Good Eats in Elkin, NC

Elkin, NC isn't a large place so hunting for good food options when you have been out drinking wine all day is very important.  Our timing for our most recent trip was good and bad.  Bad because a key restaurant, Twenty One & Main, was still undergoing a redo and they were not ready to reopen.  The good was that their sister restaurant, 2Twenty Two Public House, was open and had recently expanded their menu.

Pork Skins

Red Hot & Blue Boneless Wings

 2TwentyTwo Public House is located right in downtown Elkin. We enjoyed it so much we ate there on two occasions during our three day weekend stay.

Mac & Cheese with
Bacon & Pesto Pizza

It is a nicer pub/bar seat yourself kind of place which got fairly busy both nights we were there.  I did notice management helping settle in waiting patrons as tables opened up so they were very efficient in that process.  They have the best made to order pork skins, really tasty and interesting pizza options, wide variety of sandwiches and a great beer list (draft and bottle).  Everything we had was really good but I am not sure all of it is still on the menu since it was newly revised and undergoing public opinion considerations.


We also went back to Elkin Creek Winery just to enjoy their fantastic pizzas. They only serve food on Sunday's and can be very popular/crowded.  You cannot reserve a table but I highly recommend you call and reserve your dough. Check out our previous visit here.  We usually enjoy a bottle of their Classico with our pizza.

This time we did a create our own pepperoni and mushroom pizza and their custom selection pizza with brie, bacon, spinach and caramelized onions - oh, yum!!  Two pizzas are way too much food for two people but the leftovers are fantastic.

Back to Yadkin Valley Wineries Part 2

The first winery we visited for tastings on Sunday was Brushy Mountain Winery in downtown Elkin, NC. This tasting room is in the old Elkin canning company building and they base their wine labels on the old canning labels.  This is actually a really nifty spot, with a pretty bar and inviting seating/conversation area.  The most interesting thing is the exposure of old ads on the interior brick wall that was uncovered during their renovation of the building.  They offer different prices for the level of tasting you want to do and one level includes option to keep the glass.

• Foothills Folly Renovation Rosé – sparkling rosé, cherry, crisp, nice acidity, very light, not too sweet, good
• Chardonnay – steel and oak aged, very light, green apple, pear, good
• E&A Red – named for railroad, Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon blend, nice tartness, mellow, pretty decent
• Bugaboo Creek Red - Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon blend, very nice, mellow, good fruit, decent/mild tannins, like
• Red Bud Ridge Red - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Chambourcin blend, dark fruits, berry, a little jammy, good mouthfeel
• Chatham Reserve Red - Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin and Cabernet Sauvignon blend, more oaky than others, more tannic, dry
• Pour Mon Amour - dessert wine, port style

Uncovered Ads

Something to note is that Elkin Creek, Grassy Creek, Brushy Mountain and McRitchie are part of the original four wineries in this area and they offer a visitor "punch" card.  After you have done tastings at all four wineries you can return to any of one them for a free tasting. This offer never expires and we have collected 3 of the 4 "punches" over the last year and a half. We have actually already visited all four but when we were at Grassy Creek we were with a wine tour group and didn't know about the punch card.

The second stop for tastings was Adagio Vineyards. Adagio is operated by a husband and wife team with a significant interest in music because the wife is a classical violinist. Hence the name of the group and nearly all their wines being based on musical terms  The tasting room is set up to allow for musical performances which we got to experience in the form of a violin duet during our visit. Do not recall the tasting fee but did get to keep the glasses which are a very pretty stemless version.  Please note this place is brand new and I am sure the wines will better develop over time.

• Chardonnay (steel tank) – crisp, light, buttery, light oak, good
• Vivace – Traminette with a trace of Chardonnay, oily mouthfeel, some tart/sourness, citrus, green apple
• Chaconne – Merlot, Tannat and Petite Verdot blend and was described as “cherry, plum, smoke”, tasted sourness, empty, too light, not balanced
• Coda – dessert style made from Taminette, fruity, kiwi, good

Tasting room performance at Adagio

Final stop of the day was a revisit to Slightly Askew to re-taste some of their fruit wine options in order to stock up for summer beach outing.  Read about our previous visit here.  If you are looking for a nice fruit & real wine blend I think these are the best in NC and my favorites include Tattoo on the Beach (Banana Pineapple Viognier) and Drama Kween (Strawberry Banana Reisling Viognier).

Back to Yadkin Valley Wineries Part 1

Long time no blog...life gets busy. But as a promise to those who do ask about our winery visits I am back in the writing chair again to add notes about our Summer 2014 Wine Weekend. As a reminder, tasting notes that indicate “like” are wines that are better than typical NC flavors.

We had enjoyed the area of Elkin, NC in the past and decided there were enough wineries we still had not visited that we could certainly do another long weekend.

First up was what ended up being our favorite winery visit of the trip: Jones von Drehle Vineyards & Winery. The grounds are beautiful! We enjoyed the scenic drive through the property to get to the tasting room which has a lovely patio with lots of seating to enjoy the views. It was $8 to taste 8 wines and they give you a pretty glass as part of the deal. We thoroughly enjoyed our tasting for the interaction of the staff as well as the wine being good. Dan, nicknamed Lama-Dan due to his superior laminating skills of winery materials, was a joy to chat with and he snuck in an extra taste or two when hubby and I picked different wines to try. Chloe, lovable winery dog, was a sweet, welcoming addition.

This winery was also one of the ones that seems to have food truck vendors available on a decent basis but we missed timed our stop and didn't get to experience the food truck. It is a nice spot for a leisurely snack or lunch so we will certainly return to this vineyard on future visits.

• Tempranillo – plum fragrance, light tannins, good 
• Cabernet Franc – raspberry and violet notes, mild, tart, mellow in a good way, like 
• Merlot – currant flavors, good mouth feel, light, mellow, well balanced, good 
• Rock & Rail – Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot blend – like a Bordeaux style blend, good mouth feel, well blended, really nice, really liked (shared a couple of glasses after tasting) 
• Petit Verdot – hard to describe, the tannins were too green, needs aging, good 
• Rosa Dia – Provence style Rosé, light, fresh, drinkable, not sweet, very refreshing, like 
• Viognier – apricot, crisp, not very sweet, light, very refreshing, really like 
• Petit Manseng – acidic, heavier mouth feel, good 
• Old Railroad Red – Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend – not overly sweet but very much like a Lambrusco wine, was described as being for the person not sure if they want a sweet or dry wine. 

View from patio at Jones von Drehle

Next stop was MenaRick Vineyard & Winery. This is another possible picnic destination that was also gearing up for food during our visit but weren't quite ready to serve before we left. This winery uses the Spanish and Portuguese style of winemaking. A tasting is $8 with a stem-less style glass to keep. For those who are fans of the Portuguese style Vino Verde they have plans to release NC first’s attempt at this wine in the near future by picking chardonnay grapes early. They were out of several of their blends during our visit.

