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OK I have two favorite foods - Italian and seafood. now if you give me Italian seafood OHH baby am I a happy gobbler. (that's right that is coming soon) So guess what you are going to get a lot of. But I just bought ( for my 60th b-day present ) a really incredible BBQ / Smoker combo grill. Of course I have my outdoor Deep fryer lobster steamer giant pot, my cast iron skillets & ironclads that all lend themselves to great food recipes. So yes I am here to blog on wine but the recipes are what you'll really get into. Wine, especially the ones Lewis and I created this week the absolutely best crossfire and riata JK has ever produced, are going to just dazzle you. So I know I have not blogged much this week but I have been cooking. I did my planned recipes, my Mom's spinach salad and pepper steak chedda ( new England speak ) noodles. But last night I looked in the frig and said to myself, self I don't want to go to the store lets see what we can create.

So I found some large Idaho potatoes, a fresh tomato, a jar of diced hot cherry peppers, half a white onion, a jar of sun dried tomatoes ( one of my favorites to cook with ), 2 green peppers, some chicken leg and thighs, medium shrimp, and a bag and a half of baby spinach left over from Thursday nite dinner and hot pepper sauce. So then I went to the pantry. Olive oil, cracked pepper, salt, minced garlic, course sweet basil, marjoram, herb seasoning and chervil.

So, for I don't know for how many years, I would do this kind of cooking and get nothing but raves from whomever I was feeding but could never duplicate it, at least exactly, so now I actually right it down.

After I cooked it and had some with my 2007 stray dog zin I was impressed with both. I new I was going to need a name for it and the closest thing it reminded me of was "choucroute" not a true one but that was what came to mind. Emeril's choucroute is one of my favorite winter dishes.

I had enough left over to have it tonight with my newly bottled 07 crossfire. man was that a great combination. SO LETS COOK.


Chicken, Shrimp and spinach choucroute;

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp chopped or minced garlic

3 large Idaho potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 large green peppers cut into strips
1 large tomato
1/2 large white onion
4 whole chicken leg and thighs - cut up, separate the leg from the thigh
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes - julienne cut
1 tbsp cento diced hot cherry peppers
3 dashes hot pepper sauce
1/4 tsp course sweet basil
big pinch of marjoram
big pinch of herb seasoning
big pinch of chervil
24 raw medium peeled and deveined shrimp
2 6 oz bags baby spinach

In a really large deep skillet with a lid add the olive oil, cracked pepper, salt and garlic simmer on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. add chicken pieces and brown on all sides. add potatoes, green peppers, tomato and onion, sun dried tomatoes, diced cherry peppers, hot pepper sauce, basil, marjoram, herb seasoning and chervil. cover and cook stirring every few minutes until chicken is cooked about 20 minutes. add shrimp and cover until shrimp is pink 3 to 4 minutes. cover mixture with all the spinach, drizzle with more olive oil and salt lightly cover and simmer until spinach is cooked. remove from heat toss in the pan to mix up the spinach and serve with some crusty bread. a stray dog zinfandel or the Dancing Vine reserve cab sauv coming up on Bargainsonwine.com. So give this a try and let me know what you think.
BARGINS BABY BARGINS

sauvignon blanc with whole grain pasta in white clam sauce

Yes whole grain, remember wine is a food and in moderation is good for your health, so lets work on pairing healthy foods. Many of the recipes I have and find I will "tweek" to substitute some better lifestyle ingredients. There, of course, will be some recipes that would suffer to much from substitution so trust me I am not giving up the butter yet, you're welcome P.D. I am a big fan of fresh ingredients and I prefer shopping for a meal the same day I am going to prepare it. Pasta does give you a little flexibility in that you can stock up and get creative on short notice.

The wine - Sauvignon Blanc - A green grape originally from Bordeaux is planted in most all wine producing regions and is known for producing a crisp, dry and refreshing white wine. Depending on the growing region flavors can go from "grassy" to sweet and tropical. Crisp and fresh are the two components I look for in a SB along with being a round wine with notes of melon. Colder fermentation's bring out more fruit and tropical flavors and lends itself to an unoaked style.
Expressive flavors for SB range from citrus, pear and melon to an array of tropical fruits.

SB can be one of your best value wine buys offering varietal character and versatility. It is truly "food friendly" with bright flavors and distinct character. SB can easily support spicy and aggressively flavored dishes. With evident but not overpowering acidity it easily balances richer cream sauces along with high acid foods such as fresh tomatoes and tangy cheese. Dry and crisp enough however to support a wide range of fish, shellfish, salads,soups, vegetables and citrus flavored sauces.

