Easy Manicotti and A Great Bordeaux

Alright, the title is kind of false advertising, because I didn't actually drink the Bordeaux with the manicotti. I made flat iron steak on Saturday night and we opened a 2001 Bordeaux that had actually been allowed to age in our pantry for years. Oh my. What a lovely, delicate balance -- smooth on the palate with a subtle, sophisticated flavor. I still need training to recognize exactly what I'm tasting. If someone says "currants and black pepper" I'll be able to distinguish those flavors but can't think of what I'm tasting on my own. Yet. I am enjoying the wine-tasting experience, and I intend to learn as much as I can without ending up in rehab in the process.

Flat iron steak is really good if it's marinated. I've tried it both marinated and not, and it definitely benefits from soaking in wine or some other type of marinade. This time I mixed red wine, olive oil, garlic (of course!), fresh rosemary, and a little dry mustard, and let the steak marinate for about an hour. Then I grilled it for about 5-7 minutes each side, and it was delicious! I served it with a red wine mushroom sauce that sort of came about accidentally. I was cooking the mushrooms as I usually do, with salt, pepper, garlic, and a little white wine, when I remembered that I wanted to make a red wine sauce for the steak but it was a little late. So I dumped some red wine into the mushrooms, added a little arrowroot to thicken it and then finished by stirring a pat of butter into it. It was quite passable and received good reviews from the family.

Now on to the manicotti: last week I was bored with the usual dinners and when I saw a package of manicotti tubes at Albertson's, I bought them and tried to decide what to fill them with. I didn't want anything super-heavy on the stomach, so decided against Italian sausage or ground beef. Spinach and ricotta alone would not fly with the kids, so I thought about the package of frozen ground turkey that I'd been saving for Sloppy Joes. I browned the turkey with chopped garlic and onion, seasoned the mixture with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, added some ricotta cheese that I had left over from the last batch of lasagna and a little of the shredded six-cheese Italian blend that Albertson's sells, and stuffed the manicotti with that mixture. I WAS going to make homemade Alfredo sauce to put on top, but I was in a hurry (as usual), so just dumped spaghetti sauce on it, sprinkled more cheese on top, and shoved it in the oven for 30 minutes. It was really delicious! I was pleasantly surprised. I got a thumbs up from one kid and thumbs down from the other, which means I'll make it again and tweak it a bit to see if I can get the almost impossible thumbs up from both of them. I'm an incurable optimist.

First Wine Tasting of the New Year at Parker Wine Cellars!

The New Year started off beautifully at Parker Wine Cellars with a taste of the wines of Castoro Cellars, out of Paso Robles, California. My Aunt Mona and cousins Jane and Tom live in Paso Robles, so the name immediately brings up good feelings. Familial considerations notwithstanding, the Paso Robles area turns out wonderful wines. The last time I visited California (July 2010), I drove through the wine vineyards and marveled at the beautifully symmetrical rows of grapevines, lovingly and carefully tended.

We sampled:

2008 MUSCAT CANELLI~~ A much maligned grape over the years that when done right, can serve a great purpose. It's popularity in California is on the rise while in Texas it's grown just about everywhere. Starting with a very floral nose dominated by honeysuckle, the wine hits the palate with layers of ripe peach, honey and a touch of creme brulee. Minimal residual sugar shows some sweetness that balances with ripe fruit and very low acid. The finish is medium length even for a fairly light wine. Best served as an apertif and not a dessert style wine but would also work very well with spicy food. (MY NOTE: This was an AMAZING wine! It was lightly sweet, not syrupy or heavy. I was surprised at how much I loved it and at only $9.99, it's a real bargain.)

2008 "ZINFUSION"~~ A wonderful little wine that certainly intrigues your palate with a lot of flavor and a lot of fun. This super little wine harks back to the old style Zins that aren't overly alcoholed and hit the palate a little brighter. A blend of Zinfandel from three different vineyards, the Lojocano, Whale Rock and Shell Creek Vineyards where each one brings a different style of this finicky grape. A nose of raspberry, and earthy red plum explodes on the palate with oodles of blackberry, pepper and spicy fig that meld together seamlessly for sips of pleasure. The finish is quite lengthy and shows a balance of acid and muscle that covers the 15.3 alcohol. Not subtle and quite frankly could work well with a nice juicy Rib-eye grilled to perfection. Only 509 cases produced. (MY NOTE: I enjoy Zinfandel on occasion, but it's not my favorite wine. Zinfusion, however, got my attention and held it with its complex, bold flavors.)

2006 VENTI CINQUE ANNI~~ OK, for you non Latin types, simply put, Twenty Fifth Anniversary. A Blend of Small lots from some of the exquisite vineyards in P.R. that include 34% Zinfandel, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Syrah, 9% Petit Verdot, and 9% Malbec, this big boy delivers in style. A nose of earthy dark fruits and pepper wafts through your sinuses that seems to make the palate jealous. When satiated, your palate then does a happy dance around the ripe plum, black currant, vanilla and white pepper that races up and down your tongue front to back. The finish is quite lengthy as expected and easily shows off a balance of acid and a muscled structure that tells you that it is good now, but has room to get even better. Versatile in which is is really good just enjoying on its own, but could sit quite comfortably on a dinner table of hearty food. (MY NOTE: One word: YUMMMM. This is a GREAT wine and perfect for this time of year along with a good beef stew or leg of lamb with Yorkshire pudding or, as Jeff suggests, on its own, perhaps in front of a roaring fire. It was REALLY cold today and snowed, so my mind is on the concept of keeping warm.)