Rainy Days and Monday ...

The rainy weather decided on the dinner tonight.  In an effort to change our mood from the cool wet evening, I decided to make a special chili.  Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili looked like an excellent alternative to the usual hamburger infused version.   This turned out to be easy to make and was both spicy and tasty (although it did not have the same appeal as a regular fat enriched chili).   If you have vegetarian tendencies, I can recommend this as a good alternative … if you are a dedicated meat eater, look for another recipe.

We paired the dinner with a Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel.  This 2009 Rubus was good for a Zinfandel, but we have gotten away from the berry and fruit flavors of a standard Zin and therefore did not like this as well as some of our other wines.  Never-the-less, the wine did pair well with the chili and especially well with the chocolate.

Playing with the New Machine

Sorry, it has been a while since I have been inspired to write on this blog, but the spring weather today has certainly inspired me!  First let me apologize for the lack of wine in this posting.  We recently purchased a “Margarita Machine” and I just had to try it (mainly to reward my wife on Mothers day … that’s my story and I am sticking to it).  First I made some BBCs with banana, coconut rum, Baileys, and Disaronno.  These were very good but I have yet to get the hang of the “machine” to make a silky smooth daiquiri type drink.  I followed this up with some home made margaritas which were of the right consistency.  I guess there is a reason it is called a Margarita Machine.

            Meanwhile I actually cooked something for dinner!  Since the basil is in, we started off with caprese.   As you can see from the picture, this turned out very well and there was enough basil to make it the way I like it and not the way it seems you get it in Italy (with just a small taste of basil).  

            We also had some left over rice which my wife had the idea to combine with broccoli, fresh lemon juice, and dried cherries.  This and some roasted onions turned out to be very good side dishes for the main course of Salmon.  

            When we last went to Wegmans (yes that is still our grocery store of choice) they had "King Salmon" for a premium price.  Although we had never had this version of Salmon before, knowing that Sunday would be a special day (remember Mothers Day?) we elected to splurge on this fish and boy am I glad we did!  The fish was melt in your mouth good and when topped with a mild horseradish sauce was truly memorable (it even paired well with the Margaritas).  

            To return to one of the main reasons for this blog, we finished the dinner with a Port from Veritas.  This is a Virginia winery which has a special place in our heart since it is where our son will be getting married this summer.  Anyway, the Port was an excellent pairing with the dessert chocolate. All things considered, I believe my wife had a good mother’s day and I know I did also.