WineLife365

Posts Tagged ‘Recipes’

It’s not too often that one gets an opportunity to sit down to afternoon tapas, drink fabulous wine and hang out with a guy that once played bass guitar in front of 20,000 screaming rock fans night after night.

1,000+ empty wine bottles and 350 posts later, I find myself sitting across from a dude that played bass guitar for the 70’s supergroup Bad Company and thought – does it get any better than this?!    I grew up listening to Bad Company and playing air guitar to songs like “Can’t Get Enough,” “Rock Steady,” “Bad Company,” “Run With The Pack,” “Silver, Blue & Gold,” and so many other kickass songs;  so when Paul Cullen asked me if I’d care to join him for lunch, I said, “Hell yeah!”

Over the course of lunch, Paul and I certainly talked a lot about his time in Bad Company, but I was curious to know how he caught the wine bug, and how his love of food, music and wine has turned his world into a Sonata.

WL365:  Paul, how does a kid born and raised in Buffalo, NY go from being a sports nut, just learning to play bass guitar, make the decision to become a full-time musician?

Paul Cullen: I was always into music…I was the guy everyone looked up to for what the cool new music was. I also had mind blower speakers in home stereo cabinets in my Ford Pinto with a Pioneer Super tuner 8-track.

WL365:  Naturally Paul, all of us once-mullet-sporting, air guitar heroes wanna know:  how in the world did you land such a sweet gig with the legendary rock band Bad Company?

Paul Cullen: After 9 years of playing bass on the road, I went back to Ft. Myers, FL and started up a band called Boys of Summer, which ended up being a very popular band in the area.  Songs played on 97 Rock radio station and we eventually opened up for Molly Hatchet, REO Speedwagon and other rock bands.  The guys from AC/DC and Bad Company lived there and used to come out to see us and sit in all the time. Well, the job came up for Bad Company and Cliff Williams, the bassist for AC/DC threw my name in the hat for the job. I went to London for the audition and got the gig the same day.

WL365:  How would you sum up your experience of living and breathing the life of a rock star?

Paul Cullen: It was dream-like…Playing with my idols growing up was amazing.  Hard to imagine if you haven’t been in that position.

WL365:  Most of us envision rockers with a bottle of Jack or a 1.75 liter bottle of rum clutched in their fist on the brink of collapse.  How did you find the passageway into wine?

Paul Cullen: Mick Ralphs, guitarist for Bad Company, turned me on to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a Rhone Red from France, and I have been a huge fan ever since.

WL365:  After leaving Bad Company it seems as if your own ‘winelife,’ as well as your career in music, really evolved.  What led you to the decision to become a solo artist; and, besides your love for wine, what motivated you or gave you the courage to release your first private label wines?

Paul Cullen: Being a bassist you have to depend on everyone else for a gig, and the only thing I had to compare playing bass was when I was with Bad Company:  I needed a new outlet to rejuvenate my music career.  I have always been interested in Latin jazzy nylon string guitar. I think it comes from my parents listening to Jose Feliciano and Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66 when I was young.  I figured I didn’t pick up bass until I was 20,  so I could pick up guitar when I was 46.

The private label was a combination of knowing that wine and music go hand in hand and from being successful as a wine representative for an Italian wine importer for 3 years. I figured, why sell some else’s wine when I could have my very own. I love the fact that I can make all the decisions on what I think is best for my company – other than getting my wife’s approval..ha-ha! 

WL365:  Congratulations on the release of your third solo CD, Eleven Sundays.  How did the title of the CD come about and what is the significance behind the number eleven and Sundays?

Paul Cullen:  It’s a culmination of songs I wrote on Sundays.  Eleven has been a favorite number of mine since my sports days. I always had #11. Plus, in numerology, the number 11 represents: Higher ideals, invention, refinement, congruency, balance, fulfillment and vision.

WL365:  You’re either crazy or extremely passionate about the things you love.  In addition to releasing a new solo CD, you’ve also released your first private label wines called Sonata.  Can you tell us a little bit about the wines?

