Eve's Wine 101

White Wine Sauce and Italian Chicken over Pasta

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Yes, the fam can never get enough pasta.  This one sounded like it had just the right amount of cheese…and wine.  I think I had a Viognier on hand – which was completely drowned out so it didn’t matter that I didn’t use the recommended Sauvignon Blanc.  Also, see my italics, some of the ingredients were not in the Preparation section!  OMG I had to add them in myself:

Most of my time cooking requires a side of Martini...

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 4-6 chicken breasts
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 2/3 cup white wine (Sauvignon Blanc works especially well due to the herbaceous character- or Viognier!)
  • 2 10 oz. or one 14 oz. can(s) cream of mushroom soup
  • 4 oz. cream cheese
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 finely chopped green onions
  • 1 package of dry Italian salad dressing mix (cool, right?)
  • 16 oz. pasta – linguine works very well
  • Sun-dried tomatoes (lazy=skipped!)
  • Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Melt butter in large pot and stir in package of Italian salad dressing mix. (This is where I sauteed the green onions, garlic and added in 8 oz of fresh mushrooms) Next stir in wine, mushroom soup and cream cheese until well-blended.  Continue to heat (without boiling) mixture for about 5 minutes, sauce should be creamy and all cream cheese should be melted in. (Double check that the cream cheese melts – it can get hidden!)  Place chicken in single layer in baking dish (I sprayed with a little cooking spray.) and pour the above mixture over. Cook for 50-55 minutes. Cook pasta about 15 minutes (9 minutes per my linguine box – and it gets gluey in this sauce!) before chicken is done. Drain pasta and serve chicken and sauce over the linguine. Top with sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan cheese. Don’t forget to save some of the white wine to complement dinner!  (We finished the wine but then we also enjoyed this with our usual Domaine de Canton ginger martini!)

http://wine.about.com/od/howwineismade/r/italpastarecipe.htm

 

Eve Snakes: The Tasting Panel Magazine’s 5th Annual Tasting Panel Tour, and a Vinturi Travel Aerator! (Featuring a selection of Double Gold Winners from The San Francisco International Wine Competition & The San Francisco World Spirits Competition.)

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Last Thursday, at Waterloo & City in Culver City, I attempted to sample as many double gold wine and spirit winners I could in about an hour.  The time constraint is because I don’t want to deal with the traffic home, and for now, these events occur at lunch and not at the time I want: 10 a.m.

It also prevents me, unlike the tousled haired mid-40ish man next to me, from drinking more than my fair share.  I still wonder how tousled-hair got home…

So, what I can share with you here is which wines and spirits I enjoyed the most, some I was even able to note a simple “wow” or “can you say banana?” If you see these on a wine or bar list – drink them:

Wines

Perrier-Jouet Champagne NV Blasom Rose, Champagne, France

Raza 2001 Torrentes Sweet Sparkling Wine, Famatina Valley, Argentina, BEST IN SHOW SPARKLING & BEST DEMI-SEC  (I sent Dr. Joel Fisher over to try these as I thought they would be great if he could get them at his LA Wine Fest or our Santa Clarita Valley Wine Fest.)

Bota Box 2009 Riesling, California  (Betting this “Box” could be purchased inexpensively, serve it well chilled and enjoy!)

Turk 2009 Gruner Veltliner, Kremstal, Austria.  (If you’ve never had a Gruner – they grow on you.  This one was great.)

Fritz Winery 2009, Russian River Valley BEST CHARDONNAY

Jenner 2009 Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

Scheid Vineyards 2008 Pinot Noir Estate, Monterey

Hearst Ranch Winery 2009 Tempranillo, Paso Robles, BEST TEMPRANILLO (And it was!)

Martin Ranch Winery 2009 Malbec, Do Ninas Vineyards, Santa Clara Valley (I grabbed a business card for this one – a really good Malbec.)

Cakebread Cellars, 2008 Merlot, Napa Valley BEST MERLOT

Henson 2008 Syrah, Chalone, California

Bethany Wines, 2005 Shiraz GR10 Reserve, Barossa (I noted that I liked it, and also, for a Shiraz, it was softer than most – pleasantly so.)

Travieso Winery, 2009 Traviesito Red Blend, California

Troublemaker NV Blend 2, Rhone Blend, Paso Robles, BEST RHONE BLEND (I looked at the bottle, it was a Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre – commonly referred to as a GSM blend – with Petit Sirah.  Very nicely done.)

Feather 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley (Yummy.)

