2012 Holiday Party Update

Another successful party!!! Thank you to our friends who made a donation to this year’s non-profit: Daybreak. Because of your generosity, we will be delivering $1900 to assist for runaway and homeless youth. This brings the total contributed to the Dayton community to $15,486 since December 2008.

Statistics:

• 83 guests
• 10 lbs beef and 8 lbs pork
• 18 bottles of champagne
• 7 bottles of white wine
• 8 bottles of red wine
• 23 bottles of beer

The Menu:

Goat Cheese with Spicy Raspberry Chile Chutney

Blue Cheese Crackers with Cream Cheese Chutney Roulade

Shallot Parmesan Party Ryes

Bourbon Bacon Toasts

Pigs in a Blanket with Chicken and Apple Sausage

Pancetta Gorgonzola Dip

Bacon, Leek & Cheddar Mini Quiches

Manchego Marinated in Olive Oil & Herbs

Marinated Kalamata Olives

Parmesan Puff Pastry

Figs Marinated in Port and Balsamic

Blue Cheese Apple-Walnut Tarts

Brie and Fig cups

Endive Stuffed with Smoked Salmon Mousse

Endive Stuffed with Fig Filling

Italian Sausage Dip

Spicy Grilled Shrimp

Chipotle-Spiked Winter Squash and Black Bean Salad

Brussels Sprout, Blue Cheese, and Glazed-Pecan Salad

Cranberry Rice Salad

Skirt Steak Marinated Asian-style

Marinated Portobello Mushrooms

Grilled Hot Oil Marinated Pork with Cranberry Chutney

Salted Chocolate Almonds

Meringue Snowballs

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Dinner at Perla's in Austin

Perla's

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Fast Chicken Marinade

This recipe is great for a quick work night dinner.

Fast Chicken Marinade

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Passport to Dry Creek 2012 #dcvpassport

It is hear again...and each year we seem to extend it a little more. This year we arrived on Thursday. That is to give ourselves a little time to acclimate from the travel. And it was a good thing because I was ready to crash at 7:30pm last night.

There are 13 of us attending this year. Seven from Dayton OH, 1 from Phoenix AZ (although originally from Dayton), 1 from LA (who claims to hate Dayton),2 from Berkeley CA, and 2 from Petaluma CA. We have 4 Passport virgins. It is going to be an interesting weekend.

Six of us arrived at SFO and after gathering our rental tank...I mean van... we headed North. First stop was Della Fattoria Cafe in Petaluma. Some of the most amazing bread ever.

After checking in to or hotel, we waled to Healdsburg. It is truly about a six block walk...unfortunately, there are not sidewalks the entire trip. But it is a closer walk than last year.

First stop Stephen & Walker. This winery was on my list of wineries to visit but it didn't make the cut in voting by the group. All of the wines were excellent but I'm in love with their Sauvignon Blanc. Someone (not me) joined the wine club.

Next, was dinner at Bear Republic. After a sampler of 6 beers, John and I shared a sausage plate that was fabulous. You also need to have their Garlic Fries.

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Passport to Dry Creek: Planning Dinner

#dcvpassport Just 3 short weeks and we will be in California for Passport to Dry Creek. What better way to prepare ourselves than to have a planning dinner party featuring some of Dry Creek wines.

Sunchoke Soup with Pumpkin Seeds
2008 Ferrari-Carano Chardonnay Fiorella

Avocado and Mango Salad with Passion Fruit Vinaigrette
2010 Mill Creek Vineyards Santa Rosa

Grilled Salted Pork with Blueberry Sauce
Grilled Vegetables
Potato and Parmesan Gratin
2007 Lambert Bridge Petit Verdot

Chocolate-Raspberry Cakes
2008 Fritz Winery Zinfandel Estate Grown Late Harvest Dry Creek Valley
2008 Göpfrich Estate Vineyard Zinfandel Late Harvest Estate Cuvee

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Passport to Dry Creek 2012 #dcvpassport

Passport to Dry Creek Valley 2012 is just over a month away. This is our third trip to the event. There will be 13 of us participating this year. Read about our previous Passport trips.

There are 50 wineries participating in this year’s 2-day event. We average 6 wineries per day.We use a rank based voting method to determine which wineries we will visit. The first year, 3 of 12 participants voted; this year, we had 100% (13 of 13) participation in winery selection. Wineries were selected based on total (ranked) points earned.

Here are some other interesting statistics:

• Of the 50 wineries, 39 received at least one vote (78%).
• Of the 14 wineries selected, 6 are wineries we’ve never visited during Passport.
• 4 wineries had higher “average” scores but not enough total points to make the cut.

So here it is…our 2012 Passport to Dry Creek wineries:

• Mill Creek (starting winery)
• Lambert Bridge
• Seghesio
• Ferrari-Carano
• Quivira
• Dry Creek
• Rafanelli
• Ridge
• Frick
• Pedroncelli
• Manzanita Creek
• Raymond Burr.
• Papapietro Perry
• Gopfrich Estate

Here we come!!!

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Citrus Marinade Grilled Walleye

WalleyeDirect.com Citrus Marinade Grilled Walleye Video

It’s what’s for dinner tonight…

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 (8 ounce) walleye fillets

DIRECTIONS:

1.  In a large non-reactive dish, mix together the orange juice, soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, oregano, and pepper. Place the walleye fillets in the marinade and turn to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2.  Preheat grill for high heat.

3. Lightly oil grill grate. Cook the walleye for 5 to 6 minutes, then turn and baste with the marinade. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, or to desired doneness. Discard any remaining marinade.  Alternatively, you can use foil to keep the fillet from sticking the grill and keep the marinade close to the fillet.  Also not necessary to flip the fillet as sometimes they can be difficult.

http://www.walleyedirect.com/blog/

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