Rav's

Latest ravioli... chicken & spinach.

Fess Parker Pinot Noir

2000 Fess Parker Winery Pinot Noir - American Tradition Reserve ( $30)
Santa Barbara County



Our Tasting Notes: Very full-bodied, dry red. Earthy aromas, cranberry and other dark fruit on the palate, and a strong lingering finish. Great with food.

Sonoma Cheese Factory

You can find cheeses from the Sonoma Cheese Factory in a lot of supermarkets so I thought I'd post on the varietal we had last night.

Pesto Jack


This is a semi-soft cheese that is extremely creamy with a delicate pesto flavor. Great addition to any cheeseboard. Just add a loaf of bread and bottle of wine and you are good to go.

Sonoma Jack cheeses come in a variety of flavors (i.e. Hot Pepper Jack Cheese, Garlic Jack Cheese, Mediterranean Jack Cheese and Pesto Jack Cheese). The company was founded in 1931 ~ 75 years in the cheese business says something.

St Pattys Day in Columbia

This past Saturday was the St Pattys festival in Columbia. It's a huge event every year that draws more than 35,000 people. We drove downtown and hopped a bus to take us to the action... think the guy ahead of me was on his way there too?



The festival is held in the "five points" area of downtown. There are literally five streets that meet and this fountain (tinted for the day) is in the center.



As a safety precaution everywhere you went they checked your id. What a fashion statement...



The guys grab a cold one...



Like most festivals there were tons of food vendors. No sausage and pepper sandwiches or zeppole, but plenty of great bbq...



We really lucked out and were able to get a table at Delaney's Pub. They had live irish music with plenty of sing-a-longs...



The drink of the day, Irish Car Bombs.

IRISH CAR BOMB
1/2 pint Guinness stout
1/2 shot Bailey's Irish cream
1/2 shot Jameson Irish whiskey

The Bailey's and Jameson are poured into a shot glass. You drop the shot glass into the Guinness and then drink.







Josh took a break from doing his taxes to join us for a drink (or two)...



All in all a good time was had by all.

- 8:30pm -

Fresh Fettuccine

While we were in Charleston I treated myself (with the help of a birthday gift certificate from Scott & Heather) to a pasta roller from Williams Sonoma. Decided to try it out last night.

This was my first attempt at making pasta dough by hand without the help of my food processor. Kneeding for 10 minutes is a good arm workout!



First we rolled the dough into long thing sheets and then used the hand cranked machine to cut the sheets into fettuccine.



We tossed the pasta with Knorr brand Creamy Pesto (sooo good!)

Weekend in Charleston

This weekend Craig and I went down to Charleston. Unfortunately I forgot to charge my camera battery so after only a few photos my camera died. But anyways, here are some highlights.

We stayed at the Charleston Doubletree downtown. The weather was beautiful so we checked in and then walked to the Charleston aquarium.

After walking all the exhibits, we headed back downtown to Henry's Bar for a quick drink and snack...





For dinner we had reservations at our favorite Charleston restaurant - Peninsula Grill.



This is where my camera died!!!!!!!! I was so upset because I planned to take photos of the beautiful food ~ all SIX courses!! Oh well.

We started with two amuse's complements of the chef...

* Shrimp salad crostini with a champagne vinaigrette

* Lamb carpaccio with rosemary-mint aioli and miniature frise salad

Then we moved on to appetizers...

Jenn: Seared Foie Gras with Duck BBQ Biscuit and Carolina Peach Jam.
Craig: Buttermilk Battered Frogs Legs over Dixie Grits.

Entrees...

Jenn: Lobster "3 Way"...Ravioli, Tempura and Sauteed with Warm Tomato-Basil Vinaigrette
Craig: Angus NY Strip Steak with foie gras-truffle butter and Vidalia Mashed Potatoes

Dessert...

Another tidbit from the chef - miniature chocolate truffle cake

Craig: Fresh made donuts with an apple cider glaze
Jenn: Tropical trio. Miniature rum soaked pineapple upside down cake, grilled pineapple w/ mint and pineapple icecream.

If you've read this far you probably have guessed by now that we pretty much drove all the way to Charleston just to eat at Peninsula. I really wish I could have had photos to share because each dish looked at wonderful as it tasted ~ Guess we will just have to go back soon!

Beer is here!

Our homemade beer was finally ready to be sampled. We poured one to check for carbination, color, and of course a taste!



Thumbs up on this batch of Hazlenut Porter so now all there was left to do was apply the labels...

2003 Naia Verdejo

Verdejo is a traditional varietal in Spain. Lots of fruit on this one... apricots, grapefruit, & lime. A long dry finish with some acidity.

Cheesesteak

Chances of finding a good cheesesteak in SC are pretty slim, so tonight we made some of our own. We shaved sirloin steaks and then used the wok like a grill. With fried onions and american cheese, yum.

Tuscan Chicken Skewers

Experimental chicken marinade turned out pretty well.



I mixed the following together in the blender until smooth:

1/2 Cup Red Wine
1/2 Cup Sundried Tomatos in Oil
Fresh Basil Leaves
Olive Oil (maybe a 1/4 Cup?)
4 cloves garlic
Salt & Pepper