Braised Short Ribs, Carrots and Tomatoes with Egg Noodles

This is definitely a weekend meal. This recipe requires patience and time, but it is well worth it.

Boneless Short Ribs
Olive Oil
Beef Broth
2 Cups Chopped Carrots
1 Diced Yellow Onion
3 Coarsely Chopped Garlic Cloves
(1) Can Diced Tomatoes
Salt and Pepper for Seasoning
Egg Noodles
Shredded Parmesan (optional)

Heat Dutch Oven (or heavy large Sauce Pan) over medium-high heat. Drizzle with Olive Oil. Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Brown all sides of the short ribs. Cover short ribs with broth (just covered to the top of the short ribs - about 2 1/2 cups). Cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Remove short ribs and liquid (set aside in a bowl).

Dice carrots, onions and chop garlic. Add carrots and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for about 10 minutes. Add onion and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for about 10 minutes. Add diced tomatoes, short ribs and liquid.

Cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 1 hour.

During last half of an hour of cooking time, bring water in a separate pot to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.

After short rib mixture has finished cooking for 1 hour. Remove lid and bring up heat up to a heavy boil. With the back of a wooden spoon, break short ribs up to a shredded mixture.

Top cooked egg noodles with short rib mixture. Top with shredded parmesan (optional), serve and ENJOY!!!!

Wine paring......Pinot Noir or Merlot.

2006 Mediterra Toscana Poggio al Tesoro

Wow, this wine was great!  Full and soft with a nice finish.  Hits the nose with aromas of chocolate and berry.  Slight bit of cedar. 

Chateau Cypress Point

So they begin their journey.  Newly planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Viognier, Syrah and Zinfandel.

Spicy Sausage Pizza

You can swap out the spicy sausage for mild Italian sausage if you want less heat. I decided to make individual whole wheat pizzas. Yes, this is just one individual pizza.

Whole Wheat Pizza Doug (or regular pizza dough)
Pizza Sauce
Olive Oil
(1) Minced Garlic Clove
Spicy Italian Sausage (with casing)
Pizza Sauce
Sliced Fresh Mozzarella
Sliced Jalapeno
Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper for Seasoning
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Sliced Fresh Basil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Lay dough out on a lightly floured surface to rest and come to room temperature.

Heat sauté pan over medium-high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Cook sausages, browning all sides and cooked almost completely through. Turn off heat and leave to rest.

Preheat pizza stone (or sheet pan). Roll out pizza dough to the size desired. Slice sausage into thin slices. Pull out pizza stone. Lay pizza dough out on the pizza stone and cover with pizza sauce. Top with Mozzarella, sausage, garlic, jalapeno and season with Italian seasoning salt and pepper. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Pull out pizza and sprinkle with parmesan. Put back into the oven and bake for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Take pizza out and garnish with basil. Let rest for about 5 minutes before slicing.....serve and ENJOY!!!!

Wine pairing.....Chianti or Zinfandel.

Weekend of March 20th and 21st

Saturday the 20th and Sunday the 21st
De Portola Wine Trail - Zin and Pasta Fest 2010
From 11 - 5pm on Saturday and Sunday, nine wineries will pour their Zinfandel and pair it with a pasta appetizer.  This is a self guided event.  Begin at one winery and go to any of the nine wineries in any order you choose. 
http://deportolawinetrail.com/events.php

Saturday the 20th
The WineSellar & Brasserie Spring Wine & Food Festival
From 11:30 - 3:30pm, come celebrate Spring.  6 food stations, 6 wine pairing stations, taste over 15 spring time favorites paired with food.
http://www.winesellar.com/tastings-events.asp?tab=3

Sunday the 21st
Jazz on the Patio - Rancho Bernardo Winery
From 2 - 5 pm, take in the beautiful weather and music while sitting on the patio enjoying a nice glass of wine.
http://www.bernardowinery.com/event_calendar.aspx

Sautéed Vegetables and Ravioli

2 Cups Halved Green Beans

1 Sliced Orange Bell Pepper
1/2 Cup Sliced Sun Dried Tomatoes (packed in oil)
1 Garlic Clove Minced
1 Cup Quartered Cherry Tomatoes
Salt and Pepper for Seasoning
Olive Oil
Cheese Ravioli
Shredded Parmesan
Crushed Red Pepper (optional)

Begin cooking water to bring to a boil for the ravioli (be sure to season your water with salt).

While water is heating, drizzle olive oil in a non-stick sauté pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add green beans and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and bell pepper and continue to sauté for about another 10 minutes or so, stirring frequently.

Add the ravioli to the boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes.

While ravioli are cooking, add the sun dried tomatoes. Continue to stir frequently while pasta finishes cooking.

In a large bowl, add cooked ravioli and vegetable mixture. Gently toss.

Serve garnished with shredded parmesan (crushed red pepper is optional) and ENJOY!!!!!

Wine paring......Pinot Grigio.

Roasted Chicken, Carrots and Garlic

This is such an easy and simple recipe. Add a nice salad and some awesome bread and you can easily serve this for a dinner party. I garnished my plate with a fresh tarragon sprig, but it would look great with a fresh rosemary sprig too. A simple trick to help dress up the plate.

Skin-On Boneless Chicken Breast
1 Head of Garlic (peeled and cloves kept whole)
Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper for Seasoning
Carrots (peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces - or purchase them already prepped)
Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, place chicken, skin side up in a large casserole dish. Season skin side of chicken with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Lay carrots and garlic around the sides of the chicken (do not cover chicken with carrots). Drizzle with olive oil. Place in oven for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, turn chicken over (skin side down). Season chicken with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Stir up carrots and garlic to keep moist (do not cover chicken with carrots). Place back in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.

