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Cliff Lede Sauvignon Blanc and a Mexican Stew
Don’t let the name intimidate you, this is an absolutely delicious stew. In celebration of corn, a sacred plant among the Aztecs, pozole was consumed at special occasions. Made with pork, corn (hominy), tomatillos and a long list of garnishes - this is the green version of pozole (there is also a red version).
We all love to pair our Sauvignon Blancs with salads, appetizers and light chicken or pastas dishes – but I’m here to tell you Sauvignon Blanc can be heavenly with a soup or stew. The trick is to steer away from tomato based soups or heavy cream soups. Add a punch of flavor with some spice, but don’t go overboard or you’ll overpower your wine. And have fun with toppings! That is one thing I love about this soup, the garnishes add so much flavor, texture and fun.
Ingredients
1 lb pork tenderloin, chopped into 1 inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
(2) 7 oz cans tomatillo salsa
1 poblano pepper
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
2 cups chicken stock
1 can hominy, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnishes
¼ medium onion, diced
Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 cup radishes, thinly sliced
½ cup cabbage, chopped
½ cup tortilla chips, crushed
1 lime
Heat broiler to 500 degrees. Place poblano on a broiler pan. Char under the broiler until black on all sides. Remove from oven, place in large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to steam for 5 minutes. Peel charred skin off the pepper and chop into large chunks.
Add olive oil to Dutch oven over high heat. When oil just begins to smoke, add pork cubes and sear until brown on all sides. Remove and drain on paper towel.
Turn down heat to medium, add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add peppers, salsa, oregano, chicken stock and hominy. Stir and season with salt and pepper.
Return pork to pot. Cover and simmer for 2-3 hours. To serve, ladle into large bowls and top with whatever you’d like!
Cliff Lede Sauvignon Blanc: http://www.decantedwines.com/sku00982.html
The #1 Reason You Should Join a Wine Club…Chicken Paprikash Crostini
We recently launched several new wine clubs designed with our clients in mind. They are not your typical monthly wine clubs featuring mass producing wineries and costing $30/month. With those wine clubs….how can we say this nicely…well, you get what you pay for. Our wine clubs feature rare and boutique wines from established producers and rising superstars (most not available in stores) so you are always on the cutting edge of what’s new in wine.
Do you like wines from around the world? We have a club for that. Are you a self-proclaimed wine “connoisseur”? We have a club for that. Do you have a favorite grape? Sauvignon Blanc? Pinot Noir? Cabernet? We have a club for all of those. Ok, I’m done impersonating the verizon wireless commerical – I promise.
Another benefit of the wine clubs are custom designed wine clubs from yours truly. If you’ve read “Cooked” before and wanted to try one of my food and wine pairings, but didn’t have the wine – well now you don’t have an excuse! Join one of our clubs! This will be one of the only times that I am sharing the recipes with everyone on the blog. That’s right, they’re a secret, meant only for those in the wine clubs. 
Chicken Paprikash Crostini. Pair with Beaux Freres ‘Les Cousins’ Pinot Noir 2009
Chicken Paprikash is a traditional Hungarian dish — chicken breasts cooked with onions, red peppers and lots of paprika; usually served with buttered noodles. Pinot Noir is so easy going and therefore easy to pair with wines. It is elevated with chicken and great with spice – making paprikash a perfect match. It is also great for appetizers and that is why we are turning paprikash into a small bite!
Makes 4 appetizer servings
4 chicken breasts, sliced thin, on an angle
½ baguette, sliced thin, on an angle
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, grated
Juice from ½ lemon
1 red pepper, sliced thin
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Brush baguette slices with 1 tablespoon olive oil (split among slices). Place on preheated grill pan, about 3 minutes per side, just until you see some color.
Season chicken slices with salt and pepper. Add to a preheated pan over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook 1-2 minutes per side, set aside. Add red pepper slices to pan and cook 1-2 minutes until softened.
Aioli: Combine mayonnaise, smoked paprika, paprika, salt, garlic and lemon in a small bowl.
