Wine & Dine: Cruise Edition

Some of the members of our Wine & Dine club were lucky enough to be able to go on an Alaskan Cruise recently!  We missed those other members that couldn't join us, so I'm bringing the wines we had at dinner, and during out wine tastings to them!  All the wines we ordered with dinners were within the $25-$30 range on the ship, so I'm guessing these could be found in stores for between $10 and $15.

 Bryann and I enjoyed this Rosemount Shiraz from Australia during one of the nights where we both ordered a beef-centered dinner.  It paired well with our meals - it was bold enough to stand out against the beef, but not too abrasive. 

We also ordered this Bolla Valpolicella from Italy with dinner during Italian Night.  Our waiters and waitresses dressed in adorable stripped shirts with handkerchiefs tied around their necks and the dinner was completely Italian themed.  The Valpolicella was mild and light and accompanied my Fettuccine Alfredo quite nicely!

The Sylvester "Kiara" Cabernet Sauvignon from California was dry, yet flavorful.  It wasn't quite as good as the Santa Carolina Cabernet from Chile we'd had a few nights prior, but it was a tasty alternative.  I'm a cab girl though, so I'm a bit biased towards them to begin with.  

We also did a Maître d' Wine Club on the first day-at-sea.  I don't remember all of what we tasted -- looking back, I'm kicking myself for not keeping the tasting menu and my notes -- but the wines that stand out are the wines I think Princess is most famous for serving.  

The Opus One was the most talked about, and most expensive wine on our list.  Opus One, which has a rather interesting story on it's rather fancy website (found here), makes only one wine from its vintage, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.  We tasted the most recent 2008 vintage, and I gotta admit...  It was pretty scrumptious.  I've seen rumors amidst the internets that you can find Opus One at Costco from time to time... you know, just in case you want to grab a bottle and then invite me over for dinner!

Bryann and I also really liked the Sylvester "Nikiara" Meritage.  This was a blend, much like Opus One, of Cabernet, Merlot, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot.  It was incredibly well balanced, fruity and spicy and chocolatey all at the same time, and very, very, melt-in-your-mouth drinkable. 

Wine Win Wedneday: Santa Carolina Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine:  2009 Santa Carolina Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon

Why it's a win: Our group of friends recently returned from an cruise through Alaska's Inside Passage and this was a popular bottle at our ridiculously fancy cruise dinners.  Initially I ordered it on a whim because I like Cabernets and because I usually always like Cabernets from Chile.  This bottle did not disappoint.  It was deep ruby in color, fruit forward with hints of chocolate and pepper, full-bodied enough to suit all of our meals, and with a well balanced finish.

Where you can find it:  Princess Cruises.  I'll let you know as soon as I see a bottle in the stores.  I'll be snatching up several when I do.

Price:  $25 on the cruise, so I assume it's around $10-15 in stores.

Petite Lasagnas

I wish I could say that I creatively came up with the recipe by myself. But alas, I simply followed the directions. Thankfully these were at hit at our June Petites Wine and Dine.

The only variation I made was swapping ground turkey for ground beef and excluding the cheese mixture on a few of the lasagnas for our non-dairy friends. In place of the cheese I added sauteed mushrooms. Otherwise, I tripled this recipe exactly.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz raw ground turkey
• ¼ tsp salt, divided
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes, or tomato sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tsp dried oregano, divided
• ½ tsp dried basil
• 1 ½ cups part skim ricotta cheese
• 24 small square wonton wrappers (the kind near the tofu in the refrigerated section of the produce dept)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey, onions, salt, and pepper. Crumble the meat and saute the mixture for about 10 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked through. Add the garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds.
2. Add the crushed tomatoes and 2 tsp of oregano. Bring the pan to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, a pinch of salt and pepper, the remaining teaspoon of oregano, and the basil. Stir to mix well. Set aside.
4. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1 wonton wrapper into each of the 12 cups, pressing firmly in the bottom of the cup and up the sides.
5. Using half of the ricotta mixture, divide it among the 12 muffin cups. Next, using half of the turkey tomato sauce, spoon it evenly over each of the ricotta filled cups. Sprinkle with 2 tsp of mozzarella.
6. Gently press another wonton wrapper on top of the mozzarella layer.
7. Repeat the process by distributing the remaining ricotta, then the remaining tomato sauce, and finally the rest of the shredded mozzarella.
8. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
9. Let the cups cool, remove them from the pan, and serve!

Original recipe found here: 
http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2010/11/04/petite-lasagnas/

June "Petites" Wine and Dine

Rian and I {the Schlypers} hosted the June Wine and Dine last weekend to a grand total of 21 Wine and Diners. We had a blast and it was fun to see how our group has grown.

We really wanted to break away from wine we knew and were comfortable with- so we chose Petite Sirahs and Petit Verdots. Much stronger than we initially anticipated, Petite Sirahs and Petit Verdots pack a lot of punch. Petit Verdots in particular are so strong that they are almost exclusively only found in blends. We really enjoyed our selection though and from what we were told, so did our guests.

In keeping with the petite theme, we made mini lasagnas for our main course. Guests brought all sorts of unique mini dishes including roasted baby carrots, mini apple pies, cherry tomato bites, mini cupcakes, bruchetta bites, stuffed mushrooms, sausage links and many more delicious creations.

We sampled six wines.

1. Estancia 2006 Meritage Reserve
2. Rosenblum 2006 Petit Sirah
3. 2009 Kirkland Signature Rutherford Meritage 
4. Concannon 2009 Petite Sirah 
5. Bogle 2010 Petite Sirah  
6. 2010 Blu Fin Petite Sirah

 The stand out favorite was the Concannon- which I also highly recommend.

Thanks to all of our crew who came and enjoyed the evening with us!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

This salad and dressing is super easy and convenient.  I had all the ingredients for the dressing on hand, so I didn't really need to buy any specialty items (which can often be the problem when trying new recipes.) Here's what I used for a Wine & Dine to feed 20 people.

Ingredients 

• 1 large bin of baby spinach
• 1 standard size box of strawberries
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup feta cheese
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 3 T. sesame seeds
• 1 1/2 T. poppy seeds

Instructions

1. Candy slivered almonds by putting them in a grill pan with two spoonfulls of sugar and a few drops of water.  Cook on medium heat until brown
2. Slice strawberries while almonds are cooking
3. Toss almonds, strawberries, and feta in with the spinach
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, vinegar, sugar, paprika, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds
5. Toss dressing on salad immediately before serving.  

Throw on mandarin oranges, omit almonds, replace feta with blue cheese - the variations are endless!