Harvest 2011 Breakfast

The 2011 harvest is over, with mixed results.  We had a 28% increase in the Petite Syrah crop over last year, but only a 6% increase in the Zinfandel.  We can only surmise that since the Zin vines are a year or so younger, that would be the cause of the slow increase in the rate of production.  The grapes were spectacular though & will show up in some more award winning wines, we are sure. 

Many hands make light work, but we have to be sure to feed the volunteers well, and have mimosas on hand when the work is finished.  The menu included quiche, scrambled farm fresh local eggs, ham & sausage.  There were fresh figs and watermelon from local gardens, and home baked fruit breads and muffins. 

One of the big hits was Baked French Toast.  Here is the recipe FYI.

1 (1 pound) loaf of French bread, cut in 1/2" slices - I usually have bits left over in the freezer I can use up
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups brown sugar (I use dark brown, but light would be okay)
3 Tbsp light corn syrup

1.  Butter or spray a 9x13 inch baking dish.  Arrange the slices of bread in the bottom - may take 2 layers to do get it all in.  In a large bowl beat together eggs, milk, cream, vanilla & cinnamon.  Pour over bread slices, cover & refrigerate over night.
2.  The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar & corn syrup; heat until bubbling.  Pour over bread & egg mixture.
3.  Bake in preheated oven, uncovered for 40 minutes.

The cooled pan of French Toast can then be refrigerated or frozen.  Thaw frozen French Toast the night before you plan to serve it & bake in a 325 degree oven for about 25 minutes to reheat and serve.

Creamy Lemon Pie and wine pairing

Yes, you can pair a wine with lemon.

3 egg yolks
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
1,  8" or 9" prepared graham cracker crust
1/2 pint whipping cream
Lemon zest (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Beat egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice together with a rotary beater.  Pour into pie shell and bake 30 to 35 minutes or until set.  Cool 1 hour and then chill at least 3 hours.  Before serving spread whipped cream on top and garnish with lemon zest (optional). 

Pair with a sweet Muscat dessert wine.

The recipe says to refrigerate leftovers.  Leftovers?  Ha - not likely.  Although we did once and it is yummy for breakfast.

Wine Pairing Menu July 2011

Here is the menu from the 2011 Charter Member Luncheon, with recipes as promised.
-  Cheese & Pate Platter with baguette paired with our own 2009 Estate Petite Sirah, 2008 Woof N'Rose Winery Merlot and/or 2008 Hawk Watch Winery Cabernet Sauvignon
-  Gazpacho paired with Shadow Mountain Winery 2008 Dry Grenache Rose
-  Crab & Shrimp Louie paired with Milagro Farms Vineyard & Winery 2009 Sauvignon Blanc
-  Lemon Cream Pie with Pyramid Vineyard & Winery Muscat

Gazpacho

4-6 Servings

1 cucumber, halved & seeded, but not peeled (or only partly peeled)

2 red bell peppers, cored & seeded

4 tomatoes (Roma preferred, but if your garden is going nuts, any type will do)

1 red onion

3 garlic cloves (we always double the amount of garlic called for in recipes, 3 cloves is original)

3 cups tomato juice

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tbsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Roughly chop cucumber, bell peppers, tomatoes and red onions into 1-inch cubes.  Put in food processor and coursely chop, do not over process.  (or put into a blender with some of the tomato juice in batches to process.)  Combine all in a bowl, add garlic, juice, vinegar, oil, S&P.  Mix well and chill before serving.  Ggarnished each bowl when serving with a spoon of non-fat sour cream.. Plain yogurt would work well too.

Pair with a Dry Rose wine, also chilled.

Next post will be the Creamy Lemon Pie.

Bon Appetite!

Elaine

Charter Member Luncheon July 2011

I hate those Christmas letters that start out, "Where has the year gone?"  So I won't do my second Blog of the "new" year with it.  August 1, 2011.  Good grief.

We just hosted our Annual Charter Member luncheon in the vineyard, and I promised to post several of the recipes we served.  I will write them up in a separate posting along with the entire menu and wine pairings FYI.

The event began with Charter Members gathering in the new barn - actually the cellar of it, which is naturally 20 degrees cooler than anywhere else on the property, except perhaps the air conditioned house.  The 800 square cellar, aside from being 8 feet under ground, has 6 inches of high density styrofoam insulation between the concrete block walls and the earth outside.  It is capped with 4 inch thick plywood and concrete roof which is insulated with 2 1/2 inches of styrofoam.

There are pictures of the building on the Gallery page of the web site.  Norm is adding additional trim and accents to the exterior and will insulating and finishing off the inside over the next several months or year.

We proceeded to tour the vineyard and the usual destination spots - including the newer ones that several of the Members had not yet seen, such as the Memorial to the downed Navy pilots and the meditation labyrinth, ending our stroll at the new Dining Pavilion for lunch.