• Albarino – tasted both chilled and room temperature. Chilled could pick up on the citrus more, tart; room temperature it tasted more fruity, a little tart overall, good 
• Chardonnay – crisp, minor bourbon flavor due to yeasts used, butterscotch flavors, ok 
• Grenache – spicy, can smell the spices, clean, refreshing, good fruit, very enjoyable 
• Touriga Nacional – bold, very port like 
• Merlot – empty, tad light 
• Syrah – a bit sour, good mouth feel, good level of pepperiness, ok 
• Peach – chardonnay with added fruit, not too sweet, very light, very nice 
• Raspberry – great flavor, fizzy, fruity, refreshing, not too sweet, really liked 
• Blackberry – very fruity, tad sweet, good, tasted again with lemon to get a sweet/tart reaction

View at MenaRick

Final stop for the day was to revisit McRitchie where we bought a bottle each of their ciders.  Read about our tasting here back in 2013.

Making Sausage

So another one of our new food adventures this year was our first attempt to make sausage from scratch.  This is something Brad has wanted to do ever since we got the food grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid mixer.  So much like the cheese making adventure I decided the easiest thing to do was to buy a sausage making kit so we would have the appropriate casings, etc.  From Amazon I selected two of the Eastman Outdoors kits: Breakfast Sausage Kit and Sausage Variety Kit (Italian, Beer & Cheddar, Bratwurst).  Both kits came with the appropriate natural casings which is lamb for the classic small breakfast sausages and hog casings for the larger style variety sausages kit.  Both kits also came with appropriate seasoning mixes and both have enough casings, etc. to do 15 lbs of meat.

For our first run we opted to attempt the larger sausages just because we felt it would be easier to work with them until we got the hang of things.  So we purchased a large pork butt and additional pork fat and decided to try both the bratwurst and Italian sausage seasoning mixes. 

Pork butt and pork fat cut into large chunks ready to grind.

Grinding the meat and fat together.



It looked like a good mix but after cooking
we decided it really needed more fat.

We attempted to create a meat to fat ratio of 70/30 but either did not figure it correctly or our pork butt was leaner than we thought it was. The resulting sausages tasted really good in terms of flavor but were a bit dry so we will be increasing the fat content next time.









We quickly discovered that stuffing the casings was a two person job.  Brad threaded our prepared (soaked and rinsed) casings onto the sausage stuffer funnel and ran the power while I monitored the filling of the casing and segmenting of the sausages.  I have since learned it might have been easier to just fill the casing completely and then segment into links or we could have left larger gaps between the links for easier twisting afterwards.  However, for our first time the process went much better than expected and we ended up with what actually looked like sausages.



We ran out of prepared casings before we ran out of meat
so I simply froze the ground Italian for use in meat sauces.

We started with the brat mixture first to be sure we had those made completely into sausages.  When we switched to the Italian mixture we did run out of prepared casing so froze some of the mixture as is for use in meat sauces.  For the links we cut them into 4 link segments for freezing into portions. 









The final results were actually really great.  We plan to use up the seasoning mixes that came with the kits but have already clipped ideas for our own seasoning mixes.  Next time we plan to attempt the smaller breakfast sausages.

Grilled brats and Italian sausages.



Making Mozzarella

In 2010 I first attempted to make my own cheese by starting with a simple milk + vinegar recipe to create a ricotta style cheese (Make Your Own Cheese Dec 2010).  When I was looking into how to do this I ran across tips and recipes for making all kinds of cheese but the vast majority of them required having rennet as an ingredient so I never pursued it further until this year when I decided one of my resolutions would be to try really new food things each month.  So for my first time I took the easy way out and found a company that provides simple cheese making kits: New England Cheese Making Supply Company.  I selected the extremely friendly 30 Minute Mozzarella and Ricotta Kit.

The kit comes with a dairy thermometer, re-usable butter muslin, citric acid (powder form), vegetable rennet (tablets), cheese salt (looks like sea salt) and a recipe/instruction booklet.  First it should be noted that a dairy thermometer has a smaller and lower temperature range than a candy thermometer making it more accurate and easier to read in the range of concern for cheese making.  Another difference is that some dairy thermometers float which I assume would be convenient if you are leaving it in the pan?  Another significant note about the kit is that it has enough ingredients to make 40 - 1 lb batches of cheese! 

The instructions for the kit are very well written and provide a lot of what went wrong scenarios.  Of keen importance is the type of milk you use.  You do not want to use ultra pasteurized (UP) milk which is what the majority of milk is at the common grocery store.  You need to find a local source of milk which at most has only undergone lower temperature pasteurization.  Essentially the higher the temperature and the longer milk is pasteurized the more the enzymes break down and you need those enzymes to make cheese.  The good news is that their website provides sources for milk that has worked in the recipes and I was able to confirm that a local dairy (that supplies my local grocery store) did have the correct kind of milk.  In fact I highly recommend consulting their website for more details and photos of the steps in the process of making mozzarella 30 Minute Mozzarella (look under the specification tab for photos of the steps).

I used Maple View Farm's Milk from Hillsborough.
 

Overall the process was really easy but some of it was extremely messy.  I discovered that the dipping the curds into hot water (one of the two methods for heating in order to stretch the cheese) was a bit too hot for my hands.  You really have to get the curds hot to be able to stretch them so next time I will be attempting the microwave method versus dripping hot water all over my kitchen counters while making somewhat frantic yelping noises.

After cutting the curd - it should have firmed up a bit more I think.

And I suspect I either didn't heat the milk hot enough, needed more rennet or needed to stretch the cheese a lot longer because although really tasty, my mozzarella turned out softer than I would preferred.  But with enough stuff to attempt this 39 more times I assume I will have a chance to perfect my technique!




The cheese was tasty but a bit soft.

Yadkin Valley Wine Vacation Part 5

This is the final installment in our recounting of our April wine vacation to some of the Yadkin Valley wineries. 

On Sunday we began by heading up into the mountains to McRitchie Winery and Cider Works.  Of course we checked out of the hotel a tad early and got to Thurmond way too early for the winery so went off on a short adventure to Stone Mountain Park.  Was a pleasant diversion for a Sunday morning.  Once we came back to the winery they were just opening for the day.  The property is really pretty and they have a nice tasting bar and porch area.  We really enjoyed chatting with the pourer and thought the wines overall were some of the better wines of the trip.  Was $7 for the tasting with glasses.

• Fallingwater White (Traminette): very light, good level of sweetness, not tart, very nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Traminette: noticed the tropical fruits, good body, more floral and some spice compared to the first wine, very pleasant
• Chardonnay: light oak, tart and citrus, minerals, okay
• Ring of Fire (Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Petit Verdot): soft tannins, dry beginning, very pleasant, nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Petite Verdot Reserve: unfiltered, has an inkiness, great tannins, very dry (bought 1 bottle)
• Dry Cider: nice and dry, crisp like an English style cider, not sweet, really nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Semi Sweet Cider: subtle sweetness, very nice

View at McRitchie

The second stop was back in Elkin at Slightly Askew Winery.  They make use of the juice versus buying grapes and can mix together almost anything including juice from California grapes to all kinds of fruit juices.  They have a crazy long list of wines to choose from and are located in a small in town shop with a small tasting bar and lots of wine knick knacks.  It was $6 to taste but that is limited to picking I think only 6 or 7 wines.  We enjoyed talking with the pourer, very personable and nice stories about the various photos of dogs hanging on the walls.  Many of the fruit based wines are named after their pet dogs.  And they get the award for most interesting wine glass as they are the only place we have been to in NC with the newer, stem less wine glasses.

