Easy German Red Cabbage & McGrail Cabernet Reserve

By Laina Carter of McGrail Vineyards

Easy German Red Cabbage

Makes about 8 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 small apples, thinly sliced
• 1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
• I medium head organic red cabbage, sliced
• 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Spray a large, heavy-bottomed pot with cooking spray and heat on medium. Add apples and onions and cook until onions become soft.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Stir. Cover and continue to cook on medium for about an hour, stirring occasionally.
3. Serve hot or cold with grilled brats, spaetzle, a soft Bavarian pretzel, and a glass of 2016 McGrail Cabernet Reserve.

I hope I’ve inspired you to make this easy, but delicious fall staple at home! Please let us know if you do try out this recipe. We’d love to hear from you!

Cheers and enjoy!

Easy Beefy Stuffed Baby Bella Bites & McGrail Merlot

By Laina Carter of McGrail Vineyards

Easy Beefy Stuffed Baby Bella Bites

Makes about 9 servings (with 2 mushrooms per serving).

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1/2 small yellow onion, minced
• 1/2 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/3 lb. ground organic grass fed beef burger
• 2 tsp. herbs de Provence, divided
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 oz. organic baby bella mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed
• 2 tbsp. raw pine nuts
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium.
3. Sautee onion and garlic until soft. Add ground burger, 1 tsp. herbs de Provence, and salt and pepper to taste. Brown until beef is cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. In a bowl or ziplock bag, add baby bella mushrooms and remaining olive oil. Coat mushrooms with olive oil.
5. On an oiled baking sheet, place mushrooms upside down about 1-2 inches apart. Sprinkle raw pine nuts around mushrooms. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 5 minutes.
6. Turn oven heat to 400 degrees F.
7. Spoon cooked burger mixture into concave half of mushroom, using back of spoon to push burger into mushroom.
8. In a small bowl, combine parmesan, bread crumbs, remaining herbs de Provence, and salt and pepper. Mix well.
9. Pile parmesan mixture on top of mushrooms and bake at 400 degrees for about 7 minutes, or until bread crumbs and parmesan topping have become crispy and crunchy.
10. Sprinkle baked pine nuts over stuffed mushrooms and serve hot with a glass of yummy McGrail Merlot.

I hope I’ve inspired you to make these easy little bites at home! Please let us know if you do try out this recipe. We’d love to hear from you!

Cheers and enjoy!

Irish Beef & Potato Stew & 2017 McGrail Cabernet…

By Laina Carter of McGrail Vineyards

Irish Beef & Potato Stew

Makes about 12 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 2 1/2 lbs. choice beef roast, cut into 1.5″ cubes
• 2 tbsp. minced garlic, divided
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 large sprigs of rosemary
• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
• 6 large carrots, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped celery stalks, leaves removed
• 1 tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
• 2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 tbsp. fresh oregano leaves, chopped
• 1/2 tbsp. fresh Italian parsley leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup leeks, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 1/4 cup Irish stout beer
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 2 1/4 lbs. red potatoes, cubed into 1″ pieces
• 1 cup frozen organic peas

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium in a large frying pan.
2. In a medium sized bowl, add cubed beef roast, 1 tablespoon minced garlic. Stir.
3. Sprinkle salt and pepper over beef, while stirring, to coat evenly.
4. Slowly coat beef chunks flour with flour and stir to coat evenly.
5. Cook dredged beef and sprigs of rosemary in hot olive oil, stirring constantly, until beef is just browned around edges. Remove from pan and set aside. Toss rosemary sprigs.
6. In the same pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and chopped bacon, then stir until bacon is cooked through. Add 1 tablespoon minced garlic, chopped onion, carrots, and celery. Sautee until soft.
7. In a large crockpot, add browned beef, cooked bacon and veggie mixture, chopped herbs, leeks, bay leaves, beef broth, tomato sauce, Irish stout, and red wine. Stir. Cover and cook on high for about 2-3 hours or until stew has began bubbling.
8. Remove one of the two bay leaves and add the potatoes. Stir. Continue to cook on high for about 1.5-2 more hours or until potatoes have been cooked through.
9. Add frozen peas to soup and stir.
10. Serve stew hot with toasted herb focaccia bread and a glass or two of 2017 McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve.

