Italian Sausage Stuffed Shells

Today was my 44th birthday.  My awesome wife made my favorite "Italian Sausage Stuffed Shells."  There are several ingredients in the shells and they are most excellent.  She also prepared a side salad with homemade blue cheese dressing and French bread w/ EVOO, fresh rosemary and garlic.
Our boys seriously surprised me with a bottle of Caymus Special Select.  If you're not familiar with it, well, it's not your everyday wine.  Well, it may be yours but it's not my everyday.  I've had it before and it's definitely in my Top 5 of go-to Cabernets.  It's dark fruit, complex, opulent and oaky with a hint of chocolate on the mid-palate.  And a nice lingering finish.  It's just great!!!
After diner we moved on to the desserts:  Caramel cake, Strawberry cake, Red Velvet cake and Chocolate Chess Squares (my personal favorite).  And, since the Caymus had been consumed, we moved on to the "Left Bank Bordeaux."  Val bought me a bottle of '05 Chateau de Cruzeau.  It's a blend of Cabernet, Merlot & Cab Franc.  This wine is very different from the Caymus.  It's earthy on the nose, maybe a little floral.  And, it's more tannic and an oaky, coffee like mid-palate with a nice long finish.  Love the Bordeaux style as well.  It's very nice.

Fresh Guacamole & Vinho Verde

Guacamole:
Avocado, Roma Tomatoes, Vidalia Onion, Minced Garlic, Kosher Salt, Cayenne Pepper & Cumin

$7 Vinho Verde (Portugal):  crisp, acidic, refreshing, maybe a little floral and grapefruit

Sidecar Martini:  Pear Vodka, St. Germain and a splash of $21 Nino Franco, Prosecco

Prosciutto Wrapped Bread-sticks

Prosciutto, Onion & Chive Cream Cheese & Bread-sticks.

Ingredients:
1 box breadsticks
1/4 lb, thinly sliced prosciutto
1 container, onion & chive cream cheese

Place two slices of the prosciutto on a cutting board (or countertop) and spread a light to generous coat of cream cheese.  Wrap the "prosciut" around two breadsticks.

Enjoy these with some Vouvray Chenin Blanc.  Crisp & acidic and spot-on for summertime.

Cheers...

unWine'd and relax with Raphe

Pork Loin & Apple Chutney with '05 Amarone

This evening's cooking consisted of a French-boned pork loin with a dry rub, apple-ginger chutney, baked potato and an '05 Amarone della Valpolicella, Bolla ($39).  The pork loin was purchased from Tag'z 5Star Meats in Murfreesboro, TN.  http://www.tagz5starmeats.com   I used a light coat of EVOO and then applied the dry rub which consisted of:  black pepper, kosher salt, minced garlic, cumin, coriander & thyme.  Not a heavy coat of the dry rub but just enough to season and not overpower the taste of the pork.  Normally I'd cook the loin on the grill but it was raining here most of the day so I cooked this one in the oven.  I cooked it @ 450 degrees for 20 minutes and then turned the oven down to 350 degrees and cooked the loin until the internal temp was 140 degrees.  You don't want to over cook the loin as it'll continue to cook after removing it from the oven.
The Apple Ginger Chutney was very nice with the pork.  This was my first attempt at chutney.  Granny Smith apples, fresh ginger, spanish onion, EVOO, minced garlic, brown sugar, honey, and a couple other ingredients...  Cooked slow in a sauce pan on the cooktop.  I thought this was very good and it tasted great with each bite of the bone-in chop.
The '05 Amarone della Valpolicella, Bolla paired very well with the meal.  It has a bing cherry and earthiness nose with some acidity.  I decanted it about one hour before we ate dinner and as it opened up,  it became more balanced.  It had a nice clean fruit finish.  If you're a Pinot Noir fan, you'll probably enjoy this as well.  Cheers to all...

FOX17 WZTV - Segment on grilling & tailgating

http://www.youtube.com/user/unwinedtn


FOX 17 in Nashville has a show each weekday morning, for a couple of hours, named Tennessee Mornings.  Being that I've been part of "Just A Pinch" on-line recipe club in Franklin, TN since Nov 2009 and that my wife is the Controller there, I was asked to host tomorrow's 4 minute segment to discuss grilling & tailgating with the Tennessee Titans.  They asked me what we'd normally prepare for tailgating and Boston Butt (aka Pork Shoulder) came to mind.  I usually put this on the night before the game and let it cook all night.  It usually takes, on average, about 90 minutes per pound so I can just back into Sunday's departure time and let it cook all night.  We wrap it in foil and make our 40 minute trek to the stadium parking lot.  Afterward, it's ready to pull and make sandwiches, etc.  Hopefully this 5 lb piece will be enjoyed by all @ FOX 17 tomorrow morning.  Football is upon us once again and that Fall weather will be here soon.  Cheers to all...

Ribeye a' deux

     This evening's cooking, being done inside because I'm tired of this relentless heat, is the second of two French-boned Cowboy Ribeyes that I purchased from The Butcher Shop in Franklin, Tn.  I decided to create a little rub, without measuring, and see how it works.  I started with shaved sea salt, cracked black pepper and then added a few pinches of cumin, onion powder and garlic powder.  The ribeye had been coated with a light coat of EVOO prior to applying the rub.  The cooking process today will be to sear the ribeye in the oven @ 450 degrees for 15 minutes and then reduce oven heat to 325 degrees and cook ribeye to an internal temp of 115-120 degrees for a "nice" med-rare.  After cooking, it'll rest for about 15 minutes and the temp will continue to rise a few degrees.  It'll be magnificent.  The side dishes will be squash / zucchini casserole and roasted new, yellow, potatoes.
     We also prepared an appetizer to enjoy while the ribeye cooks.  We roasted some fresh garlic that we spread on a french baguette (with a light coat of EVOO as well) and then topped that with fresh mozzarella slices.  Into the oven that goes for about 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees.  If you've not tried this, give it a try. Easy to prepare and it's great tasting.
    Today's wine choice is the '06 ST.FRANCIS Cabernet.  It has a dark fruit nose with a hint of plum.  And, since it's aged in French & American Oak, the mid-palate is toasty-oak (maybe even like a piece of toast to me) and it has a nice fruit finish, fairly complex.  It was a bit tannic and tight as I poured the first couple of small pours, to taste, but after being decanted for 45 minutes to a hour, it became much more balanced.  It's $24 and it will pair very well with the marbling in the ribeye and the side dishes.  Bon Appetit and Cheers to all...