• Camp Creek Clears (Traminette/Chardonel/Viognier): crisp, some fruit, very light, very nice
• State Road Red (Chianti): blend of four grapes, very smooth, nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Yadkin River Red (Cabernet Sauvignon): strong aroma, subtle pepper finish, nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Roaring River Red (Rosso Grande): Chilean blend, a little empty, interesting spice and fruit, okay
• Blue Door Red (Carmenere): Chilean blend, tasted mocha, subtle, light but dry, okay
• Bridget Street Red (Amarone): another Chilean blend, good fruit but nice dryness, maybe a little empty, nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Tattoo the Beach (Banana/Pineapple/Viognier): excellent fruit flavors, not too sweet, very nice (bought 1 bottle)

Slightly Askew

At this point we ventured off to lunch at Elkin Creek for the pizza as mentioned in our first posting in this series.

The final winery stop of the whole trip was Windsor Run Cellars.  I will preface my comments by indicating that this location was participating in a special event for Swan Creek area wineries and were slammed with visitors.  So the tasting bar was overly crowded and the pourers were rushed and starting to become frazzled by the time we got there in the late afternoon.  You get to pick six wines for $5 with glass and/or $4 to taste their two fortified wines and keep the shot glass.  Or combine the two tastings and save a dollar.  They carry two wine labels: Ferguson Vineyards (FV) and Windsor Run Cellars (WRC).

• FV Justice (Chardonel blend): crisp, dry, light bodied, nice (bought 1 bottle)
• FV Viognier: soft, small amount of tartness, okay
• FV Judge Verdict (Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot): oaky, and Cabernet Franc bite, okay
• FV Rebel Red (Chambourcin/Cabernet Franc): light sweetness, very nice
• WRC Cherry Smash: Rose' style with cherry juice, cherry tartness, nice (bought 1 bottle)
• WRC Apple Mead (fermented cider): sweet, slight bitterness from the spices, nice (bought 1 bottle)
• WRC Ratafia (Fortified Wine of Traminette Brandy/Petit Manseng): sweet and spicy like honeysuckle, bought 1 bottle
• WRC Midnight Run (Fortified Wine of  Chambourcin/Petit Verdot): port-like, chocolate, tobacco

Yadkin Valley Wine Vacation Part 4

Saturday was also a busy day and we managed to visit another five wineries mainly in the Lewisville and East Bend area.

We started the day at Misty Creek Vineyards where they were hosting a dog adoption/fund raiser event for Rottweiler’s called Wag and Wine. It was really nice to see the dogs and in particular the puppies. They have a large tasting room with artwork done by the 90+ year old mother of the owner and beautiful views of the owner’s houses out the back window. Yadkin Valley Wine Group and Westbend do the bottling for them. Here we learned that leaves of the Chambourcin are prized for use in cooking, especially stuffed grape leaves. The tasting with glass was $7.

• Chardonnay: crisp, light, nice
• Rose': light, not sweet, crisp and lightly tart, nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Cabernet Sauvignon: used French and American oak, oaky, currants but tad empty, okay
• Merlot: currants, tart, not peppery, okay
• Syrah: very fruity, cherry, peppery, empty finish, okay
• Barrel House Blend: great blend, fruit and pepper, dry finish, very nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Chambourcin: tasted alone and with chocolate. Alone: fruit and some spice, mellow version of this grape compared to others, ok. With Chocolate: made it more bitter for me but Brad liked.
• Misty Rose': light, added sugar, actually pretty nice

Misty Creek

Next stop was Westbend Vineyards. We have been to Westbend many times before so this visit was just to taste the beers. The grounds at Westbend are some of the prettiest in the area and they are well equipped to handle large groups which they tend to get on weekends. The beer tasting is a small pub-like room and they charge $10 for a flight of five beers. Brad bought a pint of the IPA and we picked the remaining five for our flight so we could taste them all. 
 

• Golden Ale: grassy, decent body, not too bitter, okay
• English Ale: less green than Golden, light bitterness, okay
• Pale Ale: very light, very similar to first two but tighter bubbles, okay
• IPA: not very hoppy for IPA, mild, not much different from first three beers, okay
• Stout: burnt tasting in an unpleasant way
• Winter Ale: best on the board, vanilla and toffee flavors were notable, would get again

 

Third stop was a brand new winery in the area that also has cabins for rent Medaloni Cellars. They had a really large tasting room and the pourer was in the “new winery salesman” mode but was very pleasant. I am sure he will relax and become more personable after doing this for a while. They charged $6 for tasting and you get to keep glass.

 

• Chardonnay: used French oak, Taster said “Best Chardonnay in Yadkin Valley”, light buttery, not overly oaky, very nice
• Blush Rose' (Chambourcin): Italian style Rose', dry, not sweet, best rose' based on Chambourcin this trip, very nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Merlot 2008: pepper aroma and flavor, intense, spirited and spicy, very nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Cabernet Sauvignon 2008: dry, French Boudreaux style, nice body, decent finish, nice
• Sweetheart Red: sweetened in same style as Panera flavored teas (10% sugars come from grapes only) sweet finish, okay

 

Our next stop was lunch at Pig n Out where we had chopped bbq and assorted sides. The food was very good and very generous.  They actually heard Brad wondering about how their pasta salad tasted and brought us over a sample to try.

 

The fourth winery of the day was Divine Llama Vineyards which has both alpacas and llamas on the property. Small tasting room but nicely done in the old farm house and had a really nice seating area on the patio where a lot of people were hanging out. The tasting pourers were a bit stiff, maybe a little unsure of themselves and seemed to stick pretty much to a script. It was $8 for the tasting with glass. 
 

• Chardonel Gold: crisp clean, light fruit, nice
• Chardonel: done in oak versus the Gold being done in stainless, mild oak, tasted young and not yet fully developed, okay
• Traminette Gold: crisp, some honeydo flavor, not overly sweet
• Traminette Divine: oak version, some oak, more body, still tart
• Dry Rose': strawberry finish, tart, very light, nice
• Mustang Sally (Chardonel & Traminette): acidic sourness, okay body, decent blend, okay
• Merlot: driest they have, spicy but empty finish, okay
• Cabernet Franc (25% Merlot & 75% Cabernet Franc): pick up on the Cabernet Franc bite but also some of the emptiness of the Merlot, nice
• In A Heartbeat (50% Merlot & 50% Cabernet Franc): good balance of the two, spice of Merlot and bite of Cabernet Franc, nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Traminette 2001: like the gold, nicely sweet, good fruit, nice
• Red Rita Rose': lighter wine, not as sweet, very nice

 

The last stop of the day was Cellar 4201. This place has a very nice outdoor patio which was beginning to fill up at the end of the day. They have a small inside tasting bar and were nice to chat with. I cannot recall the price for the tasting with glass. In addition to the tasting we bought two glasses of wine to enjoy on their patio before we left for the day.