I hope I’ve inspired you to make this warm classic Irish stew at home! Please let us know if you do try out this recipe. We’d love to hear from you!

Cheers and enjoy!

Prawns In Lemon White Wine Sauce Over Zucchini Noodles…

By Laina Carter of McGrail Vineyards

It’s summertime, which means most people are drinking crisp, chilled white wines. Accordingly, I’ve been coming up with more recipes for white wine pairings. This pairing suggestion came from Heather McGrail, who loves to recommend healthier versions to classic meals. Using just a bit of butter, a lean protein like shrimp, and veggies as an alternative to starch, I’d say this pairing is a bit more healthy than most. Not only is it delectable, it’s also wonderful paired with our McGrail Family Chardonnay!

Prawns In Lemon White Wine Sauce Over Zucchini Noodles & Cous Cous

Makes 3 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• ¾ lb. fresh uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined, tails on
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• ¾ cup uncooked couscous
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 heaping tbsp. minced garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp. dry white wine
• 2 tbsp. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 4 ½ cups zucchini noodles
• 3 tbsp. fresh Italian parsley leaves, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium bowl, soak shrimp for 6-12 hours in a mixture of water, milk, and apple cider vinegar to reduce fishy taste and smell. Dump liquid and rinse shrimp well before using.
2. Make couscous as directed. Set aside.
3. In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Once hot, add butter and garlic. Brown garlic in butter-oil mixture.
4. Add shrimp to pan and season well with salt and pepper. Add white wine, lemon juice, cayenne, and zucchini noodles and cook for about five minutes or until shrimp are cooked through, stirring constantly. 
5. Add more salt and pepper to pan as necessary. Sprinkle parsley leaves over pan and stir well. 
6. Spoon most of the excess sauce from shrimp and noodle pan and stir into couscous. 
7. Serve couscous with shrimp and zucchini noodles alongside some McGrail Family Chardonnay. Enjoy!

Please let us know if you end up making this zesty pairing at home. We’d love to hear from you!

Cheers and enjoy!

Pluot-Blackberry Amaretto Pie & 2018 McGrail Malbec

By Laina Carter of McGrail Vineyards

It’s the time of the year when your friends, neighbors, and coworkers all seem to have an overabundance of some sort of delicious, fresh produce from their home garden. This past week I had pluots, figs, tomatoes, and zucchini shared with me. Since stone fruit is so good in pies, is super seasonal, and I had more than I would probably eat normally, a pie seemed like the best use for these tasty treats. With a bottle of our new and bold, but jammy Malbec filled with notes of plum and blackberry, I opted for this sweet summertime pairing.

Pluot-Blackberry Amaretto Pie

Makes 8 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 frozen pie crusts (between 9 and 11 oz. each)
• ½ vanilla bean
• ¾ cup granulated white sugar, divided
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 9 oz. ripe blackberries
• 3 large, ripe pluots, pits removed, chopped into ½” pieces
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 3 tbsp. amaretto (I used Disaronno)
• Extra sugar to sprinkle on top of pie crust.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Remove pie crusts from freezer and allow to defrost completely.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
3. Cut vanilla bean down the middle. Use a spoon to scoop vanilla beans out of shell into a medium bowl. Add ½ cup sugar. Take vanilla bean and rub inside with sugar to work the remaining tiny vanilla beans out of the shell. Stir vanilla beans and sugar, so they are evenly dispersed (vanilla beans will clump together).
4. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to sugar and vanilla mixture. Stir well.
5. In a large bowl, combine blackberries, chopped pluots, lemon juice, and amaretto. Stir.
6. Add sugar mixture to fruit mixture and fold together well.
7. Oil a 9” glass pie pan. Place one pie crust in pan. Pour pie filling into crust. Use extra pie crust to create a lattice over the filling or another classic pie crust design. 
8. Bake pie at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake pie for 15 minutes. Sprinkle pie with sugar and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until baked completely.
9. Allow pie to cool for about 45 minutes or longer before serving. Enjoy with a glass of McGrail Malbec.

Please let us know if you make this warm, jammy pairing! We’d love to hear from you.

Cheers and enjoy!