Wine From California, By Way of Social Networking

I love networking – in person or online. I love to meet new people, share stories, and often find out what a small world it is! Online networking and social media let you really see the connections like friends of friends, shared interests, and new opportunities. Over the past year, I’ve connected with many of my twitter and blog friends on LinkedIn. I noticed a few months ago that many of them started joining food related networking groups and thought that it would be a good idea to join too.

Not long after joining the Food Blogger Connection group on LinkedIn I saw a post from Jonathan Boring, Social Media Marketing Manager from the California Wine Club. He was looking for everyday wine drinkers who would be interested in trying out some of their wine selections. The criteria for reviewers were pretty simple; bloggers without expert wine knowledge. That’s me! While I’ve been honing my tasting skills, I do not consider myself an expert in any way. I generally know what I like and have a preference for roses, cabernet francs (or blends with it), and whites on the drier or grassier/citrusy side (very technical description). And after my trip to Spain last year, I’ve been seeking out new and interesting Spanish wines to try.

Back to the California Wine Club - a family business that has been shipping wines since 1990. A quick look at the website will give you a great overview and history of the business. Bruce and Pam Boring select wines to send out as part of their monthly wine club. They have a variety of different memberships – from all California producers to small international wines to aged cabernet. They work with smaller wineries that produce limited quantities. For us here in the Northeast, that might mean wines that aren’t available regularly in our neck of the woods.

I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to participate, due to the restrictions on wine shipping to MA. However the California Wine Club ships by certified freight carrier, so the wine was promptly delivered right to my door. For my first review, I received two bottles from the Robledo Family Winery in the Sonoma/Carneros area of Sonoma. The well packed bottles came with a 12-page booklet describing the wines, the winery and winemakers, recipes, and information about more wine club offerings. This shipment included a 2005 “Los Braceros” Red blend and a 2007 “The Seven Brothers” Lake County Sauvignon Blanc.

This post will cover the red wine, Los Braceros Red Blend. The wine is a blend of equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. The tasting notes in the booklet were extensive noting awards, the color, flavors, aromas, weather conditions, aging process, recipes and more. The suggested retail for this wine is $30 and the restaurant price is listed as $45-$50. The wine was bottled in July 2007 and released in September 2008. Only 3000 cases of the wine were produced. I decided to taste the wine alone, and then incorporate into a recipe and enjoy it with the meal.

Using skills I’ve picked up at various wine tasting events, I started first by pouring a glass and observing the color. A nice, deep red (almost a self portrait up there!). Next, I swirled and sniffed. Then a small sip to let it spread over my tongue. Spicy, peppery, and tangy with a little bite. Using a very scientific explanation – it made my tongue tingle and want to take another sip. Not my favorite in terms of red as a sipping wine, but I could see how you would like this wine if you liked a spicy and peppery red. For me, I thought I would like it better with food (and I did). I could imagine it paired with a nice juicy steak right off the grill.

The recipe included in the booklet was a recipe from Maria Robledo for Chiles Rellenos. She picked a bold and spicy dish to pair with the family’s red wine blend. I decided to make a bold red wine tomato sauce and meatballs to pair with the wine. I started by pulling all of the vegetables out of the refrigerator and chopping them into equal sizes for sautéing. In incorporated the wine while sautéing sliced mushrooms. I let the wine come to a bubble and reduce with the mushrooms. The mushroom sauce would have been delicious on its own topping grilled chicken or steak (note for next time!). It had a beautiful color, aroma, and flavor.

I paired the sauce with homemade meatballs over spaghetti and served with toasted bread. The wine gave the sauce a great kick and depth of flavor and paired well as a drink.

I’m excited to open up the Sauvignon Blanc next and share my review. I think it will be a perfect companion to some of my favorite spring dishes.

Don’t forget to check out the California Club website. They have a few different membership options and a lot of fun information about the wineries that they work with. What’s nice about their membership is that you don’t have to commit to a full year – there are no joining fees and you can cancel at anytime. You can also pick all red or all white and pick shipments for monthly, every other month, or quarterly delivery. If you do decide to check them out, make sure to mention that I sent you. You can also keep up with them on their Facebook page.