• Stainless Chardonnay: apple and pear, crisp, light not tart, good mouth feel, nice
• Oaked Chardonnay: light, not overly oaky, some “butteriness”, good mouth feel, nice
• Sangiovesse: oaky, spicy, good body, has some character, nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Cabernet Sauvignon: okay, medium body, some tartness, okay
• Cherokee Red (Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot): nice with chocolate, good blend but a little tart, nice
• Sweet Native (? Blend): was meant to be a dry wine but made it sweet, tart, sour (off tasting)
• Merlot: smoke, peppery, good finish, quite drinkable, very nice

Cellar 4201

  

Lemon Poppyseed Zucchini Bread

Made this recipe not too long ago to take with us on our April wine vacation.  The recipe came from Southern Living Magazine August 2012 issue and states that the loaves freeze well.  I like that the recipe is designed to cook as 3 mini loaves but it can be adapted to cook as a standard loaf.  This is one of the best zucchini bread recipes I have tried and is very different than the classic sweet version that ends up tasting more like a cake than a bread.  I left the poppy seeds out of one loaf for Brad (has braces). 

Yield: Makes 3 (5- x 3-inch) loaves

Total: 1 Hour, 40 Minutes

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 325°F. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in zucchini and next 2 ingredients. Spoon batter into 3 greased and floured 5- x 3-inch disposable aluminum foil loaf pans (about 1 1/3 cups batter per pan).

Bake at 325°F for 40 to 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 30 minutes).             

Yadkin Valley Wine Vacation Part 3

Friday the adventures continued as we visited five wineries heading into the Dobson and Mt. Airy areas. 

First stop was Stony Knoll Vineyards which I thought was one of the prettier stops for the entire trip.  They have a large tasting bar, big tasting room and they even have a refurbished cabin on the property for rent if you really want to get away from it all.  The gentleman doing the tasting was actually one of the growers and was very interesting to talk with but he gave very small tastes which always makes it so hard to really know what a wine tastes like.  The tasting was $5 each without the glass or option to get the glass with tasting for $7.

• Chardonnay: short time in the barrel so only light oak, green apple, not too tart, nice
• Viognier: crisp, tart but pleasant and refreshing
• Chambourcin: five years in French oak, fig is present, tannic, very nice
• Cabernet Franc: plum, not as acidic as most Cabernet Franc, lingering finish, very nice
• Merlot: light, a bit empty, okay
• Syrah: very smooth, oak flavors, good tannins, very nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Cabernet Sauvignon: smooth, kind of light on finish (bought 1 bottle)
• Red Table Wine (five grape blend): European style sweet, sugars are carefully added back to make more intense, nice (bought 1 bottle)

Stony Knoll

The second stop was Hutton Vineyards.  We may have been there just before they officially
open which would explain why we waited by ourselves in the tasting room for several minutes (different opening times listed in different places).  Wine tasting is $5 or if you want the glass $7.  The taster poured generously, too generously considering there wasn't an obvious dump bucket and we imbibed more than we intended to for it being only the second stop of five.  But this was probably one of the most interesting tastings because we were primarily tasting four different vintages of the same wine.

• Viognier 2007: (not sure how long bottle had been open in fridge) tart, some fruit, was a tad empty, okay
• Chardonnay: (was a fresh bottle but was over chilled) could smell the oak, but was crisp and tart not buttery, okay
• Cabernet Franc 2005: smooth, mellow but has the classic "Franc bite"
• Cabernet Franc 2006: mellower, not as much bite, more tannic (bought 1 bottle)
• Cabernet Franc 2007: dryer than 2006, closer to 2005 in flavor, good bite and smoothness (bought 1 bottle)
• Cabernet Franc 2008: darker color, tarter, more "Franc bite"

View across the vineyard as leaving Hutton Vineyards

Our third stop was to be Snappy Lunch in Mt. Airy but we arrived 15 minutes after they closed. Plan B was to just go on to the third winery which was in walking distance of Snappy since we knew they had a deli  Old North State Winery & Brewery.  They have a large tasting room with a deli counter on one side and a bar on the other side.  We opted to sit at the bar and were able to do our tasting there as well as place and eat our food order.  Food-wise we opted to split two items off the extensive and diverse "deli" menu which had everything from cold to hot sandwiches to pizzas and fajitas.  I had the Cuban and Brad had the chicken quesadilla both of which were really good.  Drink-wise their wine tasting offerings include dry wine tasting for $6, semi-sweet & sweet tasting for $6, wine flight sampler of three wines your choose for $10, premier wine tasting of all dry and semi-sweet & sweet wines for $10 (get to keep glass) or the Riedel reserve tasting of their more premium wines plus the dry wines for $15 and for $5 more keep the nice Riedel glass.  I opted to do the reserve wine tasting and Brad opted to drink a beer because they are after all also a brewery (note he did get sips of the wine from me).  I was disappointed that they were out of their porter but that made it easier for me to decide on just a wine tasting.  Brad only had their IPA and thought it was good.  The wines were the best of the trip thus far.

• Spring House (Viognier/Pinot Gris): very light, honeysuckle, not tart, very nice
• Bare Bones (Chardonnay/Riesling): crisp not tart, drinkable, not oaky, more like Riesling than Chardonnay, very nice
• Malbec: caramel, butter, very smooth but kind of empty, undecided/nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Tannat: more character than Malbec, tannic, has a bite, Brad did not like, nice
• Prelude (Cabernet/Merlot): okay on own but better with dark chocolate, okay
• Restless Soul (Malbec/Tannat/Cabernet): smooth, dry, great blend, very nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Merlot: really good with food, peppery, empty without food, nice
• Autumn Rose (Chambourcin): jammy, interesting for rose, has a punch, okay

Fourth stop of the day was Olde Mill Winery & Vineyards.  Small but nice tasting room where tasting with glass is $5. We had excellent conversation with the gentleman doing the tasting, who happens to be the father of the very young wine maker.  We got the impression this 20 year old is a bit of a prodigy since he has been blending wines since he was 12 years old.  The winery is just a hobby for his parents.

• Chardonnay: French oak only 6 months, not overly buttery, crisp, fruit, some tartness, nice
• Sangiovese: they buy the grapes for this one, acidic on finish, mellow, very nice
• Cabernet Sauvignon: spicy, peppery, nice body, very nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Chambourcin: local grapes, tart but mild, very nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Mill Creek Red (Cabernet/Syrah/Merlot): smoky from Merlot, well balanced, some tartness, light tannins, nice
• Epiphany (Cabernet/Chambourcin): spicy, smoky, not tart, very nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Petite Manseng: rare grape variety for NC, typical in southwest France, semi-dry, tart and sweet, unusual, very nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Niagra: semi-sweet, clean finish due to high acidity, okay
• White Blossom (Petite Manseng/Niagra): not overly sweet, acidic finish, okay



Olde Mill Winery

Fifth and final stop of the day was Round Peak Vineyards which also has Skull Camp wines & beers available for tasting. They have a nice tasting room and offer wine tastings as flights; 1 flight is $6 and 2 flights is $9 (flight is either the Round Peak wines or the Skull Camp wines or if doing 2 then is both) and they have tastes of beers ($1.50 or $1.75 if high gravity) as well as pints of beer.  Once again I did the wines and Brad did the beer.  And at this stage in our trip we actually started encountering other people doing tastings.  We actually ran into the same group we sat next to here later in our trip during our lunch at Elkin Creek.

