#NWTW: Zinfandel with BBQ Chicken
#NWTW: Zinfandel #NWTW (New Wine This Week) is fun, but it does involve working on a deadline. If I don’t finish by Sunday evening, I’m out of luck until the next wine and the next week! This week: Zinfandel. It isn’t new to many American households, but I’ll happily share my experience with my buds … Continue reading
Goat Daube and Lioco Pinot Noir
The Tail End of Braising Season We’re well into spring in Minnesota, so I’m racing to use up the last of the braising meats I picked up at our winter farmers markets (held indoors). That said, we still have plenty of cool days where a nice warm stew or braise is perfect. Today we have … Continue reading
#NWTW Falanghina with Calamari & Shrimp Salad
Minnesota Spring is so short-lived. We seem to linger, locked in winter through April and suddenly it’s 80 degrees. Maybe that’s why we jump to spring-like meals at the first hint that winter has lost its grip! We had 6 inches of new snow overnight, and by the afternoon, a combination of snowplows and warm … Continue reading
#NWTW: French Sparkling, NOT Champagne
#NWTW: French Non-Champagne Sparkling Wine The #NWTW wine of the week this week is sparkling wine from France, but not Champagne. For much of France, the wines are labeled “Crémant”, but this doesn’t apply exclusively. As long as it was made in the same method as Champagne (Methode Champenoise or Methode Traditionnelle), we would be … Continue reading
Manzo Costatine Brasato al Nebbiolo
or: Beef Short Ribs Braised in Nebbiolo I’m still having fun with the Tourist Office of Langhe and Roero’s Recipe/Food Photography contest, #LangheRoeroinCucina. This week’s ingredient is the local beef, Razza Bovina Piemontese. Obviously, I can’t get Razza Bovina in Minnesota, but I can get local grass-fed beef from my friends at Sunshine Harvest Farm! … Continue reading
You’ll fall in love with Piemonte
Judging by recent posts, you might think we’ve gone off the deep end for the Piemonte (or Piedmont), and you’d be right. Julie and I spent six days in the Langhe (an area inside the Piemonte region) last September. Why would we fall in love with a wine region, thousands of miles away from home … Continue reading
Black Truffle Beef Stroganoff and Barolo
It’s another week in the Tourist Office of Langhe and Roero’s Recipe/Food Photography contest, #LangheRoeroinCucina. This week’s surprise ingredient? Black Truffle. The real surprise, though, is that they sent out a black truffle to each of the top ten contestants to date. A fresh black truffle, all the way from Italy? I think I already … Continue reading
Hazelnuts, Squash & Barbera d’Alba
Acorn Squash Stuffed with Hazelnuts & Ancient Grains We’re back in the hunt in the TuLangheRoero photo/recipe contest. This week’s ingredient? Hazelnut or Nocciola Tonda Gentile in Italian. A first thought would be a dessert, and there are many fine traditional Piemontese desserts that feature hazelnuts. This main dish is non-traditional, but the hazelnuts shine. … Continue reading
Anchovy Beet-Green Pesto Pasta & Arneis
TuLangheRoero is currently hosting a food blogging/photography contest. The challenge runs a little like the “Chopped” cooking show in slow motion. Each Monday, they announce the secret ingredient, always a favorite in the Langhe and Roero districts of the Piedmont region in Italy. The contest is to create and photograph a dish using the secret … Continue reading
#NWTW: Torrontes
New Wine This Week Are you interested in expanding your wine choices this year? Join in with a group of wine lovers around the world (OK, it’s currently a small group) and participate in New Wine This Week (#NWTW on twitter). A blogger in England, Please Bring Me My Wine, started 2014 with a pledge … Continue reading