Hughes Wellman, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, BEST CABERNET SAUVIGNON

Benziger 2007 Red Bordeaux Blend, Three Blocks, Sonoma Valley

Spirits

Crystal Head Vodka, Newfoundland, Canada (I had never had the opportunity to try this, I liked it, perfect neutral spirit, not too hot.  The whole Dan Aykroyd/Ghost connection thing had turned me off to trying it in the past.)

Mozart Dry – Chocolate Spirit, Austria BEST OTHER SPIRIT  (If you are a dark chocolate fan you have to try this!)

ORO Pisco Italia Mosto Verde, Peru BEST PISCO

Kai Young Coconut Shochu, Vietnam, BEST SHOCHU

Kai Lemongrass Ginger Shochu, Vietnam  (I noted this one with a big “YES!”  Similar to my favorite Ginger Liqueur, Domaine de Canton, this one with added lemon was perfect.  And it was another one I sent Joel Fisher over to try.)

Dulce Vida Anejo Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico

Don Julio Real Extra-Aged Anejo Tequila, Mexico, BEST TEQUILA  (This $350 bottle had everything.  Most people at the tasting were clamoring for it and I tweeted out a photo of the beautiful bottle.  In my 50th of an ounce I could only take the time to note the smoothness, the wood flavor and the staggeringly long finish…)

Hacienda de Chihuahua Plata Sotol, Chihuahua, Mexico (Around this time I was guided by Luis Cota, the Tequila/Agave Ambassador for Gemini Spirits & Wine.  It had been a long time since I had gone through a tequila tasting and Luis proved quite helpful.)

Del Maguey Minero Mezcal, Oaxaca, Mexico  (When I noted a lot of peat, like a Scotch, Luis agreed with me… now I had to turn to get closer to those coming up soon in the tasting.)

The Tyrconnell 10 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey (Madeira Finish)  (This was the one I smelled banana in.  But the taste was traditional, very interesting.)

The Tyrconnell 10 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey (Sherry finish)  (If you like sherry casks – this was very similar to Balvenie Single Malt Scotch for me.)

Redbreast 15 Year Old Irish Whiskey, Ireland (Very smoky)

Connemara Cask Strength Irish Whiskey, Ireland

The Dalmore 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch, Highlands

Camus Cognac VS Elegance, France

Louis Royer Cognac VSOP Preference, Cognac, France  (Nice and nutty.)

Chateau de Laubade Armagnac 1981, BAS Armagnac, France BEST ARMAGNAC (WOWZA!)

Time to go!  But not before collecting my oh-so-freaking-cool Travel Vinturi Aerator that Tasting Panel had arranged as gifts for all of the attendees.  Joining my ever present corkscrew in my purse, from now on if I get a wine by the glass that isn’t opening up fast enough –  I am set!

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THE SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL WINE COMPETITION

The San Francisco International Wine Competition is the largest and most prestigious wine competition in the United States. Founded in 1981 by the State of California and privatized in 1999, the SF International Wine Competition is owned and directed by James Beard Award Winner and Editor-in-Chief of The Tasting Panel Magazine, Anthony Dias Blue. It owes its prominence to masterful organization and its outstanding panel of judges.

The San Francisco International Wine Competition took place June 17-10, 2011 at the Hotel Nikko San Francisco. 4184 wines were submitted from 29 countries and 20 states.

For a complete list of Double Gold Winners from the 2011 San Francisco International Wine Competition, click here.

THE SAN FRANCISCO WORLD SPIRITS COMPETITION

The San Francisco World Spirits Competition is the first comprehensive, international spirits judging ever held in the United States on an annual basis.

Celebrating its 11th year of awarding spirits excellence, the 2011 competition took place on March 18-20, 2011 at the Hotel Nikko San Francisco. 1106 different spirits from 61 countries were evaluated by 33 of the finest palates from the spirits industry, including Founder and Executive Director, Anthony Dias Blue; and Director of Judging, Tony Abou-Ganim.

For a complete list of Double Gold winners from the 2011 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, click here.

Information above provided by The Tasting Panel magazine.