• Chardonnay: no oak, crisp, clean, good fruit, green apple, nice
• Rose (Sangiovese): tart, not bitter, strawberry, dry, very nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Fiddlers Red (Cabernet/Merlot/Sangiovese): tart, tad empty on finish, too tart, okay
• Merlot: smooth, mild, some spice and pepper, okay
• Nebbiolo: licorice, earthy, high acidity, tart finish but smooth, needs aging, has potential (bought 1 bottle)
• Cabernet Sauvignon: incredible fruit, smooth, very drinkable, "cab for California wine drinkers", very much like (bought 2 bottles)

Above were Round Peak and remainder on list are Skull Camp

• Anticipation (Chardonnay/Muscat): green apples, oaky but sweet, okay
• Pear Wine: 100% pear juice, nice punch but sweet, very nice
• Euphoria (Traminette/Muscat): honey, orange, good mouth feel, buttery, very nice (bought 1 bottle) 
• Confusion (Cabernet Franc Rose): strawberry, pear, very nice
• Flirtation (Barbera/Sangiovese): strong Barbera, cherry, very mild, very nice
• Dedication (Sangiovese/Petit Manseng): great fruit, smooth, very nice (bought 1 bottle)

Brad tried a double IPA, a pale, another IPA...??? things are a bit fuzzy at this stage, too bad they don't have beer information on their website.

Round Peak

Yadkin Valley Wine Vacation Part 1

It had been awhile since we took a wine vacation but we finally did one again this past April.  The goal was to pick a spot in NC where there were a number of wineries clustered close enough together to make a four day weekend doable.  After consideration we decided to attempt to finish off the Yadkin Valley area.  Of course one can never finish off an area since wineries are opening and closing all the time in NC but for a moment in time we can consider this area "completed".

Based on the location of the wineries on our list, we made Elkin our home base for the long weekend.  We stayed at the Hampton Inn, which technically has a Jonesville address.  It is located right off the highway but far enough away not to see or hear traffic.  There are several restaurants nearby and after tasting wines all day we took advantage of walking distance locations or delivery for our evening meals versus going out to dinner.  This was a hard choice since we had heard about several good restaurants in Elkin.  However, the staying in option was actually quite nice considering that we had a huge hotel room with a seating area, a table and four chairs, and a kitchenette (although nothing stored in the kitchen area at all such as plates, pots, etc.).  We made use of the mini-fridge and the microwave more than once for our meals and ate really well each evening in our pjs drinking whatever NC wine we had bought that might go with dinner.

For delivery we ordered from Venice Valentino's Pizzeria.  The front desk of the hotel recommended this place when we asked about pizza delivery.  This place has everything Italian you can think of with a wide range of appetizers, wings, salads, steak and chicken entrees, classic Italian entrees, pizzas, calzones, strombolis, etc.  Brad ordered the sausage parmigiana dinner which came with spaghetti and I ordered a small Valentino's Stromboli.  The food was very tasty and the portions were HUGE so we had leftovers for another meal. 

The place we opted to walk to for take-out was Captains Galley Seafood.  This was decided on upon arriving back at the hotel the second night and smelling the fried seafood coming from this location.  They had a combination of fried shrimp and flounder on special and that is what we shared on two separate evenings.  It had been a long time since either of us had really good calabash style fried seafood so it was a treat which we enjoyed so much the first time that we felt no shame in ordering again a second time.

The other in Elkin dining places we "visited" included getting a beer at Fiddles Pub in downtown Elkin.  This is a really small place with a decent looking bar food menu.  We sat on the back deck to enjoy the sunshine and both had a perfectly poured Guinness.   We only stopped in for one beer to break up the monotony of wine tasting but it looked and felt like a place we would enjoy eating at and hanging out in longer.

The other Elkin spot we visited was Elkin Creek Vineyard, which was not on our list this trip because we had already visited this winery a couple of years ago (see post here: Epicurean Adventures: Elkin Creek Vineyard).  When we were asking folks about where to eat for lunch on Sunday the pizza at this winery kept coming up as a strong recommendation and we learned that it was under different ownership since our last visit.  They only do food on Sunday's and only do pizza and sourdough bread and the place is crazy popular.  There was virtually no parking left and in addition to the classic seating areas being pretty full, many groups were seated on the creek bank enjoying their meal outside.  Reservations are recommended but are for dough only - not for a seat.  We got there close to 1 PM and while we were lucky to get a table we waited an hour for our pizza but it was so worth the wait!  Elkin Creek Vineyard: The Kitchen  They do rustic brick oven pizza with two toppings and a list of about 10 toppings to choose from.  Alternatively, you can get a loaf of bread and assorted meats and cheeses.  Several tables were actually taking part in a tasting while waiting for their food.  Since we had been before we opted just to get a bottle of their Classico which we enjoyed with the pizza.



Pizza at Elkin Creek Vineyard

That covers where we stayed and food we enjoyed in Elkin.  Next post we will start with the daily winery and food stops.

Yadkin Valley Wine Vacation Part 2

Thursday was the drive up to Elkin and along the way we stopped at three wineries and one lunch spot all in the Lexington area.

First stop was Native Vines Winery, the first Native American Indian owned winery in the U.S.  The tasting was $5 a person (or $10 if you want a painted wine glass to keep) and she let us pick whatever and as many wines as we wanted to taste but since it was the first of three stops we restrained ourselves from doing too much.  We both tried the three white wines and the two red wines, then Brad and I each tried a different semi-sweet wine.   Overall the white wines were better than the red wines.  The tasting room is a rustic stone tack room off from the stable and although it had a wood burning stove it was an unseasonably cold day and we were cold.  The lady doing the tasty was pleasantly chatty but was also taking care of the 6 month old German Sheppard who was still learning his manners about where to sit when people are doing tastings.  The dog was actually really sweet and did not bother us at all.

• Pinot Grigio: has some smoky flavors, honeydew, mildly sweet, nice
• Sauvignon Blanc: 1% residual sugars, sweet, crisp, very nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Riesling: "off-dry", less than 1% residual sugars, tropical notes, nice
• Pinot Noir: light oak, mild licorice flavor so did not care for it, okay
• Red Zinfandel: peppery but light, okay
• Warhorse Red: semi-sweet, Pinot Noir/Cabernet/wild cherry base, clove, vanilla, good flavor but empty, okay
• Green Tea: semi-sweet, uses organic green tea, amazingly tasted like a sweetened green tea (bought 1 bottle)

I recently opened the bottle of the Green Tea wine.  It was really nice chilled as well as over ice and I used a small amount of it instead of champagne in a rich sauce for scallops which turned out really well.



