Simple Pairings: Dinner Ideas with Red Wines

An additional note to our earlier post regarding pairing Fireside white wines with dinner menus: our recently released LaCrosse, made with Iowa-grown white grapes, would pair well with most of the suggested recipes from the June 10 blog. It is an off-dry white which pairs nicely with food and provides a refreshing respite from summer heat. 

BEVERAGE SELECTIONS

CoCo and Cordovan are both dry red wines made from grapes that cannot grow in harsh Iowa winters. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are used for CoCo, and red Zinfandel grapes are primary in our Cordovan.

 

CoCo enhances the flavor of any red meat, but we have a recipe for rib eye steak you may not have tried before. Choose sides of potato halves and green beans with mushrooms to round out your meal.

Ribeye Steak with Red Wine Pan Sauce  (CoCo)

http://www.dadcooksdinner.com/2010/05/ribeye-steak-saute-with-red-wine-pan.html 

(if grilling is not an option, use ½ cup of CoCo for the pan sauce.) 

Baked Potato Halves 

1 potato per guest, scrubbed and halved lengthwise  Butter                                                                        Seasoning salt

Dried or fresh parsley                                  Parmesan cheese, if desired

Heat oven to 350 degrees (can be higher or lower to accommodate other dishes in oven). Melt enough butter to cover bottom of appropriately-sized baking dish. Sprinkle desired amount of seasoning salt and dried parsley over butter.

 
Arrange potatoes, cut side down, in buttered baking dish. Dot tops of potatoes with a little more butter. Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes to 1 hour, depending on oven temperature, number of items in oven and rack location.

Remove when fork tender. Flip each potato over. Add cheese if desired. Just before serving, set oven to broil and brown the cut sides. Can serve with sour cream or ranch style dressing.

Green beans with mushrooms (or bacon or other favorite preparation) and the zucchini medley both make nutritious side dishes for the rib eye or the marinara dinner. The garlic bread loaf featured below is also a tasty accompaniment to either main course.

Marinara (Cordovan)
Use Cordovan for the red wine listed in this recipe. 

http://www.mommiecooks.com/2011/09/09/homemade-marinara-sauce/

Zucchini Medley

Zucchini            Fresh tomatoes             Mushrooms               Minced Garlic

Choose at least 2 other fresh vegetables to blend with the zucchini (carrots, green beans, onions, yellow squash, kale, spinach etc)

Sauté most dense vegetables and garlic first in small amount of olive oil. When they approach tender crisp, add at least 1 tomato with its juice. Add more tomatoes, mushrooms and squash last - unless you are using kale or spinach, both of which should be last - and cook until they have reached desired tenderness. Freshly grated parmesan can be sprinkled on top.

Garlic Loaf

1 loaf French or Italian bread, sliced in half lengthwise

Butter                                                              Minced garlic

Italian seasoning (optional)                             Cheese, if desired

Place loaf halves side-by-side on a cookie sheet. Butter them. Spread or sprinkle minced garlic over them. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning (optional). 

Put in oven to warm. Remove to add cheese if using it (parmesan, mozzarella, Italian blend, rounds of provolone). Cut into slices or chunks to serve.

Free Wine in March

Well, that's one way to look at the savings potential during our bi-annual Case Sale weekend.  How is that, you ask?  Well on the weekend of March 22-24, Fireside Winery will be having its ever popular, bi-annual CASE SALE.  Case purchases (12 bottles or more) will receive a 20% discount.  If you figure the average cost of a bottle is $12, the 20% off savings for a case would be about $28.  So you see, the savings equals a little more than 2 bottles of wine for that particular case.  Now that's a deal worth driving for. 

Case Sale Weekend  March 22-24

We often get asked if the cases can be mixed and yes, they certainly can.  Also, Fan Club members may renew their memberships during this time if their within they're renewal period (call the winery if you're not sure).   We will not, however, enroll new Fan Club members during this weekend at the 20% discount.  To become a Fan Club member during the Case Sale weekend, the first case must be purchased with the normal 10% discount.

Fireside Winery offers the bi-annual case sales in March and November of each year.  This year's Spring Case Sale happens to be the weekend before Easter, a holiday where wine is commonly enjoyed with the festive meal.  Ham is often served during the Easter holiday. For white wine pairing ideas, we suggest our BLU, Firefly or Storyteller. These slightly sweet wines will be a great balance to the saltiness of the ham.  If you prefer red wines, we suggest a lighter styled red such as our Hearthstone or Frontenac that wouldn't overpower the meat.  And for dessert, forget that huge chocolate bunny you've been eyeing in your kid's Easter basket, and go for your own heavenly delight with a glass of our new chocolate and raspberry infused dessert wine, Sweetheart.