Penney’s Palate

We drank this wine with some homemade pizza. It was perfect for the evening. I liked this wine because it was a very gentle wine. It was good to drink before dinner when we were munching on cheese, waiting for one of our guests to arrive before putting the pizzas in the oven. There was a nice bouquet that consisted of subtle hints of cherry. It tasted like cherries and cola. Kind of like cherry coke, only in a wine. It didn’t have a finish, but that is okay because I’ve never had a Chianti that has had a finish. All Chiantis seem very subtle and gentle.

I would recommend this as a good wine if you don’t drink a lot of wine, but are interested in a good wine. If you’re making pasta or pizza, I would also recommend it. One of our guests brought it over, and I would bet that he bought it from Harris Teeter. So you can probably find it in a grocery store near you too.

I give this wine 87 points. It was a very solid Chianti, but nothing about it pushed it over the edge of greatness.

Tommy and I got a 30-minute meal cookbook for Christmas, so I have been browsing through the pages looking for some new ideas for dinner. The recipe that caught my eye was for a beef tenderloin as well as some penne with a quick tomato sauce to serve alongside the beef. The cookbook instructions were well laid and took advantage of every second of the process. I followed the directions and had the meal from grocery bags to plates on the table in 40 minutes. I didn’t think that was too bad. However, the kitchen was a mess when the meal was done. I like to clean stuff as I go along, but there was no time for that. The Gorgonzola mixture was a little too much and had to be scraped off of the beef when we ate it. I thought that there was a perfect amount of Gorgonzola taste once all of it was scraped off, because some of it made its way down into the beef. It was a nice alternative way to serve a piece of meat. I liked the pasta because it was a simple pasta with a simple sauce, but with a few greens added to it. The original recipe called for arugula but we had baby spinach so that is what we used. I liked it just fine with the spinach, but I can see how peppery arugula would give the pasta a bit more flavor and also be delicious.

Gorgonzola Beef Tenderloin with Pasta
Serves 2 (with a little bit of left over)

Ingredients
1/2 lb penne pasta
1 pint grape tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
Olive Oil
Salt + Pepper
1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
Parsley (small handful), chopped
6 Sage Leaves, finely chopped
1 green onion, chopped
2 beef tenderloins, about 1-inch thick
1 cup baby spinach
10 basil leaves, pulled apart into pieces
1/2 cup grated parm. regianno cheese
3/4 cup reserved pasta water

Preparation
1. Set oven to 425 degrees.
2. Boil water and cook pasta 2 minutes shy of being al dente (pasta will cook more later)
3. Meanwhile, put tomatoes and garlic in oven for 20 minutes.
4. Salt and pepper both sides of beef.
5. Combine Gorgonzola, parsley, sage and green onion in a small bowl and set aside.
6. When tomatoes/garlic are about 4 minutes from being done, heat an oven-proof skillet on high heat. Sear the beef for 90 seconds on each side. Keep beef in pan and put Gorgonzola mixture on top.
7. Take tomatoes out of oven, turn oven off, and transfer pan of beef to the oven for 4 minutes.
8. Put the roasted garlic in a bowl large enough for the pasta and mash to make a paste. Add the reserved pasta water and the tomatoes and mash until a sauce forms. Add the pasta, spinach, basil, and cheese and let sit for a few minutes.
9. Serve!

Tommy and I drank this Cab with a lovely 30-minute meal by Rachel Ray. The meal was pretty good and the wine was okay. I was expecting this Cab to be a little bigger and mature in the fruitiness, but it was not. The mid-palate was full of fruitiness, but of a more unpleasant sour fruitiness. And a little syrupy too I thought. I don’t remember it having much of a finish to it. I like finishes, I think they are my most favorite component of wine. My next favorite component would be the nose (smell). The only thing I could smell was heat (which means alcohol). I was slightly disappointed when first tasting it because I wanted something big and bold to go with the Gorgonzola beef tenderloin that I had just made. I enjoyed the wine much better on its own after dinner, although I only got a few sips of enjoyment out of it before I zonked out on the couch. At 9 pm. On a Friday night. I am such a loser.