Brad checking out the horses at Native Vines

Next stop was Weathervane Winery where you can chose from the dry tasting, which is what Brad did or the sweet tasting, which is what I did ($5 each, keep the glass).   This place has a pretty site and a more classic tasting room with a long bar, some seating, large fire place, and lots of stuff for sale.  The notes are from my tasting of the sweet wines but also includes the name of the one dry wine that Brad bought.

• Evening Breeze (Riesling and Semillon blend): crisp, light, sweet, floral and fruity, nice
• Blue Norther (Blueberry Shiraz): not too sweet, good berry flavor, very nice (bought 1 bottle and this is what we drank that night with our Italian meal delivered by Venice Valentino's Pizzeria)
• Placid Peach (Peach Chardonnay): great fragrance, good fruit, not tart like some peach wines, very nice
• Rooster Red (Cranberry Sangiovese): strong cranberry flavor, not tart, very light, nice
• Sweet Mountain Bliss (Raspberry White Zinfandel): light berry, very nice
• Rooster Black (Blackberry Merlot): blackberry flavor but pepper of Merlot, okay
• Strawberry Breeze (Riesling): same grape as Evening Breeze, a tad tart, nice
• Snow Drift (Temperanillo): the dry wine Brad bought



Weathervane Winery

The next stop was for lunch at Nicks Old Fashion Hamburgers actually located in Welcome, NC.  Major lesson learned at this stop - always ask how big the burgers are BEFORE ordering the double cheese burger.  This has to be the largest burger I have ever been served and yes I made the mistake of ordering the double.  It was roughly 6 inches in diameter and close to 3 inches tall and just absolutely fantastic tasting and only $5.60. 



What is left after eating 2/3 of the largest double cheeseburger on planet.

The final stop of the day was Junius Lindsay Vineyard which has the only open air tasting room in NC.  That normally would be a fantastic idea but again, unseasonably cold and rainy was the day (was actually sleeting at this point); however, they did have those tall butane heaters which made it comfortable enough. This is actually a very nice location.  The gentleman doing our tasting was from Holland and he and Brad had a nice discussion about bourbon. They make use of the same wine maker as Childress Winery.  You can chose one of two tasting glasses to keep and we opted for the smaller/cheaper glass $5 each.

 

• Second Leaf (Viognier-Roussanne): tropical, oily mouth feel, okay but Brad liked (bought 1 bottle)
• Viognier Cellar Select 2009: light, crisp, mellow, some tartness, nice
• Special Delivery (Rose): sweet, fruity, dry finish, strawberry, mildly tart, okay
• Syrah 2009: peppery, light, a little empty tasting but still had tannic finish, okay, Brad liked
• Petite Syrah: great mouth feel and character, more hearty and more tannic than Syrah, more drinkable, nice (bought 1 bottle)
• Party Line (Syrah and Petite Syrah): more tart, tasted more like the Syrah, okay
• Estelle 2008 (Viognier): dessert style wine, great mouth feel but not overly sweet, very good (bought 1 bottle)

The Estelle was consumed not long ago over several evenings as a dessert wine and was quite enjoyable.



Junius Lindsay Vineyard

Next post will cover Friday's adventures in Dobson and Mt. Airy.

Chef's Tasting Menu at Herons

We recently celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary by eating at Herons.  One of the things that Herons is known for is the option to do a chef's tasting menu with wine pairings which is of course exactly what we opted to do.  The menu the night we were there was listed as follows:

Chilled Oysters

Sturgeon Caviar, Celery, Okra, Horseradish

Sauvignon Blanc, Talinay, Limarí Valley, Chile 2011

 

White Asparagus Soup

Black Olive, Sun Gold Tomato, Sheep’s Cheese 

Grüner Veltliner, Chehalem, Ribbon Ridge, Oregon 2011

 

Seared Wreckfish

Frog Legs, Fava Beans, Spring Onions, Dill

Nerello Mascalese, Graci "Etna Rosso" Sicily, Italy 2010

 

Smoked Ribeye Cap

Lamb Sweetbreads, Green Almonds, Ash

Merlot, Soos Creek, Columbia Valley, Washington 2008

 

Pink Lemonade

Lemon, Cranberry, Vanilla, Pimm’s No.1

Beerenauslese, Römerhof, Rheinhessen, Germany 2009

To put it plainly - dinner was awesome! First to commend the service.  The staff were highly attentive without being intrusive.  We had a main waiter who was as needed accompanied by two other servers to provide water, bread, and switch out the utensils between every course.  We also were served by the sommelier who did a wonderful job describing each wine and why it was selected to go with that particular course.  Dinner took roughly three hours from the time we were seated till when we left.  There was a tad of a delay between ordering and the first actual course but after that the pace of the meal was perfect considering all the courses and needing time to enjoy the five different wines presented.

In addition to the menu we started with something like an amuse bouche only it had three different one bite dishes instead of a normal amuse bouche single one bite item.  It had a rabbit truffle (like a small meatball), fresh pea custard cube topped with fresh peas and micro greens, and smoked salmon ice cream topped with caviar.  All three tastes were incredibly good. My favorite was the smoked salmon ice cream which had a mild sweet/salty taste.  Brad liked the rabbit truffle best. 

Then they brought us breads to choose from. I picked their pretzel roll and a herb, mascarpone scone. Brad also had the pretzel roll and their rye roll.

The first official course, chilled oysters, was good but the oysters were small. They were served on glass dishes shaped like oyster shells so we finally figured out to just pick up the dish and slurp like we were eating out of the shell.  The dish consisted of a celery leaf, sliver of okra, and caviar on top of the oyster then topped with a horseradish foam. Really salty from the oyster and okra and bitter with the celery and horseradish.  It was a interesting, pleasant flavor combination.  I did not like the wine for this course but then I don’t like Sauvignon Blanc in general. Brad thought it went great with the dish. 

Second was the white asparagus soup. They brought the bowls to the table with the foamed sheep's cheese in it and poured the soup (thick puree) on top and then topped with dehydrated black olives and sun gold tomatoes. I loved the soup. I didn’t like the dehydrated olives and tomatoes (not a sun dried tomato fan).  I do believe that the flavors of the olive and tomato worked well with the soup, it was just a texture issue for me. The wine was really good on its own and it paired surprisingly well with the soup.  Because asparagus is one of those foods where most wines do not compliment it Brad was impressed with how well this wine did compliment the soup.

Third was the Wreckfish (called that because they hang around the debris of shipwrecks). It was nice and flaky and I thought it was a lot like grouper.  The frog legs with it of course reminded us of chicken, and the flavors of the fava beans with fresh dill really went with the fish. I ate all of it – as well as all of everything else up to this point. The wine was a nice light red that was kind of like a pinot but kind of not.  It paired well with the fish but it smelled a bit jammy on its own. 

Fourth was the smoked ribeye. It was served sliced next to the lamb sweetbreads which were fried kind of like fritters, a row of vegetable ash as a mouse and then they poured a dark sauce onto the dish which we swear they said was a chicken roux but it was the darkest chicken roux ever if that is what it was.  The ribeye tasted really smoky in a good way and I thought the sweetbreads were good but at this stage I was getting full so I only ate half of mine and Brad finished it off. The wine smelled a tad jammy on its own but went extremely well with the smoky flavors of the food.

