Wine Time

The Boy and I took a very impromptu three day trip up to wine country this past holiday weekend.  We got incredibly lucky and found a great hotel in Rutherford last minute.  Many different, but amazing wineries were visited, and our bellies were stuffed with unbelievable food.  The weather was perfect and I couldn't be happier spending time away in wine country with the man that I love.

Here is a list of the wineries we went visited and highly recommend them:

Paraduxx

Frog's Leap

Elizabeth Spencer

Plump Jack

Flora Springs

Round Pond

Honig

Beaulieu Vineyards

We managed to score a reservation at Ad Hoc in Yountville and loved it.  If you are not familier with Ad Hoc, they create a new 4 course menu every night, for about $50 a person.  Here was our menu:

(1) Endive & Masche Salad - caramelized cauliflower, shaved celery, kalamata olives, toasted pine nuts, raisin caper vinaigrette
(2) Spiced Beef Hanger Steak - grilled pencil asparagus, white spring onions, espelette butter, crispy baked potato, bacon creme fraiche
(3) Central Coast Goat Gouda - fuji apples, wildflower honey, marcona almond butter
(4) Cinnamon Beignets - maple anglaise, chocolate and strawberry sauce

Lovely, perfect weekend.  If only all weekends were 3 days long and spent in Wine Country.

Strawberry Dreams

The Tipsy Pig in San Francisco makes a Strawberry Fields which is as addictive as a Dexter episode.  I changed it up a bit switching out the Vodka for Light Rum and added mint.  It turned out to be a really nice and refreshing drink.

Strawberry Dreams:

3 oz Light Rum
Juice of 1/2 a Lime
6 strawberries, roughly chopped
2 sprigs of mint
1/4 cup crushed iced
1 tbsp sugar or splenda
dash of white balsamic vinegar
Splash of club soda

In a Boston Shaker, muddle the rum, strawberries, lime juice, sugar/Splenda, vinegar, and mint.  Strain into martini glass, fill with club soda and garnish with mint sprigs.

White Wine Sangria

I got inspired a few years ago watching Bobby Flay make White Wine Peach Sangria. He added so much fruit to it but it looked extremely tasty. Whenever I made it, I always tweaked it to accommodate whatever I had in my fridge. I tweaked this recipe and added a few slivers of jalapeno to cut through the sweetness, but that is totally optional.

This weekend it was beautiful outside. It was the first time this entire year where it actually felt like California in San Francisco. There was no fog, it was hot, and I'm talking 85 degrees hot, and everyone was in a fantastic mood. Football is back, it's time to fire up the BBQ and get cooking. For me, sangria and summer always go together. The boy and I were craving a summery drink to quench our thirst from the heat. White Wine Sangria seemed like a perfect solution. Use a dry white wine, nothing too sweet. Add some juice (I like the Orange, Peach, Mango juice that is at Trader Joes) some booze, and some fruit and voila...

White Wine Sangria

1 bottle of white wine, chilled (I used Sauvignon Blanc, a white Rioja or Pinot Grigio would work well too)

1 to 1 1/2 cups juice (Orange, Peach, Mango, Pineapple, etc)

1/4 cup triple sec or Cointreau

1/4 cup brandy or Cognac

1 apple, sliced

1 orange, sliced

hand full of mint leaves

1/4 jalapeno, thinly shaved (optional)

1/2 cup sparkling water or sparkling fruit juice

Add all ingredients into a big pitcher and let sit for a few hours in the fridge. Pour into wine glasses and enjoy!

Jalapeno Nectarine Martini

A few weeks ago I went to trivia night at Tonic, a bar in Russian Hill. They have a really tasty Peach Jalapeno Martini that is amazingly good and really pretty. They use Absolute APeach, peach nectar, jalapeno and muddle it together to make the martini. I decided that I wanted to recreate it using a white nectarine because I like white stone fruit better. My first attempt was pretty unsuccessful. I thought muddling the fruit, jalapeno and regular vodka together would be completely fine. I know now that I have to use some nectar or puree to make the drink taste more like the fruit.

Round two: I pureed the nectarine in a food processor and added a little water to thin it out and a little sugar or splenda to sweeten the nectarine, mine wasn't as juicy as I wanted it to be. I then used that juice with the cut up jalapenos and the vodka to muddle it all in a glass with ice. I added mint too because I like how both the mint and the jalapeno cut through the sweetness of the nectarine. Add a splash of Cointreau or Triple Sec and shake over ice. Pour into a martini glass and garnish with either a twist or I used some jalapeno slices. Enjoy!

The Perfect Margarita

This is a recipe for the perfect lower calorie margarita.  It's refreshing, strong and enjoyable.

THE PERFECT MARGARITA:

juice of 1 lime

juice of 1/2 an orange

3 oz of tequila, silver preferred

1 oz of triple sec

 



Look at that freshly squeezed juice!





Shake up over ice and serve on the rocks with a nice salted rim (if desired, I like it but I know those who do) and a lime wedge for garnish.

The Things My Boys Teach Me

Last night I ventured down to Georgetown to Mr. Smith's on M Street, the fabulous piano bar. The front room is so jammed packed at midnight it took me literally 5 minutes to walk 15 feet to the back of the bar where the piano is. I met two of my close friends that I had met the first day of my freshman year in our dorm where we lived on the same floor.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the same Piano Man that I had seen 2 years ago, behind that magical machine. (PS: Write down a song you want attached to a $1 or $5 bill and that song magically enters your ears).

My friends and I went into the back, AKA "Beer Garden" with an open roof and a more casual environment versus the traffic jam you encounter upon walking to JUST the bathroom. The bartender was very nice and "enjoyed" our LeBron shot along with us. The recipe for LeBron follows:

LeBron James Shot:

2 oz Crown Royale
4 oz Red Bull
2 packets of Splenda (or sugar)

Pour shot, pour Red Bull in a cup (one large enough to hold a shot glass - think Car Bombs). Pour Splenda in palm, throw in air (as LeBron does) then drop Crown in Red Bull glass and CHUG!!!! I hope you enjoy!