Friends, Fun, Food (and wine of course)

It was quite a weekend filled with joy and laughter, old friends and new places.  Saturday, was our anniversary, and after going to three stores to chase down cypress mulch, we joined our Cheers friends for another fabulous wine dinner.  Dine by Design catered with their usual delicious style.  Here was our menu and the accompanying wines.

King Salad (shrimp & avocado on lettuce w/spicy dressing)
2008 Ulrich Langguth Riesling ($12.99 at Total Wine)

Pork Loin w/raspberry chipotle sauce
2007 reserve Oak Grove Zinfandel ($7.99 at Total Wine)

Marinated Beef Tenderloin
2008 Columbia Valley Merlot ($9.49 at Costco)

Noodles Romanoff
2008 Mirassou Pinot Grigio ($7.99 at Costco)

Rum Cake
2008 Doulce France Vouvray ($9.99 at Total Wine)

Everything was wonderful, but my favorite dish was the pork loin, and my favorite wine was the Merlot. 

But the fun didn't stop there.  Sunday Kevin and Ashley took us to Raffaldini Vineyards and Winery.  It is about an hour north of here on US 421.  The view from their Italian-style villa was just amazing.  We had a beautiful, clear day with barely a cloud in the sky.  

 Upstairs on the piazza.

 A view of the mountains beyond the vineyard.

A beautifully landscaped rose garden.

On the way to the villa.

Patio overlooking the vineyard.

This was another wonderful day.  Since it was getting late and they closed at 5:00, we decided to forego the wine tasting and just enjoyed the nice weather, the scenery and the company.  We watched people parachuting in the distance like tiny specks against the bright sky.  

We did get a couple bottles of their Vermentino.  This is a refreshing white wine, delicious with seafood and shellfish and mild cheeses.  I look forward to going back and tasting all their wines.

Back in town, we wrapped up our day with dinner at Applebee's.  Today was quite a treat, and ended too soon.  Sharing good times, and good food with good friends was a great way to celebrate our anniversary weekend.

 

Quote of the Week

Aerodynamically the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it, so it goes on flying anyway.  

- Mary Kay Ash

If a little bumble bee can accomplish the "impossible" imagine what you can do?

Snowball and Other Spring Beauties

As Spring slowly fades toward Summer, here are some more flowers from around my yard.

Snowball:  Three stages of the bloom.

Ummmm, smell the lilac.

The King of Spring!

Bloodroot, prettier than it's name.

Three Strikes

As we have become more dependent on gadgets that chop, grind, slice, dice and even cook for us while we're out, we also become a little out of sorts when they mysteriously stop working.  

Strike one, my twenty-something crock pot gives up the ghost and turns a normally tender chunk of chuck into something akin to a boiled owl.  Mom used this phrase to describe various over-cooked proteins as being tougher than a boiled owl.  Not having any personal experience with this, we'll just assume it was.

Strike two? The "I-can't-live-without-it" food processor we bought 10 years ago.  Little by little, the bowl and cover were wearing out.  A piece would break here and crack there, but it still worked fine.  That is until I tried to grate my wedge of Parmigiana Reggiano, and the bowl kept rising up on the base because it had broken to the point that it wouldn't stay latched in place.

Strike three.  I decided to try a new tapenade recipe, but with the processor out of order, I pull out the blender, and start piling stuff into the container.  I slap on the lid, push the button and what do I get?  A big WHIRRRRR, but no blade action.  Hubs calls "turn it off" from the other room and comes to check it out.  So I regroup while he takes the blade downstairs to oil it - something about the bearings and did it go into the dishwasher?  No, dishwashers are evil!  Well, only the first time or two, I swear.  Is it toast?

Now for Plan C (don't you hate it when it comes down to Plan C).  In my desperation, I used my immersion blender's chopper unit, and folks I don't recommend this for expediency's sake.  It's wonderful for small quantities of something like nuts for a pie or to whiz up a can of tomatoes, but for a batch of tapenade, it was quite the challenge.

Fortunately, all the food processor needed was a few replacement parts.  Can't say the same for the crock pot, and I haven't gotten the prognosis on the blender.

Meanwhile, here's Sophie enjoying her "present".

It's just what I wanted.  How did you know?

A Fine Day for Wine!

Isn't it exciting when you discover something new practically in your own back yard?  That's how we felt when we visited Junius Linday Vineyards.  It's located in Northern Davidson County just a short drive from Winston-Salem.  Owner, Michael Zimmerman was pouring their wines in a picturesque outdoor setting just feet from the vines.  Also part of the team was Bacchus, an American Foxhound named for the Roman god of wine.  He was people-friendly, and happily passing the afternoon people watching or lying on the cool floor.

Looking out over the vineyard.

 
There was another group tasting when we arrived, and they bought a bottle to share at one of the patio tables.  As we tasted our way through their array of wines (two white, three red and one dessert wine), I was taken with their Second Leaf, a blend of Viognier and Roussanne.

The land, which is now a vineyard, was chosen by Michael's grandfather, Junius Lindsay Zimmerman and his bride Beatrice as they started their life together, and it has been in the family ever since.  Michael moved back to the home place with his wife Lucia in 1995 after having spent 15 years in the Foreign Service.  In 2004 he began growing grapes on 2 acres, and I believe they are currently planting about 9 acres.

The tasting bar.

This was a great way to spend some leisure time on a nice Spring afternoon.  It was a pleasure to meet Michael and learn about their wines and some of the family history.  We left with our own bottle of Second Leaf and two complimentary tasting glasses.

Junius Lindsay Second Leaf

We rounded out the day with a visit to Childress Vineyards, where we purchased a bottle of their Viognier and enjoyed that out on their terrace overlooking a beautiful green lawn and the vineyard beyond.  They were out of Trio, our favorite, but it will be available again around the 23rd of April.
  

The terrace

The lawn at Childress Vineyards.

Interestingly, both the Junius Lindsay and Childress wines were crafted by Mark Friszolowski, the talented winemaker at Childress Vineyards.