I will give this wine 82 points. Tommy and I still have 1/2 bottle of it to finish. I think that I would enjoy drinking a glass sometime this week when I get home from work and want something to drink while making dinner (or watching Tommy make dinner). It seems like more of that kind of wine rather than a during-dinner or an after-dinner enjoyment.

Tommy’s family is spending Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with us. We decided to have a nice Christmas Eve Dinner, which turned out to be FABULOUS! The dinner was actually fairly simple and only required a little bit of preparation here and there throughout the afternoon. Harris Teeter had standing rib roasts on mega-sale, so we picked up an 8-pounder and experienced an immediate $40 savings by using our VIC card on one item. We had a roasted red pepper leek and potato soup for an appetizer, then served the rib roast with asparagus and bakery rolls. Desert was spectacular, a Nutella tart that I stole from someone else’s food blog.

Tommy and I have had the soup before but we thought that it would be a nice way to start the dinner. Elena was sick, so we thought that she could at least partake in this part of the meal if she wasn’t up to the rest. It was a nice, creamy incorporation of leeks, red peppers and potatoes. It was just as good as the first time that we made it.

The rib roast was insanely easy to make and way more delicious than expected given the minimal time that it took to prepare. The rib-eye portion of meat was okay (Tommy thought that this part was great). Then there was the portion on top of the rib-eye that was closest to the herb mixture. It was this portion that I wanted to eat forever and ever. It was marbly and full of seasoned goodness. We served this with asparagus, which I’m sure was good and I know I ate, but I do not remember the asparagus. The taste of the meat is still lingering in my head.

The nutella tart was the first tart that I have made. The crust came out absolutely perfect. The filling wasn’t as rich as I was expecting it to be, which was nice because it turned out to be a nice light-to-medium desert after a very filling carnivorous meal. I served it with whipped cream spiked with what else but frangelico.

Herb and Horseradish Crusted Standing Rib Roast

Ingredients
8 lb standing rib roast, with bones
1/4 cup salt
2 tbsp pepper
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup horseradish sauce
2 tbsp fresh thyme
1.5 tbsp rosemary, roughly chopped
1.5 tbsp sage leaves, roughly chopped
7 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

Preparation
Heave oven to 325 degrees. Put rib roast in a roasting pan fat side up. Apply a very generous amount of salt and pepper. Combine butter, horseradish, thyme, rosemary, sage and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until mixture is blended into a paste. Spread paste on top of rib roast, and on sides (we tried spreading on the sides and it didn’t stay very well). Put in oven and bake until the middle of the meat reaches 125 degrees (about 3 hours). Let sit for at least 20 minutes before carving. Serve and enjoy.

Chili that I have made in the past has lacked flavor. In my search for a chili recipe tonight (I was craving chili since the weather here has turned cold, windy, and rainy), I wanted a recipe that included a lot of spices so that I could make sure that my chili didn’t turn out plain. I found a recipe with a little too many spices, so I reduced it down to my best judgment. The results were a spicy chili (spicy for me probably means mild to most) full of chili-flavor. Pinto beans instead of kidney beans were a first for me, but I thought that the pinto beans was a nice way of adding beans without making it seem quite so beany. Kidney beans are larger and a little rougher in texture, so you know that you’re eating a bean. I didn’t really notice the pinto beans in the chili. It made about 5 normal-sized servings, probably only 3 servings if you are eating chili by itself for a meal. Also, I like a nice meat-to-chili-to-bean ratio, but if you like your chili more meaty than saucy, the original recipe called for 3 lbs of ground beef. I felt that was a little bit too excessive for Tommy and I, who are perfectly happy to eat vegetarian meals.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pounds ground beef chuck
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons chile powder
1 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoons chopped thyme
1 teaspoons chopped oregano
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups low-sodium beef broth
One 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained
One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with the juices
5 chipotle chiles in adobo, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Preparation
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook just until brown, about 5 minutes. Add the onions and green pepper to the pot and cook until onions are translucent, about 8 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, chile powder, cumin, coriander, sugar, thyme, oregano, black pepper and cayenne pepper and cook for 10 more minutes stirring occasionally.