Promising to write again soon,
Cheers,
Elaine

Construction Update February 2011

As many know, I keep all my day jobs to support my vineyard habit.  I write for the local newspaper, The Sentinel from time to time, and prepare income taxes during "the season" which is going on now - and my excuse for not keeping up with regular Blog postings.

Many of you have asked about how the contruction on our Agricultural building is going.  Here are some pictures taken this weekend and in the last week or so.  We hope the building is done by April because we are planning an Open House all day Easter Sunday for family and friends to come see it!

See cellar entrance bottom left.

The building is not attached to the house, but about 10 feet away from it.  There will be a hardscaped and landscaped breezeway between the two buildings and a courtyard.

Cheers,

Elaine

Ice Wine in Ramona?

It snowed in the vineyard last night - a very rare occurrence here.  Beautiful.  Pictures are worth thousands of words, so here they are.

Hot mulled wine this afternoon I think.

Cheers,
Elaine

Holiday Entertaining Tips

The holiday party season is upon us, one of my favorite times of the year.  I love to entertain friends and family from small dinners to parties for fifty. 

I thought I'd pass along a few of my tips and tricks (in no particular order except for the first one) to make your hostess/host duties easier. 

1.  The KEY tip I can give you is make lists.  I have a list of those I invite so I can track the RSVP numbers to plan quantities of food and wine, as well as adequate serving areas and seating.  I have the menu listed, dishware and utensils required, how I will keep items hot/cold, and include serving forks, spoons, etc.  And I have an ingredient shopping list. 
2.  Use sticky notes.  The day or two before the event, I pull out the serving platters and bowls and put a sticky note in each one, with the name of the menu item that will go there, and place the serving tool with it. 
3.  Cook, bake and freeze as much as you can well in advance of the event.  If you are planning a party for a large number of people, do not serve anything that requires fussy last minute work.  You want to be partying too, not a galley slave.
4.  Set tables and place chairs in advance too.

I once threw a party for my sister's 40th birthday.  About 12 people were going to be there for dinner at 6 p.m. on a Saturday evening.  I was gone to a conference for a week, not returning until 4 p.m. that same afternoon.  I set the table a week before and covered the whole table with a sheet to keep the dust (and cat) off it, and had my daughter stop by that morning to get the food out of the freezer to thaw.  An Italian theme, I popped the lasagne, ravioli and cannelloni in the oven when I got in, tossed a Caesar salad, and opened the wine. 

5.  If you are doing a buffet service (highly recommended for any and all events so guests can serve themselves what they want, when they want it), plan the traffic flow carefully.  It is irritating to have a back up of people in line for food, when pulling a table out to have people go down both sides for access would alleviate it.
6.  Have "stations".  Put the wine on a counter in one room, the non-alcoholic drinks in a tub elsewhere.  Put the desserts on top of an low entertainment center for example and only the main dishes in the dining area.

Another 40th birthday party with 50 guests in a small area prompted me to put the Irish Coffee station in the bedroom.  People were amused and had no trouble finding it since word got out that there was partying going on in the bedroom!

7.  If possible do not have any food or drink service in the kitchen, so you can leave this space available for staging, refilling and cleaning up.  Open a drawer, hook an opened 30 gallon trash bag over the edge and then close the drawer to hold the bag in place.  This makes a nice big receptacle for discards.
8.  If using disposable plates and cutlery, buy heavy duty really nice ones.  For just a few more dollars you can create a good impression and have sturdy dishes that won't collapse, break or leak.
9.  If you have really nice china - USE IT!  You can't take it with you.  I have 16 place settings of Royal Albert Old Country Roses that are used regularly, even out on the patio.
10.  Make more food than you think you'll need and have more wine and other drinks than strictly necessary.  It is tacky to run out of food or drink, and lovely to have leftovers so you don't have to cook again for the rest of the week!

Happy Holidays!
Elaine

Christmas in the winery - er... house

As I've mentioned before, things are a little crowded in here.  An already small home has been made more cramped with the encroachment of the winery from the dining area to the livingroom.  So this Christmas we are unable to find room for our modest 5' artificial flocked tree.  My solution has been to remove a chair from the living room, taking it to the airplane hangar for storage, and creating a table top display of a forest of small Christmas trees. 

Meanwhile at the contruction site outside progress is being made.  An army of workers was here today, building the forms in the bottom of the big hole for the footings and foundation.  Maybe next year we'll have room for the bigger tree! 


Cheers, Elaine

I owe Norm $10

Okay, okay - the Digger Guy finally showed up yesterday like Norm said he would.  It's worth losing the $10 bet just to have construction under way, finally!  Actually a better description of the activities the past 24 hours might be, "destruction".  A hole is getting deeper and a mountain of dirt is getting taller.  In addition to the big digger thingee, there is now a bobcat and a backhoe here.

Several workers are out here too, not just the one digger guy.  Norm snapped this shot of some other visitors - I did not call the workers any unflattering names, I'm just sayin'......

Happy Thanksgiving!
Elaine & Norm