Have a big pot of veggie soup going w like 10 different veggies & a bunch of dried mushrooms as a stock....gonna feed us for a week & by next week I'll be the healthiest person on earth

how to make lemon garlic butter sauce | Family Cuisine

<p>This <strong>15-minute</strong> Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce is buttery, tangy, creamy, and super versatile. Enjoy it over pasta, fish, vegetables, chicken, or meat, and it will make you weak in your knees.</p> <p>Want to try more sauce recipes? Give these a taste: Strawberry Sauce, Salted Caramel Sauce, Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, Béchamel Sauce, and Homemade Pizza Sauce. </p> <figure><img src="https://ift.tt/3zRi9Wt" alt="Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce in a pan." /></figure> Jump to:<ul><li>About This Recipe</li> <li>Ingredients</li> <li>How To Make Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce</li> <li>Serving Suggestions</li> <li>Frequently Asked Questions</li> <li>You Might Also Like</li> <li>Recipe Card</li> </ul> <h2>About This Recipe</h2> <p>Looking for a sauce recipe that <strong>instantly flavors</strong> your grilled meat, fish and seafood, or vegetables? Then you must try this quick and easy lemon garlic butter sauce. With a whole lot of buttery, creamy, and zesty flavor, this sauce is sure to tickle your taste buds. </p> <p>My recipe for this sauce is <strong>based on the traditional Beurre Blanc</strong> sauce that is made by combining butter with either vinegar or a wine reduction</p> <p>Importantly, this sauce is <strong>creamy and buttery thick.</strong> It contains milk and white wine along with butter and lemon. Super-simple and fuss-free, this sauce can be prepared in just 15 minutes. </p> <p>The consistency of this sauce is <strong>runny but it is thick enough to coat food nicely</strong>. This recipe will give you approximately 2 cups of Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce. You can easily halve, double, or triple the recipe.</p> <p>If you love that lemony flavor in your recipes, then this sauce is for you. Believe me, once you pour this sauce over meats of vegetables, they will taste like <strong>a</strong> <strong>fancy dish out of a professional chef’s kitchen. </strong></p> <p>So the next time your menu includes grilled chicken, grilled shrimp or salmon, pan-seared scallops, or grilled vegetables, do yourself a favor and give Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce a try. </p> <p>Check out the detailed video recipe to make this sauce on my youtube channel.</p> <h2>Ingredients</h2> <figure><img src="https://ift.tt/2WUv1wq" alt="Lemon garlic butter sauce ingredients." /></figure> <p><strong>Chicken Broth</strong> - Chicken broth is used to make the base of this creamy sauce. If you want a vegetarian version, you can use vegetable broth instead. </p> <p><strong>Milk</strong> - Use whole milk, as it makes this lemon butter sauce rich and creamy. Do not use skim milk or low-fat milk. They won’t give you the same delicious result. </p> <p><strong>Butter</strong> - This sauce has a lot of butter. Do not get intimidated by the quantity and reduce it. Use good quality, cold unsalted butter.</p> <p><strong>Flour</strong> - All-purpose flour is added to thicken the sauce.</p> <p><strong>Lemon Juice</strong> - Here is the star ingredient, lemon juice. It adds a nice tangy and zesty taste, which makes the sauce unique from others. Use only fresh lemon juice. Bottled lemon juice will not work in this recipe.</p> <p><strong>Other</strong> - Apart from the above ingredients, you will need garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley. Fresh garlic adds a unique taste, but you can use garlic powder too. </p> <p>Finish off with chopped fresh parsley. It adds a refreshing flavor and color to this lemon butter sauce.</p> <p><strong>Optional</strong> - You can also add ¼ cup of shredded parmesan cheese at the end of cooking for a lovely umami flavor.</p> <p><strong>White Wine</strong> adds a sweet and fruity taste to the buttery sauce. Use an inexpensive white wine with more tannin. The more fruit extract and tannin a wine has, the deeper and richer a flavor it will give the dish. Keep in mind that all alcohol from the wine will evaporate during cooking, and only the flavor will remain. </p> <h2>How To Make Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce</h2> <p>Stir together ½ cup chicken broth, ½ cup whole milk, 3 teaspoon minced garlic, and ¼ cup finely chopped onion into a small saucepan. You can replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth to make a vegetarian sauce.</p> <figure><img src="https://ift.tt/3DPzxxe" alt="Chicken broth, milk, garlic, and onions added to a saucepan." /></figure> <p>Cook on medium heat until the mixture is reduced to half. It should take 10-12 minutes.</p> <figure><img src="https://ift.tt/2WWEAuF" alt="Milk mixture reduced to half." /></figure> <p>Cut 16 tablespoon (225 g) cold unsalted butter into 1-inch cubes. Add 1 cube of butter to a medium-size saucepan and heat on medium heat until it melts.</p> <figure><img src="https://ift.tt/3A2hr9b" alt="Butter heating in a pan." /></figure> <p>Add 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour and mix it well with the butter. Cook until the mixture turns slightly brown (1-2 minutes). Stir continuously while cooking. This flour and butter paste (roux) will thicken the sauce and make it super creamy.</p> <figure><img src="https://ift.tt/38LS5QB" alt="All-purpose flour added to the pan." /></figure> <p>Now slowly pour the reduced chicken broth mixture over the flour and butter mixture and whisk continuously using a wire whisk. Cook for a minute until the sauce slightly thickens.</p> <figure><img src="https://ift.tt/2WWIQKY" alt="Broth mixture poured over the flour mixture." /></figure> <figure><img src="https://ift.tt/2WZA3Ig" alt="Thickened sauce." /></figure> <p>Add the remaining butter to the pan and cook until the butter melts and combines with the sauce. Stir frequently.</p> <p><strong>Note</strong> - Make sure the butter is chilled. It will bring down the temperature of the sauce and the sauce will not curdle when lemon juice is added to it.</p> <figure><img src="https://ift.tt/3BQD7FL" alt="Chilled butter added to the pan." /></figure> <p>Add 6 tablespoon lemon juice, season with salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.</p> <p><strong>Note</strong> - Add the lemon juice when the sauce is not very hot. If you add lemon juice to the hot sauce, it might curdle it.</p> <figure><img src="https://ift.tt/38IUgo3" alt="Lemon juice, salt and pepper added to the pan." /></figure> <p>Remove from heat and garnish with chopped parsley. Your butter sauce is ready. Use it as desired.</p> <figure><img src="https://ift.tt/3DTNKcr" alt="Ready lemon garlic butter sauce garnished with parsley." /></figure> <h2>Serving Suggestions</h2> <p>Pour this delicious butter sauce on, </p> <p><strong>Seafood</strong> - Shrimp, scallops, lobster, crab, and fish such as salmon, cod, halibut, tuna, swordfish, and trout.</p> <p><strong>Chicken</strong> - Pour the sauce over grilled, poached, or roasted chicken for a flavorful and high-protein meal.</p> <p><strong>Vegetables</strong> - The sauce adds a great taste to grilled or sautéed vegetables, especially asparagus, green beans, brussels sprouts, artichokes, and broccoli.</p> <h2>Frequently Asked Questions</h2> <h2>You Might Also Like</h2> <h2>Recipe Card</h2> source https://familycuisine.net/how-to-make-lemon-garlic-butter-sauce/

Seasonable Wines & How To Get Them Delivered

Now a days in every city have liquor store but in that lockdown situation this liquor store are doing 

alcohol delivery 

at your place. But there is one question is always comes in drinkers when they want to drink anytime especially wine lovers. Which wine is suitable for the summer season, winter season, and rainy season? But you do not need to worry let the Drinkerrs bring you some seasonable wine. Before we started I want to clear with you, wines never go out of season, but absolutely you have to change the flavor of wines season-wise. So let’s start with our favorite season winter season. Winter can be the chilly season for wine. Between mulled ciders, hot toads, and Big Boozy it’s easy to overlook the effect of wine on this dark season. Not so fast though; No one puts wine in the corner and we are here to prove it. Getting ready for the winter vacation season means more than just keeping gift lists for loved ones and family, but also stockpiling the essential wine you take for holiday parties, family events, and celebrations. With that in mind, we can tell you the best wine for the winter holidays.

1) Chardonnay :

Chardonnay is one of the three main grapes used in champagne, along with pinot noir and pinot Meunier. The good news is, 

Chardonnay

 lovers - it's time to break the bottle of spilled Chardonnay. Full-bodied and complex, Chardonnay is famous for its ripe fruit notes of melon and pineapple. At this time of year, chardonnays with baked halibut, cream paste, and corn chowder are perfect. And the chardonnay is available at a liquor store or you will be order liquor online.

