Pasta - A look inside

Being of German/English descent and an American Southern, pasta was never much of a staple on our table growing up. Mom did make a helava good lasagna with scratch homemade sauce but that was it.   Now, while my tastes have evolved and I eat more varieties, I have a new prospective having just completed a 2 hour pasta making class with a full blooded American Italian.

Melina of http://www.melinaspasta.com/ is the one at the Kitchen Aid in the this pic.  You can read Melina's story here: http://www.melinaskitchen.com/story/ and she has a great little business selling fresh made pastas at the local farmer's markets here in the Triad.  

April and I just completed one of her pasta making classes and we had a blast. Melina showed us the old technique for rolling and stretching the dough to thin it by hand which is a lot of work.  The had crank and electric Kitchen Aid are much better. :)  

We played with several different types of ravioli makers as well as an  Italian Chitarra pasta cutter, a Gnocchi board and Garganelli comb.

After we made the dough by hand and thinned it into sheets, we got to cut different shapes either by hand or with one of the machines or using one of the tools for ravioli and the garganelli  pasta.  I sort knew what to expect of the class but having access to Melina's stories and experience was awesome.  I highly recommend her class even if you know what to make pasta.  

Off to the market ----

First Snow Tracks

Little Man Lawton's first treak onto the snow.  Wide eyed and fearless, he scurries around the wooden deck in amazement to the marks he can leave with each step he takes.

Blending Party

Had some friends over today to help decide what blend would work best with a batch of Viognier and Blackberry that was ready to bottle.

The blackberry is from some berries my dad grew last year.  Since I fermented it to very dry it needed to be sweetened.  I thought it would be fun to get some input.  We also blended some of the blackberry with the Viognier We had a blast.

Saturday Afternoon Wine Tasting

Today was a beautiful day.  April and I spent the morning on some small repair jobs around her family farm and when we finished early I thought, we should pay a visit to Grove Winery.  We don't get out their way much so it was a real treat. Grove wines are more of a European style and stand out in a great way among the more traditional California styles.

I am so glad we stopped in. John was a great host as always.  I really get a sense of the wines from his descriptions even before tasting them.  We were treated to some new releases not even labeled yet.  The 2010 Cab Franc is awesome and I can't wait for it to be available for sale next year.  We were also treated to the new 2011 Tempranillo.  This one will be limited due to a dismal 2012 Temprnillo harvest.

If you are looking for a fresh take on Merlot, Grove has it.  They do an outstanding job bringing out the fruitiness of this grape balanced with just enough oak.  Hard to pick a favorite but at the top of the list is their Nebbiolo.  I love a full bodied wine and this Italian grape works well for them.

Is your wine tasting being diluted?

Water is not your friend when it comes to wine tastings.  I still remember the time at one of my favorite wineries in North Georgia, Wolf Mountain, when the attendant refused to allow me to rinse my glass with water. I almost felt scolded but he taught me a valuable lesson.  After we finished the whites he poured a few drops of the next wine, a red, for us to  rinse with.  This was some years ago and the practice does not seem to have caught on, at least not here in North Carolina.  Maybe it has to do with the perceived lose of revenue or just plain not knowing better.  I was glad when I saw this article today from another blogger on the topic with the same opinion as I.  You can check it out here: http://tablascreek.typepad.com/tablas/2012/11/when-wine-tasting-step-away-from-the-carafe.html

Water is rarely added at all during the production process, why would you want to add it during a tasting?  Tasting samples are so small that a few drops of water can have huge impact on the flavor profile of any wine far more so that a bit of white wine in the glass.

I suggest you either rinse with a red or don't rinse at all and try to remove as much of the previous white wine as possible.  I will sometimes run a napkin in the glass if I have one handy.

Grove Winery World of Flavor Dinner

What a night.  My wife April and I just had one of the best nights out we have had in a while.  It started off with a wonderful surprise from RedWineDiva with tickets to the World of Flavors Dinner at Grove Winery.  Grove Winery is located in Gibsonville, NC and this was their first of what I hope to be annual dinner pairing some of their wines with foods from different wine regions. 

The night was kicked off with a melody of music from all the different wine regions being showcased by Gary Brunotte.  While Gary is an accomplished jazz pianist he brought his accordion and transported us to each of the wine regions with traditional and not so traditional music.  Some of the diners were even moved to dance.

Award winning Chef Mitchell Nicks of Muse Catering started us off with a Trip to France where he paired Grove's unoaked Chardonnay with a Neufchatel Cheese, Tomatoes and Crisp Prosciutto stuffed artichoke heat. This French Chablis-style of Chardonnay with its clean finish complicated the delicate flavors of the artichoke hearts.   Then it was off to Spain with a Catalan Tomato Bread that was paired with the Tempranillo.  I especially loved the white anchovy.  This estate grown grape is the primary grape in Spanish Rioja wines and I am a big fan.  Grove does a great job of capturing the traditional Spanish style of this grape. Love it. We took home three bottles after dinner.

There were three main courses from Germany, Italy and North Carolina.  The Grove Traminette, a German style of grape was paired with a German style braised pork shoulder atop a bed of German Sauerkraut.  We were very surprised by the strong floral nose and honeysuckle notes of this wine and it paired nicely with the tender white pork and kraut.  The Italian style Sangiovese known best for the Italian Chianti was a perfect match for a very traditional Tortellini Bolognese adding the perfect touch of smokiness to the dish.   Finally we came back to North Carolina with a wonderfully slow braised boneless short rib that was braised and paired with the Grove’s Norton.  A native American grape, Norton held up well to the richness of the short ribs with its slight tartness and big fruit flavors. 

Thank you John and Max for a great time.  I highly recommend Grove Winery for some of the best wines North Carolina has to offer.

Fall is in the air

Last night's temps were in the mid 50's giving way to my deep desire to fire up the charcoal grill.  The meat: fresh ground chicken mixed with local ground beef and lamb. Mix in a bit of homemade chili spice rub and the result was some of the juices flavorful burgers I have ever made.  It felt good to be standing over a fire tending to flare ups and inhaling the aroma of flamed grilled burgers.  Add to that a local Merlot from Chatham Hill Winery from Morrisville and it does not get much better.