Thursday, March 31, 2011

Baus Family Zinfandel




















unWine'd with a pour...

This is an Old Vine Zin from Sonoma County. <$15. It's big boy @ 15.4% alcohol but, surprisingly, not too tannic. It has much dark fruit on the nose - blackberry, black cherry & dusty. The wine has good balance with a touch of spiciness on the mid-palate. It's nice and warm leading to a lingering finish, very nice since it's 40 degrees outside tonight. Pair this wine with a hearty meal or just get a "full pour" and enjoy.  Cheers to all...





















Saturday, March 26, 2011

Ceviche & Margarita Martini





















Seabass-Scallop-Shrimp Ceviche & Margarita Martini

Ceviche Recipe:

1/2 lb Seabass, boneless fillet
1/2 lb Shrimp, peeled & de-vained
1/4 lb Small Scallops
12 limes, juiced

Dice fish/shrimp/scallop into small pieces.  Dice the small scallop into four pieces - about that size for all your diced seafood is a good size.
Place all your diced seafood in a 9x13 baking dish.  Pour the juice of the 12 limes over the seafood.  You want the juice to just cover or be at the top of the seafood.  The acid in the lime juice will cook all the seafood.
Cover with saran wrap and place in refrigerator.  Stir every hour or so and leave in refrigerator overnight.  Stir the next day every hour or so until you add the remaining ingredients.  The stirring will make sure the lime juice is cooking all the seafood evenly.

Remaining ingredients: (Mix these ingredients on the second day.)

3 plum tomatoes, cored & diced
1/2 sweet onion, diced (vidalia or spanish)
3 - 4 Tbsp chopped, fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper, fine ground
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp white vinegar
Mix these ingredients in mixing bowl.

Remove seafood from refrigerator and separate the liquid into another bowl.  Now, add the above ingredients into the seafood.  Add 1/2 the juice from the seafood back into the mixture.  Place this in a tupperware bowl and refrigerate for 3 - 4 hours, stirring every hour.

Final ingredient:
2 avocados, diced
Stir the diced avocado into the mixture just before eating.

Serve with Pita chips or whatever you prefer...

Margarita Martini Recipe:
3 oz Patron
3 oz Fresh squeezed lime juice
1 oz Simple syrup
(Optional - splash of Grand Marnier)
Shake on ice / strain...




















Right Bank Bordeaux




















unWine'd with a pour...


95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc
<$25
The bright, deep ruby color and the fresh fruity nose of some cherry, black plum and earthiness are the first to cross the senses. The wine was plum on the nose and somewhat medicinal just after opening.  The first impression in mouth is a pleasant balance of smoothness and rich fine tannins where notes of raspberry and blackcurrant blended together with spicy flavours of liquorice.  The liquorice persisted throughout the entire bottle.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

'09 Domaine de Couron




















unWine'd with a pour...


<$20
This is a blend of Grenache & Cabernet.  It has dark fruit, blackberry-black cherry, on the nose but with a hint of the earthiness French wines are known for.  I thought the last two glasses of the wine were more balanced than the first, it opened up nicely.  You get the nice dark fruit from the Cab and the mouth-filling roundness of the Grenache which gives it good balance, not too tannic.  I got a hint of vanilla on the mid-palate and a little spice or maybe it was just the alcohol as this wine is 14.5%.  Should I buy this again, I'd decant it for a hour and give it time to show it's best.  Cheers to all...

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Lamb Chops & Luchador Shiraz

Video link to yesterday's cooking:
unWine'd TV
















unWine'd with a pour...

Lamb Chops
I used garlic infused EVOO, crushed rosemary, kosher salt, cracked black pepper and minced garlic for the rub.  I let that sit in the refrigerator for several hours prior to grilling but let the chops come back to room temp before cooking.  I grilled them 4 - 5 mins on each side @ 450 degrees.  That produced a very nice med-rare.  The chops were as tender as a beef fillet but with a "slightly" bolder taste than beef.  Very good!
Lamb was purchased @ The Butcher Block in Franklin, Tn.
The Butcher Block

Sides:
Oven Roasted New Potatoes, Mushrooms & Brussel Sprouts

Vino:
'07 Luchador, Australian Shiraz <$20; dark fruit on the nose, not too tannic, some spiciness and a nice finish.  The wine paired well with the full flavor of the lamb.