Generously spread aioli over baguette slices. Top with chicken and red peppers.
Deconstructed Paella with Sauvignon Blanc
Here is a “cooking with wine” rule I hate – the only white wine you can cook with is a dry Chardonnay. Wrong! Cook with whatever wine you like to drink and build your recipe around it. My favorite white wine has always been Sauvignon Blanc and a favorite meal of mine is Paella – so let’s put them together. What’s stopping us? This paella has a “Jackie” twist to it with lots of smoked paprika and pineapple.
I love that the Murphy Goode ‘The Fume’ Sauvignon Blanc was predominately fermented in stainless steel to keep it crisp but then thrown into some French and American barrels to add the depth oak always brings. A perfect balance!
Ingredients
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, grated
1 cup jasmine rice
1 tablespoon tumeric
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 ½ quarts chicken stock
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 lb hot chorizo sausage
1 medium onion, diced
½ cup Murphy Goode Sauvignon Blanc
1 lb mussels; cleaned
1 lb shrimp; peeled, deveined and tails removed
1 cup diced fresh pineapple
1 tablespoon fresh chives, diced
Rice: Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to small pot. Add garlic, cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add rice, turmeric, 1 tablespoon each smoked paprika and salt. Toast in pot for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 2 cups stock, cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until rice is cooked.
Rice Cakes: Once rice has cooled, add egg and form 4 patties, 1 inch thick. Pour panko into a shallow bowl. Press each rice cake into panko to create a crust. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to a non-stick pan over medium heat. Cook rice cakes until panko crust becomes golden brown and rice cakes heat through.
Stock: Add remaining olive oil to a large pot. Add chorizo, cook until brown. Add onion and remaining garlic, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Cook until onion softens, 3-4 minutes. Add wine to deglaze pan. Add remaining chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
Add mussels and shrimp, cover and continue to simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Just before serving add pineapple. To plate pour stock over rice cake and top with chives.
Murphy Goode ‘The Fume’ Sauvignon Blanc: http://www.decantedwines.com/sku01871.html
Prosciutto and Melon Makes a Meal; Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc
My favorite meals usually start with a traditional recipe that’s been flipped upside down and turned into something completely different; while still keeping the flavors that made it great to begin with. Does that make sense? To explain further, this meal is the perfect example. Everyone loves the traditional Italian appetizer of melon and prosciutto. The sweet, creamy melon versus the sharp, salty prosciutto defines a sweet and salty balance perfectly. The only problem is, prosciutto and melon on it’s own is not substantial enough to be a main course. Not until now that is…
A full flavored, acidic wine like the 2010 Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc pairs well with the pungent anise flavor of fennel and in this dish fresh fennel adds a needed crunch. This vintage has a background aroma of melon that is begging to be brought to life, and fresh melon will do just that. Since we have three of the four S’s of a culinary experience (sweet, salty, savory), we might as well add the 4th (spicy) with a homemade chili oil. Not too spicy to overpower the vibrance of the wine, just spicy enough to add a punch of flavor.
Ingredients
4 red snapper fillets, skins removed
4oz prosciutto, thinly sliced
Salt, pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 ripe mangoes
1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon, finely diced chives
Lightly season snapper with salt and pepper. Prosciutto will provide some salt, so be careful with what you add.
Cover one side of snapper with slices of prosciutto (however many it takes to cover top and sides of fish). Press into the fish and let rest 5 minutes.
Heat olive oil in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add snapper, prosciutto side down and cook until crispy, about 3 minutes. Flip fish and cook on opposite side for another 3 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm in oven. Continue with remaining fillets.
Remove peel from mango and cut flesh off center pit. Slice into rounds, about ½ inch thick.
Wisk red pepper flakes and EVOO in small dish until incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To plate: First layer several slices of mango on the bottom of the plate. Then layer in slices of fennel. Top with fish and then drizzle just
about 1 teaspoon of chili oil. Decorate plate with chives.