Chef 101 Humpday Recipe: Eve makes a “new” cheese burger

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From AllRecipes.com I made “Onion and Cheddar Burgers”

My brother-in-law, now deceased and unable to give me his grand recipe, used to make hamburgers the way my mom made meatballs.  All kinds of stuff like egg, onion and oregano they both used, but Jimmy used all of the ingredients below, and then some.  My changes are in parenthesis, and they were keeping my brother-in-law watching over me, in mind:

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper (I skipped the salt and pepper as I added Jimmy’s secret ingredient instead: Onion Soup Mix.)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (We attributed the moistness of the burgers to the cheese.  And even though I may have lost some of the meat during the “flipping”, they tasted like the juicy end of a well-prepared meat loaf.)
6 (toasted) hamburger buns
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine beef, onion, egg and ketchup. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, and Worcestershire sauce. Lightly mix in cheddar cheese. Shape beef mixture into 6 thick patties.

Preheat oven on broiler setting.

Place hamburgers on broiler pan. Broil, turning once, until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Serve on hamburger buns. (I served this with a half bottle of an unremarkable Rose, and later switched to our standby: Domaine de Canton Ginger and Russian Standard vodka martini.  One last note, I tried the AllRecipes.com option to size this down to 4 burgers instead of 6, it worked perfectly, though, when it came to using 5/8’s of an egg I tossed the whole puppy in.)

Chef 101 Humpday Recipe: Salmon Salad

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In a search under Healthy/LowFat/Easy/Quick/Painless/Chef 101/Dimwit/Blond… I found a nice recipe that only called for about three hours minutes of chopping, crushing and dicing, to which I just did the dicing.  Duh.  But boy howdy, was this good.  I invited our Canadian-Transplant friends over to try the recipe as well as they are always very nice about trying my cooking.

The only changes I made to the recipe was: In “cooking” the salmon my fish monger told me to boil it – and that was sooooooooooo easy!  I used a squirt bottle of mayo so instead of tablespoons I used large squirted dollops.

I left of the cayenne pepper out as it was one of dozens of spices that I lost in the kitchen remodel…because they were purchased when I got married, and this year we are celebrating our 25th anniversary! The de-seeding of the bell peppers (I hate green so I used yellow and red.) and cucumber was annoying but necessary.

We all loved the crunchy veggies against the soft salmon, and my transplanted friends took the remains home in a bag…not sure if it was going that night to their Canadian dogs or into their Canadian omelets for breakfast.

Eddie and I paired this with a Domaine de Canton Ginger Martini (1/2 jigger to full shaker of ice and Ciroq vodka).

Salmon Salad

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Prep Time:
15 min
Inactive Prep Time:
—
Cook Time:
—
Level:
Easy
Serves:
4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked, flaked salmon
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, crushed
  • 1 red or green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
  • 1/2 cup chopped onions
  • 4 to 5 tablespoons mayonnaise, or enough to moisten
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced

Directions

In a large bowl, gently toss together the salmon and crushed hard-boiled eggs. In another bowl, combine bell pepper, cucumber, onion, and mayonnaise. Add seasonings and stir to combine. Pour mixture over salmon, add lemon juice, and toss lightly to combine. Serve over lettuce or as a sandwich.

Eve’s Humpday Chef 101 Returns: Chicken and Vodka-Soaked Raisins

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Actually, the recipe is called Chicken and Almonds.  But I had searched vodka + recipe to get it so….tough luck.  And, because the power went out on the one street in Newhall where I was trying to cook, the raisins were left soaking in alcohol while I drove over to Pulchella Winery…to bide my time waiting for the power to be restored.

In the recipe below, besides the fact that it didn’t tell me how long to let my raisins soak for, I also halved the amount of chicken without halving the amount of…anything else.  And, frankly, have oodles of creamy sauce with tons of vodka-soaked raisins that had morphed into vodka-soaked grapes, didn’t seem like a problem to me.

I forgot to take a pic until the next day when I had the leftovers!

I paired it with my favorite Domaine de Canton Ginger martini (search my blog for the recipe but it’s basically a vodka martini with the vermouth replaced by ginger.) and the match was perfect!

Very yummy and family voted for me to make it again!

The recipe came from Cooks.com

CHICKEN AND ALMONDS

 

Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1739,153179-226194,00.html

Content Copyright © 2011 Cooks.com – All rights reserved.

8 chicken breast halves

1/2 c. raisins

1/4 c. vodka

1/2 c. slivered almonds

1/2 c. butter

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. red pepper

1 can mushroom soup

1 can cheese soup

1 lg. onion, sliced

Soak raisins in vodka. Saute almonds in butter until lightly brown; remove. Put chicken in skillet; season with salt and pepper and brown. Arrange chicken in 13×9 baking dish. Blend soups and pour over chicken. Put onion slices and raisins on top. Cover and bake at 375 degrees 30 minutes; uncover, add almonds and bake 20 minutes longer.