Carina Cellars - Harvest Dinner with CT & Jody

Harvest Dinner with CT & Jody

Shrimp & Artichokes in Peppery Butter Sauce

Chocolate Cupcakes (Katie’s secret recipe)

Paired with:
2005 Rancho Arroyo Grande Viognier
2005 Central Coast Grenache
2004 Camp 4 Vineyard Syrah

The weather is changing and it’s time to prepare some good, hearty autumn dishes to bring in harvest 2006. While our new syrah clusters are going through the process of crushing, de-stemming, and fermentation we decided to open up a bottle of the 2004 Camp 4 Vineyard Syrah and see how it’s ageing. First, we started out with some lovely Rancho Arroyo Grande Viognier, which is also in the November wine club shipment. We invited our friend Katie McGaughy who runs the Stolpman Winery tasting room because a dinner like this is always better when shared with friends (and she also brought the cupcakes!).

Insalata Caprese with Heirloom Tomatoes

2 large Heirloom tomatoes, sliced
1 package Mozzarella, sliced
Basil, chopped
Garlic Olive Oil, for drizzling
Fresh ground salt and pepper, to taste

This is the classic Italian Caprese salad, but with heirloom tomatoes in season this salad gets a new twist. Try to find heirlooms in a couple different shades for flavor and appearance. This is an easy starter dish that is a perfect accompaniment to our 2005 Rancho Arroyo Grande Viognier. Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella and arrange in alternating layers on a serving dish. Chop basil and sprinkle on top, followed by a light drizzling of garlic olive oil. Finish with fresh ground salt and pepper and your ready for a glass of wine and a little mingling before dinner.

Grilled Marinated Leg of Lamb

Marinade
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice from 1 Lemon
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. dried oregano, crumbled
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 3lb. Leg of lamb, butterflied with fat trimmed off.

Wine Sauce for Braising
1 Tbs. Olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ bottle of Carina Cellars 2005 Central Coast Viognier (or any similar dry white wine)

Marinade:
Combine first 6 ingredients and lamb in large sealable plastic bag. Coat lamb with marinade by turning and shaking bag until marinade is evenly dispersed. You can marinate lamb in fridge for up to 8 hours, but bring lamb up to room temperature, about 1 hour, before grilling.

Wine Sauce:
Sauté garlic in olive oil for about 4 minutes over medium heat. Add wine and bring to simmer. Let sauce simmer down for about 10 minutes, then set aside in bowl for later.

Bring gas grill up to medium heat (medium-hot for charcoal). Remove lamb from marinade and run 3-4 skewers lengthwise through lamb about 2 inches apart (for flipping). Grill on lightly oiled grill rack (covered if on gas grill), flipping occasionally. Braise with wine sauce every couple minutes. Lamb should be medium-rare when it reached about 128F, about 12 minutes. Transfer lamb to a cutting board and remove skewers. Loosely cover lamb with foil and let stand for about 15 minutes. Cut into slices and serve.

Shrimp and Artichokes in Peppery Butter Sauce

4 garlic cloves
1 Tbs. Fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs. Fresh ground pepper
½ tsp. Dried basil
½ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbs. Earth Balance (butter substitute)
1 Tbs. Olive Oil
3 large artichokes (1 artichoke per person)
¾ lb peeled and deveined black tiger shrimp

Steam artichokes for 30-45 minutes in large pot, or until bottoms are tender when stuck with fork. While artichokes are steaming prepare butter sauce by combining the first 9 ingredients and preheat oven to 500?F. Grill artichokes for 10 minutes over medium heat. Spread shrimp in baking dish large enough to form one even layer. Spoon butter mixture over shrimp and disperse evenly. Bake for about 5 minutes, flipping shrimp once. Serve artichokes with shrimp in individual bowls accompanied with garlic bread and lemon wedges.

Garlic Bread

2 Tbs. Earth Balance
1 Tsp. Carina Cellars Rosemary Grapeseed Oil
4 Garlic cloves, minced
2 Tsp. Italian herb mix, dried
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 sourdough baguette

Combine first 4 ingredients in small bowl. Slice baguette into ½ inch thick strips, cutting almost to the bottom so that baguette stays in one piece. Using a butter knife, spread butter mixture in between baguette slices so that it is on both sides. Wrap baguette in aluminum foil and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. When done, finish cutting slices all the way through and serve with lamb.