Carrie's Wine List

For those of you who know me, you know that I love dry, red wine. But, like most people, I would go out for dinner, have a nice glass and then couldn't remember what kind it was or I would only remember half of the name (which apparently doesn't help you when you're trying to describe it to the store salesperson. They don't particularly like to play charades).

Anyway, though I love wine, I personally do not see a need to go out and purchase a bottle over $25. To me, it's not worth it (though I'm sure there are many wine connoisseurs that will whole-heartedly disagree with me..the essence, the aroma, the legs...blah..blah..blah). There are so many good wines out there within the $10-$25 per bottle range that I've been able to find quite a few that are noteworthy. So back to my story. About a year ago, I decided to enter the bottles of wine that I liked into the Notes section of my phone and have, on several occasions, had to send this list to a few of my friends. Since my Sangria recipe has been viewed a lot lately, I figured I'd share my list with you. Take it or leave it..completely up to you but, I have never had a headache after drinking any of these wines the next morning. 


Most of these wines I have found at a gourmet liquor store called Gary's Wine and Marketplace in NJ; however, if you're not from Northern NJ, you can certainly search for them online to locate the nearest store that carries them in your area. Below are the names and local NJ prices(in no particular order but I will star my favorites!). Now, this isn't to say that this is everything I like because I have had many other wines prior to this list that were also very good, but you know the age-memory thing isn't what it used to be so let's just agree to say this is a constant work in progress. I have only one bad wine on my list, which is Terrazas Malbec (taste like iron..yuk!) and that is only because after many months of keeping this list,  I never wrote the bad ones down until one day while looking for the "next best thing" I bought this wine again, took one sip and the memories came flooding back (and at $16/bottle my kitchen sink drain thanked me!). 


*Bodega Norton Reserva Malbec 2008 (Argentina) $13.99
The Wine Spectator has called Bodega Norton one of the top 20 world wide value oriented wineries Only three wineries were selected from Argentina and Bodega Norton was listed number one.


La Posta Malbec 2008 (Argentina)  $13.98
Wine Spectator and International Wine Cellar  90 Points


Graffigna Centenario Malbec Reserve 2007 (Argentina) $15.95


Alamos Malbec 2010 (Argentina) $7.98

*Altos de la Hoya (Argentina) $9.99
International Wine Cellar  90 Points


Vina Alicia Malbec Paso de Piedra 2007 (Argentina) $15.99


Root: 1 Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile) $9.99


Castelli Martinozzi Brunello di Montalcino (Tuscany, Italy) $14.95


*Palazzo Della Torre Allegrini Veronese (Veneto, Italy) $14.99
Antonio Galloni Wine Advocate 90 Points


Antinori Villa Toscana  (Tuscany, Italy) $16.99
Wine spectator 88 Points


Tommasi 2008 Poggio al Tufo Rompicollo Maremma Toscana (Tuscany, Italy) $12.99
Wine spectator 91 Points


*Argiano N.C (Non Confunditur) 2008 (Tuscany, Italy) $16.99
Antonio Galloni Wine Advocate 88+ Points. The final blend is made with 40% cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese, 20% Merlot and 20% Syrah.


Cantina Zaccagnini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2008 (Abruzzi, Italy) $11.99
Antonio Galloni Wine Advocate 88+ Points40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese, 20% Merlot, and 20% Syrah.


Galil Mountain Yiron 2008 (Galilee, Israel-Kosher) $23.99
This wine is a blend of 54 %Cabernet Sauvignon and 46% Merlot.


Franciscan Merlot 2005 (Napa Valley, CA) $16.99


Radius Cabernet 2008 (Washington State, USA) $8.99


Ok, now here is one if you want to really splurge or if you see it on a wine list while eating out at your favorite restaurant.


Luccarelli Pazzia Primitivo Di Manduria Old Vines 2007 $29.99

Cheers!

Cheeseburger "Sliders"

To me, I just call them mini-hamburgers. But in today's day and age, they are infamously known as "Sliders". Growing up, the only real mini-burger we heard of was at White Castle and it took a good 45 minutes to get to the closest one from where I lived. Now, they have a whole food category all on their own. In fact, when searching on FoodNetwork.com, there are 78 listed different kinds of them on their site alone...amazing! So I did a little bit of research to find out who REALLY invented the slider and this is what I found out. 

