California Dinner (Celebrating Cheese)

It always takes me forever to post our own dinner party, especially if we lost the wine competition... which we did :(  But it was still a blast! Joe and I had been gone for a month down in Puerto Escondido (check out my travel blog: http://dashingboldadventure.blogspot.com/), and our dinner was scheduled for the Friday after we got home. Less than a week! So that's my excuse for making my fall-back spaghetti. I called for Zinfandel.

Snacks:
Cheese Drizzled with Olive Oil
Black Finger-Olives
Crunchy Parmesan Wafers
Marcona Almonds & Dates

First Course:
Caprese Salad

Main Course:
Roasted Carrots,
Spaghetti with Spicy Meatballs,
Olive Cheese Bread

Dessert:
New York Style Cheesecake with Kona/Caramel Sauce and Berries

Wine competition:
Wades 1st place with Opolo, Mountain Zin, 2014 (Paso Robles)
Gilberts 2nd with Dobra Zemla, Zin, 2014 (Amador)
Shetlers 3rd with the prettiest bottle of Poizin, Zin 2013 (Sonoma)

A Visit to Peru at the Shetler's

I just don't know how these people do it? Mark had a procedure to his shoulder the week of their dinner party, yet he still managed to prepare a feast (with a lot of help from Melissa of course). She'd given him a Peruvian cookbook for a present, so there ya go... he made a Peruvian dinner. Naturally that called for a Cabernet Sauvignon from South America :)

This time we did something a little different. We brought our house-guests from Italy, Gianluca and Egle. We don't usually have additional guests at our parties, and this is the first time we invited them to compete... they came in second place!!!

We started with Chilcanos:
Chilcano de Pisco and Sauvignon Blanc (no photo)

Then we had three different types of Ceviche:

Ceviche Clasico

Ceviche de Mango

Ceviche de Champinones

Then an Aperitivo:
Pastel de Chocio

Plato Principal:
Papas Rellenas

Pechugas de Pollo con Salsa de Quinua

Ensalada de Vegetales

Postre
Alfajor Clasico con Dulce de Leche
Helado de Canela y Coco

1st - Cruz Alta 2012, Argentina (Wades)
2nd - Medalla Real 2012, Chile (Fersinis)
3rd - de Gras 2013, Chile (Gilberts)
4th - Mascota Vineyards 2013, Argentina (Shetlers)






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Texas BBQ at the Wade's

My mouth was watering in anticipation of this one, and I wasn't disappointed. But first we had to be properly welcomed to the Wade Family Ranch by their 4 year old granddaughter, Mina. She had us sign in on her Frozen magnetic drawing board, then she escorted us outside to the "dining area."

They had called for a Red Wine Blend so I dragged one from the cellar from the cabin :)

Rustic Cheese Board with Assorted Crackers
Texas Sweet Tea (This was a cool idea of putting the tea in mason jars with the lids on, in a bucket of ice... clever)

DWs Texas Smoked Brisket

Mom's Potato Salad

Southern Coleslaw with Granny Smith Apples

Mom's Best Baked Beans

Sweet Corn Bread

Sloughhouse Corn-on-the-Cob

Ol' Fashioned Peach Cobbler A La Mode with Haagen Daz Vanilla Ice Cream

The Shetler's won with a bottle of One Armed Man  The Wades came in second with their favorite wine, Stephanie. We trailed in last with Hatcher Meritage. That tells you how good the wine was if a Hatcher came in last!

Shetler’s House, Mexican-Italian Fusion

I was pretty excited about this party when I heard it would be Mexican and Italian food and a Super Tuscan tasting! I wasn't disappointed.

Appetizers

Lemon Basil Guacamole on Crostini

Sundried Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella and Parmesan Quesadillas with Italian Salsa Verde

Refried Cannellini Beans with Blue Corn Chips

Italian Sausage Stuffed Anaheim Chiles

Soup

Tortilla Wedding Soup

Main Course

Carne Asada Lasagna

Chicken Mole Penne

Italian Squash with Cilantro Sauce

Dessert

Panettone Tres Leches with Cajeta Mascarpone Cream

Super Tuscan Wine

First Place:  Wade’s Luce 2007, Toscana. Started off good with balanced spice. Maintained its flavor and complexity to the end.

Second: Shetler’s Regina Di Renieri, Toscana. Started off bold and was my favorite. It softened considerably with decanting and slid into second place by the end of the meal.

Third: Gilberts Le Difese, 2013, Toscana. Started off soft and smooth with delicate notes of berry. Lost all structure and immediately became flavorless.

Dinner at the Wade's

FROM LAND TO SEA

LET'S GATHER AND TASTE
Brie en Croute with Apple Compote
Caramelized Pecans with Bleu Cheese

OF THE SOIL
Mixed Greens with Bosc Pears, Gorgonzola and Walnuts

FROM THE PASTURE and SEA
American Wagyu Beef with Gremolata and Balsamic Reduction

Wild Alaskan Salmon Wellington
Roasted Carrots

THE SWEET LIFE
Farmhouse Pecan Pie
Fresh Coffee

The wine competition was a blend. We brought a rowdy Potty Mouth (2013) from Twisted Oak, The Shetler's brought Justification (2013) by Justin, and The Wade's brought Cuvee 2740 (2012) by Skinner. All three were excellent, all paired well. It was a tough competition. The Skinner won the night and the Wade's went home with the coveted medallion. 

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4th of July at the Gilbert's Cabin

We decided to have an old fashioned BBQ to celebrate America's birthday.  I thought it would be fun to decorate with 4th of July picnic-style red, white, and blue. It's amazing how many cheesy decorations are out there! I threw some glow bracelets on the table for fun.

The wine competition was a bottle of red under $15. It was a lot of fun trying them all :)

SPARKLERS:

Guacamole with Quinoa & Black Bean Tortilla Chips, and Sliced Radishes

Olive Cheese Spread with Raincoast Crisps

Cantaloupe

FIREWORKS:
Crunchy Veggies & Kale Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

Corn on the Cob with Chili-Lime Sauce

Hebrew National Dogs with Spicy Mustard Dip

Barbecue Chicken with Citrus Onion Sauce

GRAND FINALE:
Mom's Strawberry Shortcake
(Buttermilk Biscuits, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, and Fresh Strawberries)

The Wades won the cheap wine competition with a delicious Apothic Crush. The Shetlers came in second with Soban Estate Rocky Top Zin. We finished with Predator.