Stir in the beef broth, pinto beans, diced tomatoes, chipotle chiles, tomato paste and vinegar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 90 minutes stirring occasionally.

Serve by itself or with additional chili necessities such as white rice, crackers, cheddar cheese, sour cream, fritos, etc. I plan on eating it a few ways since we have about 3 servings left over. YUM!

Chili that I have made in the past has lacked flavor. In my search for a chili recipe tonight (I was craving chili since the weather here has turned cold, windy, and rainy), I wanted a recipe that included a lot of spices so that I could make sure that my chili didn’t turn out plain. I found a recipe with a little too many spices, so I reduced it down to my best judgment. The results were a spicy chili (spicy for me probably means mild to most) full of chili-flavor. Pinto beans instead of kidney beans were a first for me, but I thought that the pinto beans was a nice way of adding beans without making it seem quite so beany. Kidney beans are larger and a little rougher in texture, so you know that you’re eating a bean. I didn’t really notice the pinto beans in the chili. It made about 5 normal-sized servings, probably only 3 servings if you are eating chili by itself for a meal. Also, I like a nice meat-to-chili-to-bean ratio, but if you like your chili more meaty than saucy, the original recipe called for 3 lbs of ground beef. I felt that was a little bit too excessive for Tommy and I, who are perfectly happy to eat vegetarian meals.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pounds ground beef chuck
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons chile powder
1 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoons chopped thyme
1 teaspoons chopped oregano
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups low-sodium beef broth
One 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained
One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with the juices
5 chipotle chiles in adobo, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Preparation
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook just until brown, about 5 minutes. Add the onions and green pepper to the pot and cook until onions are translucent, about 8 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, chile powder, cumin, coriander, sugar, thyme, oregano, black pepper and cayenne pepper and cook for 10 more minutes stirring occasionally.

Stir in the beef broth, pinto beans, diced tomatoes, chipotle chiles, tomato paste and vinegar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 90 minutes stirring occasionally.

Serve by itself or with additional chili necessities such as white rice, crackers, cheddar cheese, sour cream, fritos, etc. I plan on eating it a few ways since we have about 3 servings left over. YUM!

Napa Valley, Chavez & Leeds Vineyard – Rutherford

We chose to drink this wine because I had a pot of chili on the stove. The chili was a little on the spicy side, so the wine had to be able to stand above and beyond the flavors in the chili. The choice of petite sirah was perfect. It is critical for this wine to be decanted, unless you want to drink a wine that has extremely strong tannins. After an hour and a half in the decanter, the wine mellowed out. The tannins seemed more silky in structure and the wine had a nice balance from start to finish. I felt like the finish actually got a little thicker and had a hint of a creamy component.

I didn’t get much from the nose, only the smell of alcohol. Sometimes I feel like that is all I smell in some wines, and then sometimes, a wine will come along where I can distinctly pick out smells, with no alcohol lingering at all.

I didn’t like drinking the wine while eating my chili, because it seemed to have a bitter taste. After I finished eating my chili and allowed my mouth to cool off a bit, it tasted much better, as described above. Tommy enjoyed the wine with the chili.

I give it 88 points. As I am drinking it now, I feel like it has changed even more. It seems like it is getting even smoother. I prefer it not quite as smooth. Overall a nice wine for a nice dinner. I love wine.

Tommy and I have had this bottle of wine for about 6 months now. We had it at a restaurant with some friends and liked it enough to seek out a bottle at our local wine store. It has gotten lost in our inventory of wines because, well, it is a Rodney Strong Merlot. But tonight we wanted a light red and this one jumped out at Tommy. I wasn’t too thrilled to open it, but I also didn’t want to make any decisions tonight, so I was happy to have it. It was a nice surprise.

I would highly recommend seeking out this wine if you’re interested in a light bodied red wine. It had a silky texture and just tasted good. For those that do not drink wine very often, this wine would be a good wine to try. Tommy smelled a hint of cinnamon that quickly faded. The back of the bottle says “…plum and berry aromas, a toasty vanilla character, and a lingering finish”. I didn’t get the vanilla, but I definitely smelled the plums. It didn’t have a finish that jumped out at me as unique, but the wine from start to finish was well balanced.