Cabernet Sauvignon :

Cabernet sauvignon is one of the most recognized red wine grape varieties. It is mostly drank in winter. So here is no wondering here - full-bodied red wines are in season and cabernet is a popular choice. The taste of the dark fruit, the hint of tannins and cinnamon in the mouth, the cabernet combine well with winter dinners and movie nights. Enjoy the 

Cabernet Sauvignon

 with short ribs, lentil soup, and Portobello mushrooms.

Malbec :

If you enjoy with bold red wines like cabernet, 

Malbec

 should be next in your list. Malbec is perfect in the winter. Especially Malbec is known as the deep purple color and full body. Malbec grapes are small and dark in color with very thick skin, producing a wine that has rich fruity flavors and medium tannin levels

Shiraz :

Bold and Jamie 

Shiraz

 is officially in season. With powerful dark fruit notes and hints of Savory Black Olive, this smooth red wine is perfect for a relaxing night by the fire or by the side of dinner. Barbecue, herb-baked potatoes, and mushroom soothed Shiraz combinations.

Riesling :

Riesling is one of the most interesting white wines which are mostly wine lover drink in winter. When the topic comes to the winter wine then most wine lovers are told about 

Riesling

. For this winter wine go with a glass

Summer Season Wines

When we talk about the summer season then our throat will get dry. In summer, when it is hot, some wines work to create coolness in this hot climate. So we represent the most Quenching thirst and make you feel cold even in the summer season.

Pinot Noir :

Specialty of 

pinot noir

 is pinot noir berries have low tannins and natural protection against pests and UV radiation. Looking for a red that doesn’t sleep in the hot sun? Pinot Noir is the grape for you. Pinot Noir shows the juicy complexity of a large wine. Pinot noir is easily available in liquor stores or you can order online anywhere and anytime

Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigio is one of the favorite wines in the summer season. Pinot Grigio is a white wine grape. Strengthened with mango, pineapple, and Peruvian notes, the ethnic acidity of 

Pinot Grigio

 makes it an excellent wine to add to vinegar foods, and when paired with seafood, there are only a few grapes that spoil the grapes.

Moscato :

Not everyone likes to get bone-dry white wine, and for those looking for something on the sweet end of the spectrum, the 

Moscato

 Bill fits. Although cheap, low-quality Moscato wine is typically found in supermarkets, it may seem sweet, but there are also perishable and fragrant Moscato with perishable yellow or reddish notes. Perfect as a dessert wine, or with a Cedic salad, Moscato can be amazingly delicious and satisfying. There is some brands of Moscato 

Barefoot Bubbly Moscato

, 

Barefoot Red Moscato

 etc

Sauvignon Blanc :

Known as the best possible wine to combine with most types of chicken and most seafood,

Sauvignon Blanc

is what most people are looking for when trying to choose the perfect summer white. Acidic, yet soft enough to hold creamy notes of lime, herbs, and tropical mangoes with you, a good bottle of Sauvignon Blanc can be the star of a warm summer evening show.

Rainy season Wines

Rainy days make you curl up under the blanket and watch Netflix. On these cold and rainy days, I usually crave red wine all over my body which warms me inside out!

Red Blend :

Zerba is a great wine with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Sirah. The wine has a distinctive taste and flavor of dark fruit with a hint of spice for cold weather. It’s perfect to pair with lasagna-like pasta and butternut squash ravioli. 

Red Blend

 wine is mostly drink the wine lover in rainy days

Malbec Reserve :

Malbec reserve

is one of the best wine for drink in rainy days. The taste buds were very happy with the taste of blackberry and a little spice. It combines with grilled steak from beef. If the meat is not to your liking, you can also add portabella and many other vegetables. However, if you are looking for a local Malbec, try picking up a bottle of Abacella, originally from southern Oregon

Tawny Port

Tawny Port

 is Christmas wine, Mostly this wine is a drink on Christmas days in that in the winter season, but here we clear that this wine is suitable for all season

champagne and Sparkling Wine

Winter is a festive season, and is it more festive than glass (or many) champagnes? In addition to celebrities, 

champagne

 is also associated with almost any food due to its high acidity, which acts as a scalp cleanser. The added bonus is that champagne is proven to lift your mood: it contains magnesium, potassium, and zinc, all of which contribute to the feeling of joy that swells after your first sip. Is it cold? Sit back, open the champagne and enjoy it when it runs.

Something Borrowed: “How To Order A Bottle Of Wine Like You Know What You're Doing”

Originally posted on the Deadspin vertical Adequate Man (RIP) on June 22, 2016

Going out to dinner with friends can easily become a big event—after agreeing to share a meal together, you’ll have to choose the cuisine, the restaurant, and whether to invite that one person everyone has been avoiding for a few weeks. The decisions don’t end there. Once you settle in at the restaurant, and everyone is enjoying themselves with craft cocktail in hand—except for that one jerk-off who’s doing the Whole 30—the inevitable happens. Someone asks the dreaded question: “Should we get a bottle of wine?”

Considering that you tried to order a Michelob Ultra as a pre-dinner aperitif, maybe you aren’t the best person to helm this project—but the wine list is touching your hand, and everyone has that same stink of fear on them. So you grab it, and your eyes glaze over as a light panic settles in. Choosing a wine for the table involves a level of snobbery that you don’t have, and what if you order something that doesn’t make any sense? Don’t worry! With a little know-how (and some outside help), you can navigate the wine list like a pro.

Understanding the menu:

Wine lists are usually broken up into categories—hopefully, one of those categories looks vaguely familiar and you can cling to that. If not, just keep in mind the few basic red and white varietals seen on most menus:

Cabernet: One of the world’s classic grapes. It shows up a ton as a single varietal in California wines, and is usually the main grape in Bordeaux-style blends. Cabernet tends to be more full-bodied with dark fruit flavors, and pairs well heavier items, such as steak, lamb and duck. It’s the no-brainer choice if you’re at a steakhouse.

Zinfandel: Known as California’s grape, Zinfandel can range from jammy, with a little bit of residual sugar, to peppery and full-bodied. Look for “Old Vine” bottles if you can afford it. These also pair super well with meat, but will see you through to dessert.

Chardonnay: This is the white wine your mom drinks. Most California varieties are oak-aged and therefore very buttery and full-bodied, so they can be a little overwhelming, but this is a wine that will pair well with a lot of dishes—from ripe cheeses to seafood to pasta—especially if you have someone at the table (your mom) who refuses to drink red wine.

Riesling: This is growing in popularity on a lot of menus—it’s so much more than that blue bottle of sweet garbage that your aunt buys at Wal-Mart. From crisp and dry to wonderfully fruity, Riesling is insanely dynamic. Light Alsatian rieslings pair well with fresh, farm-to-table dishes, while a drier, more acidic German trocken riesling is amazing with spicy Asian or Indian food.

If the list isn’t broken down into specific categories, the best thing to do is to look at how it’s organized. Usually, a wine list is organized in one of two ways, within the red and white wine verticals: by price (in which case, pick the third-cheapest bottle of wine and go), or what’s known as a progressive list. A progressive list means that wines are organized by lightest and sweetest at the top, going all the way down to fullest and driest and biggest at the bottom. This makes things pretty simple, because if you know what you like flavor-wise, you can hew to one end of the list or the other and be pretty sure it’ll be okay.

When in doubt, order a Pinot Noir:

Pinot Noir is lighter-bodied, tends on the easy-drinking side, and it’ll please both those who insist on red wine and those who aren’t big fans of it, as well as pairing really well with most foods, from cheese and charcuterie to fish and steak. Oregon Pinots tend toward the lighter, more elegant side, with earthy, soft notes, while California Pinots tend to be fuller-bodied and have more jammy fruit notes. As with all things wine, though, your mileage may vary. Most restaurants, especially steakhouses, are going to have a more Cabernet-heavy list, but perusing the more unique sections of any wine list can uncover some hidden gems if you’re looking for them.

Ask your server for a recommendation:

If you’ve been staring at the wine list for an embarrassingly long amount of time and still have no idea what to order, ask your server! That’s kind of what they’re there for. A fun game to play at really ritzy places is to ask your server for their recommendation and watch them try with every fiber of their being not to just point to the most expensive bottle on the menu. And then watch their brain short circuit when you ask them what Pinot Noir they’d recommend.

Even if they don’t know the ins and outs of every wine on the list, a good server will always have a shortlist of wines they know and recommend in various price ranges, depending on how much you want to spend—which is totally okay (and preferred!) to be upfront about. A great server will go and ask whoever put the wine list together (the chef, sommelier or manager) for their recommendations based on what you ordered. It’s always nice to ask your server what they like (and then choose that!), since they probably drink a lot to dull the pain of people asking for ketchup to put on $60 steaks.