Paul Cullen:  The wines come from The Sierra Foothills, east of Sacramento, CA.  Drytown Cellars is a family run vineyard that grows 14 different varietals, many from Italy.

WL365: What can people expect when they try your Sonata Bianco and Rosso?

Paul Cullen:  Balance!!

WL365:  What is your definition of “balance,” as it relates to music and wine?

Paul Cullen:  Not one thing hits you in the face…a lot of quality aspects fill your mouth and nose.  Just like my music does to your ears. Nothing obtrusive …just sexy wine sippin’ sounds.

WL365:  Do you have any favorite musical artists?  What is your all-time favorite CD? 

Paul Cullen: Peter Gabriel’s Secret World Live, David Gilmour’s On an Island, Jesse Cook and Sting.

WL365:  There’s one track from your first CD, Dreamdance with a very provocative song title that immediately caught my attention:  “Friends Don’t Kiss.”  What’s the song about?

Paul Cullen:  I knew this really cool girl for a long time and it was obvious that we were attracted to each other, but we were both in relationships.  After my relationship ended, we hooked up one night by chance.  After some passionate kisses I thought I was in. The next day she said we should just be friends and I said, “Friends Don’t Kiss like that!!”

WL365:  I’ve heard that you love to cook at home for family and friends.  Will you share a few of your favorite recipes that taste out–of-this-world delicious with your Bianco and Rosso wines?

Paul Cullen:
Grandma Tag’s Fast Sauce paired with Sonata Rosso.

Pan Seared Diver Scallops on Cheesy Polenta in a Tarragon Pancetta sauce paired with Sonata Bianco. 

WL365:  If you could have dinner with any living celebrity or well-known public figure while sipping on your wines, who would it be and what wine would you want to share?

Paul Cullen:  Chef Mario Batali…Both of my Sonata Wines with homemade pasta and gnocchi dishes my Grandma Tagliaferro taught me to make.

WL365:  Ok, last question Paul: Is there any chance that you might end our interview by performing your rendition of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Games”?

Thanks Paul!  Please check out Paul Cullen’s new CD, Eleven Sundays and his delicious first private label wines called Sonata.

Editor’s Notes:

Paul’s wines can be purchased online through Boutique Wine Room.
A big thank you to our friend, Holly, for whipping up the scallops recipe for us!

Can you remember some of the things your Dad taught you as a child?  My Dad wasn’t much in the kitchen, but he did show me a few things like:  making snow cones out of freshly-laid snow (“stay away from the yellow stuff, son”) and how to properly season a vine-ripened watermelon with salt.  But my all-time favorite Dad concoction was – whipped peanut butter and syrup…scooping it up with Ritz crackers.

Over the years, I’ve tried my best to come up with some interesting creations of my own, in hopes that one day my sons would be interested in trying new foods and enjoy cooking.  I’m proud to say that I’ve officially passed down a dish that my youngest son made for the very first time yesterday. 

I first made this recipe several months ago, thinking that my sons wouldn’t have any interest in tasting it.  To my surprise, our youngest son, who is 7, came in the kitchen and said, “that smells sooo good!”  So I gave him a little taste of my chicken and sausage gumbo creation; and it was love at first bite.  He devoured a bowl of it and made me promise him that one day I would teach him how to make Chicken and Sausage Gumbo so that he could “teach his kids, and they would teach their kids, and their kids would teach their kids” and so on…

So here it is – the very first heirloom recipe passed on to and made by my 7 year-old son.