Fifth was the dessert which was absolutely amazing. I think it took three people to serve it with all the things being added to the plate table side. It was a study on pink lemonade and at this stage the details are a bit fuzzy.  One form was shaved ice, one form was as a foam, one as a cranberry jello, some sort of lemon sugar wafers, and I think we also had an ice cream.  It was so fun and so pretty! The wine was very sweet, honey tasting and very good with the dessert to balance out all the tartness.

And to end the evening they brought us the Mignardises course, bite sized desserts, on a plate on which they wrote Happy Anniversary in chocolate. There was a small chocolate cake, a fig bite, a chocolate macaroon, and a candy coated cream. And they gave us homemade candy covered chocolates shaped like rocks in a container to take home with us.

It was a fantastic experience! While individual courses were small, the sum total was a lot of food.  It did take a long time but it was such a pleasant way to spend an evening.  It isn't cheap, in fact it is really expensive but worth it for a very special occasion.

Resolution Recap 2012: Random Entrees 2

Well, this is it finally, the last two recipes from our 2012 adventures.

The first recipe is part of my continued attempts to find a good recipe for chicken fried steak, mainly the gravy portion of that recipe.  This time I tried Alton Brown's version of the recipe but it ended up only with a *Pretty Good because I got the steak a tad over done and the gravy needed more seasoning.  However, I have saved this recipe to continue to work from the few times a year that I crave this kind of food.

Chicken Fried Steak*
(Prep Time: 45 min, Total Time: 1 hr 25 min, Serves: 4-6)

• 2 pounds beef bottom round, trimmed of excess fat
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 whole eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Cut the meat with the grain into 1/2-inch thick slices. Season each piece on both sides with the salt and pepper. Place the flour into a pie pan. Place the eggs into a separate pie pan. Dredge the meat on both sides in the flour. Tenderize the meat, using a needling device, until each slice is 1/4-inch thick. Once tenderized, dredge the meat again in the flour, followed by the egg and finally in the flour again. Repeat with all the pieces of meat. Place the meat onto a plate and allow it to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking.

 

Place enough of the vegetable oil to cover the bottom of a 12-inch slope-sided skillet and set over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the meat in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Cook each piece on both sides until golden brown, approximately 4 minutes per side. Remove the steaks to a wire rack set in a half sheet pan and place into the oven. Repeat until all of the meat is browned.

 

Add the remaining vegetable oil, or at least 1 tablespoon, to the pan. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of the flour left over from the dredging. Add the chicken broth and deglaze the pan. Whisk until the gravy comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Add the milk and thyme and whisk until the gravy coats the back of a spoon, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Season to taste, with more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve the gravy over the steaks.

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The final recipe rated **YUM because it is very similar in flavor profile to our favorite potato, sausage, kale soup.  It came from Cook's Country, which will not let you access the recipe online unless you are a subscriber; however, I found it elsewhere to publish here.  This is a very comforting dish.

Potato Spinach Sausage Casserole**
(Serves: 4)

 

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra to grease the baking dish
• 2 teaspoons of olive oil
• 8 oz fresh spinach, washed, dried, and stemmed
• 1/2 lb of Italian sausage (we like 1/2 sweet and 1/2 hot Italian sausage), broken out of casing into small pieces
• 1 large red onion (about 3/4 lb), peeled and sliced thin
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (about 3 medium sized potatoes), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
• Dash of nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup of shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese

 

 

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter a 6x9 or 8x8 inch baking dish. Heat one of the teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add spinach and cook, stirring often, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Transfer spinach to strainer and drain. When cool, squeeze out liquid and roughly chop the spinach.

Wipe skillet clean. Add sausage to skillet and cook over medium-high heat until browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Use slotted spoon to transfer sausage to bowl. Wipe skillet clean. Heat remaining oil in skillet and add onions, cooking until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Scrape mixture into bowl with sausage.

Meanwhile, place potatoes in a large pot and add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring potatoes to boil over high heat, then lower heat to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes, wipe pot dry, put potatoes back into the pot, and mash with butter, cream, vinegar, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in spinach and 1/2 cup of the cheese.

Transfer potato-spinach mixture to prepared baking dish. Top with sausage-onion mixture and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake until potatoes are very hot and cheese is golden and bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Resolution Recap 2012: Random Entrees 1

We only have four recipes left from our 2012 adventures but they are simply too long to combine into one final blog.  Instead we will cover two recipes in this one that have ham as a common ingredient and leave the last two recipes for that final blog another day.

The first recipe, Ham Brie Pizza, was one of our favorites for the year (**YUM) and we ended up making this recipe several times before beginning to grow tired of it.  It is actually the only recipe we tried from the 50 Easy Pizzas recipes published in Food Network magazine.  The link starts you with how to make their pizza dough; however, we actually cheated and simply made this on pita bread or flour tortilla shells or any other dough-like item that can serve as a pizza base.  So take whatever "dough" you want to use and then:

Top with 2 ounces sliced ham, 3 ounces sliced brie and 1/2 thinly sliced green apple. Add olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake until golden.

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It should be no surprise that this second recipe was success since it came from one of my favorite cookbooks The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.  Like the first recipe we also made this recipe several times during peak summer veggie season.  It is good with several different varieties of summer squash including zucchini and Korean squash and rates a YUM** as a tasty way to turn squash into an entrée (after all it does involve using béchamel!).

Zucchini Stuffed with Ham and Cheese**
(Serves:6)

• 8-10 fresh zucchini
• 1 Tbsp butter + more to prepare baking dish
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp onion - chopped fine
• 1/4 lb boiled un-smoked ham - chopped fine
• Salt
• Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
• Béchamel Sauce, prepared as directed, using 1 cup milk, 2 Tbsp butter, 1 1/2 Tbsp flour, 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Nutmeg
• 1 egg
• Unflavored bread crumbs lightly toasted

Soak and clean the zucchini.  Bring 3 to 4 quarts water to a boil, put in the zucchini, and cook until partly tender, still somewhat resistant when prodded with a fork.  Drain, and as soon as they are cool enough for you to handle, cut off both ends, cut each zucchini into 2 shorter pieces, then cut each piece lengthwise in half.  Using a teaspoon, gently scoop out the zucchini flesh, taking care not to break the skin,  Discard half the scooped out flesh, and coarsely chop the other half.  Set both the chopped flesh and the hollowed zucchini aside.

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Put the butter, oil, and onion in a skillet, turn on the heat to medium, and sauté the onion just until it becomes translucent. Add the chopped ham, and cook it for about 1 minute, stirring once or twice.  Add the chopped zucchini flesh, turning it to coat it well, and turn the heat up to high.  Cook, stirring from time to time, until the zucchini becomes colored a rich gold and acquires a creamy consistency.  Add salt and pepper, stir quickly once or twice, then transfer the contents of the skittle to a small bowl, using a slotted spoon or spatula.

Prepare the béchamel (see below), cooking it long enough to make it rather thick.  Pour the béchamel into the bowl with the sautéed zucchini flesh, mix, then add the grated Parmesan, a tiny grating of nutmeg (about 1/8 teaspoon), and the egg, and mix quickly until you obtain a uniform blend of all the ingredients.