If you’re in the type of restaurant with a sommelier—usually the person with the purple teeth—they can always guide you through the menu, chat about wine pairings and make very specific recommendations based on the food you ordered or what you know you like. Sommeliers have a reputation for being pretentious, but a lot of them are big old nerds who are just really excited to share their wine knowledge and love with anyone who will listen. (They also might be a little drunk, depending on how many “wine tastings” they’ve had that day.)

Presentation and corking etiquette:

Okay, so you finally fucking chose a bottle of wine. Unfortunately, the ignominy isn’t over yet. Now comes the wine presentation. It’s a whole thing—sorry—but it’ll be over quick. Generally, the person who ordered the wine is the one who does the tasting at the table. If you ordered the wine, but someone else actually picked it out, it’s totally cool to foist the responsibility of the whole thing onto the person who did the choosing.

First, your server is going to roll over with glasses and a linen draped over their arm like Basil Fawlty. Then they’ll present the bottle to you by holding it in front of you. No one—especially not your server—expects you to give more than a passing glance at the bottle and smile and nod, most likely because you’re ordering something you’ve never seen before. At the very least, make sure that it’s not a bottle of white when you ordered a bottle of red. Then your server will futz with the foil and try to make light conversation. If you’re with a large party, it’s cool to ignore your server during this trying time, but if it’s just two of you, sitting there silently while the wine opener squeaks into the cork is just going to make everything awkward for everyone. Laugh at your server’s jokes and it’ll all be over quicker.

Next, your server will present you with the cork. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT SNIFF THE CORK. Sniffing the cork will tell you nothing about the cork, or the bottle of wine. It will only tell the people around you who know what they are doing that you are a dingus. Just pick it up, smile and nod (again), and set it aside. If the wine is bad (it isn’t 1964, we know how to preserve and ship wine now, it’s not bad, I swear), you will determine that when you taste it anyway.

If the wine isn’t more than 10 years old—seeing that you are currently seeking advice on how to order wine, it probably isn’t—don’t ask your server to decant it. That’s not going to do anything, and it’s just more time spent on this whole fucking enterprise that you could be using to get drunk. It also doesn’t need to be uncorked when you’re eating your salad and sit on the table “opening up” until your entrees come. Again, that does nothing more than make you look like a giant dingus.

Tasting the wine:

After the cork presentation, your server will pour a taste into your glass. It’s totally acceptable to swirl it—to let the wine get introduced to a little bit of air and open up a bit. Then stick your nose in the glass and sniff. No one’s taking notes, so as long as it doesn’t smell like vinegar, it should be fine. It should at least smell, you know, nice. Like wine. Then, taste it. It should taste good! You should like how it tastes! Then you say, “Yeah, tastes great! Thanks for the recommendation!” Then your server will pour wine into everyone’s glass (yours last, it’s not personal) and leave. The hard part is now over, and you can drink the wine you ordered and feel accomplished.

Refilling your glass:

Don’t be that guy and drag the bottle over to the farthest edge of the table so only you can pour refills (because chivalry isn’t dead or something). Let your server do their job and refill your glass. Sometimes a server will wait until a patron’s glass is empty so they don’t mix old wine with the new wine from the bottle, and so they can enjoy a glass to its fullest when it’s nearer to the end and the flavor is more open. Sometimes your server just forgot about you. (Sorry.) This is a weird dance. Don’t be a jerk if they don’t fill the glass fast enough for you, or if you have to pour your refill. The whole point of this thing is to enjoy yourself! I think.

How to Make Perfect Summer Sangria (Low Sugar Recipe)

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How to Make Perfect Summer Sangria (Low Sugar Recipe)

Who doesn’t love a glass of sangria in the summertime?! Fruity, colorful, and with a touch of sweetness (if you use this recipe anyway), it’s the perfect summer drink. The classic version calls for sugar and is on the sweeter side, so I wanted to find a way to make my own that was only slightly sweet without the added sugar.

This trio of sangrias will suit both red and white wine lovers. Pick your favorite and then whip up a batch for your next family staycation, or sip on some while soaking in a nice detox bath!

A Healthier Sangria Recipe (Red, White, or Rosé)

So what makes a sangria? Fruit! Lots of it. Citrus is a must for any sangria recipe. The sweet and sour profile builds a solid base of flavor without adding a ton of sugar. I also love to add savory herbs to complement the sweet kick of the fruit and wine. Simply add your favorite whole herbs right to the sangria to infuse it with its natural flavors.

Skip the Added Sugar

The average sangria has a few different sources of added sugar. First, the fruit is usually soaked in a sugary coating before added to the wine. Next, premade fruit juices and liqueurs are usually added to the mix, which can quickly add up to more sugar.

These sangria creations skip the sugar coating and let the natural sweetness of the fruit shine through. Instead of those sugary premade fruit juices, I use freshly squeezed citrus and a little water. You could even use one of these easy infused water recipes for extra flavor.

If you’re looking to spike the punch, focus on spirits over sugary liqueurs. Try a low-carb alcohol like brandy or vodka. You want to keep the focus on the flavor of the wine, so spike lightly!

How to Choose a Wine

You don’t need to look for the big price tag to select a quality wine. Instead, you want to find an organic, sulfite-free brand with the first flavor profile to help showcase your fresh ingredients.

When you’re using wine for sangria, look for a dry variety. The fruit will add lots of sweetness, so a dry wine will help balance out the flavor. A full-bodied, low-sugar dry wine is going to allows the fruit’s sweet flavors to shine.

I love Dry Farm Wines for my sangria. Their wines are organic, free of sulfites, and low in sugar (one reason I couldn’t justify adding sugar for my sangria!)

Make It a Mocktail

You can still get in on the sangria fun without the alcohol! It’s simple to stay true to the flavors without the wine. I like to swap the wine for a juice and water combination. Then I add about 1 tablespoon of vinegar to mimic the acidity of a wine. Here are my favorite substitutes:

For red wine: 1 cup cranberry or grape juice + 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar + 1 cup water

For white or rosé wine: 1 cup grapefruit juice + 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar + 1 cup of water

This post has a whole list of summer mocktail ideas as well, so no one feels left out!

Now let’s get mixing!

Tip: You can make these sangrias a day in advance. Simply add ice and sparkling water (optional) just before serving.

Basic Sangria Recipe

A delicious, fruity, and lower sugar version of the popular Spanish beverage

Course Drinks

Cuisine Spanish

Prep Time 15 minutes

Resting Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 5 people

Calories 153kcal

Author Katie Wells

Ingredients

Instructions

Directions

Juice the lemon, lime, and orange into a large pitcher.

Transfer rinds to a cutting board and slice the lemon, lime, and orange. Transfer to the pitcher.

Chop the berries and transfer to the pitcher with the sage.

Add the red wine and water to the pitcher. If you’re using sparkling water, add it just before serving instead.

Stir and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Serve over ice.

Notes

Add 1/4 cup fresh sage leaves for a delicious twist. Jump below the recipe for white and rose variations.

Nutrition

Serving: 8fl oz | Calories: 153kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 496mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 5.9% | Vitamin C: 179.8% | Calcium: 10.3% | Iron: 5.8%

White Rosemary Grapefruit Sangria Recipe

This refreshing blend highlights the citrus notes of white wine with fresh grapefruit. Rosemary adds a savory aromatic element.

Ingredients

2 lemons

1 grapefruit

2 sprigs rosemary

1 bottle white wine

1 cup water (or sparkling water)

Directions

Juice the lemons and grapefruit into a large pitcher.

Transfer the rinds to a cutting board and slice the lemon and grapefruit. Transfer to the pitcher with the rosemary.

Add the white wine and water to pitcher. If you’re using sparkling water, add just before serving instead.

Stir and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Serve over ice.

Rosé Basil Lime Sangria Recipe

Naturally sweet rosé wine is perfectly complemented with zesty lime juice and delicate basil.

Ingredients

3 limes

1/4 cup basil

1 bottle rosé

2 cups water (or sparkling water)

Directions

Juice the limes over a large pitcher.

Transfer the rinds to a cutting board and slice the limes. Transfer to the pitcher with basil.

Add the rosé and water to pitcher. If you’re using sparkling water, then add just before serving.

Stir and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Serve over ice.

Enough talk about sangria… time to invite some friends over!

Do you make your own sangria? What’s your favorite recipe?

