Wine and Cheese - A birthday celebration

Things change as do people.  Whereas years ago I would have enjoyed going out drinking pitchers of sangria and enjoying the hilarity of drunken friends I am now just as content to have people come to me with wine in tow to share their drunken hilarity in my home.  To celebrate with friends I invited everyone over, no gifts, just a bottle of wine and your favorite cheese was on the menu.  I rushed home from work and set up a butcher block with a selection of cheeses and plate full of crackers.  Chopped a selection of sausages and deli meats from the International Sausage House and it was a snack that could be a meal.  The cheeses on the menu were: Pecorino, Provolone, Smoked Gouda, Aged White Cheddar, Boursin, Herb & Garlic Goat Cheese, Smoked Polish Cheese, Applewood Smoked Cheddar and I'm sure I missed a couple more.. I had told everyone after 5pm and they obliged with most arriving after 6pm.  Instead of my neurotic tasting habits of beginning with whites lightest to heaviest, etc.... I just popped the cork and went to town. 

Wine 1

Concha y Torro WINEMAKER'S LOT
Carmener 2008

I was the lucky recipient of this fabulous bottle of wine at my husband's work Christmas party.  It was smooth and full bodied, easy to drink and went lovely with the Pecorino cheese.  I went back to this wine several times through the evening and would definitely buy this again!

Wine 2

Layer Cake, Shiraz 2009

South Australia

Being such a young wine this one went straight into the decanter to help "air it out".  It's a favorite in our household for being an easy drinking rich tasting shiraz.  The chocolate and cherry undertones make it a delightful wine for after dinner or all on it's own!  Unfortunately my attempt to make the layer cake to go with it just wasn't the same...maybe next time.

There were several more wines but time is short and I have yet to to tackle dinner tonight.  The rest will have to wait.

Grandma's Secret

For as long as I can remember my grandma has made this wonderful cake she sells and serves with coffee.  My grandmother however lives a bit farther than the next town and calls San Jose, Costa Rica home.  Her orange flavoured cake is not only one of my favorites but also my mom's.  For my mom's upcoming birthday I decided I would give it a try and before you can say "hola" I had my grandma on the line.  I jotted down her instructions and 5 mins later her secret (not so secret) recipe was mine.  As
I am a fan of sharing good recipes I couldn't hold back on this one. 

Grandma's Orange Coffee Cake

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

4 eggs

2 x 150gr butter (approx 1 1/2 cups)

1 small glass of orange juice (about 1 cup)

3 tsp baking powder

Cream butter until pale and fluffy and slowly add sugar

Add eggs one at a time combining well after each

in a separate bowl combine flour and baking powder

Add dry ingredients to butter mixture alternating with orange juice

Pour into well greased bundt pan

Bake at 350 F for approximately 1 hour until dark golden colour.

I will be wishing my mom a happy birthday this week and let you know how it turns out!

Jan 3, 2011
Update on the cake, while the recipe is fabulous and easy to put together unfortunately for me it stuck to my bundt pan....  Instead of a lovely slice of cake, we had yummy cake in a bowl.  After this huge disappointment I tried again and poured it into a greased and parchment lined springform pan for 1 hour and 14 mins.  Much better! 

Yam Duty

This Christmas my contribution to the dinner was yams.  As I usually did roasted vegetables or a dessert of some sort it was a food adventure to try something new.  I started with a bag full of yams and washed & peeled them.  I chopped them into larger pieces and placed them in a pot of salted water.  I cooked them until soft and then drained the water.  I returned them to the same pot and added butter, cream, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon.  I mashed them until they were soft and creamy and then transferred them to a casserole dish and topped with large marshmallows cut in half.  They went this way to the in-laws house where we gently broiled them just before serving.  Two thumbs up for this yummy vegetable!

Pie, Pie, Pie

For all those parents out there that watch kids shows over and over and over again, sometimes they can inspire you.  In watching one of my son's favorite show "Word World" there was an episode about pies.  My little 2 year old can now spell pie and it got me thinkg that I should try to make pie.  Not that filling in a jar, pre-made crust kind, good old fashioned fruit pie from scratch.  The search for a good pie crust was on.  I checked a couple of books to no avail and then went straight to Martha, after all she has yet to steer me wrong!  Being my first pie I went for a basic pie crust recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/basic-pie-crust and began my adventure.  The next was to select my filling...  In my freezer was were some wild blackberries left over from my jam experience that were just begging to be baked into a crust of yumminess.  I didn't think I had enough for a pie so I searched and found a recipe for an Apple-Blackberry Pie: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/apple-blackberry-pie-with-fall-leaves-pate-brisee.  If you know me you know that recipes are merely guidelines and although I stuck to the pie crust recipe, the filling was up in the air.  I read the comments and changed the sugar to 3/4 cup and added a little lemon zest to "kick it up a notch".  I can say it was easy but I really think it was touch and go there for a bit.  I had to add a little water to the dough to help it stick a bit and even then I was not sure how it would turn out.  I baked it for an hour and 25 minutes until it was nice and golden and let it cool before serving it a la mode to the family.  SUCCESS, for my first pie ever!  Flaky crust, just the right amount of sweetness and hardly any bubbling over of berry juices.  With a great start to pie making I may set my sights a bit higher next time and try an apple pie with a cheese crust....

For the love of wine!

With my impending birthday, my hubby asked what I would like for my birthday. My immediate response was "nothing" as I really didn't need anything. That quickly changed when I thought more about the tempting email I received a week prior. The email was from my favorite winery Burrowing Owl where they were featuring their fabulous fall harvest package. This was when I had a light bulb moment, what better thing to open on my birthday then a wonderful bottle of wine. As quickly as I had said nothing, I now said Burrowing Owl!