Los Braceros Hearty Tomato Sauce

1 cup each chopped:
celery
carrots
onions
fresh spinach
mushrooms

Olive oil
3/4 cup Los Braceros red wine blend
2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes, no salt added
1 can tomato paste
Salt and pepper

Set up a slow cooker or large pot with lid
Pour diced tomatoes and tomato paste into the pot
Assemble chopped celery, carrots and onions together
In a large sauté pan, cook celery, carrots, and onions over medium heat in a little olive oil until softened
Remove from the pan and add to the slow cooker or pot and return skillet to the stove
Add mushrooms to the pan and cook until they start to brown
Add wine, bring to a bubble and then let cook for 3-4 minutes until wine starts to reduce
Pour mushrooms and wine into the slow cooker or pot and return skillet to the stove
Add the spinach to the skillet and wilt
Add wilted spinach to the slow cooker or pot and mix together well
Set the slow cooker to the high 4-hour setting, put the lid on and let cook
I prefer a smoother sauce, so after 4 hours I used my immersion blender to blend the vegetables together


Quick and Easy Meatballs
I made these on a Sunday and had plenty of leftovers for lunches and dinners throughout the week. I served them with pasta, as subs, and just on their own.

Makes 24 tablespoon sized meatballs

2 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely diced onions
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray
In a large bowl, beat the two eggs together
Add ground beef, parsley, and onions and use your hands to combine
Add breadcrumbs, starting with 1/2 cup
Mix together, adding breadcrumbs until the meat is still moist, but holds together well
Using a tablespoon, gently form meatballs and place them on the baking sheet
Bake for 10 minutes, and then flip them over
Bake for 10-15 more minutes until fully cooked through
Serve with sauce and pasta or on a toasted roll with cheese!


Disclosure: I was sent two bottles of wine at no charge from the California Wine Club to review. I was not compensated financially. The opinions are completely mine!

Healthy Snack Wednesday: Strategic Snacking

Happy Healthy Snack Wednesday! When things get busy, I tend to rely on some of my favorite snacks to fuel me through the day. Today's post will feature a few of my favorite snacks and my newest go-to healthy breakfast. I hope you enjoy!

Before we get to the snacking, first is the winner of last week's delicious giveaway from Jody Maroni's Sausage Kingdom. Congratulations to MaryBeth, who said "I'd love to try the smoked chicken mole... sounds intriguing :-)!" I hope you and Timmy enjoy the 5lbs of sausage! I'll contact you with details on how to pick out your flavors.

Now on to the snacks. I'm a snacker at work, I tend to eat smaller breakfasts and lunches and supplement them with a snack around 10 am and 4 pm. I try to follow the guideline for 1-2-3 snacking that I learned from Boston University's Nutrition and Fitness Center. They are a great resource on campus for students, faculty, and staff. I took advantage of their nutritional counseling service for staff to help fine tune my meal planning and eating. What I like best about their nutritional advice is that it's easy to follow and leaves you with a lot of room to customize your own plan. Their 1-2-3 snack plan calls for foods that give you:

1. Energy You Need Right Now (whole grain crackers, bread, chips, cereal, etc.)
2. Filling Power (non-starchy vegetables or fruit like carrots, celery, apples, or grapes)
3. Protein to Make it Last (dairy/lean meat or plant protein like nut butter, yogurt, hummus, and nuts)

I took this information from a handout from Boston University Nutrition and Fitness Center. 


For example, yesterday I knew I had a meeting that was going to run past my normal lunch time. I made a snack of whole grain crackers, a medium apple, and a Laughing Cow mini-babybel cheese. It helped me make it to lunchtime without passing out from hunger.

With those guidelines in mind, here are some of my favorite snacks!

I love to mix crunchy cereal like grape-nuts or granola into my yogurt. Earlier this year I found a fantastic lactose-free yogurt and haven't stopped buying it! This is great afternoon snack to fuel my train commute home. If you don't have yogurt, you can also mix grape-nuts into a cup of applesauce.

I don't eat these snacks together, but wanted to show a picture of some of my favorites. I will often make my own trail mix with dried cherries, dried cranberries, pepitas, and nuts. This way you can add exactly what you like.

One of my all-time favorite snacks is olives. Yes, they are high in fat (if you eat the whole can like my hubby). But I like to have olives and carrots mixed together along with some crackers or cheese.

And LARABARS are great! They are all fruit and nuts and they taste great! I always go for the apple pie and cherry pie flavors. This week I decided to give the cinnamon roll flavor a try. Some of my other favorites include Clif Z bars (the kid bars) and Kashi Pumpkin Spice Flax crunchy granola bars.

When I'm snacking at home, I love to pop up a fresh bowl of popcorn. My popcorn maker requires minimal oil, which keeps the popcorn light and healthy. Since I was a little girl, I've always paired my popcorn with a large, ice cold glass of orange juice. What's your drink of choice with popcorn?

And last for this week's post, my newest go-to breakfast! I usually eat in the car on the way to getting dropped off at the train station. Keeping the 1-2-3 principles in mind, I put together a healthy breakfast that is ready in less than 3 minutes! Spinach, egg and cheese wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla.