Source: https://wellnessmama.com/404527/make-sangria-recipe/

For many, brunch is the earliest meal of the day when alcoholic beverages are deemed socially acceptable. It often conjures up images of Mimosas and Bloody Marys and calorie-laden breakfast and lunch foods, because after all, brunch is two meals rolled into one. People who brunch usually have limitless finances to spend on this leisurely and lavish, decadent meal. However, what if brunch were both more, and less, than that? What would happen if we envisioned brunch as a warm, casual meal for everyone, an educational experience, even a healthy approach to eating and drinking? The latter is the approach that friend, chef, and photographer, Gary Monday, decided to pursue when we planned our intimate brunch with friends.

Both Gary and I have been through major lifestyle changes in our lives, which have resulted in great weight losses and improved health and fitness. We both have learned which foods are good for our bodies. We also both discovered a passion for sparkling wines as standalone or food wines. They are lighter in style, lower in alcohol, available for all budgets, and fit with our newfound lifestyles.

With this vision, I invited sparkling wine producers to contribute to our brunch. We received seven wines at all price points from Italy, California, Michigan, and Virginia. Suggested retail prices ranged from $17 per bottle to $55 per bottle and case production ran the gamut from 109 cases to 240,000 cases. The samples included wines made both in the traditional and charmat methods, the difference being secondary fermentation in the bottle or tank. The wines were made from a variety of grapes: chardonnay, chardonel, glera, muscat, and pinots – noir, gris, and meunier.

Gary created a menu that he called Southern/Pacific Northwest infused food, a nod to both his North Carolina roots and current home in Seattle. His expenses were around $110 to feed six people, a brunch bargain. Food included bacon-wrapped jalapeño peppers; grilled pork loin and salmon; a kale, citrus, and pomegranate salad; a fresh fruit bowl; and biscuits and gravy. Since Gary is dairy free, he made dairy-free sausage gravy and purchased vegan biscuits from Redwing Café in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle, along with making traditional milk-based sausage gravy and buttermilk biscuits. While all the food was amazing, the attendees delightfully discovered that the standouts were perhaps the healthiest foods: the grilled salmon; the kale, citrus, and pomegranate salad; the Redwing Café vegan biscuits; and the dairy-free gravy.

Gary learned the kale recipe in a dairy-free cooking class taught by Danielle Premo. Perfect for brunches and holidays, ingredients included kale from Full Circle – a community supported agriculture (CSA) delivery company – clementine oranges, pomegranate seeds, candied pecans, and Danielle’s dressing made from orange juice, vinegar, mustard, honey, salt, pepper, and olive oil. The kale is massaged with the dressing, left to sit for 15 minutes, then the clementine orange slices and pomegranate seeds added. The finished salad is garnished with the candied pecans. The beauty of this salad is that it can be prepared ahead of time without the kale becoming soggy. In fact, the flavors integrate the longer they are together.

For the dairy-free sausage biscuit gravy, Gary used the drippings from cooking bacon, sausage, and pork loins. He added all-purpose flour and cooked on medium heat until he had a thick paste in the pan. He introduced unsweetened cashew milk slowly until the desired consistency was achieved. He reduced the stove to low heat for simmering and thickening, stirring continuously, while adding salt and pepper to taste.

Gary bought vegan biscuits from Redwing Café, which specializes in healthy food options. I contacted the owners to ask what makes these biscuits vegan and they explained that they use olive oil and hemp milk in place of butter and buttermilk. After tasting these, I may never have another traditional biscuit again.

One of our brunch guests was Rhonda Hamlin, biscotti maker and owner of The Art of Crunch. As the dessert finale, in honor of National Biscotti Day, she contributed samples of her handcrafted biscotti, including a special test flavor for all of us to try and contribute our input as to the final recipe. It is not often I veer off my strict eating path, but these biscotti were a delicious way to conclude our brunch. To learn more about The Art of Crunch, visit this link to read my interview with Rhonda.

The beverage stars of our brunch were the seven sparkling wine samples we received. As an educational tasting experiment, we gave our guests an index card for each wine and asked that they take notes on the wines they enjoyed the most and with which foods, then we discussed the results. Below are our collective thoughts.

Photo by Adami Vigneto Giardino

2017 Adami Vigneto Giardino Asciutto Valdobbiadene DOCG Prosecco Superiore Rive di Colbertaldo, SRP $22, 3700 cases produced Across the board, our brunch attendees chose this wine as one of their top wines of the day, two writing “#1” and “Favorite! <3” on their index cards. In fact, someone said, “I didn’t know Prosecco could taste like this!” This floral, fruity, and spicy sparkling wine made from 100% glera, charmat method, was mesmerizing. It was also one of the most versatile food wines, pairing well with nearly everything, especially the fruit salad, biscuits with raspberry jam, even Rhonda’s biscotti.

Photo by Enrico Serafino

2015 Enrico Serafino Brut Rosé Alta Langa DOCG, SRP $26, 5000 cases produced This Brut Rosé, made from 100% pinot nero (noir) in the traditional method, was light in color, but big on flavor, exhibiting clean, bright raspberry and redcurrant flavors cradled in yeastiness. A hint of sweetness was beautifully offset by mouthwatering acidity. This wine was a perfect match for our kale salad.

Photo by Frank Family Vineyards

2013 Frank Family Vineyards Blanc de Blancs, Carneros, SRP $55, 500 cases produced This is wine that our attendees said tasted “the most like Champagne.” Made in the traditional method and hand riddled, the Blanc de Blancs was the elegant, grande dame of our brunch. Fine mousse, brioche, and freshly cut, tart apples dominated the palate of this lovely 100% chardonnay sparkler, which was the preferred pairing with grilled salmon and pork loin.

Photo by Frank Family Vineyards

2014 Frank Family Vineyards Brut Rosé, Carneros, 2014 SRP $55, 1000 cases produced I admit, I jumped the gun when I tasted this wine, exclaiming that it was my favorite. I am Brut Rosé gal through and through, and this blend of Carneros-grown 88% pinot noir and 12% chardonnay did not disappoint, bursting with red berries and a pleasantly creamy mouthfeel. One of our guests wrote, “Love it! This is great all by itself!” Our favorite food pairings were strawberries, the kale salad, and biscuits with raspberry jam. Click here to read how this wine gives back during the month of October.

Photo by L. Mawby/M. Lawrence

NV L. Mawby/M. Lawrence Sex, Michigan, SRP $17, 246 cases produced With a name like Sex and a price point of $17, how could you not like this wine? This sparkler, a blend of pinot noir, chardonnay and muscat, was dry and crisp, with an interesting juxtaposition of cotton candy and white grapefruit on the palate, making it a fantastic accompaniment to fresh fruit. Exclaiming, “Yes, yes, yes!”, we drank every drop of this wine. Of course, it left us wanting more.

Photo by Mumm Napa Valley

NV Mumm Brut Prestige, Napa Valley, SRP $24, 240,000 cases produced If you want a sparkling wine that consistently delivers palate-pleasing flavors and is and affordable enough to drink anytime you feel like bubbles, Mumm is the wine for you. A blend of 45% chardonnay, 45% pinot noir, and 10% pinot gris and meunier, Mumm’s signature wine is made in the traditional method. On the palate, think pears with a honeyed quality, coupled with soft effervescence. The Brut Prestige complemented rich foods like bacon-wrapped jalapeño peppers, biscuits and gravy, and grilled salmon. With a quarter of a million cases produced, Mumm is most likely available right around the corner from you.

Photo by Gary Monday

2016 Rosemont of Virginia Brut, Virginia, SRP $25, 109 cases produced This wine was the most unique of all the wines we tasted. The only brut nature (no dosage) of the lineup and made from 100% chardonel (a cross between chardonnay and Seyval) using the charmat method, this wine showed zingy, citrus fruit flavors like white grapefruit, lemon, and lime. The bone dryness and racy acidity cut through the fattiest foods, like bacon-wrapped jalapeño peppers, sausage gravy, and grilled salmon. This vintage is sold out, but next year’s vintage will be released in early 2019.

Brunch with Friends: Sparkling Wines and Healthy Food Choices for All Budgets For many, brunch is the earliest meal of the day when alcoholic beverages are deemed socially acceptable.

