost impossible for me to make a recipe as written! Ron calls me his "custom" girl. So go ahead, experiment with your own version of this masterpiece.

STUFFED ITALIAN TURKEY MEAT LOAF

INGREDIENTS

MEAT LOAF
½ teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 cup finely chopped onions

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup milk

1-1/2 lb. ground turkey

2 cups chopped fresh spinach

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 teaspoon pepper

3/4 teaspoon salt


FILLING
2 oz. Handmade English cheese with sun-dried tomatoes, crumbled

SAUCE

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup chopped carrot

1/4 cup minced shallots

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 (14.5-oz.) can tomato sauce

1/3 cup red wine

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Heat ½ teaspoon olive oil in tiny pan over medium heat. Add fennel seeds and sauté 2-3 minutes until seeds turn brown but not burned. Remove from heat. Place a paper towel over a small plate and add seeds from pan, patting with towel to blot excess oil. Transfer seeds to mortar/pestle and grind thoroughly. Set aside.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons garlic; cook 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add onions, cook 4 minutes or until soft. Remove from heat.

3. Combine bread crumbs and milk in large bowl; let stand 15 minutes. When onion-garlic sauté is cool, gently combine all remaining meat loaf ingredients with bread crumbs.

4. Form half of the mixture into 9x9-inch baking pan. Arrange cheese in center of meat, leaving 1-inch border on edges. Cover with remaining meat mixture, seal edges.

5. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160°F. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

6. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until hot. Cook carrot, shallots and 2 teaspoons garlic, uncovered, 6 to 10 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally. Add red wine, basil, salt and pepper. Stir in tomato sauce; reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Serve warm over meat loaf.

Chef’s Notes: I like to make all my red sauces in advance so they simmer for at least an hour, infusing all the tangy flavors together. Also, if you can’t get Handmade English cheese with sun-dried tomatoes, try substituting your favorite, Provolone, Fontina, or another cheese, and add in chopped sun-dried tomatoes!

Weekend in the Kitchen

Rain came on and off throughout the weekend, more perfect weather for cooking and baking all our House Faves, and trying some new recipes, too! See my cooking show "Gourmet Again!" at BlipsWerx YouTube! and view recipes at Sharine.com/Recipes.

Saturday, we grilled a Pork Tenderloin and I made an Apricot BBQ Glaze, yum. The meat marinated for several hours in Olive 

Oil and our favorite general spice blend, Mrs. Tallman's Mild.

As for the glaze, I made it up as I went along, starting with a saute of Garlic, Olive Oil and Butter. I added Red Wine, Soy Sauce, a bit of coarse grain Mustard, Apricot Preserves, and BBQ Sauce. After 15 minutes of medium-low heat under the pan, I set it aside for glazing/garnishing the Pork.

Today, we made brunch, which doesn't happen often because I'm not a big Breakfast eater. French Toast with a light multi-grain bread, and Scrambled Eggs with leftover grilled Cauliflower, Broccoli and added Mushrooms. Fresh squeezed Orange Juice sealed the deal on a nice meal, and Ron did most of the work, including all the dishes. Ahhhhhh!

In the early afternoon, I smashed a few Bananas! And used them to make a Carob-Banana Bread with a touch of Rum Extract and a pinch of Nutmeg to give it a rich Eggnog essence. This is the highest one of my quick breads has ever risen, and the texture is super light and fluffy!

I used to make this recipe with Apple Juice, but I did use organic White Sugar this time around, dropping the amount from 2/3 cup to 1/2 cup. The top is crunchy, carob chips provide inner texture, and yet overall it's not too sweet!

While others around the world gathering for the SuperBowl, I made Guacamole which, along with homemade Salsa, are two of our House Faves.

I must admit, I make the best Guacamole on the planet.

I start with 1/3 cup of my own Salsa in a glass container, and add 3 - 4 ripe Avocados as I halve them and mash into the Salsa. That's it.

I let the Guac take a siesta in the fridge for a couple of hours. I tested it with organic corn chips, Salsa, and of course, a bottle of Negra Modelo, Mexican beer so deep, dark and delicious that I can never finish a bottle.

Superb Dinner: Grilled Lamb Chops, marinated in Olive Oil, Ground Thyme and Roasted Garlic, with Carmelized Onions for a topping.

Ron said the Carmelized Onions were too sweet and sticky, he is hoping next time for the grilled

version. But I enjoyed them in small doses, as the chops were a bit gamey. The sweetness seemed to mellow out the pungent meat.

We added a side of Grilled Vegetables (do we love our veggies or what?).

I also made a Sprouted Grain Pappardelle, tossed in a fresh Alfredo Sauce. Creamy, tangy and healthy, of course, even with the butter and cream ; )

Here's the money shot on dinner this evening! Ron is The Grill Master, so as always, everything was done to perfection.

Sunday in the Kitchen

Spent the weekend in the kitchen. It's been raining and blustery for several days, so what better activities than cooking and baking some special comfort foods?!

Yesterday, I stuffed pasta shells with a ricotta and spinach filling and smothered them in a homemade marinara sauce. Tangy and delicious! Later in the evening, I baked a super-moist chocolate cake and mini-muffins.

Today, I frosted the cake and muffins just as the morning was beginning to bluster like crazy. Then, I made pizza dough. In between the assembly and baking of two pies, I started the dessert we will take to our friends' home later tonight: a pear-apple-cranberry tarte tatin. I pre-heated the oven to 450 degrees F to accommodate the snacking pizza.

First, I rolled the pizza dough very thin, placed it on a square of parchment paper which was on top of a large wood bread board. Then I brushed the dough with olive oil, topped with 1/2 cup of leftover marinara, 3/4 cup of shredded mozzarella, super-thin slices of tomato and garlic, basil, salt and pepper, then threw on some more olive oil. I slid the parchment paper onto my pre-heated baking stone in the oven for exactly 15 minutes. I let the pie rest on a cutting board for 5-10 minutes, and ate half while making my dessert!

The pear-apple-cranberry tarte tatin is baked to perfection and the second pie just came out of the oven, so when I publish this post, it will be snackie time!

Zesty Asian Slaw Recipe

Many of you are here today after viewing my "Gourmet Again!" cooking show on YouTube! The most recent episode featured this colorful and delicious twist on traditional coleslaw, with a creamy-crunchy peanut dressing!

(Thanks to Aaatheena for providing positive feedback and becoming the inspiration for this blog).

ZESTY ASIAN SLAW

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

8 cups red and green cabbage, shredded

2 carrots, shredded

4 small green onions, sliced

DRESSING INGREDIENTS:

1 cup roasted unsalted peanuts

¼ cup low-fat mayonnaise or Vegenaise

¼ cup brown sugar and white sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 ½ tablespoon soy sauce

¼ teaspoon wasabi

½ teaspoon sesame oil

optional: 1 tablespoon rice wine

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, combine cabbage, carrots and onions. Toss well to combine.

In food processor, pulse-chop peanuts until all pieces are very small, making the dressing slightly crunchy.

Add remaining ingredients, mixing thoroughly on low speed.

Pour the dressing over the slaw, toss to coat well.

Marinate for at least 6 hours or overnight, even better.

Chef’s Notes: Toss in some crunchy asian noodles just before serving!