Friday Nights IN: Basque Food and Argentinian Wine for a Crowd

Friday Nights IN is a regular feature at GWU$20 that's intended to trim a few dollars from your entertaining budget by replacing a meal out with a meal in. Some suggestions are dinners for four, six, eight, or even ten. Some are for romantic dinners for two. And some suggestions are perfect for when you need time to yourself!

This week's Friday Nights IN suggestion is to have a crowd over and cook a hearty, soothing, flavorful meal inspired by the cuisine of the Basque region with an opulent wine from Argentina. How many is a crowd? Well, that depends on you, but the recipes below feed 10 people. With that many people heading over, why not let other guests bring the salad, the dessert, the appetizers, and some bread? Of course, you can always half the recipe. I did, and it worked just fine! The estimated cost for this main dish? $43. For ten people. Try to get that much bang for your buck in a restaurant.

The Recipe: a Basque-inspired dish of tender chicken braised in a piperade sauce, served alongside some homemade steak fries tossed with Spanish smoked pimenton? Food & Wine featured this recipe in their January 2009 issue. This is an absolutely delicious meal that tastes like restaurant food and is easy and inexpensive to make. In our house, it won the highest recipe rating, "repeater," which is reserved for those meals that we would be happy to see over and over again.

The Wine: with such a flavorful meal, you want a flavorful wine. I'd suggest the very good QPR 2007 Clos de los Siete by Michael Rolland (available for $12-$20). This wine is still a bit young, so I'd open it and pour it in the glasses about 30 minutes before you sit down to dinner to make the most of its plummy aromas and flavors. In addition to the plums, expect to smell some licorice. The treats continue in the flavors, where raisin and fig notes complement the opulent plumminess of the wine. This wine is blended from Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah grapes and takes much more complex than its price tag would suggest. With ten people coming over, you will want to buy at least two bottles (that's one glass per person), and increase it from there if you want to pour second glasses.

Full Disclosure: I received this wine as a sample.

WBW #53: Wine for Breakfast

Welcome to the 53rd Wine Blogging Wednesday, the online tasting event started years and years ago by Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours.

Today, our host is el Jefe, one of the fertile brains behind Twisted Oak Winery. As those of you who know Twisted Oak might imagine, el Jefe picked a theme that was unusual: what dry red or white wine goes with breakfast?

I just couldn't imagine dry wine and French toast, pancakes, or anything else sweet. So I though about eggs--specifically a healthy goat chesse and red pepper frittata. And, I thought about one of my favorite brunchy-items that is NOT exactly healthfood but sure is delicious: ooey-gooey-cheesey-savory Welsh rabbit. What wine, I wondered, would go with these breakfast foods?

Sauvignon Blanc was the answer. So I popped open the 2006 Sean Minor Wines Four Bears Sauvignon Blanc from the Dry Creek Valley (available from the winery for $14; available from other merchants for around $15). Sean Minor and his wife Nicole named their wines in honor of their four energetic children (or at least they look energetic in the pictures!). They source their grapes from top-notch producers and sell it for affordable prices--which makes them a label to watch out for if you are a GWU$20 reader.

The 2006 Sauvignon Blanc impressed me with its excellent QPR. Delicious aromas of pink grapefruit and star fruit give way to a refreshing yet still round palate of fresh figs and lime zest. It was a very well-made, unusually complex domestic Sauvignon Blanc that will please anyone looking for a wine that is fresh without being assertive or acidic.

And it went just great with "breakfast," too. So if you are serving something cheesy or eggy, with plenty of savory notes, this wine would be a perfect partner for it.

Thanks to el Jefe for a WBW theme almost as twisted as he is! See you back here next month for WBW #54.

Full Disclose: I received this wine as a sample.

Washington State Wine Resources

One of my 2009 Wine Resolutions was to explore Washington State's wine. (image from Hospitality & Wine Education)

In case any readers want to follow along, here's an alphabetical list of the wine resources I've found on the web. Happy surfing--and join me in exploring this US wine region over the coming months.

Go Taste Wine's Washington Wine Country Map: a clickable map with all the major regions.

MikeL's Guide to Washington Wineries: easily navigable site, with maps, wine tour itineraries, and an alphabetical list of all wineries in the state.

Through the Walla Walla Grape Vine: Catie the Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman's blog, with reviews and wine happenings.

Washington Wine Commission: a great guide to Washington state's wineries, grape growers, and wine regions. Perfect for relative newbies (like me).

Washington Wine Country: another site with tour itineraries, a guide to regions, and more.

Washington Wine Report: this blog was recommended to me by a reader, Domino, and I am glad they left a comment! This is a terrific blog, and writer Sean Sullivan provides focused, thoughtful reviews.

Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman: an online wine shop specializing in Washington state wines.

Wine Peeps: The Seattle-based daughter and father duo Kori and John give Washington wine terrific coverage. One of their latest articles focused on the best wine shops in the state. A frequent stop of mine, Wine Peeps is one of the best-informed and thorough wine blogs on the 'net. If you haven't checked it out, you should! They also pay particular attention for wines that deliver bang for the buck, so GWU$20 readers will find a lot to like.

Write for Wine...Washington Wine Wench: a blog dedicated to Washington wine and wine happenings.

If you have any other recommended Washington State Wine Resources that I've missed, please leave them in the comments below.

A Petite Sirah for a Petite Price

I love Petite Sirah--especially the big, luscious kind produced in California, with their fruity aromas and flavors of notes of chocolate and coffee.

Unfortunately many Petite Sirahs come with a hefty price tag--at least the ones that are worth drinking do.

I was thrilled, therefore, to find the 2005 Lot 205 Petite Sirah from Cartlidge & Brown. It's a very good QPR option if you like Petite Sirah but often find the cost is a bit too high for comfort. Available for between $9 and $12, this wine had jammy aromas of raspberry and blueberry compote. The palate was a touch leaner, with flavors of forest fruits and spices. The aftertaste had hints of mocha, which made this wine far above the norm when it comes to budget Petite Sirahs. As an added plus, this wine was lower in alcohol than many Petite Sirahs at 13.5% alc/vol.

This tasty, accessible wine would be perfect with any soup or stew. We had it with a triple-red pork stew, the official name of which is Ragout Prebonata. Pork and red wine, slowly cooked in the oven, was combined with a tomato and garlic sauce and sauteed red peppers cooked in a red wine reduction. It was delicious with this hearty red.

Full Disclosure: I received this wine as a sample.

Today on Serious Grape: Breaking Out of Your Wine Rut

Are you in a wine rut? Are you so deep in your wine rut you don't even realize it?

It's easy to let this happen. One day you're curious about wine, and the next you wake up and discover that you've had nothing but Zinfandel for three months. Not that there's anything wrong with Zin! But variety is the spice of life--or so we're told. (photo by poolie)

If you fear you are in a wine rut, head over to today's Serious Grape column, my weekly contribution to the food blog Serious Eats, and check out my three suggestions so that you can make sure 2009 is not only a new year--it's a new wine year, too. Pick one suggestion, and make it your New Year's wine resolution.

While we're at it--anyone want to confess that they're in a wine rut? If so, leave your thoughts in the comments section below.