Van Ruiten Family Vineyards has been setting the standard for exceptionally grown wine grapes for over fifty years! Located midway between the Sierra Foothills and the San Francisco Bay Delta, this celebrated family winery is nestled in Lodi off of Highway 12. Since the winery’s inception, the Van Ruitens have been producing award-winning wines and have become especially well-known for their Old Vine Zinfandel. While this varietal can be delicious on its own, Zinfandel is also a wonderful wine to pair with food. Here’s a sneak peek at one of the recipes presented from Van Ruiten Family Vineyards….a great idea for these cooler winter months, and the perfect choice for pairing with a bottle of Zinfandel! Enjoy!

Coby Van Ruiten’s Zinfandel Beef Stew

Ingredients:

3-4 lbs. boneless beef stew meat cut into 1 ½ to 2 inch cubes

Cooking oil

24 pearl onions (braised)

2/3 cup sliced carrots

12 halved small red potatoes

3 cups quartered sautéed mushrooms and juices

5 to 6 cups Zinfandel (or 1 bottle of wine plus beef stock or broth)

2 or 3 large unpeeled cloves of garlic, smashed

2 cups canned, chopped tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

3 Tbs. flour and 2 Tbs. softened butter, blended to a paste, for the beurre-manie sauce

Browning the meat: Dry the meat thoroughly. Add a ¼ inch of oil to the bottom of a Dutch oven and set over high heat. When hot, brown as many pieces of the meat as will fit in one layer without crowding. Turn frequently to brown on all sides (about 3-5 minutes); remove and set aside until all meat is browned.

Pour a cup of the wine/broth into the Dutch oven, swishing and scraping up any coagulated juices. Add the meat, garlic, and four more cups of the wine/broth into the casserole; fold in the tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. You should have enough liquid to almost cover the beef; add more if needed.

Stew the beef for 2 hours at 325 degrees. After 2 hours, add the vegetables and continue to cook until tender. Cook at a slow simmer, either on top of the stove or in the oven, stirring occasionally. To finish and thicken the stew, stir in butter-flour (buerre-manie sauce) paste to desired consistency.

Serve and enjoy with a bottle of Van Ruiten Zinfandel!

Viognier is a relative newcomer to California wine country, but it is quickly gaining hype due to its refreshingly floral notes and its ability to compliment some intruiging food options. If you haven’t tried the Peltier Station 2007 Viognier from July’s Gold Series, pour yourself a glass and enjoy it with this great summer recipe. Cheers!

Thai Chicken Wrap with Red Chili Sauce

Ingredients:
½ Butter Head Lettuce, washed, drained, shredded
4 oz. Carrots, julienne
½ Red Cabbage, shredded
½ Red Bell Pepper, julienne
½ Yellow Bell Pepper, julienne
1/5 oz. Thai Coconut Curry Noodles (recipe follows)
1 oz. Bean Sprouts (recipe follows)
1 Thai Marinated Cucumber (recipe follows)
2 oz. Thai Satay Chicken (recipe follows)
2 oz. Thai Sweet Red Chili Sauce (recipe follows)
8 large Vietnamese Rice Papers 

Thai Satay Chicken
1 lb. chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
2 oz. fish sauce
2 oz. lime juice
2 each garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger
½ tsp. Thai chili peppers
1 Tbs. water
4 green onions, with tops, cut into 1 inch pieces
8 wooden skewers, soaked 

Thai Coconut Curry Noodles
12 oz. fresh egg noodles, flat
1 garlic clove, minced
½ oz. red curry paste
8 oz. coconut milk
8 oz. chicken stock
½ oz. curry powder
1/8 Tbs. turmeric powder
½ oz. lime or lemon juice 

Bean Sprouts
1/5 oz. bean sprouts
1 Tbs. sesame oil
1 Tbs. fish sauce
1 tsp. black sesame seeds, roasted 

Thai Marinated Cucumbers
2.5 oz. rice vinegar
2 oz. granulated sugar
2 oz. water
Salt and pepper
1 large English cucumber, seeded 

Thai Sweet Red Chili Sauce
3 oz. chili paste, ground
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz. rice wine vinegar
12 oz. water
12 oz. granulated sugar
½ Tbs. salt
½ oz. cornstarch
7 sprigs cilantro, chopped

Preparation
Thai Satay Chicken: Cut chicken crosswise into ¾ inch wide strips; place in gallon sized zip lock bag. Combine fish sauce, lime juice, garlic and peppers in large bowl and add water. Pour over the chicken, toss well to coat. Seal and marinade in refrigerator for up to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Drain the chicken; reserve marinade. Weave 3-4 pieces of chicken, accordion-style, onto each skewer, alternating with green onion pieces. Brush chicken and onions with reserved marinade. Grill skewers on uncovered grill over med. heat for 6-8 min. or until chicken is no longer pink; turn half way through grilling time. Remove skewers from the grill and let rest for 5 min. Remove chicken and onion from skewers; cut into strips and set aside.

Bean Sprouts: Heat oil in sauté pan. Add bean sprouts and remaining ingredients into pan. Cool until bean sprouts are tender. Set aside and chill in refrigerator.

Thai Coconut Curry Noodles: Separate noodles in hot water. Drain and keep warm. In large saucepan, heat coconut milk on low heat and slowly stir in curry paste. When simmering, add remaining ingredients. Heat and stir about 2 minutes. Stir in noodles and set aside.

Thai Marinated Cucumbers: In large pan, combine vinegar, sugar, water, salt; cook over med. Heat, stirring until liquid boils and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool to room temp. Peel or score cucumber and cut into quarters. Place in large bowl, pour in marinade, and stir to blend. Set aside.

Thai Sweet Red Chili Sauce: Combine everything except cilantro in large pan and mix. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer about 5 min. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Set aside.

Assembly of Thai Wraps: Fill large mixing bowl with med-hot water. Take 1 sheet of rice paper, place in water for 5 seconds to soften, then remove and spread on damp cutting surface. Layer your filling in this order: lettuce, red cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, bean sprouts, noodles, chicken. Roll one end of rice paper over filling, tuck it tightly under, and bring in sides by folding towards the middle. Roll the wrap in sesame oil to keep sealed. Cut roll into 5 segments and serve with dipping sauce.

This month’s Gold Series selections come to you from Koehler Winery, which is located in the heart of Santa Barbara’s wine country. We’re featuring both a white and red this month from this winery, but since its so hot right now, we thought we’d throw a recipe at you to pair with the white wine: Koehler 2007 Sauvignon Blanc. The recipe below does not require many ingredients, a perfect “throw it together” kind of recipe, and is packed with a tasty punch! If you try it out, let us know what you think!  Happy tasting and cooking!

Sweet Onion Risotto with Feta Cheese

Ingredients:

2 tsp. olive oil or vegetable oil

2 Cups Vidalia or other sweet onion

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

2 (14.5 oz) cans vegetable broth

1/2 cup (2 oz.) crumbled Feta cheese, dividied

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 1 minute. Stir in rice. Add 1/2 cup broth; cook until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaning broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until each portion is nearly absorbed before adding the next (about 20 min total.)

Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 cup feta, parsely and Parmesan. Spoon into serving bowls and top with remaining Feta and pepper. Garnish with Parsley.