One of the best parts of this province is the variances of weather from one area to the next. We began our drive into Oliver and left Burnaby with cloudy but clear roads. That did not last long and upon passing Hope we saw our first glimpse of winter and as we approached Manning Park it was a snow lover's paradise! A pit stop and some snacks and we were on the road again. The next stop on our list was a little place called Doug's Homestead, where I have been told has the worlds best beef jerky. It's a little shop along the highway just before Hedley but the locals and travelers alike know all about it. Unfortunately this trip was not going to be the trip I got to try it but their pepperoni was a yummy second.

Next on the agenda was a visit to the first aboriginal winery Nk' Mip in Osoyoos.  I was delighted to be there and the attending staff picked up on that and seemed to be just as happy.  Enjoying the Pinot Blanc immensely I was pleasantly surprised by the Chardonnay.  The reds held their own and I experienced a real treat tasting the Merriym (a meritage released only a few days earlier).  Now came the ice wine, and although it was last, it most certainly was not least.  I have never tasted something so wonderful, like liquid honey and peaches in a bottle.  This was a must have for today's trip.  Timing was everything and mine was on!  It happened to be the tree lighting ceremony that late afternoon and there would be S'mores roasted by their patio in the fire pit.  Who could say no, we would have to return later.

Making our way to Oliver we stopped at Silver Sage to taste 7 wines in 15 minutes.  A couple bottles of pinot blanc and peach and apricot desert wine then off to the next stop.      

Was it a left or a right to Tinhorn Creek?  Turned left but it was a right so why not stop at Inniskillin?  Happy to have another great glass of wine!

Inniskillin was a cozy and very welcoming place.  Being such a well known winery I expected a large and showy tasting bar and store.  But to my delight it felt more like visiting an old friend with a very impressive wine library.  With the numerous types of wines they produce I thought it would be fun to try something new to me.  I sampled their Marsanne Rousanne, Chenin Blanc, Sangiovese, Malbec, and my new dinner favorite, Tempranillo!  What a pleasure it was to make this fortunate "wrong" turn and discover Iniskillin's Discovery Series wines. 

We finally made it to Tinhorn Creek in all it's grandeur.  I am a fan of the Oldsfield Merlot and the Kerner Ice Wine and after several tastes and lovely chat with an otherwise bored sales person we were on our way back to Burrowing Owl. 

Time to check-in and unload then back to Nk'Mip for s'mores, you better believe we went back.  This time we meandered through the property and saw the area in it's true evening beauty.  Sipped our hot apple cider, ate s'mores and just relaxed by the fire.  We didn't want to fill up, after all we had a special dinner for two coming up. 

What I love about the guest house at Burrowing Owl is the calm and quite of the area.  Located in the heart of the

vineyard I can easily say there is nothing for miles.  There are no city lights, or traffic sounds, no loud music or sirens to pollute the peaceful ambiance.  Having a break there was beyond relaxing and if we didn't have reservations for 7pm I could have easily gone to sleep.  The ironing board came out and tights made their appearance.  Primping and preening began until we looked like a couple of giddy teenagers playing grown up.  Dinner came in stages and it started with an amouse bouche with a goat cheese and roasted tomato crostini.  Our appetizers followed shortly after and although we selected two that we could share, we could have easily fed another two people.  A selection of meats and cheeses accompanied by fresh made breads and chutney's it was truly a gift of the Okanagan!  We couldn't select anything but the braised short ribs for dinner.  Having been here once before and experienced the savory and melt in your mouth delight there was no question that it would be our entree that evening.  It did not disappoint, and paired with the goat cheese perogy's and seasonal vegetables it was a masterpiece in my mouth!  Dessert was a super sized creme brulee that came and went before I could snap a picture.  Just the right creamy consistency and a sharp crisp on top.  As if this wasn't enough the evening ended with a plate of well wishes and a French Macaroon. 

Granolla, yogurt, cheeses, fresh baked banana bread and muffins galore!  We had to refuel for the long ride home and here was our chance.  It was a weekend we would not soon forget and would have a few bottles of wine to remember it by.  If we were good friends we would share our memories and more importantly our wine at a later. 

Wine Teaser

I just returned from a winter weekend wine extravaganza.  Too tired to tell you all about it yet but I will share my experience soon with the pictures to prove it!

Guatemalan Tostadas

I used these as part of my mid week dinner party and thought I would share this little treasure with you all.  This is something that I learned from my mom and has been in our family for years.  Not much to it but worth every bite.  Begin with some ripe tomatoes, on the vine or larger sized ones work great.  With your cheese grater, grate the tomatoes into a bowl, while you do this you will be left with most of the peel in your hands.  Add a little salt and pepper and a dash of Tabasco and your sauce is ready.  It can be left in the fridge until just before serving.  Now for the the tostada part.  If I had all the time in the world I would make my tortillas from scratch and fry them myself.  However the reality is that time is short and I leave that mess up to the experts.  I get these fried tortillas from El Comal where I buy my corn tortillas from.  To serve these delectable treats, place a tortilla on each plate, spread the tomato sauce in a thin layer and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Simple and delicious!  Have some napkins nearby as no matter how neat an eater you are there are bound to be some stray pieces. 

January 22, 2011: Updated

We had some left over homemade salsa and thought hmmmm, what would it taste like to make tostada's using fresh salsa?  The answer was amazing!!!!