I have found a Sauvignon Blanc from the Lodi appellation one that is grown 100% in the delta region. The area that experiences the "delta breeze" the onshore wind that brings the cool evening breeze from San Francisco bay all the way up to Sacramento and the Sierra Foothills. This chilly evening breeze gives the SB just the right climate it craves to fully express its best characteristics. This 2007 SB called Merlicious is from E2 family wines and is done in the Kiwi style of stainless fermentation and is unoaked. This cold style of fermentation shows lots of crisp
natural acidity and irresistible aromas of gooseberry and passion fruit. The nose is bright and soothing with a lively mouth feel and slightly flinty finish. I find this SB to be most complimentary to shellfish. So being a pasta fanatic I found my whole grain pasta with white clam sauce a perfect combo for me. The recipe is below but I would only savor the thought until we can get the wines on line for you to purchase and try with this pasta. Just remember to watch for the launch of our new website http://www.bargainsonwine.com/ . You will be amazed at the value of our wines as they will truly be bargains on wines you can't get in any wine shop or market. So please be patient, gather the recipes and well before the holidays you will be able to stock up on these "bargin" wines.

** whole grain linguine with white clam sauce ( for 4 )

8 oz barrilla whole grain pasta
4 tblsp unsalted butter
1 tblsp whole wheat flour
8 oz clam juice ( 1 small bottle )
2 oz Merlicious Sauvignon Blanc
1 tblsp Italian seasoning ( I like Emeril's )
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 6 1/2 oz cans minced clams in juice

a great little addition to this recipe is to get 16 small fresh clams to steam and place on top of the pasta serving bowl or if you are plating 4 per plate.

prepare pasta according to package and your taste for al dente, drain:
melt butter in medium saucepan, add flour and mix well. Add clam juice and wine and stir until smooth. Add Italian seasoning and thyme bring to a boil over medium heat. Add clams with juice and continue to cook until slightly thickened. combine drained pasta with sauce. Toss and serve in a large family style pasta bowl with cracked ground pepper, fresh grated Romano cheese and crusty bread with olive oil on the side.

WINE - MERLICIOUS LODI SAUVIGNON BLANC

Salad recipe for another day

Well the logo is done and now the work begins on the website http://www.bargainsonwine.com/ they tell us we are looking at about 4 weeks until you will be able to order the wines I find and pair with great recipes. So here we go.

I am going to share with you on this blog all my years of passion for food and cooking and 20 years of passion for wine. All of those years have revolved around generations of family from "phoebe you burned the mashed potatoes again" to a "knife full of cinnamon" and "just add more ketchup". As we travel this road of passions I will share lots of family favorites from my mothers hand written cookbook, four identical copies one for each of her children, to my favorite recipes from my extended family and ethnic adventures.

I will take the wines we discover for you , and offer on bargainsonwine, and match them to one of those recipes. I trust of course that if you are anything like myself and are following a food and wine blog you will look at these recipes and say " Ohh! how about a little of this or a pinch of that" and when you do please share so we can all enjoy your creativity.

There are lots of family recipes out there so I am hoping that you will share some of your family favorites with me and challenge me to find a complimentary wine for you to enjoy. I am expecting Italian from Dana, Slovak from Denise - via Peggy, country from Ginger, southwest from Val, home style from JJ Cory Jessica and Eric, New England traditional from Judy, down-east seafood from Prudy - thanks to Aunt Rose, a little midwest Scandinavian from Vinny and Ami and oh yes a little from the British Isles from Chris and Roy.

I am even going to pass on some of my most appreciated creations like - Mark and Paul's jambalaya, and my traditional harvest lobster boil. And once in a while a menu created for a holiday or traditional family and friends dinner. So back to "Wednesday night dinners" - you'll get this when I share the preface to a "Knife full of cinnamon" Mom's cookbook.

So to get this going I am going to start with a really fun Sauvignon blanc I found paired with my twist on whole wheat pasta in white clam sauce. Next will be all the kid's absolute favorite Mom's pepper-steak cheddar noodles with a really fun reserve Syrah in a jug. last of the first three wines will be Ava Marie's Divinity the most complimentary wine I have ever had with a Thanksgiving turkey. Jacques Pepin fell in love with this wine in Newport ( yes -name dropper). Oh yes the turkey is deep fried and I will give you the whole menu.

As a fun and final note for tonight this blog was first hand written by candlelight during last nights first big winter storm here in the mountains 10/13/09 pasta and clam sauce tomorrow-ish.