TheVineyardMom

  1 bottle of either sparkling white wine or Prosecco Orange juice Blue Curacao Fill champagne flute or stemless champagne flute 1/3 of the way with Orange Juice. Add 1/2 tsp. of Blue Curacao and stir with a straw. Fill the glass  the rest of the way with sparkling wine.

  1/2 lb bacon cooked and chopped 2 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened 5 green onions finely chopped 1 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp black pepper 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese 1-2 cups chopped fresh parsley 1 cup chopped chives Pimentos for decoration Cook bacon according to package directions.  Let cool and chopped. In a medium size mixing bowl, add cream cheese, chopped green onions, garlic powder, black pepper and worcestershire sauce and mix well to combine. Add shredded cheese and bacon and stir to combine. Line a 8” bundt pan with plastic wrap.  Scoop mixture into the pan pressing evenly throughout the pan.   Refrigerate for at least one hour.   Remove from the refrigerator and invert on to a serving platter. Carefully remove plastic wrap. Combine chopped parsley and chives in a bowl. Taking handfuls of herb mixture, press mixture onto the cheese wreath until the outside is covered. Garnish the top of the wreath with 3 pimentos and a leaf of pa

  1 Strip steak, boneless 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp each salt and pepper 12 slices of french bread from a baguette cut into 1 inch thick slices Horseradish Whip 2 tsp horseradish 3/4 cup heavy cream 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese 2 tbsp chopped chives Caramelized Onions 1 1/2  tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp butter 2 large onions peeled and thinly sliced 1 tsp salt Chopped parsley as garnish Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You will need two skillets.  One for the steak and one for the onions. Heat the first large nonstick skillet on medium high heat.  Season the steak evenly on both sides with salt and pepper.  Add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to the pan and place steak in the pan.  Cook for 12-15 minutes turning once halfway through. Cook until the steak reaches 145 degrees for medium rare.   Remove steak from the pan and put it on a plate to rest for 10 minutes. Once rested, slice into 12 equal size pieces that will fit onto the bread. Place bread slices onto a bak

  Christmas Ceviche 1 lb of shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped into small pieces 1 cup of chopped cilantro I cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped into small pieces 1 avocado diced 1 jalapeno seeded, deveined and chopped into small pieces 1/2 red onion finely chopped 1 orange juiced 3 limes juiced 1 tsp. salt Tortilla chips for serving Peel, devein and chop fresh shrimp into small pieces. Put shrimp into a medium sized mixing bowl. Chop cilantro, cucumber, avocado, jalapeno and red onion and add to the bowl with the shrimp. Add the juice of the orange, limes and salt to the bowl and stir to completely coat the ship with the juices. Cover and place into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight making sure the shrimp is “cooked.” Spoon ceviche into a martini glass or small bowl. Serve with chips and enjoy for up to 2 days. 

  Mini Christmas Frittatas 8 large eggs 1/4 cup half and half 6 slices of bacon 1/2 red bell pepper finely chopped 4 green onions finely chopped 1/4 cup chopped chives 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper Garnish: 1 pint of cherry tomatoes cut in half Basil leaves Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 12 muffin tins with baking paper or use silicone liners In a large skillet set on high heat, cook bacon until crispy.  Drain slices on a plate lined with paper towel.  When cooled, finely chop the bacon. In the same skillet you cooked the bacon, drain all but a 1/2 a tablespoon of bacon fat and saute finely diced bell pepper until soften.  This will take 4-5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs half and half, cooled bacon and diced red bell pepper, green onions chives, Monterey Jack cheese, salt and pepper. Using a ladle, spoon mixture into the baking cups until they are 3/4  of the way full. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry. Garnish with che

  12 oz. good semi-sweet chocolate 1/2 tsp vegetable oil 1/2 tsp Peppermint extract 12 oz good white chocolate 1 tsp vegetable oil 3 candy canes finely crushed 5 candy canes roughly crushed NOTE: Use high quality chocolates for this recipe.  I use Chiradelli. Finely crush 3 candy canes in either a food processor or by putting the canes into a ziplock bag and crushing them with a rolling pin. Line a 11x15 baking sheet with parchment paper. Coarsley crush 5 candy canes in a ziplock bag. In a medium microwavable bowl, put semi-sweet chocolate and 1/2 tsp vegetable oil and microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Stir mixture and keep microwaving for 15 seconds until chocolate is just melted and glossy.  Add 1/2 tsp peppermint extract. Stir to combine. Immediately pour warm chocolate onto the parchment paper and using an off-set spatula, evenly spread the chocolate to a thin even layer.  Work quickly before the chocolate sets.  Place into the refrigerator  for 20 minutes or until it is set compl