List of Ingredients:

• 1 package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 can of Progresso Chicken and Sausage Gumbo Soup
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green pepper and onion
• 1 can Mexican Style Corn (with red and green peppers)
• A generous helping of my beloved Stubb’s Chile-Lime Spice Rub
• Some sort of sausage.  We used Jimmy Dean’s fully cooked turkey sausage (4 links is plenty)
• 1 yellow or white onion
• Fresh cilantro
• Sprinkle of black pepper, garlic powder and Chipotle Chili Pepper (to taste)
• Olive oil

All you need is one large pot.  Heat up some olive oil. Place chicken thighs in the pot at medium heat.  As the chicken is cooking, chop up the onion and put it into the pot.  Now add your dry spices.  Toss this around a bit to fully cook the chicken. Next, chop up your sausage and toss it into the pot.  Now for the really easy parts.  Add the can of diced tomatoes with green pepper and onion.  Give it a good stir in the pot.  Now add a can of Mexican Style Corn and do the same.  After you’ve stirred this around a bit, add the can of Progresso Chicken and Gumbo Soup.  You want to let this simmer for about 15 -20 minutes before serving.  Top with fresh cilantro.

For a wine, I suggest a high acidity white wine like the 2010 Los Vascos Sauvignon Blanc from Chile (Sample, MSRP: $10.99).  The 2009 version blew us away, and the 2010 is wickedly-good too!

As for a red, my wife and I were equally knocked out by the 2009 Ricardo Santos Malbec from Argentina (Sample, MSRP: $19.00).  This wine comes from the single vineyard La Madras, on the slopes of the Andes Mountains in Argentina.  When tasting this Malbec, I detected a massive earthy, herbaceous component (it’s crazy delicious!), joined by an equally weighty burst of sweet, dark fruit that produced a long, elegant finish.  My son really enjoyed this wine as well.  I kid, I kid! 

Cheers to family traditions!!

Personally, I could grab a box of crackers out of the cabinet and top it with some cheddar cheese and bacon, then wash it all down with some good swill and call it dinner.  However, because I’ve set my wife’s expectations so high with my creative cooking, she’s come to expect great things to emerge from our little kitchen with only a few ingredients lying around.

I confess:  I’m not a big fan of the grocery store and I don’t know shit about technical cooking.  I’m just a simpleton who hates to waste food and is armed with a bit of imagination.

I digress:  the other night things were so bare in our fridge and cabinets that I resorted to ‘borrowing’ two ingredients that our friend brought over for a dinner that she was planning to make for us in two days.  I thought to myself, what the hell!!  It’s not like she needs these two things tomorrow, so why not use them tonight – so I did!!

Here’s what I ‘stole’:

• 1 Spaghetti Squash
• 1 pkg of Chorizo (Spanish pork sausage)

 My stuff:

• 1 medium Yellow Onion
• 1 can Green Giant “Mexicorn”
• 1 jar Fire Roasted Red Peppers
• 1 – 4.5 oz. can of Old El Paso chopped green chiles
• 1 – 2.25oz can of Black Pearls sliced ripe black olives
• A generous helping of my beloved Stubb’s Chile-Lime Spice Rub
• 1 cup of red wine – funny how we never run out of that! 

Here’s my one pot method:  chop up your onion and sauté a bit in your pot with olive oil.  Dice up the Chorizo and toss it into the pot.  While this is cooking, poke some holes with a knife into your spaghetti squash.  Place spaghetti squash in microwave for 10 -11 minutes. 

Turning your attention back to your pot, start tossing in the rest of your ingredients:  fire roasted red peppers, Old El Paso chopped green chiles, Black Pearls sliced ripe black olives.

Now the fun part:  go to town sprinkling your little creation with Stubb’s Chile-Lime Spice Rub and add 1 cup of red wine. 

In this case, I used a really tasty 2009 Apaltagua Estate Grown Carmenère (Sample, MSRP:  $11).  It’s a great little number beaming in spicy, smoky black cherry, plum, tea, green pepper, with a minty herbal note.  Very well balanced and nicely put together.  3 Stars out of 4! 

Back to dinner.

After bringing everything in your pot to a boil, bring it down to a mellow simmer to allow all of the great flavors to mingle.  Then take your spaghetti squash, split it in half and scoop out the seeds.  Finally, make a nice presentation by putting it on a nice plate like this…

…sprinkle the  spaghetti squash with a little salt and pepper (maybe some butter) and you’re all set!

