Vineyard Recipes - The Beechwood Inn

The vineyard is where wine begins... Living the wine life is about living life to the fullest, eating great food, savoring great wine, and doing all this with family and friends. I am dedicating my blog in part to introduce to you great vineyards from around the world, along with that, sharing great recipes from those vineyards. It will be like taking a vacation without ever leaving your home.

My first pick is not a vineyard at all, although they do have their own wines. The Beechwood Inn is a Bed and Breakfast located in the north Georgia mountains (Clayton, GA) and was voted "Best Inn for Wine Connoisseurs". It's a place where wine lovers can go to have a fabulous 5 course gourmet dinner, made with organic ingredients matched with meticulously selected wines. Gourmet breakfast is served also. Each week there is a different region or theme to indulge in; Tuscany, Spain or the Mediterrenian, just to name a few. Inn guests are often visited by celebrated wine makers and chefs from around the world. Georgia premier wine county inn provides rustic elegance in a romantic setting.

Beechwood Inn

David and Gayle Darugh - Owners/Innkeepers
220 Beechwood Drive
Clayton, Georgia 30525
706.782.5485 or 866.782.2485

http://www.beechwoodinn.ws/

Enjoy this recipe compliments of the Beechwood Inn.......

Recipe for Gnudi

Gnudi means "nude in a Tuscan dialect and is pronounced "nudie." Its name is because it is unrobed of its usual pasta covering.

Gnudi

1 pound fresh ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/3 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano (about 1 ounce) plus additional for garnish
1/2 teaspoon salt
Large pinch of ground white pepper
3/4 cup all purpose flour plus additional for coating
Sauce and garnishes
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
6 thin pancetta slices
12 whole fresh sage leaves
2 pounds fresh wild mushrooms (such as crimini, oyster, and stemmed shiitake), sliced
2 large shallots, chopped
6 fresh thyme sprigs
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 teaspoon black truffle oil
1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) chilled butter, diced

Preparation:

For gnudi: Line colander with several layers of cheese cloth and spoon ricotta cheese into colander. Let drain at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Beat egg, 1/3 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, salt, and white pepper in large bowl to blend. Mix in drained ricotta. Sprinkle 3/4 cup flour over and stir gently to blend, do not over stir. Cover and chill dough 1 hour.

Do ahead: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place some flour in bowl. For each gaudy, gently roll 1 heaping teaspoonful of dough into ball. Add to flour; toss to coat lightly, shaping into short log. Using the back tines of a fork roll the log several times to decorate. Place on baking sheet.

Do ahead: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover; chill.

For sauce and garnishes: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large pot or extra-large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 pancetta slices. Cook until crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels. Repeat with remaining pancetta. Add whole sage leaves to skillet; sauté until crisp, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to paper towels.

Heat remaining 4 tablespoons oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add all mushrooms, shallots, thyme, and chopped sage. Sauté until mushrooms brown and liquids evaporate, about 12 minutes. Transfer mixture to bowl. Add broth to same skillet and boil until slightly reduced, scraping up browned bits, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 1 teaspoon truffle oil and mushroom mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper. Do Ahead: Sauce can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Cook gaudy in large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, rearm sauce. Add butter; toss until blended. Using strainer or slotted spoon transfer gaudy to pot with sauce. Toss over medium heat until sauce coats gaudy. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer to large shallow bowl. Crumble pancetta over. Top with sage leaves; serve with additional Pecorino.

Copyright - The European Wine Table 2009

Savannah Deux

This photo is my attempt at taking a food shot with a tini tiny camera. It is also representative of my affection for Savannah, GA. My family and I were there during the 4th of July holiday. We had a fabulous 4 days taking in the Riverstreet sights, frolicking on Tybee Island Beach, and of course eating at Uncle Bubba's. Uncle Bubba's is a seafood place that also serves wonderful side dishes like this Red Rice dish. This rice was so good I pulled out my Savannah Country Cookbook by Paula Deen, when I got home, and made it. It tasted a little different from the restaurant version (more tomato flavor), but good just the same. This dish actually tasted sweet to me, with the tomato sauce being the predominate ingredient. I selected a young fruity Beaujolais to go with it. Yes, you can have wine with southern food. You just have to match the flavors. The Beaujolais was fruity and low in tannin. It was a great match. This dish was good enough to stand on it's own, but it could also go as a side dish with....shall we say.... fried chicken maybe? Enjoy!

Paula Deen's Red Rice

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped bell pepper

2 tbls butter

1 cup diced Hillshire Farms sausage

One 141/2-ounce can crushed tomatoes with juice

1 tbls Texas Pete or red hot sauce

1 cup tomato sauce

1 cup water

3 chicken bouillon cubes

Pepper to taste; add salt to taste if desired

1 cup uncooked white rice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and bell pepper in butter. Add sausage; heat until mixture is slightly browned. Add tomatoes, hot sauce, tomato sauce, water, and bouillon cubes. Season with pepper and salt as needed. Stir in rice. Pour mixture into a greased casserole and bake for 45 minutes.

serves 4 to 6

Stonewall Creek Vineyards

There's nothing like sitting with a glass of wine looking out onto a beautiful vineyard. This is a picture of Stonewall Creek Vineyards in North Georgia owned by Dr. Carl and Carla Flacker. Stonewall Creek is a relatively new vineyard that I had the privilege, recently, of actually planting some grape vines. This is a special place not only because of the eventual wines that will come from it, but the philosophy behind the growing of these vines, Sustainable Viticulture. Sustainable viticulture is the "in" thing these days. Working with the naturalness of the land and only treating the vines when necessary. Some of the grape varieties grown on the vineyard are; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Manseng. French varieties that do very well in Georgia. The planting of vines on this vineyard today, will yield wines three (3) years from now. Three years time is what is takes from planting to vinification for any new vineyard. Well worth the wait!

http://www.stonewallcreek.com/