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14 Passover Dinner Recipes for a Super Seder

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[Photograph: Daniel Gritzer, Vicky Wasik, J. Kenji López-Alt]

Technically, the most important part of Passover is, of course, the seder itself. But no one comes to a seder without expecting to be fed a proper meal, especially after they’ve drunk all that wine. Passover dinners tend to be marked by firmly entrenched traditions, upheld by even more firmly held convictions about what a “real” Jewish brisket or “real” matzo ball soup is. While there’s nothing wrong with sticking to what works for your crowd, if you (and they) are open to a little experimentation, we encourage you to have fun with the menu this year. Try a braised lamb shoulder spiced up with chilies and softly sweetened with dates; serve an appetizer of crispy fried artichokes or a Sephardic-style charoset scented with orange flower water. Read on for 14 of our favorite traditional and not-so-traditional recipes to make this year’s seder a smashing success (and stay tuned for some delicious ideas for Passover-appropriate desserts, too).

A note about the recipes that follow: Though some were designed with Passover in mind, others are meant to be more all-purpose, which means some of them contain ingredients not considered kosher for Passover—or, at least, not considered by everyone to be such. These may include soy sauce (which can be substituted with kosher tamari), Worcestershire sauce (fish-free Worcestershire sauce may be substituted), distilled white vinegar, mustard, rice, and legumes. Where possible, we’ve suggested replacements for these items. As dietary restrictions during Passover vary widely, we’ve chosen to offer a range of recipes to meet a range of preferences, with the hope that everyone will be able to find a few dishes here that they love and can add to their menu.

The Seder Plate

Homemade Preserved Horseradish

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

As tempting as it might be to pick up a bottle of prepared horseradish from the grocery store, it’s almost as easy to make it from scratch. It takes just three ingredients—chunks of horseradish root, a little white vinegar to keep it from browning, and a pinch of salt—and a few minutes of pulsing in a food processor or blender. Make it now, and you can use it straight through the holiday—the pungent condiment will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about three weeks.

Get the recipe for Homemade Preserved Horseradish »

Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Hard-boiling an egg may seem like the simplest of tasks, but it comes with a number of possible pitfalls: chalky, green-tinged yolks; rubbery whites; and, worst of all, the shell that refuses to pull away. Our heavily tested technique will save you from all of those dreaded outcomes. For easily peelable eggs, with firm but tender whites and nicely cooked yolks, start them in boiling water, then simmer for 11 minutes, shock in ice water, and remove the shell under running water. Or, even better, try steaming them instead.

Get the recipe for Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs »

Traditional Ashkenazi Charoset With Apples and Walnuts

[Photograph: Niki Achitoff-Gray]

This classic Ashkenazi charoset is so tasty, you’ll be tempted to scarf up all the leftovers once the seder is over, and so simple that you may just start making it all year long. Combine diced apples and chopped toasted walnuts with a cup of sweet red Passover wine, plus plain or lightly toasted sugar and a pinch of spices, and you’re done. We like to use a mix of sweet and tart apples, like a combination of Fuji and Granny Smith, for a balanced flavor.

Get the recipe for Traditional Ashkenazi Charoset With Apples and Walnuts »

Sephardic-Style Charoset With Dried Fruit and Nuts

[Photograph: Robyn Lee]

Unlike the Ashkenazi version, Sephardic-style charoset incorporates dried fruits rather than fresh apples, and a wider variety of spices and nuts. Ours blends a red wine–simmered mixture of dates, dried apricots, and raisins with roasted almonds, plus a bit of fragrant orange blossom water. Chopping up the nuts and fruit in a food processor speeds things up, but make sure to leave a few chunks for texture.

Get the recipe for Sephardic-Style Charoset With Dried Fruit and Nuts »

The Dinner Plate

Hummus Masabacha (Hummus With Whole Chickpeas)

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

This easy variant on a traditional hummus mixes whole chickpeas with puréed ones and tahini sauce, and can be as chunky or smooth as you like. We start with Kenji’s easy tahini sauce, made by puréeing whole unpeeled (yes, unpeeled!) garlic cloves directly into lemon juice, then adding that mixture to the tahini. For the best flavor, cook dried chickpeas in water with an array of aromatics, then blend some of the cooking liquid into the sauce.

Get the recipe for Hummus Masabacha (Hummus With Whole Chickpeas) »

Roman-Jewish Fried Artichokes (Carciofi alla Giudia)

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

There’s a solid tradition of deep-frying in Roman-Jewish cuisine, and these shatteringly crisp artichokes, served with just a sprinkling of salt and a squeeze of lemon, are a case in point. The trick to getting them tender and crunchy, with that signature Mediterranean flavor, is double-frying them in olive oil—though you can also use a more neutral oil to emphasize more of the artichokes’ own flavor.

Get the recipe for Roman-Jewish Fried Artichokes (Carciofi alla Giudia) »

Stovetop Tzimmes With Carrots and Raisins

[Photograph: Niki Achitoff-Gray]

If you think of this old Passover standby as nothing more than a mound of mushy, oversweetened carrots, it’s time to revisit it with a fresh recipe. Orange juice keeps the flavor bright, and just a dab of honey highlights the carrots’ natural sweetness. A mix of cardamom and cinnamon gives the dish added complexity.

Get the recipe for Stovetop Tzimmes With Carrots and Raisins »

The Best Matzo Ball Soup

[Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

Every family has its own matzo ball style, so our customizable recipe lets you tailor the dish exactly to your liking. With the help of baking powder, seltzer, or just plain water, you can make matzo balls that are airy, dense, or anywhere in between. No matter what style you choose, a quality chicken stock is nonnegotiable—poaching the matzo balls in stock instead of water maximizes their flavor. Want to get a little crazy this year? Try one of these wacky/delicious matzo ball variations, including pan-fried, chicken-stuffed, and deep-fried-and-chicken-skin-wrapped.

Get the recipe for The Best Matzo Ball Soup »

Warm Kale and Caramelized Mushroom Salad

[Photograph: Matthew and Emily Clifton]

The combination of deeply browned mushrooms, hearty kale, and nutty sherry vinaigrette is so flavorful that you won’t miss the goat cheese if you choose to exclude it, which makes this salad a handy side to serve if you’re hosting a “meat” seder. If you can, use a mixture of mushrooms—shiitakes, creminis, oysters, chanterelles, and porcini will all help build optimal flavor. The warmth from the sauté will infuse the greens, wilting and softening them slightly without any additional cooking.

Get the recipe for Warm Kale and Caramelized Mushroom Salad »

Jewish-Style Braised Brisket With Onions and Carrots

[Photograph: Daniel Gritzer]

Brisket is a notoriously difficult cut to cook—braise it too long, and it’ll be tender but dry; not long enough, and it’ll come out moist but tough. Our solution is to cover the meat while it braises to trap in the moisture, then submerge the sliced brisket in the warm braising liquid, so it reabsorbs the flavorful juices, before serving. Braising sweet onions and carrots along with the meat yields a classic accompaniment. (Do note that there is ketchup in the recipe, but you can substitute tomato paste to make it kosher for Passover.)

Get the recipe for Jewish-Style Braised Brisket With Onions and Carrots »

Braised Brisket in Apricot and Cranberry Sauce

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

This brisket takes its inspiration from Southern barbecue. Instead of the leaner brisket flat, we call here for the point cut (also known as the deckle), a piece laced with intramuscular fat and prized in barbecue circles for its extra flavor and moistness. The tomato-based sauce also takes some cues from barbecue, incorporating brown sugar, molasses, and mustard, and gets a fruity holiday twist with the addition of dried apricots and cranberries, cranberry sauce, and apricot preserves. This recipe calls for soy sauce and Worcestershire; if you don’t consume those products during Passover, try replacing those ingredients with kosher tamari.

Get the recipe for Braised Brisket in Apricot and Cranberry Sauce »

Braised Lamb Shoulder With Dried Chilies and Dates

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

Though it wasn’t designed with the holiday in mind, this smoky braised lamb shoulder is the perfect choice if you want to try something a little more out-there. A range of powerful ingredients—dark morita chilies, fruity guajillo peppers, and bright, citrusy tomatillos—gives it tons of flavor, softened by a natural caramelly sweetness from dates. It also takes just 30 minutes of active prep time, after which it’ll slowly cook in the Dutch oven all day, no babysitting needed. To keep it Passover-appropriate, skip the optional Cotija cheese garnish, and serve it with rice or on its own instead of tortillas.

Get the recipe for Braised Lamb Shoulder With Dried Chilies and Dates »

Sous Vide Chicken Breast

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

No roasted meats during Passover? No problem—cooking chicken breast sous vide, followed by a quick sear on the stovetop, ensures that the meat will end up delightfully juicy and tender inside, with nicely browned and crisp skin outside. It can be time-consuming, sure, but almost all of that time is hands-off, freeing you up to prepare other dishes. And, unlike traditional methods, sous vide makes overcooking virtually impossible, thus eliminating the number one risk to chicken breast.

