Blue Cheese Sauce, New York Steak, & James Vincent

By Laina Carter of McGrail Vineyards

We are officially more than a month into fall, which means things are starting to cool down a bit. One thing I love about the cooler weather is that people are more inclined to eat warm, hearty meals. This one definitely falls into that category!

At first, the idea of a blue cheese butter sauce seemed daunting to me, but it was actually so easy to make and the result is luxuriously rich and creamy. The velvety tannins in the big, bold James Vincent Cabernet are tamed by both the cheese and the steak. The wine and the steak dish are perfectly complementary to one another. I could easily imagine this pairing as a Christmas dinner staple. I hope you’ll try this one out! It’s so worth it.

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Rosemary Blue Cheese Sauce & New York Steak

Makes about 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

For the blue cheese rosemary butter sauce:

• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 shallots, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 4 oz. blue cheese crumbles (about 1 cup)
• leaves from one fresh 8″ sprig of rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste

For the toppings:

• 2 tbsp. butter
• 4 shallots, peeled, thinly sliced
• 4 oz. sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup dry red wine

For the steak:

• 2 lbs. New York steak (4 1/2 lb. pieces of steak)
• garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

For the blue cheese rosemary butter sauce:

1. In a large pan, heat the butter on medium-low. Allow butter to brown just a bit. Add shallots and cook until soft.
2. Stir in milk and allow it to cook down to about half, stirring occasionally.
3. Add cream of mushroom soup, blue cheese crumbles, and fresh rosemary leaves. Stir well.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside or cover to keep warm while preparing toppings and steak.

For the toppings:

1. In a small pan, heat butter on medium. Add shallots and cook until soft. Stir in mushrooms and cook until soft.
2. Add red wine and allow to simmer until most wine has evaporated. There will still be some liquid in the pan from the butter; this is fine. Set aside.

For the steak:

1. Remove steak from refrigerator and allow to reach room temperature.
2. Preheat grill on medium.
3. Liberally season steak with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
4. Grill steak for three minutes on each side, then another three minutes on each side (a total of 12 minutes per steak and 6 minutes per each side of steak). This is how I grill a steak that has a medium thickness to achieve a medium-rare doneness. Steaks can be cooked for a longer or shorter amount of time to achieve desired doneness.
5. Place steaks on a plate and cover with foil. Steak will continue to cook while resting.

To put it all together:

1. Plate each steak. Spoon toppings and liquid in toppings pan onto each steak. Spoon blue cheese rosemary butter sauce over steak.
2. Serve with a side of steamed green beans and/or boiled red potatoes and a bottle of our rich, velvety James Vincent Cabernet.

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Please let us know if you end up making these pairings and if you have any feedback! We’d love to hear it.

Cheers and enjoy!

Mushroom Truffle Risotto & Shamus Patrick

By Laina Carter of McGrail Vineyards

While our Shamus Patrick Red Blend is always a delicious blend of all five of the red Bordeaux varietals, the composition changes every year. The most recent vintage of our Shamus Patrick Red Blend contains 20% each of our Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. Since past vintages of our Shamus have been more Cab-heavy, the 2018 vintage certainly contains more earthy notes than most others.

With that said, there are many fall foods that pair well with the blend. Mushrooms, which are super underrated in my opinion, bring out the richest, most flavorful layers of this complex wine. Not only do they perfectly complement the earthiness of the Shamus, they also bring a certain warmth to the palate that allows the baking spice and fruit notes in the wine truly shine. Alternatively, the risotto also has a creamy component to it that allows it to pair with the notes of creamy butter in our Charlie Rae Chardonnay just as well. Either way, this mushroom truffle risotto is a great dish for the colder autumn and winter months. I could imagine this pairing being great for Christmas dinner or on any cold winter night. I hope you’ll try this one out for yourself!

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Mushroom Truffle Risotto

Makes about 8 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 1/2 cup arborio rice
• 1 cup Chardonnay
• 3/4 cup crimini mushrooms
• 1/2 cup condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 tbsp. butter
• 3 drops truffle oil
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
• 2 tbsp. chives, chopped thinly

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium pot, heat one tablespoon olive oil on medium-low.
2. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent, making sure not to brown the onion. Add rice and toss to coat in olive oil. Continue to cook on medium-low and toast the rice, stirring attentively.
3. Add Chardonnay and stir. Allow Chardonnay to be absorbed entirely.
4. While the Chardonnay is being absorbed into the rice, heat remaining tablespoon olive oil in a small pan on medium. Cook mushrooms until soft, then remove from heat and set aside.
5. Add one cup chicken broth to the rice and allow it to be absorbed by the rice, stirring occasionally. Once the first half of chicken broth has been absorbed, add remaining chicken broth and condensed cream of mushroom soup. Stir well. Allow the rest of the chicken broth to be absorbed into the rice, stirring occasionally.
6. Once all the chicken broth has been absorbed into the rice, add your cooked mushrooms, butter, truffle oil, and parmesan. Stir well.
7. Plate your risotto and garnish with chives.
8. Enjoy this delicious risotto with a glass of our Shamus Patrick Red Blend or our Charlie Rae Chardonnay!

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Please let us know if you end up making this tasty mushroom truffle risotto pairing and if you have any feedback! We’d love to hear it.

Cheers and enjoy!

Pear Burrata Basil Flatbread & Charlie Rae Chardonnay

By Laina Carter of McGrail Vineyards

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Pear Burrata Basil Flatbread

Makes about 8 servings (4 flatbreads; 2 servings per flatbread).

INGREDIENTS:

• Cooking spray
• 8 oz. burrata cheese (2 balls, 4 oz. each), cut into 8 pieces
• 12 oz. traditional naan bread (4 pieces, 3 oz. each)
• 2 oz. sliced prosciutto, or 4 pieces
• 1/2 one large Bartlett pear, halved and sliced thinly
• 1/2 one large granny smith apple, halved and sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup d’anjou pear white balsamic (I used Gourmet Blends’ version, but Amazon has some highly rated alternatives)
• 1/2 tsp. pink Himalayan sea salt
• 1/4 honeydew melon, sliced thinly into small pieces
• 4 oz. blackberries
• 6 large basil leaves, sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cover a sheet pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
3. Lay naan pieces face up on sheet pan, about 1-2 inches apart. Place two quarter pieces (1/2 burrata ball) on each naan, about an inch apart. Tear up prosciutto and place pieces around burrata. Top with slices of pear and apple. Drizzle white balsamic on each flatbread. Sprinkle with pink Himalayan sea salt.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 10-12 minutes, or until desired crispiness is attained.
5. Place slices of honeydew, blackberries, and sliced basil on each flatbread.
6. Serve with a glass or two of McGrail Charlie Rae Chardonnay!

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Please let us know if you end up making this pear burrata basil flatbread pairing and if you have any feedback! We’d love to hear it.

Cheers and enjoy!