Celebrate National Wine Day with these at home recipes
Who doesn’t love a nice glass of wine (or two?) Well, lucky for you, today is National Wine Day.
It’s also Thursday, which is basically the weekend, so you can definitely pitstop by BevMo and grab a couple bottles of wine or bubbly.
It’s tough to rush home after a long day at work to prepare a three-course meal for yourself or the whole family (especially when you have a few bottles in the car ready for consumption).
"At our home, we love to set the scene. If we are cooking pasta our kids will request Italian music while we make the meatballs and my husband and I will crack a bottle of chianti to go with. It makes the entire meal an event without much effort. Our kids love it and its a special time for us to be together and share our day. Making food from scratch at home brings our family closer, everyone can chip in and hopefully we are making a foundation for them that they will pass along to their children," said Mama B.
A common misconception is that eating healthy is time consuming and expensive but it doesn’t have to be perceived this way. Turn up some tunes (Pandora’s beachy station is my personal favorite), gather the necessary crew and get cookin’! I guarantee time won’t matter if you’re hanging with the family.
Feast your eyes on these perfect food & wine pairings we’ve created that you can make from scratch using the most fresh, local ingredients. Take it upon yourself to really indulge in this holiday, because, wine not?
Oysters & Homemade Fries paired with a Champagne or Rosé
From Chef Dad: A cold, fresh oyster with some hot, crispy homemade fries is a really fun dynamic.
Ingredients:
A dozen oysters of your choice
3-4 medium kennebec potatoes
sea salt
1/2 cup malt vinegar
1 shallot
couple turns of fresh cracked pepper
Instructions:
-Fries
1. Rinse potatoes
2. Cut into 4-5 vertical pieces, and then cut pieces into fries of your desired thickness
3. Place fries in a bowl of cold water and let soak for a couple hours. When it's time to make the fries, drain potatoes from the water and use a towel to blot off any remaining moisture
4. Heat your fryer to 325 degrees and place fries in for the first fry- dunk them for 4 to 5 minutes or until soft. Do this process in small batches and place on paper towel
5. Heat fryer to 400 degrees for the second fry
6. Fry the potato until crispy and brown
7. Sprinkle immediately with sea salt
8. Serve with your favorite smokey ketchup
-Mignonette
1. 1/2 cup malt vinegar
2. Minced shallot
3. Couple turns of fresh ground pepper and salt to taste
Putting the dish together: Shuck oysters and place on crushed ice, garnish with mignonette. Use a separate container for the fries and a side sauce dish for the ketchup.
Equipment:
If you don’t have a personal fryer, Cuisinart has many to choose from. Or you can purchase one from your local kitchen store.
Oyster shucking knives can be found on Amazon. Make sure you have a towel (messy!) Here's a video I found on how to shuck an oyster.
Mama B tip: Try frying the potatoes in peanut oil
Sweet Corn Soup with Butter Poached Maine Lobster paired with Sauvignon blanc or Chardonnay
From Chef Dad: Purchase already cooked lobster to make this dish’s cooking process simpler and quicker.
Ingredients:
olive oil
1/2 large white onion
2 cloves garlic
4 small yukon gold potatoes peeled
salt and black pepper
3 ears corn, kernels sliced off
2 cups veggie broth
2 cups milk
2 green onions chopped
12 ounces cooked knuckle and claw Maine lobster meat
Instructions:
In a large saucepan over medium heat: add olive oil, onion and garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
Add potato, season with a little salt and pepper, and cover to steam for 4-5 minutes.
Add most of the corn, reserving a little for garnish, and stir.
NOTE: If you plan to blend the soup, I recommend adding half broth, half milk for a more creamy texture. But if you intend to leave it unblended, forgo the milk and do all broth for best texture/flavor.
Add broth and almond milk (if using), cover, and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to low. Cook until the potatoes are soft and slide off of a knife when pierced - about 5 minutes.
If blending, add 3/4 of the soup to a blender and mix until creamy and smooth. If using nutritional yeast, add now.
Transfer soup back to the saucepan and bring back to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Cook for at least 10 minutes to let thicken. The longer it simmers, the more flavorful it will be.
To serve, top with chopped green onion, remaining fresh (or lightly sauteed) corn, and fresh lobster meat
Blackened Cod with Peach and Fennel Slaw Blistered Shishito and Lime Butter paired with Pinot noir
From Chef Dad: Choose a chilled wine
Ingredients:
8 tbl. cajun spice
4 black cod or other fresh white fish fillets
1 tbl. oil
2 tbl. melted butter
2 white peaches
1 bulb fennel
1/2 head purple cabbage
3 carrot
1 cup mayo
2 tbl. cider vinegar
1 tbl. agave
1/4 tsp celery seed
8 shishito peppers
1/2 stick butter
1/2 tbl. lime juice
1/2 tbl. cilantro
Instructions:
-Lime butter
1. Soften butter to room temperature, add lime juice and mix thoroughly
2. Form into a log, wrap in plastic, and chill in refrigerator
-Peach and Fennel Slaw
1. Shave purple cabbage and fennel thin julienne carrots
2. Cut the peaches into segments
3. Mix mayo, agave, cider vinegar and celery seed together
4. Add all ingredients and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste
-Shishito
1. Heat oil in shallow pan
2. Sauté on high heat, until peppers begin to soften and show color
-Blackened Cod
1. Liberally season both sides of the fish with your favorite cajun spice blend
2. Heat pan, preferably a cast iron skillet, with oil and add melted butter
3. When the butter is just about at its smoking point, add fish
4. Move fish as little as possible to create a crust
5. Cook each side. 2-3 minutes for thinner fillets and 4-6 minutes for thicker
Putting the dish together: Place slaw in middle of plate and put fish on top. Add one to two shishitos on the side and finish with a small pad of the lime butter.
Mama B tip: Pair dish with a little bit of a lighter wine since the temperatures are increasing outside.
"Alright, now I’m hungry and I think I need a glass of wine myself. Tonight I’ll be enjoying Papillon. Goodness I love this wine. I am such a sucker for Orin Swift. I just think of that wine and it makes me feel happy inside. The first time I had it was with my husband at Jakes Del Mar and we were eating king crab legs the chef made an off menu special for our anniversary. We’ve had so many good memories that started with opening a bottle of wine," said Mama B.
Thank you, Jen Wojcik, for providing us with these amazing images and Cuisinart for allowing us to style their food!
Special thanks to Lazy Acres & the Root Cellar Farm for providing the best natural and organic goodies!
Locally yours,
Root Cellar Team