Get the recipe for Sous Vide Chicken Breast »

Crispy Pan-Seared Salmon Fillets

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Sous vide is a fine way to cook salmon, too, but if you don’t have the requisite equipment or if you’re short on time, good old-fashioned pan-searing makes a wonderful simple entrée. The key is carefully drying the fish to keep it from sticking and to get the skin—the best part!—extra crisp. Cooking the fillets most of the way through on one side will heat the fish more gently, keeping it moist and tender.

Get the recipe for Crispy Pan-Seared Salmon Fillets »

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Stellenbosch, South Africa – Culture and Wine Cultivation in the Western Cape

South Africa is a country that is, quite often, devastatingly misunderstood. I was invited to participate in the ‘Stellenblog’ campaign, with the winelands of Stellenbosch being the pivotal base to explore the region. It was soon clear that there was more to the Western Cape than just your standard wine tasting experience…

South Africa, while defined by its two cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg, is also a stage for one of the world’s most exceptional and award-winning wine regions – Stellenbosch.

Said to be the most historically preserved town in South Africa, Stellenbosch is where old Dutch-Colonial charm is infused with energetic University town vibes ­– a heritage-filled, vibrant centre of a mountainous nature basin filled with dozens upon dozens of vineyards and wine estates that stretch for miles.

While many day-trip here from Cape Town, Stellenbosch is a stand-alone destination for a multi-night stay, where you can either use the town as your base or up the photogenic ante and stay in one of the estates overlooking the orchards and flanked by peaks. With trips to Cape Town factored in, the ‘Food & Wine Capital of South Africa’ was my main base for a week of indulgence, culture and adventure combined. Here’s how you can do it too…

Explore Historical Stellenbosch Town

A short 50km from Cape Town, Stellenbosch is the second-oldest town in South Africa, founded in 1679 by Simon van der Stel who was the late governor and father of wine agriculture in the Cape Colony. Peaceful oak tree-lined avenues are filled with Dutch, Georgian and Victorian architecture (including South Africa’s oldest hotel, Oude Werf), boutique stores, bistros and bars, and interlaced with public artworks.

New enterprise gives the town an edgy vibe to its old roots. Blue Crane Coffee is more than a coffee shop, but a coffee ‘lab’ and roaster combined. Love Wine Studio brings a variety of leading wineries together in a chic space. De Warenmarkt is an 18th century historical building in the cultural district awash with all many of feasts and fares, including meats, a juice bar, and an Oyster Bar.

In town you will also find boutique clothing stores, art galleries and outdoor art sculptures, intertwining old architecture with public spaces and the historical pavements. One of my favourites was the ‘Can we Talk for a Minute’ letter and found objects boxes.

Wine Tasting in Stellenbosch – Unique Pairings and Wine Experiences

Rich soils, rainy winters and warm summers provide the perfect terroir for the cultivation of first-class wines, which is what Stellenbosch is predominantly known for. With so many wineries to choose from it can be hard to narrow down which ones to visit. However, there’s more to wine tasting here than the standard swirl, smell and spittoon style.

Stellenbosch is home to unique wine and food pairings, estates that invite you to explore with an adventurous spirit, and eateries on site with an international mix or a quirky twist. Here’s my pick of the estates I visited and the one special thing that makes them stand out.

Delheim Wine Estate – For Wine and Cupcake Pairing

If a Cape Malay feast wasn’t enough to start the evening’s wine tasting with local wine maker, Reg Holder, we were treated to a new take on exploring the vineyard’s flavours – with cupcakes. I’ve always tasted wine with standard cheese or chocolate pairing boards, but the cupcake idea was an original take on combining sweet flavours. The perfect dessert, or even a fancy treat in the day time where you can lounge in the estate’s gardens with a view of Table Mountain.

Spier – For Segway Vineyard Tours

Spier is a popular estate, but one of the best things about it is the fact that this 1,000 hectare estate has a lot to discover beyond the wine-tasting room. One of Stellenbosch’s oldest wine farms, it’s grounds are good for a calming walk, even from the Spier Hotel to the Wine Tasting room, which is lined with 230 indigenous coral trees.

I got to tour the vineyards with friends on a Segway, covering more ground in a short time, and kicking up some adrenalin before wine tasting Spier’s awarded range of blends called Creative Block. The range is inspired by an arts project that combines artworks from different artists to create something altogether different.

And with adventure comes a big appetite, so even if wine indulgence isn’t your thing, Spier is also known for its Afro-Texan BBQ restaurant called the Hoghouse. Save a lot of space, because they also have a craft beer offering. You might need a rest in the estate’s 4-star hotel afterwards.

Avontuur Estate – For Wine and Fudge Pairing

Avontuur is one of South Africa’s top producers of Shiraz wine, which you can sip on in the beautiful national monument of the white manor house. Like our other estate visits, we worked up an appetite for a tasting with a long walk around the estate, with over 12 hectares of white grapes and an old-fashioned trellis system for the Cabernet Sauvignon vines that were planted in the 1980’s at set to a view of the Helderberg mountain range.

It was a good job we did since Avontuur is another estate with a unique wine tasting and pairing offering – this time with fudge and nougat, from nutty flavours to mint and caramel.

Middelvlei Wine Estate – For Wine Making

With a setting of seemingly never-ending manicured farmland, and a sunset stage that’s one of the most colourful, an evening at Middelvlei was time well spent.

Not just for the braai feast, but for the hilarious fun that ensued with the friendly competition that came from wine making – three teams mixing their own varieties of Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon ratios, as judged by the Momberg family themselves. A family of wine-makers since 1919, you could say they know their stuff, especially when it comes to bottling your very own blend in style.

Jordan Wine Estate – For a Vineyard Safari

We came to call Jordan home for a few days, in modern cabin style rooms set within 146 hectares of farmland. The landscape appeared to spread for miles, and in layers that eventually reached the mountains. Here the vineyards lay at differing altitudes from 160 to 410 m above sea level, and face all directions.

So with such an expanse of land creating enough temptation for exploration, the best way to see it was on wheels. More specially, in a safari 4×4 to the raucous gaggle of happy friends for company, otherwise known as a ‘Vineyard Safari’. This involves driving around the bends and slopes of this unique terrain, parking up, sipping on some of Jordans’ best blends to a panoramic view, before moving on and repeating.

Rozendal – Where Acidic Wines Became a Vinegar Empire

From wine came some of the most tasty vinegar blends in the regions, including those infused with local fynbos and lavender. We took a trip to the Rozendal estate, once famed for its Bordeaux blends before the owner, Kurt Ammann began experimenting with the dedicated process of vinegar making after discovering his 1988 vintage contained too much volatile acidity.

The story is about how flawed wine became a ‘happy accident’, with the slow and precise techniques still continued today with Kurt’s children now producing vinegar first established by their father.

Delaire Graff Estate – For a Flagship Estate Experience

Delaire Graff combines the exquisiteness of fine food in flagship restaurants and leading wines, with boutique stores and art, all under one roof in the Stellenbosch valleys. Our evening began with prosecco by the fireplace in a grand living room after catching the sunset, before moving on to a multi-course dinner.

Tokara – For Olive Oil Tasting

Olive groves filled with artworks, flanked by mountain ranges. Tokara is a highlight for olive oil enthusiasts wanting to sample the award-winning Extra Virgin varietal, or those who like to breakfast or brunch in the most chic of spaces. Its Deli is a spacious, modern outlet with picture perfect views across the rolling groves.

Stellenbosch Vineyards – For a Bus Stop Themed Lunch

On our final day in Stellenbosch, one last wine tasting session was in order of course, where we sampled the very best Pinotage blends especially. But like all other wineries we had visited, there was a little extra something that accompanied the experience and made it stand out – in this case, a big, yellow traditional school bus. The Bus Stop is a new ‘food truck’ dining experience at the Stellenbosch Vineyards bringing together the very best burgers, pizzas and waffles in a bus stop themed dining area, with the bus being, of course, the bar!

Plans are to take the big yellow bus on the road and bring the Vineyard’s fruity blends to surrounding neighbourhoods, festivals and private events.

Stellenbosch is not only renowned for its award wining blends, but is known for its innovation in how it presents these wines and the region to the world. The concept of wine tasting is changing, attracting a younger crowd, those with a sweeter tooth, and those looking to combine with adventurous activities and modern, quirky dining concepts.

Just remember…you saw it in Stellenbosch first.

Things to Know:

Getting to South Africa:

I flew from Munich to Johannesburg and then onto Cape Town via South African Airways. *NOTE: You have to have one or two BLANK passport pages in your passport for entry into South Africa. I learnt the hard way, not being allowed on my first flight and embarking on a last-minute emergency round trip from Munich to London to sort a one-day passport processing!