Oh, and don’t forget the Carmenère to wash it all down!

“Oh man, that’s good!” Mrs. WineLife365

Until the next time we run out of food…Enjoy!!

Remember when getting together with a few friends for a barbecue used to mean firing up the old charcoal grill, tossing on some hot dogs and frozen Topps burgers, opening up a few bags of chips, and sitting back in a rusty aluminum meshed folding lawn chair while throwing back some ice-cold PBRs?  If you came home with the smell of charcoal smoke in your hair and clothes, roasted marshmallows stuck to your shorts and feeling the effects of drinking in the afternoon sun …you knew you had a good time.

These days, barbecue has taken on a whole new meaning for every Backyard Gourmet.  This past weekend, our fantastic foodie friends, Holly and Mike, showed off some of their impressive “Go Big or Go Home” skills on the grill - so I thought I’d share.

We started things off with some fresh sliced strawberries, cantaloupes, grapes, a little salsa and chips and delicious homemade guacamole.

Holly’s Fresh Guacamole:
(Serves 6-8)

• 3 Hass avocados, pitted and scooped out
• 1 small tomato (I like to use the vine ripened tomatoes) seeded and diced
• 1 small yellow onion diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• Juice of one lime
• One small bunch of cilantro chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mash together.  I prefer to use a large potato masher; some folks will use the tines of a fork to blend things up, while others use a food processor.  Just depends on what consistency you want to achieve.

For the second dish, Holly created a Grilled Citrus Chicken and Mango Quesadillas with Chipotle Sour Cream.

Grilled Citrus Chicken and Mango Quesadillas with Chipotle Sour Cream
(Serves 4-6)

For the marinade:

• Juice of one half of a blood orange
• Juice of one lemon
• Juice of one lime
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• Salt and pepper
• 1.5 pounds skinless, boneless chicken (I used package of fresh chicken tenders)

Marinade chicken for at least 3-4 hours, or overnight

For the Quesadillas:

• 1 package of burrito size flour tortillas
• 1 medium mango peeled, cut into medium size dice
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
• 1 small bunch of cilantro chopped, reserve some for garnish
• 1 package of goat cheese crumbles

Chipotle Sour Cream:

• Use 1/2 of a chipotle pepper canned in adobo sauce
• 3/4 cup sour cream

Blend together in mini food processor or blender.

Grill chicken, and then chop into medium dice.  Brush tortilla with olive oil.  Assemble chicken with remaining ingredients on one half of tortilla, sprinkle with goat cheese.  Fold tortilla over.  Brush both sides with olive oil.  Grill for 2 minutes each side over medium heat.  Top with dollop of the sour cream and garnish with cilantro.  Serve immediately.

A wine that came up big with this creation and that was also a huge hit with folks at an earlier tasting this year was the Cantine Riondo Prosecco Spago NV (Veneto, Italy $10 US).

For the main course, Holly assembled a few Food Network inspired dishes along with a Creamy Cheese and Chipotle Polenta (see recipes below).

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak
(Serves 6)
Recipe found on FoodNetwork.com, we tweaked it by adding cumin and cayenne

Marinade Ingredients

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Other ingredients

• 2 pounds flank steak
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper 

1. Score the surface of the steak with 1/4 inch deep knife cuts, about an inch apart, across the grain of the meat. Combine the marinade ingredients. Place steak and marinade ingredients in a large freezer bag. Coat the steak well with the marinade. Seal the bag and place in a bowl. Chill and marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
2. Using olive oil soaked onto a paper towel, coat the grill rack of your grill with olive oil. Preheat the grill with high, direct heat. The grill is hot enough when you hold your hand about an inch over it and you can only hold it there for about a second.
3. Take the steak out of the marinade bag and sprinkle generously on all sides with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. The salt and pepper will help form a savory crust on the steak. Place steak on the hot grill. If you are using a gas grill, cover the grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side. Half way through grilling on each side, turn the steak 90° so that you get more grill marks.  This will cook it to approximately medium-rare.