  2 heads of romaine lettuce  2 pints cherry tomatoes 2 8 oz. containers of bocconcini sized mozzarellas,  drained 1 cup basil leaves, cleaned and chopped 1 cup of your favorite salad dressing to drizzle over the romaine leaves;  Italian Vinaigrette, Ranch, Olive oil and balsamic vinegar etc. Note: Add croutons or nuts for something crunchy Pull lettuce leaves from the stalk of the romaine head and rinse them.  Pat them dry.   Arrange the leaves from the top of a tray down vertically to resemble a christmas tree with the cups facing up and the tips of the leaves facing down.. Fill each cup with a few cherry tomatoes, boccacini’s and basil leaves. Drizzle your dressing over the leaves.   I use bread sticks for the trunk of the tree and a star shaped cookie cuter to cut out a piece of cheese for the top. Optional: If you are making this Christmas tree inspired salad for a group, offer several dressing options and have each person individually put dressing on their salad.  

  1 homemade or  store bought pie crust 1 lb. of bacon, cooked and chopped 4 beaten eggs 1 cup half and half 1 tsp of salt ½ tsp pepper 1 cup fresh spinach leaves chopped 1 cup monterey jack cheese 1 Roma tomato thinly sliced If you are using a store bought crust, bake it according to the package directions first. Let it cool. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, half and half, salt and pepper.  Beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy. Place a large skillet on the stove set to medium high and cook the bacon.  When bacon is cooked, place it on a paper towel lined plate to absorb the excess fat. Wash and chop the fresh spinach.  Once the bacon has cooled, chop it and sprinkle both the chopped spinach and bacon on the bottom of the cooled pie crust. Place the pie crust on a baking sheet and fill the crust with the egg mixture.  Do this slowly so it doesn’t splash out. Sprinkle the top of the egg mixture with the cheese. Bake the quiche for 30 minutes.  Re

 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 lbs brisket, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces 1 tsp each salt and pepper 1/2 brewed coffee 1 lb. small red potatoes cut in half 1/2 lb tri-color or orange carrots cut into 2 inch pieces 1/2 lb parsnips cut into 2 inch pieces 1/2 yellow onion chopped  5 garlic cloves minced 3 thyme sprigs plus 1 chopped for garnish 2 bay leaves Sauce: 2 cups beef stock 3 tbsp all purpose flour 1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard Pickled red onion topping: 1/2 cup water 1 cup rice wine vinegar  2 tsp salt 1/2 red onion sliced Take 1/2 of a red onion and cut into small slices.  Place onions in a heat safe bowl.  Stir rice wine vinegar, 1/2 cup water and 2 tsp of salt into a medium sauce pan.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Remove from heat and pour over onion slices.  Let stand until soften. This will take 20 minutes. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season brisket chunks with salt and pepper. Cook in small batches the brisket pieces until browned on a

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 cups chorizo sausage sliced 2 shallots diced 4 cloves of garlic chopped 1 tsp smoked paprika 1/2 tomato seeded and chopped 1 cup Retzlaff Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 1 cup vegetable stock 2 lbs. mussels scrubbed and cleaned 1/4 cup chopped parsley for garish 1 lemon chopped for garnish Wine Pairing: 2022 Retzlaff Vineyards Isabelle's Blush  In a large dutch oven, heat the extra virgin olive oil over high heat.   Add chorizo and cook until slightly browned on both sides. Add shallots and garlic and sauté until soften.  This will take about 3-4 minutes. Add smoked paprika and chopped tomatoes to the chorizo mixture.  Stir well to combine. Add white wine to deglaze the pan.  Add the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer.  Add in the mussels, cover and cook 3-5 minutes until the mussels open.  Discard any that don't open. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.