Where to Stay in Stellenbosch:

In Stellenbosch town you can stay in Oude Werf Hotel – a former churchyard turned 58-roomed hotel, and the oldest hotel in South Africa. Located right in the heart of Stellenbosch, it combines a contemporary twist on a traditional setting, with everything in town on your doorstep.

How to get to Stellenbosch from Cape Town:

50km from Cape Town, it takes approximately 30 minutes to reach the Western Cape winelands region from the Mother City. Coastal hangouts are just 15 minutes away, should Stellenbosch be your main base and you want a combination of big city, pristine beach and nature.

If driving, you can take the N1 from Cape Town via the R304, R44 or R300 and M12, or the N2 via the R44 or R31O. However, coaches and hire cars are available as well as trips and tours. Self-driving is recommended in order to see more of the region. We used First Car Rental during our time there.

When to go to Stellenbosch:

September to April marks the summer period, with temperatures reaching into the 30’s.

Trips and Tours in and around Stellenbosch:

Should you want to guide to explore the town (which is easy enough to explore self-guided) or to get out into the wider reaches of the winelands for township tours or adventure activities, visit the Stellenbosch 360 office in town for further information on excursions, guides and itineraries available.

For further information on what to see and do, eat and drink, and how to get the most out of your time in the Western Cape winelands, visit the Stellenbosch Travel website, or read further stories and watch the videos on the dedicated ‘Stellenblog’ Stellenbosch Experience website – the project of which I was a part of.

The post Stellenbosch, South Africa – Culture and Wine Cultivation in the Western Cape appeared first on Borders Of Adventure.

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Cooking Red Wine Demi-Glace Sauce With Steak (Recipe, Tips and Wines)

Meaty sauces with rich earthy undertones and accurate textures and viscosity are every meat lovers favorite. But, what happens when you pop open a bottle of red wine while making that savory sauce? It gets a hundred times better and turns into the classic Red Wine Demi-Glace Sauce!

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Red Wine Demi

What is Demi-Glace Sauce?

Selecting the Wine

How to Make Red Wine Demi Sauce at Home

What Does This Sauce Go Best With?

Red Wine Demi Mother Sauce – Bordelaise

Red Wine Mushroom Demi Glace Recipe

Demi Glace Substitutes

Bon Appétit!

Red Wine Demi

Red wine demi is a popular accompaniment to a range of meats and has a rich, brown consistency. This sauce is known as Marchand de Vin or red wine reduction sauce in some regions and is simply delicious with roasts and steaks.

Purists may raise their eyebrows here, but once you see a few simple recipes here, your taste buds will be won over.

What is Demi-Glace Sauce?

If you have heard some popular sauces names like mushroom demi glace, peppercorn demi glace, etc., and are wondering what really is this constantly recurring ‘demi glace’, then I must tell you that is a big deal in the world of culinary sauces.

Demi-glace is basically a rich, concentrated yet viscous brown sauce that is simmered with patience and care until it turns into a beautiful glaze which has a meaty flavor in its backdrop and complements almost every main dish it accompanies.

It tastes amazing with red meats specifically and adds a signature next level to grilled steaks and roasts too. It is traditionally made by roasting meat bones, mainly beef and veal, and extracting the stock from them by constant simmering and reducing.

This meaty brown stock is then combined with Espagnole sauce in the ratio 1:1 and the mixture is slowly reduced to half its volume. A lot of care is taken so as to not burn over the sauce.

These days, however, one can cut short the steps and enjoy an equally rewarding sauce by combining available beef stock and the classic Espagnole sauce and reducing it to half. You absolutely do not have to make it from scratch, therefore. Demi-glace is, therefore, unofficially a classic French sauce, though not included in the 5 mother sauces.

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Selecting the Wine

We hunted down the best recipe and fortunately got acquainted with and tried out this simple Red Wine Demi Glace Recipe inspired by Julia Child. But before we share this cracking recipe with you, some advice over wine selection is imperative.

Picking out the right red wine for your sauce is as important as that thickening agent you pick up for your sauces and soups.

We recommend incorporating some smooth yet bold fruity and zesty flavors into your sauce through new world wines. The savory notes of meat are subtly cut by the sugar and the spiciness is complemented with the fruity nectar. To name a few, the California Zinfandel and Washington Syrah are perfect for this.

If you are looking for a taste of the old gold times, then a Sherry or Madeira cannot be defeated. If you are looking for your red wine demi to go seamlessly with mushrooms and beef then old world Spanish and French wines are the best way to go.

A Cabernet Sauvignon will greatly complement such flavor profiles as well.

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How to Make Red Wine Demi Sauce at Home

Now for making the ultimate sauce – all you need is to first grab a heavy-bottomed large pan and melt some butter in it.

Once the butter has completely melted, add the beef/veal stock to it and let it simmer for a few minutes. Add an equal portion of red wine to this stock and bring it to a boil.

Turn down the heat and allow the mix to simmer and reduce until it has become half of its previous volume. Strain or remove the scum that accumulates on top.

Once the volume has considerably gone down, check if it has reached demi-glace state by dipping a spoon. If the back of the spoon is thoroughly coated and the sauce has reached a semi-viscous state, then voila!

Your sauce is ready! Add more butter if needed and chop up some rosemary and thyme to add to it.

What Does This Sauce Go Best With?

An addition of shallots and mushrooms in the red wine demi sauce while preparation, lends an even more beautiful texture and taste. The aroma is enriched as well as the savory flavor. Now once you have your sauce ready, what do you pair it with?

Most commonly, chefs prepare red wine sauce for filet mignon, which is an expensive cut of beef meat and tastes sumptuous if slow roasted over a wire rack to perfection. Other meats this sauce is perfect as an accompaniment for are pork, chicken and duck.

Mushroom demi glace chicken and red wine demi glace for pork are two traditional exemplary recipes.

All in all, the sauce of the day is apt for a Barbeque fiesta in your backyard with the most delicious meats to savor.

Red Wine Demi Mother Sauce – Bordelaise

In case you are unaware, there are 5 classic French sauces that are the mothers and fathers of all the sauces in the world. They have been around for centuries and their recipes are best left untouched. Our sauce of the day finds its roots in the classic Bordelaise Sauce.

Bordelaise is a classic steak sauce which is also reduced to a demi-glace to render a flavor bomb and is named after the Bordeaux region of France that is famous for its superior wines.

This brown sauce too has an exceptional meaty flavor which goes down well with poached and sliced beef marrow. Shallots, bay leaves, thyme, red/white wine, peppercorns, butter and meat stock is required to build this sauce.

Other classic French Sauces are – Veloute, Béchamel, tomato and Hollandaise.

Red Wine Mushroom Demi Glace Recipe

There are easily over a hundred modern and traditional sauce recipes that draw their inspiration from and have at their core the red wine demi glace. We surfed through dozens of sauce recipes using demi glace and red wine demi glace to finally get across our most favorite rendition of it - another classic and very popular red wine and wild mushroom sauce.

It goes like this – in a skillet, place some butter and oil and heat until they start to foam.

Chop up some shallots and add to the pan, sauté for 2-3 minutes until they soften up. To this, add some sliced and halved mushrooms - oyster, shitake, white, and sprinkle some thyme, salt and pepper.

Stir for a few minutes and then add the red wine; continue stirring while the alcohol evaporates. Once this thickens up, pour in beef juices and stock and stir some more till everything combines well.

You can add some cream and butter once the concoction has cooled down and season according to your taste preferences.

Chives can also be added optionally and believe us, this recipe is worth trying out!

Demi Glace Substitutes

All the above sauces and their renditions can prove to be very complicated to make and savor at home. Our home cooks, therefore, get another trick from us – substitutes.

No matter what your issue or apprehension, from the usage of bones to the usage of leftover beef gravy, this place has got it all covered.

Whether it is concentrating your glace sauce or substituting the recipe with vinegar, sherry or cornstarch to make it even simpler and flavor-packed, you can brew up some sauce of your own.

Bon Appétit!

In conclusion, we hope that this article has been helpful to you in learning something new about French sauces, particularly about the Red Wine Demi Glace Sauce.

We are sure that with these classic tips and tricks along with the foundations will help you perfect these classics while also shaking them up with some twists of your own. Bon Appétit!

The post Cooking Red Wine Demi-Glace Sauce With Steak (Recipe, Tips and Wines) appeared first on Gordan Ladd's Kitchen.

