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.

Apple Blue Cheese Salad & Frontenac Vinaigrette

Last week I was invited to join Luann Alemao, an educator and speaker on topics of etiquette and conduct, skills and abilities, and food and nutrition, who hosted a cooking course at the new Hy-Vee store in Waterloo, called "Food for Fellows".  I was the local wine support.

During the very hands-on cooking class her students (mostly middle-aged gentlemen with little to no experience in the kitchen) were guided through a four-course meal preparation.  The students excelled and because the meal was so easy to prepare and tasty, I thought I'd repost the salad recipe:

Apple Bleu Cheese Salad

• 1 bag mixed greens
• 2oz Blue Cheese crumbles
• 1 ripe pear or crisp apple, cubed
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
• Directions:  Toast walnuts for about 2-3 minutes, over medium heat, using a flat saute pan - stir frequently to prevent burning.  Place the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss.  Serves about 4-5 people.

Frontenac Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup of oil (Canola or good vegetable oil)
• 3Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp Fireside Winery, Iowa Frontenac
• 1/2tsp Dijon mustard
• Directions: Mix ingredients together thoroughly.  Serve over the salad greens you prepared (above).  Enjoy!

Special thanks to Luann Alemao & Associates for permission to reprint the recipe.  Please visit her website to learn more:  Luann Alemao & Associates.

Cheers!
~Brad

Food & Wine Pairings - Try for Yourself

Early this Winter we offered a food-wine pairing education night at Fireside Winery.  Prior to the event we tasted, tested, critiqued, and eventually found perfect matches for our night of Hors d'oeuvres and Fireside Winery wines.

Over the next few weeks we'll post these wonderful recipes so you can try for yourself.  For this first recipe, the unctuous and earthy deliciousness of the stuffed mushroom paired perfectly with our Hearthstone (a red wine blend of Chambourcin and Chancellor).

Recipe created by Kym Wroble, RD, LD

Roasted Mushrooms with Blue Cheese and Walnuts

(Paired with Hearthstone)

The mushrooms can be roasted and stuffed up to 3 days in advance, but don’t top them with bread crumbs until you are ready to heat and serve the mushrooms.  Store stuffed mushrooms on a paper towel-lined plate in the refrigerator, covered tightly with plastic wrap.  Keep the bread crumb topping separate; refrigerate for up to 3 days.

List of Ingredients:

• 1 ½ slices hearty whole grain sandwich bread slices, torn into quarters
• 3 medium garlic cloves, pressed through garlic press
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
• 36 large mushrooms, stems removed
• ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Table salt and ground black pepper
• 6 ounces Maytag blue cheese, at room temp
• 3 ounces low-fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese, at room temp
• 1 ½ cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
• 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

1. Pulse bread in food processor to coarse crumbs.  Mix garlic, and oil in a bowl.  Stir crumbs and walnuts into oil mixture to evenly coat.  Set aside.
2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees.  Line rimmed baking sheet with foil and set wire rack inside baking sheet.  Toss mushrooms with oil, vinegar, ¼ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.  Arrange mushrooms gill side up on rack and roast until juices are released, about 15 minutes.  Run caps over and roast until mushrooms are browned, about 5-10 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Flip mushrooms right side up. 
3. Meanwhile, combine cheeses, garlic, herbs and olive oil in a food processor.  Season with ¼ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; mix until smooth.
4. Fill zip-top bag with cheese mixture and snip off one corner.  Use bag to pipe filling into mushrooms. 
5. When ready to bake, spray 9x13-inch pan with baking spray.
6. Press each cap (stuffing side down) into bread-crumb topping to coat and arrange (topping side up) in pan. 
7. Bake until filling is hot and topping is golden brown, about 10 minutes. 
8. Serve 4 mushrooms for each of 6 tables.  (There will be a  few leftovers.)