If you want, you can take the excess marinade and bring it to a boil, simmer for several minutes, and serve with the flank steak. Great also with salsa or horseradish sauce.

For the sides, Holly put together one mean slaw and an interesting take on polenta.

Green Onion Slaw:
(Serves 8-10)
Recipe found on FoodNetwork.com

• 1 cup coarsely chopped green onions, white and green parts
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 Serrano chilies
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small head of purple cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• I substituted one bag of Dole Classic Slaw in place of both cabbages

To make the dressing for the slaw, combine the green onions, vinegar, honey, chilies, mayonnaise, oil and salt and pepper to taste in a blender and blend until emulsified.

Combine the cabbage, red onion and poppy seeds in a bowl, add the dressing, and stir until combined. Fold in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate while you grill the Steak or for up to 1 hour.  

Creamy Cheese and Chipotle Polenta
(Serves 4-6)

• 1 3/4 cup corn meal
• 6 cups water
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce finely diced
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Bring the water to a boil, add generous pinch kosher salt.  Slowly add in the corn meal, using a whisk, stirring constantly.  When cornmeal has absorbed the water, has a cream of wheat texture, then add remaining ingredients, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Searching for a balance that would be bold, concentrated and full of spicy goodness to complement this meal, I decided to take a chance with a couple of wines that I had received as samples from Chile’s Viña Santa Carolina.

Celebrating over 135 years, Viña Santa Carolina is best known in the local markets that it has served over this time span.  More recently however, the winery has made an effort to step up its marketing campaign in the US to establish itself as a producer of quality driven wines at affordable prices.

First up was the 2010 Santa Carolina Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon (Sample, MSRP: $12 US).  The general consensus on this red wine was that with it being a 2010 it seemed a bit sharp on the tannins and registered a lot of overly sweet raspberry flavors on the palate.  We tried it over the course of two hours hoping that this breathing time would open up some other interesting flavor components.  Unfortunately, we all thought that the vanilla was too overpowering against the subtle black peppery notes and forward sweet raspberry fruit flavors.

We were all in complete agreement  – 2 Stars out of 4 for the 2010 Santa Carolina Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon.

Our second wine of the evening from Viña Santa Carolina was the 2010 Reserva Carmenere (Sample, MSRP: $12 US).  Much like the Cabernet Sauvignon, this red also showcased a noticeable amount of upfront vanilla flavor.  One of our hosts’ described it as being like a “vanilla smoothie on your tongue.”  The difference between the two wines however, was that this red wine was much more concentrated and balanced out with dark fruit and soft spices.  We all agreed that the 2010 Santa Carolina Reserva Carmenere was silky smooth and offered a lot of good value for everyday wine drinkers.

3 Stars out 4 for the 2010 Santa Carolina Reserva Carmenere. 

And what would a barbecue be without dessert?

We ended the evening on high (albeit stuffed) note with a cheese course that was out of this world good!

Shown in picture: 

Delice D’Affinos (France) cow’s milk, soft, creamy, mild. 

Cabrales/Valdeon  (Spain) blue cheese, sheep and goats milk.  This cheese came highly recommended by the crunky looking European cheese lady at the cheese counter.  She also recommended lightly drizzling honey over top.  What!?.. it was Delicious!  Thanks cheese lady!

Murcia Al Vino (Spain) Sheep/ goats milk, red wine notes, very tangy.

Romero Vall De Cati (Spain) Sheep/goats milk packed in a rosemary herbed crust.

After all this, who would have thought that a pile of Pillsbury crescent roll dough mixed with butter, cream cheese, cinnamon, honey and sugar could have be so effin’ good!!  (Don’t judge!)  Checkout this Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie that my wife stumbled across on Allrecipes.com.

Trust me, when I tell you – it was good for dessert, but you’ll wake up the next morning wanting it for breakfast too!

Good Friends, Good Food and Good Wine!  That’s what Good Livin’ is all about!  Bon Appétit!