Journal of Fermentation Technology

Industrial fermentation involves microorganisms like fungi and bacteria to make products that are of benefit to man. The OMICS journal of fermentation technology sheds light on advances in the respective field of fermentation searches and the steps involved in making fermentation process efficient for commercial and industrial applications. The biotechnology fermentation process involves growing a large number of fungi in a reservoir or tank, and is used to make several herbs like Cordyceps and Ganoderma more occurring, which are otherwise rare. It is noted by scientists and researchers to achieve standardization that is essential for pharmaceutical practice. Growth media are required for industrial fermentation, since any microbe requires water, and fermentation also generates bio-ethanol that is also important in semi-industrialized economies. Using bio-fermentation, products can be created at a lower cost. The ethanol produced through fermentation is a co-solvent of the non-polar compound that is insoluble in water, as the pigments from grape skin produce a distinct aroma and fragrance. Wine-making involves a separate process of fermentation that involves interaction of yeast with grape juice to create ethanol. Fermentation may be done in stainless steel tanks, barrel or wooden vat; and inside the wine bottle itself that happens in case of sparkling wines. The process of whole grape fermentation the grapes fermentation is encouraged to take place inside the individual grape berries instead of wheat being added; and this approach is followed in the creation of the Beaujolais wine. The process of carbonic maceration works by enzymes within the grape breaking down the cellular matter to produce soft and fruity beverages. White wine is fermented between 18-20 °C, though a wine maker may decide about a higher temperature. Vegetables and citrus foods can be placed in vinegar and salty water. Fermentation takes place and the resulting aroma changes the nature and coloration of the vegetables like cucumber. The production of industrial alcohol should overcome brewing industry challenges and follows the trend in usage of continuous culture. It is possible to optimize a continuous system such that optimum productivity of a metabolite should be achieved. A consideration of the kinetics of continuous culture reveals that the system favors the propagation of the best-adapted organism in a culture. Before the fermentation is started the medium is formulated and sterilized, along with the fermenter, and a starter culture that present in ample is needed to drive the process. The product has to be purified downstream of the fermenter. Many secondary metabolites exhibit antimicrobial properties and, therefore, may be involved in competition in the natural such as idiophase cultures. The physiological role of secondary metabolism continues to be the subject of discussions and deliberations among the scientists and researchers.

The superiority of continuous culture for biomass production is encouraging, but for other processes, there are several disadvantages that might not even go in line with the improved process control. Fed-batch culture may be used to achieve a considerable degree of process control and to extend the productive period of a traditional batch process without the inherent disadvantages of continuous culture. The OMICS Publishing Group, based in the US, aims at sharing scientific knowledge by publication of research articles in journals, organizing international conferences, and developing eBooks for free availability of knowledge to the scientific learners and researchers.

from JournalsLINE http://journalsline.com/2017/05/09/journal-of-fermentation-technology/ from Journals LINE https://journalsline.tumblr.com/post/160482383625

#WineSquad

Welcome to WineSquad!

The concept is super simple, once a month I’ll get together a bunch of awesome people in Joburg around a wine centered event and I’ll write about it here. Updating you on all the good good we find and drinking copious amounts of wine so that you don’t have to.

Whether it’s going to a wine show or pairing champagne and chicken wings WineSquad will be about sharing the goodness of wine with good people.

Our first WineSquad for the year was a blind tasting of supermarket white wines for less than R50. Everyone brought a bottle, they were labeled in the back and served in an unmarked decanter. The wines were scored out of 5.

Two non-supermarket wines were mixed in, one a reference point and the other as a  treat from  Canada.

Somewhat surprisingly the top two performing wines were our non-supermarket wines the Backsberg  John Martin Reserve 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, our reference wine  with an average score of  3.01. This was closely followed by our WineSquad treat wine, a Canadian Ice Wine from the NC Teaching  Winery in Ontario with a score of 2.8.

The other wines weren’t all that far behind and the Spier Chardonnay was the top supermarket wine with 2.7, followed by the 2016 Spier Peachy Chenin Blanc at 2.6 narrowly beating out the Graca White Wine at 2.5.

The best-represented winery at the event was Spier with 3 bottles up for tasting. In fact, two people actually brought the same wine so we only opened 2 of the Spier bottles.

The blind tasting removed a lot of the prejudices we would have otherwise had. And I was really surprised by the complexity of nose on the Graca because my standards were very low. The abundance of Spier showed the power of branding and just how well the vineyard has cornered the “wine that’s affordable but that you’re not embarrassed to bring to dinner” market. It was also interesting to see that doubling the price of the wine didn’t really change the enjoyment factor all that much.

Here are rankings and detail about the wine:

#1 Backsberg  John Martin Reserve Sauvignon Blanc

Vintage: 2016

Price: R96.00

Appearance: Straw, delicate pine, an opaque yellow, cloudy runoff

Nose: Toasty, lightly wooded, cheese in your pocket that you find two days later, fruity and floral, unimpressive,  subtle pithiness, wet cotton, gunpowder, rocky

Taste:  A balanced flavour with minerality and high acidity, that holds floral notes and a touch of white and green fruits.

Finish: Creamy, crisp, and dry

Sounds Like : Florence+ the machine at Diwali listening to Stimela

Total Score: 3.01

WS COMMENT : It’s good and fancy, and you can take it to dinner with your boss but if the people drinking aren’t wine people it won’t be all that impressive.

#2 NC Teaching Winery Ice Wine

Vintage: 2012

Price: unknown

Appearance: Rooibos red,  tea, rosey substance, burnt orange

Nose: sweet oak, rubbing alcohol, toffee apple, chutney, jamy, cognac, apricot

Taste: Sweet syrupy perfumed alcohol, sickly sweet, maple syrup, cough syrupy

Finish: syrupy, slow fireworks , happy feeling, toffee, overwhelming

Sounds Like: A party , Spice Girls- If you wanna be my lover

Total Score: 2.8

WS COMMENT : Some people really liked it and some people hated it. If you like sweet dessert wines/ ports this will be delicious. If you don’t it won’t convince you. (Two people left blank score sheets and that may have biased the wine’s final ranking towards the people who were all about it).

#3 Spier Chardonnay

Vintage: 2016

Price:  R54.00

Appearance: Golden, white as heaven, golden sunset, golden straw

Nose: Asparagus, green pepper, slightly burnt leafy greens, bold and herbaceous,

Taste: Crisp, fruity, spiced wood, sour, soft syrup

Finish: Sparkle, smooth, full-bodied

Sounds Like: Waves crashing, Girl put your records on- Corrine Bailey Rae, old people listening to music late in the afternoon

Total Score:2.7

WS COMMENT : It’s really pleasant it’s easy, a very good starter Chardonnay for people who don’t like that butterscotch beehive vibe, take it with you on a picnic.

#3 Spier Peachy Chenin Blanc

Vintage: 2016

Price: R42.95

Appearance: Gold with a hint of green, weak apple juice, light Canola oil, delicate straw

Nose: Unripe mango, green pepper, gooseberries, grass, petrol, perfume, sharp, woody, acidic, fruity and floral

Taste: Tropical fruit, silky, a bit harsh, fruity, the first year of working, light caramel, bitter

Finish: spicy vinegar, smooth, citrus, alcohol, dry, fresh, bitter

Sounds Like:  A blonde in heels, a bar at 2am, chilled listening to some blues, Annie are you ok, pop music, a pop song I don’t like but dance to anyway

Total Score: 2.6

WS COMMENT: The idea that it tastes like the first year of working is pretty accurate. It’s a wine you buy when you’ve graduated from Four Cousins and want nice things but you’re not quite sure what those nice things are yet.

#5 Graca White NV

Vintage: 2015

Price: R39.50

Appearance: Potholder straw, soft yellow, pale gold, pale blonde

Nose: Fruity, sweet tropical, citrus, gooseberries, fresh, grassy , cucumber, slate, lemongrass

Taste: Sour, prickles the tongue with high acidity, guava, monkey fruit, smooth, prickly pear, clerical

Finish: Sour, soft , almost crisp, slightly fruity , tart

Sounds Like: Kirstenbosch Sunset concert, Oliver Mutukuzi ( a bit rough but really good), a lazy war

Total Score: 2.5

WS COMMENT: Some people really really like it. Some really really hate it. If people don’t know it’s Graca the same people will still love it and the rest will still hate it.

                                       *******The END******

  ***If you scroll a little further down  the page you’ll see that I  stopped writing about wine a few years ago. The reason I stopped was because the industry just didn’t seem like a nice place. A lot of the people I met weren’t any fun and focused on promoting wine as an exclusionary enjoyment practice. Which is definitely not the reason I drink. So, I had to spend a while figuring out how to share my love of wine with people in a way that makes sense to me. And that’s the WineSquad origin story.