Chilled Cucumber Soup; Pair with Wise Guy Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is known for being a light, refreshing white wine; perfect for summer day. And on that summer day the last thing you want to do is spend an hour or more in the kitchen, sweating over a hot stove. You want something quick, something satisfying (without being too filling) and something just as refreshing as that glass of wine. You want Chilled Cucumber Soup with Shrimp and Goat Cheese.
Corvidae Wine Co’s Wise Guy Sauvignon Blanc “…yields striking mineral qualities and flavors of wet stone, peach pit and pear. Aromatics of fresh hay and a lean crisp finish…” It begs to be paired with local fresh vegetables and a light, white seafood; simply seasoned, left to shine in the glory nature gave it. The wine’s crisp finish is softened by the creamy base of the soup and the mineral taste this Sauvignon Blanc is so well known for is heighted by fresh dill and basil from the backyard.
Only 15 minutes to prepare, 2 hours in the fridge and this soup is ready!
Ingredients:
4 English cucumbers, skins mostly removed, diced
1 large garlic clove, grated
½ small red onion, diced
4 green onions (whites and greens), diced
1 cup greek yogurt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Salt/Pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
Zest from 1 lemon
½ lb shrimp of choice (deveined, tails left on)
¼ cup goat cheese
Optional: Challah or Focaccia
Directions:
- Add cucumber, garlic, onions, yogurt and coriander to a blended and blend until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in dill, basil and lemon zest. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, until completely cool.
- Season shrimp simply with salt and pepper and sauté in a non-stick pan over medium heat until pink all around. (We have a lot of other flavors in this soup, keep the shrimp simple with seasoning!)
- To serve: top soup with a couple pieces of shrimp, crumbled goat cheese and serve alongside some fresh challah or focaccia to round out the meal.
Wise Guy Sauvignon Blanc: http://www.decantedwines.com/sku00067.html
What Exactly is Fume Blanc?
Robert Mondavi's Private Reserve Fume Blanc
It works everytime, add a “Fume Blanc” to a tasting menu in the category of Sauvignon Blanc and you are sure to get some confused patrons. So what exactly is Fume Blanc?
Before the 1970′s Sauvignon Blanc was thought to be an inferior grape….even though the first cuttings of Sav Blanc were brought over to California in the 1880′s from Chateau d’Yguem – the premier Sauternes vineyard in France…but enough about that. Sauvignon Blanc (or Sav Blanc as many refer to it) was made to sweet for American taste and therefore was not the easiest wine to sell for domestic producers.
Enter Robert Mondavi, who even a the beginning of the California wine movement, was a force to be reckoned with. Mondavi produced an excellent (and large) crop of Sauvignon Blanc grapes in 1966 and was adamant about selling the grapes as a premier wine. He eventually bottled and released the 100% Sauvignon Blanc wine under a new name, Fume Blanc.
Today Fume Blanc is merely a pseudonym for a domestic Sauvignon Blanc, but can vary in style slightly. Some producers of Fume Blanc use the production methods Mondavi did in that first vintage – aging it in oak barrels – to set it apart from the competition and create an unique twist on the varietal.
Here are some of my favorite Fume Blancs:
Grgich Hills Fume Blanc, 2008
100% Sauvignon Blanc from the cooler Napa County regions of Carneros and American Canyon. Aged for six months on the lees (s
tems of the grapes) in French oak barrels, 80% neutral (used previous to this vintage), 20% new. Flavors of grapefruit and melon, with green vegetable flavors and balanced acidity.
$30, or Buy 2, Get 1 FREE (Coupon code: BUY2)
Robert Mondavi Private Reserve Fume Blanc, 2008
The original Fume Blanc. 92% Sauvignon Blanc, 8% Semillon from Stags Leap District, Oakville, Napa Valley and Northern California. 68% of the grapes were fermented in French oak barrels, with the remainder in stainless steel tanks to maintain freshness of the grapes’ flavor. Lime, lemongrass and a hint of spice.
$32
