Winery Review: Barrel Oak Winery (BOW)

Wow, we've all been slacking. I have to admit I haven't really been cooking anything interesting lately, but figured it was time to update the blog with something. I believe we discussed that this could also be a blog for restaurant reviews, etc. So here you go.. Stephen and I just celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary and lacking time and a whole lot of extra money decided to stay closer to home. Stephen booked us a nice room at a bed and breakfast in Middleburg, VA and a day long winery tour (aka chauffeur :P) for a pleasurable extended weekend away from home. We visited 4 local wineries all were nice in their own way but the one we both really loved was Barrel Oak Winery (BOW). First of all the tasting room for BOW was built to entertain and attract people to hang out and enjoy wine. A few of the other wineries we went to had very small tasting areas, but BOW had a huge bar for tastings as well as tables and couches around where you could bring your own lunch and buy BOW wine by glass or bottle to enjoy with friends/family. They only started in 2008, but already have a good selection of whites, reds and dessert wines. It was just very comfortable there and homely. Also Stephen and I are both huge dog lovers and BOW is very dog friendly. The owners own 2 golden retrievers, all of the bottles have BOW stamped on the top with a dog paw :D Stephen and I were hooked instantly both being dog lovers. It was still a little cold and early in the wine touring season when we were there but they have events throughout the summer to encourage folks to bring their families. We are definitely planning to go back to bring Luke and have a fun day and good wine. http://www.barreloak.com/

CHICKEN POT PIE SOUP

This is one of my favorites for those cold fall and winter nights. My friend Jen originally introduced it to me. The recipe is from allrecipes.com Instead of crackers to top it off I use biscuits. You can make your own from scratch or by the frozen or kind in a tube.

Enjoy!


Yield 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast meat (i pull meat off of a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken)
  
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of potato soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups skim milk
  

Directions

1. In a medium sauce pan combine chicken, mixed vegetables, cream of potato soup, cream of chicken soup and milk. Heat through and serve with crumbled crackers on top.

Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 367 | Total Fat: 11.5g | Cholesterol: 64mg

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Been meaning to post this for a while, Buffalo Chicken Dip is great for tailgating and the recipe lends itself to personal preference altering. I've taken this to a couple parties or cut the recipe and made at home for me and Stephen while we watch college football. Here's the link to the recipe I started with http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Buffalo-Chicken-Dip/Detail.aspx and here's how I altered it for our liking.

Buffalo Chicken Dip
2-3 Chicken Breasts (boiled)
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup of Blue Cheese dressing
3/4 cup Texas Pete Hot Sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and blue cheese dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly. Serve with celery sticks and crackers.

I figure the more chicken the better so I just make sure it's all covered with hot sauce maybe a little more hot sauce needed for more chicken. Also since I load it with chicken I've found the big scoop corn chips work out great for scooping. Enjoy! When I make it at home I usually don't transfer to a slow cooker and it microwaves fine as leftovers.

Apple Crisp

Hmm...anyone else noticing a pattern here - all of our posts seem to involve dessert! Apple crisp was the objective when Rachel, Leslie, and I got together to cook (and play Rock Band as our crisp baked).

Our crisp recipe comes from Betty Crocker and was delicious and simple. You could substitute different types of fruit (blueberry, cherry, rhubarb or any combination) for apple, depending what you have.

Apple Crisp (6 servings)

4 medium tart apples (we used Granny Smith)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup oat-fashioned oats
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 teaspoon ground cinammon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Vanilla ice cream

1. Heat over to 375*F. Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with cooking spray or shortening.
2. Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients except ice cream until well mixed; sprinkle over apples.
3. Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with ice cream (and one of Stephen's espressos if you're lucky!).

We promise your house will smell magical before the oven timer goes off!