Turn oven up to 450 degrees.

Turn chicken over (skin side up) and stir carrots and garlic to keep moist (do not cover chicken with carrots). Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Keep an eye on the chicken, as you do not want the skin to burn. You are looking for a nice brown crusty skin color.

Serve and ENJOY!!!!

Wine pairing.....Pinot Noir or Chardonnay.

Spicy Sausage, White Bean and Vegetable Soup

If you like cream of tomato soup and a bit of spice, then you will want to try this recipe. Layering the flavors is the best way to create a great bowl of soup. You can serve this with garlic bread to help absorb the creamy broth.

Olive Oil
Spicy Ground Sausage (no casing and about a 1 lb)
1 White Onion Diced
1 1/2 Cup Diced Zucchini
1 1/2 Cup Diced Carrot
1 Cup Diced Celery
2 Garlic Cloves Minced
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
2 tbsp Tomato Paste
2 Cans Cannellini (white beans) Rinsed and Drained
1/2 tsp Italian Season
Salt and Pepper for Seasoning
Chicken Stock/Broth (or Vegetable)
Half and Half (about 1/3 cup or less depending on preference)

Heat a dutch oven or heavy large stock pot over medium-high heat. Drizzle with olive oil. Crumble and sauté sausage until browned. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until onion begin to become opaque. Add carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté for about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and zucchini and sauté for about 5 to 10 minutes. Add diced tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for another 5 minutes or so. Add beans, Italian seasoning and add broth/stock. This is where you can decide how thick you would like your soup. Add the tomato paste. Let simmer on a light boil for about 15 minutes before you taste for seasoning (you want all the flavors to marry). At that point add more salt and pepper if needed. Continue to simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Turn off heat and rest for 5 minutes. Then drizzle in the half and half and stir until fully mixed. Serve and ENJOY!!!!!

Wine pairing.......Chianti, Merlot, Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.

Indian Spiced Chicken

This one ranked high with the family. Think of it as an Indian inspired taco. Serve with hummus and pita chips. I used tomato basil hummus, as I thought it complimented the chicken.

Boneless Skinless Chicken
Olive Oil
Ground Coriander
Ground Cumin
1 Red Onion Chopped
Minced Ginger (about 1/2 tsp or so)
1 Garlic Clove Minced
Salt and Pepper for seasoning
Splash of White Wine (you can also use a splash of chicken broth/stock)
Pita Bread
Salsa or Hot Sauce
Chopped Cilantro for garnish

Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle with olive oil. Season chicken with coriander, cumin, salt and pepper. Sauté chicken until just about cooked through. Wrap in foil and set aside to rest.

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees. Wrap pita bread in foil and place in oven or toaster oven to warm up.

Drizzle sauté pan with more olive oil. Add onion and season with coriander, cumin, salt and pepper. Add ginger and garlic. Also add a splash of white wine (or chicken broth/stock) to help loosen up the brown bits from the chicken. Sauté onions (stirring frequently) until browned.

When onions are just about done, cute up chicken in to small pieces. Add chopped chicken and juices from when the chicken was resting to the sauté pan. Continue to cook for about 5 to 10 mins.

Top pita bread with chicken onion mixture. Top with salsa or hot sauce and garnish with cilantro......ENJOY!!!!

Wine pairing.....Pinot Grigio, Viognier or Zinfandel.

Sunday Supper - Spring Forward Shrimp Pita Quesadilla

This is a great dish to celebrate the idea of spring being just around the corner and also welcome the much desired and wanted time change. Very fresh and a nice spin on the traditional quesadilla.

Shrimp (peeled, deveined and patted dry)
Minced garlic clove
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Olive oil
Finely minced white onion
Chopped tomato
Seeded and minced jalapeno
Chopped cilantro
Shredded white cheese (I prefer Monterey jack)
Pita bread rounds
Salsa
Sliced avocado

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Heat sauté pan over medium-high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Sauté shrimp (make sure pan is hot before adding shrimp) and garlic. Cook until shrimp is cooked through.

Chop shrimp, leaving one whole shrimp for the top of each quesadilla.

Coat a baking sheet pan with olive oil. Lay one pita bread round and top with cheese, shrimp, onion, jalapeno, tomato, cilantro and more cheese. Then finish with another piece of pita bread round. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. Flip and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. You want the bread to crisp up, but not burn. You will have to keep an eye on this.

After finish baking, let rest for about 5 minutes. Cut in quarters and top with salsa, cilantro, onions, avocado and a whole shrimp......Enjoy!

Wine pairing..... Champagne, Sparkling Wine or Pinot Grigio.

Bistro West Carlsbad

Bistro West has a little bit of everything for everybody. From pizzas and pastas to braised meats and fresh fish. The restaurant also offers a pretty decent wine list. It was the perfect spot for us after a day of shopping at the Carlsbad Outlet Mall. Taylor had the Bistro Ahi Tartare. Ahi, avocado and mango salsa served with wonton chips. Brandon stuck to an oldie but goodie, Avocado Bacon Burger with Cheddar Cheese. I enjoyed the Ahi Salad, sesame crusted ahi, baby greens, shitake mushrooms (these were so good, I could have had a whole bowl of these) tossed with a sesame-garlic soy dressing.

http://www.bistrowest.com/index.html

2005 Cutis Heritage Cuvee Santa Barbara Couty

Saturday night we enjoyed the 2005 Curtis Heritage Cuvee. This wine hit the palate with a strong spicy black berry and pomegranate flavor. Also had a back note of leather.