I tried to get an interior picture on the way to work, but the roads were pretty bumpy and they all came out blurry. This breakfast is a great start to the day! But you can see that it isn't enough to make from 7:30 a.m. all the way until 12:00 or 12:30 pm. That's where the snacks come in.

3 Minute Breakfast Wrap
1-2 eggs (I usually do 1)
Handful of fresh spinach, stems removed
1 inch block of cheddar, cut into small pieces
1 8-inch whole wheat tortilla

Spray the bottom of a small microwaveable bowl with cooking spray
Crack the egg into the bowl and break up the yolk a little bit
Cover the egg completely with the spinach leaves
Microwave for 1 minute on Power-level 8 (this may vary by microwave)
The egg will be just set and the spinach will have wilted
Place the egg & spinach onto the tortilla and top with the cheese pieces
Wrap like a burrito and then wrap in a paper towel
Microwave for 15 additional seconds to warm the tortilla and melt cheese
Enjoy!

The Return of Healthy Snack Wednesday (and a giveaway)

Healthy Snack Wednesday is back! I had class on Wednesday nights this semester and that made it difficult to post a new healthy snack idea each week. I still had plenty of snacks, just no time to share them with you! Now that class is done for the semester, I’m excited to bring back Healthy Snack Wednesday (HSW)! For the return to HSW, I have a delicious new treat to share (plus a giveaway!). Take a look at past HSW entries here.

Back in March I was contacted by the marketing manager at Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom. She asked if I was interested in trying out their new low-sodium sausage minis. They sounded like the perfect match for HSW – 75% less sodium than their full-size counterparts and just 40 calories per serving. Here's a look at the nutrition information.

First, have you heard of Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom? I had never heard of them so I headed over to their website to find out. It turns out that Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom has been serving up gourmet sausages and hot dogs on Venice Beach since 1979. Now they have multiple franchise locations and sell their products online on their website. And last week I saw them featured in one of those fun Cooking Channel shows featuring great eats (I can't remember which one)! According to their website, their “gourmet sausage is made the old-fashioned way coarsely-ground with love, care and only the finest, freshest ingredients; and it is made the new-fangled way reflecting contemporary cuisine, new health concerns and a desire and demand for more flavor and value in every bite.”

Logo from jodymaroni.com

I could definitely see that in the sausage minis that I sampled. I received three flavors to try – chicken mango, chicken apple, and turkey maple. Here’s a close-up look at the chicken apple. You can see the chunks of apple and the spices. All of the sausage minis are made with a natural lamb casing. It had a good snap and kept in the the juiciness of the ingredients.

Time for a confession – I don’t know how to cook sausage! We never buy it, since we don’t eat pork in the house and haven’t fallen in love with any turkey or chicken sausage from the grocery store. I turned to my favorite sources (Joy of Cooking and other books in my collection) with no luck. Why would anyone just write “put it in a hot pan and cook until done”? So I heated up my skillet to medium, added a few sausage minis and kept turning until they seemed completely cooked. I also may have used my instant-read meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the sausage mini. Hey, I’ve never cooked it before and just wanted to be sure!

We tried the turkey maple first for breakfast. I served it on the side of scrambled eggs and whole wheat cheese quesadilla. Yes, that would make for a great breakfast burrito but I love lots of components to my meal.

The turkey maple was my favorite – I loved the maple flavor and I especially loved that it wasn’t terrible for me! The chicken apple was filled with juicy chunks of apple. All of the flavors were juicy and full of flavor. These are great to add extra protein to breakfast (or really any meal). This weekend I plan to turn the chicken sausages into 'pigs' in a blanket for a get together. I think they will be delicious! Thanks to Jody Maroni’s for letting me sample their new products!

Giveaway!
Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom has generously offered to give one lucky winner a t-shirt and 5 lbs of  sausages (your choice of any flavors, including the minis)! You can enter up to four times – be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry. Winner will be selected by Random.org and announced next Wednesday, May 11. All entries must be received by 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10. Winner must be in the continental U.S. The prize will be shipped directly from Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom.

How to Enter:
Leave a comment below letting me know your all-time favorite sausage flavor or what sausage flavor you'd try if you win (check out https://www.jodymaroni.com/catalog/ for all their flavors). (1 entry)

Like Jody Maroni's Sausage Kingdom on Facebook. (1 entry)

Follow Jody Maroni's Sausage Kingdom on Twitter and tweet, “I just entered to win from @GoodCookDoris & @JodyMaronis - you can too at http://goo.gl/06Jm8” (1 entry)

Subscribe to Good Cook Doris by email or become a follower via the Google Friend Connect widget on the right sidebar.

Full disclosure: I was contacted by Jody Maroni’s and provided with complementary samples of sausage minis. I was not compensated monetarily or obligated to review the products. All opinions are completely my own!