Hawaiian Chicken

After a very cold Saturday, I jumped at the opportunity to grill on Sunday. The sky was clear, blue and not a cloud in the sky. Just perfect for grilling! I served this with a pineapple salsa. Purchase pineapple chunks in a can with 100% pineapple juice.

Chicken:
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp ginger, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper for seasoning.
boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Pineapple Salsa:
1 can of pineapple chunks (in 100% pineapple juice)
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper for seasoning

Combine pineapple juice, ketchup, soy sauce, ginger and garlic and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Marinate chicken with this sauce for about an hour or longer if possible.

Combine pineapple chunks, cilantro and red onion. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Pre-heat grill.

Grill chicken until completely cooked through. Serve with pineapple salsa and ENJOY!

Wine pairing.....Pinot Grigio or Cabernet Franc.

Lobster Risotto

Lobster is readily available these days at a lower cost than you may think. You can pick lobster up in the freezer section of most markets. Or you can also sub the lobster for shrimp or do what I did and use langoustines. I found these in the freezer section of Trader Joes. I used half for this recipe and kept the other half frozen to use for another recipe (lobster/shrimp pot stickers).

3-4 cups chicken broth (you can also use vegetable broth)
1/2 cup white wine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 lobster tail, coarsely chopped (or see sub options above)
3 tbsp butter
1 cup arborio rice (risotto rice)
3/4 cup frozen peas (I like to use frozen petite peas)
olive oil
salt and pepper for seasoning
crushed red pepper flakes for seasoning
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

In a large non-stick sauté pan, drizzle with olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Add onions, season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Cook onions until they begin to caramelize, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook for an additional couple of minutes. Add butter and melt completely. Add risotto rice and season with salt and pepper. Allow rice to start to toast and then add white wine. Allow wine to evaporate completely (be sure to keep stirring). Then begin to add broth, about a cup at a time. Allow broth to evaporate before adding the next round of broth. Keep stirring frequently throughout the process of adding the broth. Keep testing risotto and when the rice is just about tender, add the peas and parmesan cheese, stir to completely mix. Keep testing risotto and once the rice becomes tender, reduce heat to the lowest setting.

In another non-stick sauté pan, drizzle with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add lobster and season with salt and pepper. Sauté until cooked through.

Add lobster to the risotto, stir to completely mix. Serve and ENJOY!

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

Weekend Events for February 18th – 20th

Friday:
Big, Bold Reds – Bacchus Wine Market – 4:00 – 8:30pm
http://www.bacchuswinemarket.com/events.html

Paso Robles Tasting – La Costa Wine Co. – 5:00pm – 8:30pm
http://lacostawineco.com/store/content/12/Tasting-Events/

Prix Fixe 3 Course Menu and Wine Flights – Wine Vault & Bistro – 5;30pm – 10:00pm
http://www.winevaultbistro.com/calendar.html

Saturday:
Big, Bold Reds – Bacchus Wine Markey – 2:00pm – 8:30pm
http://www.bacchuswinemarket.com/events.html

Chef’s 5 Course Tasting Menu Paired with a Wine Flight – Wine Vault & Bistro – 5:00pm – 10:00pm
http://www.winevaultbistro.com/calendar.html

Sunday:
Winemaking Demonstration – Curds and Wine – 1:00pm – 2:30pm
http://www.curdsandwine.com/

Sausage and Basil Cream Lasagna

1 lb ground italian sausage (I used spicy ground italian sausage, but you could also go with mild)
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
salt and pepper for seasoning
italian seasoning
26 oz. bottled marinara sauce of your choice
1 bunch of basil, stems discarded
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups shredded mozzarella
lasagna noodles (for a quicker/easier meal, I used no boil lasagna noodles)

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large sauté pan, drizzle with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add sausage and brown, crumbling into pieces while cooking. Add onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and continue to sauté until onions are soft and cooked through. Add marinara sauce and allow simmering for about 10 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, place basil in a food processor and add heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper. Process until it whips up into a think cream.

In a 9x13 baking dish place some of the sauce on the bottom and smear around. Lay a layer of lasagna noodles, and then spread a layer of basil cream, followed by a layer of sauce and then top with shredded mozzarella. Keep repeating and finish layers so that the top ends in sauce and then mozzarella. Season the very top with some pepper and italian seasoning.

Cover with foil and back for 45 minutes. Increase heat to 400 and remove foil. Continue cooking for another 10 minutes or so, just until cheese begins to bubble and brown. Remove from oven and allow resting for about 10 minutes. This helps the lasagna set so you can easily remove slices without creating too much of a mess.

Serve and ENJOY!

Wine Pairing........Pinot Noir.

Kale Pesto Pasta with Sausage, Peppers and Onions

Kale has great health benefits and is rich in calcium, iron and vitamin C to name a few.

1/2 bunch kale (stems discarded and leaves coarsely chopped)
Germelli pasta
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 toasted garlic clove
1/2 cup of grated parmesan (plus some for garnish - optional)
salt and pepper for seasoning
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
italian sausage links (about 4 or 5)
red onion, sliced length wise and then cut in half (about 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices)
yellow bell pepper, sliced length wise and then cut in half (about 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices)
red bell pepper, sliced length wise and then cut in half (about 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook kale for about 4 to 5 minutes, until tender. Drain kale in a colander and rinse with cold water.

Squeeze kale to remove excess water. Place kale in a food processor and add walnuts, garlic, parmesan and olive oil. Process until almost smooth and season with salt and pepper.

Begin bringing a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.

In a large non-stick sauté pan, drizzle with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add sausage and brown on all sides. Remove sausage and cut into medium-thin slices. Add the sliced sausage back to the sauté pan and add onions and bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until onions and bell peppers begin to soften and just starting to brown (caramelize).

While cooking sausage, bell peppers and onions, cook pasta according to package directions.

Once pasta is done, drain and add to sauté pan. Toss to mix ingredients. Add pesto and mix thoroughly and then turn off heat.

Serve garnished with shredded parmesan and ENJOY!

Wine Pairing......Merlot.

Catalina Island

We spent Saturday on Catalina Island celebrating Gail's 60th Birthday.  Brandon, Gail, Maion, Carolyn and I met in Long Beach at the Hotel Maya.  They have a great restaurant that sits right on the water called Fuego.  We started our day with a wonderful breakfast and Champagne.  Then we headed over to Catalina Helicopter Tours.  All of us were super excited for the opportunity to get to Catalina Island via a helicopter.  It was an awesome experience and definitely the way to go.  A 15 minute helicopter ride is all it takes.  Once on Catalina Island we cruised around checking things out and stopping for some great drinks and appetizers.  About mid way through the day, we boarded a Jeep and was given a 4 hour tour of the Island stopping along the way to enjoy Champagne, chocolates and crackers.  The sights were so awesome.  From the sea views, native plants, buffalo, a winery, horses and even a fox.  The weather could not of been better for us too.  About 75 degress and sunny, not a cloud in the sky.  After our Jeep adventure, we headed back to the helicopter and then this is when we said goodbye to beautiful Catalina.  Back to Long Beach is where we headed.  To end the day, we all had dinner on the waterfront at Gladstones.  Then back home all exhausted from our thrilling day!

Enjoy the pictures below of our experiences.