We bought it at TotalWine for only $12. For $12, I think that this is an excellent value. I also think that this would be a good bottle to bring to someone else’s house, when bringing someone wine is necessary. I score it 89 points. It is a good example of a Merlot, but it didn’t have anything over the top to get the 90+ points. We drank it with our pork and risotto and it went well with both of those.

While driving home tonight I was a little bummed because I thought that we would have a boring dinner. I had 2 boneless pork chops in the fridge and I knew that we needed to do something with them tonight. Tommy suggested making a small serving of risotto to serve with the pork. So we gathered anything that we had here to make up our risotto ingredients. I picked out a simple recipe of pan-fried pork chops and modified it to accommodate the ingredients that we had. The pork turned out most excellent (I thought it would be boring and tasteless), and the risotto was a perfect complement to the pork. I heavily salted/peppered the pork and I think that that was part of what made the pork so tasty. I also got my pan temperature just right before starting (I typically get the oil too hot and then burn the first batch, but I didn’t have more than one batch tonight, so getting it just right the first time was of MUCHO importance). Tommy made the risotto, and although it varied slightly from our normal way of making risotto, it turned out pretty good.

Pan Fried Boneless Pork Chops
Serves 2

3 tbsp olive oil
4 small boneless pork chops 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick (I bought two thick chops and cut them in half)
Generous pinches of kosher salt
Pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups panko

Heat a pan with oil on medium heat. Put the cheese, eggs, and panko in three separate bowls. Generously salt and pepper the pork. Coat the pork in the parmesan cheese, ensuring good coating all around. Dip pork in egg and coat on both sides. Coat pork with the panko, ensuring good coating of the panko. Put in pan with the heated oil and fry on one side for 5-6 minutes. Turn over and fry for another 5-6 minutes or until middle of pork registers at 150 degrees (I did 5 minutes on each side and I also turned down the heat to medium low once I put the pork in the pan, time might vary based on pan and heat).

Tomato Risotto
Serves 2

1 tbsp butter
2 pearl onions (can substitute regular onion or shallot, whatever you have)
1/2 cup arborio rice
2/3 cup white wine
3 cups chicken broth (ours was low sodium, left over from the Melanie’s polenta that we made)
4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

Melt 1/2 tbsp butter in pan on medium heat. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes (do not let them turn brown). Add rice and heat until toasted. Add wine, stir, and let wine absorb into rice. When wine gets low, start adding stock about 2/3 cup at a time, letting each addition get absorbed before adding more. Continue until rice is a good eating consistency. Add tomatoes and last addition of stock. When finished, add remaining 1/2 tbsp butter and cheese. Serve immediately.

I like to analyze the wine that I drink at home not only for how it tastes, but also by the way that it got to our house. We have random wines that we bought, not knowing anything about except for what the back of the bottle says. We have wines that people have bought us as gifts, wine that we read about somewhere and just HAD to have it, and so on and so on. Sometimes these are the reasons that I pick out a particular bottle of wine to drink one night or another.

Tommy’s sister Elena bought us this bottle of wine for an anniversary gift. She went to England and Spain over the summer and went to the Torres winery in Spain. This bottle of wine traveled in a little wooden box all the way from Spain to Charleston. Her story of running here and there trying to catch trains and then planes while dragging a suitcase and carrying a wooden box with six wines in it was rather humorous.

This wine was a very nice Cabernet. I would say that if you’re looking for a Cab to drink, this was a very good example of a delicious Cabernet. It smelled and tasted of sour cherries. The finish had that big fruity bang of a finish that good Cabernets have. We opened the bottle and let it sit for about 90 minutes before we started drinking it. It went well on its own and also with our steaks that we ate.

I’ve been trying to rate the wines that I drink on a 100-point scale. Tommy has been doing this and records his ratings in our Cellar Tracker. I usually agree on the score that he gives a wine, but every once in a while we differ. We both agreed that this wine deserves 89 points. While it was a very good Cabernet, it didn’t have anything remarkable about it that would have pushed it to the 90 points.