Smear the bottom of the baking dish with butter. place the hollowed out zucchini in the dish, skin side facing down. Fill each with the béchamel and zucchini flesh mixture, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and dot with butter.

Place the dish on the uppermost rack of the preheated oven, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until a light golden crust forms on top. After taking the dish out of the oven, allow it to settle for 5 to 10 minutes before bringing it to the table.

 

 Making the Béchamel Sauce

 

Put the milk in a saucepan, turn on the heat to medium low, and bring the milk just to the verge of boiling, to the point when it begins to form a ring of small, pearly bubbles. While heating the milk, put the butter in a heavy-bottomed, 4- to 6- cup saucepan, and turn on the heat to low. When the butter has melted completely, add all the flour, stirring it in with a wooden spoon. Cook, while stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Do not allow the flour to become colored. Remove from heat.

 

Add the hot milk to the flour-and-butter mixture, no more than 2 tablespoons of it at a time. Stir steadily and thoroughly. As soon as the first 2 tablespoons of milk have been incorporated into the mixture, add 2 more, and continue to stir. Repeat this procedure until you have added 1/2 cup milk; you can now put in the rest of the milk 1/2 cup at a time, stirring steadfastly, until all the milk has been smoothly amalgamated with the flour and butter.

 

Place the pan over low heat, add the salt, and cook, stirring without interruption, until the sauce is as dense as thick cream. To make it even thicker, should a recipe require it, cook and stir a little longer. For a thinner sauce, cook it a little less. If you find any lumps forming, dissolve them by beating the sauce rapidly with a whisk.

Resolution Recap 2012:Pork Entrees

I tried three new pork dishes last year.  One was a last minute idea trying to make use of ingredients I had on hand, basically apples and a pork loin.  I found a recipe on a blog about honey pork and apples in a crockpot, used it as the base idea and tweaked it for cooking in a dutch oven.  Below is the actual recipe from that blog with my modifications noted in (parenthesis).  I think this dish was just a tad bland for me so I only gave it * Pretty Good. However, Brad ate two helpings and later all the leftovers.

Crockpot Honey Apple Pork Loin*

• Pork Loin, 2.5-3 lbs.
• Red Delicious Apples, 3 sliced (I used gala)
• Honey, approx 4 T
• Cinnamon, 2 T
• (1 cider, I used Angry Orchard Ginger Cider)

 

Lay the apple slices, from two of the apples, in the bottom of the crockpot (dutch oven). Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cut slits in the pork loin, approx 1/2″-3/4″. Drizzle some honey into the slits. Then place apple slices into the slits. (Generously salt and pepper the loin.) Place the pork loin into the crockpot (dutch oven). Drizzle the top with the remainder of the honey. Place the rest of the apples on top. Then sprinkle the whole thing with cinnamon. (Pour in the cider or you can use apple juice instead.) Cook on low for 7 hours (for dutch oven, cover with lid and start on stove top on medium heat till liquid is simmering then place into a 325F oven for an hour or until meat is at least 145F and tender). For more flavor, you may poke holes in the pork. Then place the pork loin in a bag with honey and cinnamon and marinate it overnight. (Note some reviews indicate the dish is too dry and the writer indicated the need for a complete sealing crockpot lid).
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The next recipe came from Real Simple magazine and also rated a *Pretty Good. 

Pork Scaloppine*
(Total Time: 20 min, Serves: 4)

 

• 8 ounces egg noodles
• 1 1 1/4-pound pork tenderloin, sliced 3/4 inch thick, pounded 1/4 inch thick
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2/3 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

 

Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Meanwhile, season the pork with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Coat it in the flour. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. In batches, brown the pork, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.  Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Add the wine and butter and cook for 1 minute. Add the pork back to the skillet and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve the pork and sauce over the noodles.

 

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The final recipe I took from Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook.  I have tried several recipes from the cookbook and thus far all have been very successful for me but this one ended tasting just OK, good but not worth the effort.  I think the issue was lack of a good demi-glace.  Recipe below is copied from the book. To make this recipe you first need to make Garlic Confit.

Garlic Confit

• 2 heads of garlic, broken into unpeeled cloves
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 sprig of thyme
• Coarse sea salt

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Leaving the skin intact on each clove, gather the cloves together into a bunch and wrap with aluminum foil, adding the oil, thyme, and salt before sealing the packet. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes (you may want to agitate the bunch a few times during cooking to ward off uneven roasting, i.e., brown spots). Set aside and allow to cool before popping the garlic cloves from their skins.

 

Mignons de Porc a l'ail

• 4 heads of garlic confit (see instructions above)
• 4 pork tenderloins, about 10 ounces (280 g) each
• 2 slices of bacon
• 1 tbsp (14 ml) olive oil
• 3 tbsp (42 g) butter
• Salt and pepper
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup (56 ml) white wine
• ½ cup (110 ml) strong, dark chicken or veal stock
• 1 sprig of flat parsley, finely chopped

 

Use the fork to mash half of the garlic cloves. Reserve the remaining cloves separately in the small bowl. Lay two of the tenderloins down across the cutting board. Lay some plastic wrap across them and give them a light pounding with the heel of your hand. You’re looking to flatten the tenderloins ever so slightly on the fatter end. Remove and discard the plastic wrap.

 

Top the tenderloins with the mashed garlic, spreading the pastelike substance evenly along the length of the tenderloins. Lay the bacon slices across the garlic the long way. Now lay the other two tenderloins on top of the first two, the fatter ends pointing in the opposite direction from the ones on the bottom, so that they nestle together in a yin-yang sort of a way, creating a fairly even-shaped tube. Using kitchen string, tie each double tenderloin together tightly and evenly at several points along the tube (that way it can be sliced into medallions without cutting the string). Refrigerate overnight.

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the tenderloins from the refrigerator. In the sauté pan, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter. When the butter stops foaming, season the pork, then add it to the pan, working in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Cook the pork over high heat for about 6 to 8 minutes per side, after which the meat should be nicely browned. Place the meat in the roasting pan and finish cooking in the oven for about 20 minutes. When cooked through, but still moist in the center, remove from the oven and allow to rest on the plate.

 

Discard the fat from the sauté pan and add 1 tablespoon of the butter. Heat over medium-high heat, then add the shallots. Cook for 2 minutes, or until the shallots are soft. Stir in the wine with the wooden spoon, scraping the bottom to dislodge the good stuff. Cook over high heat until the wine is reduced to a glaze consistency, then stir in the stock. Cook over high heat until it’s reduced by half. (At this point you should, if you can, whisk in a spoon of that good demi-glace from your stash.) Add any drippings from the plate that’s holding your cooked pork. Whisk the remaining tablespoon (14 g) of butter into the sauce, as well as the remaining cloves of garlic confit and the parsley. A little splash of raw wine at this point is nice, too.

 

Slice the pork into 1½-inch (4-cm) medallions, arrange them around the platter, and spoon over the sauce. This dish is very good with mashed potatoes, in which case, you might want to arrange the medallions on and around the potatoes, with the garlic confit-studded sauce also poured over and around. Delicious.