WOW it's December already--unbelievable how quickly the year has passed. Ready for some Holiday recipes? Let's get started!
Winter Time Basque Brisket of Beef
This recipe is perfect for those rainy or snowy nights. Steam some potatoes & carrots for a side dish & toss a salad--you're set! Don't forget to open a bottle of Sonoma County organic zinfandel!
Ingredients:
2 tsp Kosher salt
3 tbl brown sugar
1 cup chili sauce (the sweet kind) If you'd like my recipe for the chili sauce just drop me an e-mail!
1 cup organic apple cider vinegar
1 5# organic beef brisket--local if possible
2 organic yellow onions medium
1 cup of chopped of organic celery
Method:
Mix the salt, brown sugar, chili sauce & vinegar then pour over the brisket. Let stand for an hour before baking. Pre heat your oven to 325 degrees. Add onions, celery. Cover & bake for 3 hours. Baste often! Remove cover & continue to bake for 1 more hour. Remove from the oven & allow to rest. Once the brisket is cool remove any excess fat, slice & reheat to serve. This goes great with a few steamed sweet potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes & carrots--organic of course!
Guess what??? We now have in stock Rose Ranch 2 Dog Balsamic Vinegar Blend at the restaurant. These bottles sport our 2 Dog label with a picture of our two Burnese Mountain dogs sitting in a bin of grapes at Rose Ranch. We've bottled it in 500 ml bottles with a re-sealable cap. When you're empty just bring it back in for a refill! $15 for a new bottle & only $12 for a refill. This vinegar is awesome in vinaigrettes, 50% reductions for a drizzle over your fresh fish or a 90% reduction to pour over your organic vanilla ice cream!Gift Certificates available in denominations of your choice
Treat someone to the Vineyards Inn Spanish Experience!
Stuffed Kale Rolls
This recipe of mine is currently served at the restaurant in the Tapas section of our menu. Feel free to stop in & order one to see how it should turn out!
Ingredients:
6 large organic Dino kale leaves
3/4 # of ground organic lamb (we grind our own organic shoulder meat)
1/2 # of ground organic sirloin of beef (we grind top sirloin)
1 medium organic yellow onion
6 cloves of organic garlic
2 tsp Kosher salt
1 organic jalapeño for some heat--minced
1/2 cup of minced organic roasted sweet peppers
1 glass of your favorite Sonoma County organic Pinot Noir
1 glass of your favorite Sonoma organic Sauvignon Blanc
simply roast two organic bell peppers over an open flame or barbeque until well blistered. Place in a non plastic container with lid & allow to steam for 15 minutes. This will release the skin & they'll be easy to peel! Go ahead & mince with a sharp knife. Remember dull knives cause many more accidents than sharp ones!
Stuffed Kale Rolls
This recipe of mine is currently served at the restaurant in the Tapas section of our menu. Feel free to stop in & order one to see how it should turn out!
Ingredients:
6 large organic Dino kale leaves
3/4 # of ground organic lamb (we grind our own organic shoulder meat)
1/2 # of ground organic sirloin of beef (we grind top sirloin)
1 medium organic yellow onion small dice
6 cloves of organic garlic minced
2 tsp Kosher salt
1 organic jalapeño for some heat--minced
1/2 cup of minced organic roasted sweet peppers
1 glass of your favorite Sonoma County organic Pinot Noir
1 glass of your favorite Sonoma organic Sauvignon Blanc
simply roast two organic bell peppers over an open flame or barbeque until well blistered. Place in a non plastic container with lid & allow to steam for 15 minutes. This will release the skin & they'll be easy to peel! Go ahead & mince with a sharp knife. Remember dull knives cause many more accidents than sharp ones!
Method:
Mix all ingredients together minus the glasses of wine. Allow the flavors to meet, mingle & get to know each other for about 30 minutes. Add water to a small sauce pan, halfway, cover with tight fitting lid & bring to a boil. Remember covering a sauce pan to bring it to it's boiling point will happen much quicker resulting in less energy usage! Once boiling, lower it to a slow simmer, add kale leaves & blanch for 4 minutes. Remove to colander & drain. Pat dry & place on Chef's block/table. Sip on the glass of Pinot! Arrange open leaves on block. Divide the filling into 6 mini loaves & place one loaf on each leaf. Fold the leaves around the filling tucking the ends under like a package. Sip some more of the Pinot! Once folded place in oven proof casserole with lid. Warm at 275 degrees covered until warmed through. Serve these with your favorite sauce. This time of the year I'm partial to pesto that I make with Swiss chard instead of basil. Chard is very available through the winter months. Chard pesto also doesn't oxidize as quickly as basil pesto.
Enjoy!
Events coming up in December:
Tapas Tapas Tapas is on the 4th Thursday of the month, Dec. 23rd, Our Tapas are on parade in the style of fine Dim Sum restaurants of San Francisco. You choose which ones you want & are charged accordingly complete with live Flamenco guitar! I will do a little exhibition cooking for your entertainment as well.
New Year's Eve at the VI. Celebrate Spanish style La Noche Vieja! I will be in the kitchen preparing my Chef's 4 course prix fix menu
La Noche Vieja---New Year's Eve The Spanish Way!
Celebrate with Chef Esteban & Colleen with traditional Spanish preparations!
Primero
Bacalao a la Vizcaina (Salt Cod Vizcaina style w/potatoes & roasted peppers)
or
Crudo de Pescado (sliced Sashimi with olive oil drizzle & capers)
Segundo
Sopa del Pescador (Fisherman's Soup)
or
Ensalada de Puero (organic leek & Rose Ranch Kale salad)
Tercero
Filete Asado a la Sarten (pan roasted local organic Filet Mignon)
or
Pato Confit con Fideo (organic local duck confit with homemade noodles)
Cuarto
Chef Esteban's Postres (Chef's sampler box of homemade desserts)
Forty dollars per person
Full menu available as well!
Plenty of local bubbles for your enjoyment plus live music! Call for reservations 707-833-4500.
Chef's Basque Dinner Series in always on the 2nd Thursday of the month. 7 courses prepared from my old & new family recipes served family style at one long table for all to share on platters & tureens! Reservations only as it fills up fast. $40 per person including wine! Remember if you'd like to have a private Chef's Basque dinner just let me know--available for groups of 12 or more
Chef Esteban's newest Green direction! We now have 4 local organic wines on tap! Just think, no bottles, labels, corks, capsules or boxes. Consider the energy saved not having to create all this packaging! Our goal for early 2011 is to serve only wines on tap. 16 local wines available by the glass or cool looking pitcher. Stop in & have a glass of 2009 Harry's blend, named after my Father, rest in peace--50% organic Syrah, 25% organic Cab & 25% organic Merlot. I'm quite proud of this wine since I made it. Crafted in the European style low alcohol--appx 12% & ready to drink now after 1 year in French Oak. Thanks to Parke Hafner for supplying us with used barrels! Soon you will be able to purchase these wines to take home in refillable re-sealable bottles. The kegs are returned to the wineries, refilled & reused!
Call us for your holiday parties! We'll dazzle your group with our fine organic Spanish cuisine! 707-833-4500
Have a wonderful Holiday season from Chef, Colleen, Jake, Charlie & the entire Vineyards Inn team!