Sliced apples in baking dish without the topping:

The finished crisp with the BEST crumble topping I've ever had:

Bourbon Pecan Pie

When Stephen mentioned seeing a recipe in Garden & Gun that looked promising, I figured it would be a good chance for me to finally contribute to the blog. Stephen loves Bourbon and Pecan Pie so why not have both at once!

First off, I just want to put out there that I am not a seasoned baker therefore the first time I make something there are almost always mishaps or lessons learned.

Garden & Gun included a pie crust and pie filling recipe. My mother-in-law once told me she thought making your own pie crust wasn't worth it and that the frozen ones taste just as good. I'm sure others disagree. For the sake of time I just went with the frozen pie crust. First Lesson Learned: Should've bought the deep dish pie crust or scaled back on the pie filling because some of the filling seeped out while it was baking. (Luckily I had put the pie crust on a cookie sheet). We still haven't tasted it yet and even though the recipe called for baking an 1 hour 15 mins I baked for 1 hour and the pecans look a little dark. (might be a case of not knowing my oven :/ )

Bourbon Pecan Pie Filling
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups dark corn syrup
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp bourbon
1 1/2 tbsp melted sweet butter
1 3/4 cups pecans

Preparation:
Using a hand mixer, combine sugar, syrup, salt, flour, and eggs, mixing well. Stir in remaining ingredients and pour into unbaked pie shell.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes (a toothpick inserted in center should come out relatively clean). Remove from oven and place on cooling rack, allowing pie to rest for 2 to 3 hours to set.

Chocolate Ganache Birthday Cake

When you need a cake suitable for a celebration, the Barefoot Contessa will not let you down. I made the BC's chocolate ganache cake last week for Leslie's birthday and served it with raspberries, vanilla ice cream, and birthday candles, of course.

From Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties cookbook:

Chocolate Ganache Cake
Makes one 8-inch cake

1/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 16-ounce can of chocolate syrup (like Hershey's)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

For the ganache:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder

Raspberries or candied violets for decoration (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 325*. Butter and flour a 8-inch round cake pan.
2. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Don't overbeat, or the cake will be tough.
3. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until just set in the middle (note - it took 50 minutes for my cake to bake). Don't overbake! Let cool thoroughly in the pan.
4. For the ganache, cook heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.
5. Place the cake upside down on a wire rack or cookie sheet and pour the glaze evenly over the top, making sure to cover the entire cake and sides. You can tilt the rack or pan to smooth the glaze. Decorate with fruit or candied violets, if desired. Do not refrigerate.

Enjoy!

Ultimate Fruit Desserts

Yes, you did read the title correctly! On a beautiful Saturday morning a few weeks ago, the girls and I took the Ultimate Fruit Desserts class at Sur la table Pentagon Row. We arrived for the 10am class fueled up on Venti coffees, ready to bake. We were not disappointed - it was a very instructional and lively class taught by Chef Sandra Dyson. I think this picture says it all:

Our instructor went over the basics of making pastry and using fresh summer fruits and then we divided and conquered to make four desserts:

Peach and Blackberry Cobbler with Crystallized Ginger
Nectarine and Plum Tartlets
Apricot-Cherry Shortcakes
Spiced Plum Pavlovas

I was on the Spiced Plum Pavlova team with a fabulous partner in crime, Sandy. The recipe can be found at this link and a photo is below. The pavlova is a meringue topped with cooked plums and crème fraîche (in the words of the Barefoot Contessa, "How bad can that be?"). The ingredient that puts this dessert over the top though is cardamom. Cardamom has a warm and savory flavor that complements the plums really well. I became a huge fan of cardamom while I was working in Jordan, where it is traditionally added to their Turkish coffee.

If you are interested in specifics on the other recipes, let me know - they were all delicious, but this was my favorite.

By the way, we made the meringues in a electric stand mixer and that greatly simplified the process. If you're like me and don't have a stand mixer, I would suggest making these at a friend's house who does. The instructor said is is possible to do this with a hand mixer; she recommended using a deep stainless steel bowl in that case - and you will need an assistant!