Valentines at the Shetler's

These people crack me up! The dinner was thrown together because they were short on time... Check out this menu! It would take me months to come up with food like this (3 to be exact) and it wouldn't taste as good :)

Let's start by saying the wine competition was white wine. White wine? Mark said the food was too light to pair with red, so white it was.

APPETIZERS

Salmon Dip on Hearts of Celery,
Cheddar Pennies,
Shrimp Cakes (I'm allergic to shellfish) with Red Pepper Spread,

SALAD

I don't know what it's called, but it was yummy

MAIN COURSE

Corn Crab Chowder (and Shrimp Chowder for me) with Avocado Chunks and Cilantro Puree, 
Sourdough Garlic Bread,

DESSERT

Lemon Mousse with Raspberries










WINES

1st Wades with Tamber Bay, Chardonnay, 2014

2nd Shetlers with Lambert Bridge, Viognier, 2014

3rd Gilberts with Rombauer, Chardonnay, 2015

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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Shetler's House/ Trader Joe's Menu

Mark got a recipe book:

I Love Trader Joe’s. So the menu is based on that!

APPETIZERS

Maque Choux Cakes (Shrimp cakes with a bit of spice)

Gorgonzola Stuffed Crimini Mushrooms (I ate so many of these little guys, I could barely eat dinner)

Marcona Almonds

MAIN COURSE

Stuffed Sub Sandwich with Vodka Sauce

Mustard-Crusted Potatoes

Cucumber, Red Onion, and Kidney Bean Salad

DESSERT

Torta Della Nonna

WINE

The Shetler's requested a bottle of wine from Trader Joe's under $20.00. We picked an Argentinian Malbec called 1, The Wades brought a 14 Hands red blend, and the Shetler's entered a cuvee red blend from E Cellars. The Wades won.

Gilbert's house for Cuban food

First let me say I'm sorry for getting so behind on blogging! Just so you know we never got behind on feasting, just on telling you about it :) The Wade's were scheduled after ours, but life got in the way, so we met downtown and did a pub crawl. It was more befitting our mood at the time :)

With the help from a Cuban friend from work I attempted a traditional Christmas meal (from before communism forbade the celebration of Christmas).

APERITIVOS

Pasta de Guayaba con Queso y Galletas
(Guayaba is a fruit made into a paste with cheese on crackers. I chose jack cheese after some research)

Platanos Maduros
(These are overly ripe/black plantain bananas fried to golden crisp. They are sweet)

Tostones y Mojo
(Yum... mojo! Mojo is very special to Cubans and many other Latin/Caribbean countries. It is made with a lot of garlic, olive oil, spices, and sour orange juice. If you can't hunt down the sour oranges, use equal parts lime and orange. Tostones are green or yellow plantains that are smashed and fried and smashed some more.)

PLATO PRINCIPAL

Platanos Hervidos
(boiled green regular bananas with butter. Tastes a little like sweet potatoes)
Moros y Cristianos
(Rice and black beans, or Moors and Christians)
Pierna Asada a la Cubana con Mojo Salsa
(This is basically baked pork butt with mojo ingredients and orange halves in the pan with a little bowl of mojo to dunk the meat in.)

POSTRE

Tarte de Limón (from Whole Foods)

WINE

We requested them to bring a bottle of red wine that would pair well with Cuban food. The wines were very different from each other... which was a problem. We tend to vote for the wine which best suits our palate, nt the best of a particular varietal. The grenache imported from France won the night.

Dinner at the Shetler's

Chinese food done Shetler style, which is to say "gourmet Chinese food." As always Mark went over the top and Melissa decorated to the max. It was beautiful. Each setting had a menu of course, but each setting also had our names in Chinese. They called for Pinot Noir, not my favorite, but appropriate for this meal. I struggled to find a Pinot I'd like.

We were greeted by their two Corgi puppies, Valentino and Eleanor.

We started with Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Then the platters started coming out: Orange Chicken

Kung Pao Beef

Shrimp Fried Rice

Garlic Noodles

Ginger Scented Brown Rice

And finally all set up on my plate...

The final touch: Sweet White & Wild Rice with Fresh Mango and Fried Wonton Crisps

And of course the wine! We chose a Pinot Noir in a non-traditional region, Mokelumne River. When we complained about having to bring a Pinot, the Milliare Winery suggested their Pinot which was grown in the foothills. Miraculously, we won again. The Shetler's came in second place with SCV, 2011 Bodega Ridge Block, Pinot Noir. The Wades came in third with a yummy Joseph Phelps, Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.

Dinner at the Shetler's

This time we experienced "Food on a Stick". Mark got a new barbecue for his birthday, so of course the men had to inspect it.

We started with assorted cheeses: Fontina, smoked chili Cheddar and Havarti on pretzel sticks.

Assorted Italian meats wrapped with creamy cheese around bread-sticks.

Greek Sticks: Kalamata olives, Jerusalem feta & marinated mushrooms.

Spinach and lobster ravioli on a stick.

Grilled shrimp on a skewer.

Meatballs on a stick.

Seasoned corn on a stick.

Grilled veggies & potatoes on skewers.

Sundried tomato chicken sausage & Andouille chicken sausage corn dogs with dipping sauces.

Frozen yogurt-covered blueberries on a stick.

Apple slice on a stick with salted caramel dipping sauce.

Cheesecake with chocolate ganache on a stick.

The numbers represent the carafes not the winning order

They asked us to bring a Tempranillo which turned out to be a difficult wine for the huge variety of flavors we experienced. Of course the Shetlers won with their 2011 Hatcher Tempranillo out of Calavaras County. The Wades came in second with a 2005 Prado Enea Muga Rioja from Spain. We came in dead last (not bitter am I?) with a 2003 Parador from Napa.