In the 1940s, Walter Anderson formed White Castle. He wanted his burgers to be as inexpensive as possible so he made them small and came up with his own cooking process (that still exists in the business today). White Castle sells its own original burgers under the trademark Slyders, these will always be known as the first and the best.

So, there you have it. Mine aren't that special. Just some ground beef, cheese, ketchup and Kosher Dill Sandwich Pickles; however, I only use Kings Hawaiian Sweet Rolls when I make mine. I stumbled upon them by accident several years ago after coming home from a weekend in MA and visiting Fall River for some Chorizo and Portuguese Sweet Bread. We brought some bread home and it was about to get stale so I decided to put hamburgers on it. It was so good and added a little sweetness; which a regular roll doesn't have. Then I found these Kings Hawaiian rolls at the supermarket and decided to try them out and it was a close match. 

We don't have this meal often (as you can see by my over 50+ recipes in the last month and not one burger has been had for dinner) but every now and then, my kids crave some good 'ole burgers and fries. We're not a "fast-food" type of family. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've eaten at one in the last few years. Though, when Wendy's came out with their Sea Salt French Fries, my youngest was all gung-ho and wanted to try them. But then, once she had them, she said "it was not a big deal" and hasn't asked to go back since. Who needs Wendy's when you can make them at home yourself in minutes!

Cheeseburger "Sliders"

1 lb. Ground Beef

1-Package of 12 Kings Hawaiian Rolls

6 Slices American Cheese

Form 12 mini-hamburger patties and grill approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Add 1/2 slice cheese to each burger until it is melted and put on roll. Top burger with your favorite condiments. 

Enjoy!

"Leftover" Wasabi Chicken Pot Pie

Well if you haven't already noticed, I made a slight adjustment to this blog. I finally sat down to figure out how to add categories so that if you're looking for a particular menu item, such as Sides or Vegetables, you can just click on the title and it will bring up all of the blog posts containing what you're looking for. I told you I was new at this blogging thing and I'll figure it all out eventually. I hope this helps!

And now for dinner...

Remember when I made the Tarragon and Lemon Roasted Chicken earlier this week? I had some leftover chicken from that meal. I purposely bought a roaster large enough so that I would have extra especially for this recipe. When shopping I found a new item I had never seen before called Golds Wasabi Sauce. It has the consistency of a horseradish sauce and it wasn't pure wasabi (that would have made this dish extremely hot!) but I figured I'd try it out and if nothing else, it might taste good with a turkey sandwich. I normally use Dijon mustard in this recipe and if you can't find this sauce, by all means use that instead. It wasn't spicy, as you might think, but gave it a little something extra. This dish is so quick to put together because everything is already cooked. In the past, I've even bought the frozen mixed vegetables to make it even easier. You can add or substitute any of these vegetables for ones that you may have or prefer. I even buy the pre-packaged refrigerated pie crust dough, but as you'll see below, I recommend par-baking the bottom shell before adding the filling so that the dough isn't raw from soaking up the juices. 

Wasabi Chicken Pot Pie

2-9” Ready to Bake Refrigerated Pie Crusts

2 Cups Cooked Chicken Breast, chopped

1 Cup Cooked Carrots, sliced

1 Cup Cooked Corn

2 Scallions, chopped

½ Cup Peas

2 Tbsp. Canola Oil

2 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth

3 Tbsp. Golds® Wasabi Sauce or 2 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard

2 Tbsp. Cornstarch

2 Tbsp. Cold Water

Line pie dish with one of the pie crusts, place entire dish on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. (You'll want to do this in case the filling bubbles over, so it won't cause a total mess in the bottom of your oven!) Remove from oven.

This is how the filling
should look prior to
adding the top crust.

In a large, non-stick frying pan, heat oil and add chicken, carrots, corn, scallions, and peas. Sauté for 5 minutes until all ingredients are heated through. Add chicken broth and wasabi sauce. In a small cup, mix together the cornstarch and cold water and add to the chicken and vegetable mixture. Stir until the sauce is slightly thickened. Add entire mixture to the par-baked pie crust and top with remaining uncooked pie crust. Bake for another 35 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. 

Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes before slicing. Serves 6.