In Florida, if a bottle of wine has been open for a day, not properly air pumped, and less than half full… THEN IT’S STALE! 

DO NOT TRY AND SERVE ME THAT OLD CRAP! 

This happens so often its irritating. Don’t tell me, “its ok. It was opened yesterday.” NO! Its not OK. The wine tastes different… and not in a good way! Bartenders get so nasty when you ask them to open a fresh bottle. If you serve wine by the glass, and don’t properly preserve your wines, then that’s your problem. I’m paying good money for good wine. Not your stale leftover crap. A couple restaurants here are famous for that (on PGA Blvd) and I won’t go back. But places like Seasons 52 have installed a new air pumping system to preserve the wines, and it works! 

Of course there are exceptions: In Northern California, the wine may be still good the next day, or even better (yes, I was shocked!). Could be their lack of humidity? Not sure. And sometimes a Pinot Noir is better the next day. But, other than that, just go ahead and open a fresh bottle for those of us who know better. 

Just boil a package of Tortellini as per directions on the package. The last couple minutes, toss in some frozen peas. Drain, saving a little pasta water.

Meanwhile, saute peeled & deveined shrimps (I like 31-35’s here) with a hot pepper (optional), until pink. 

Add pasta water to shrimp and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Add tortellini and peas and mix well.

Top with parmesan cheese and fresh basil. 

The basil really makes it a sweet dish!!

Awesome! Try it!

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and brown in olive oil in a hot pan, both sides. Remove, keep warm. 

Add some salsa to the pan, with a dash of white wine. Let simmer for a minute or 2, then add in a large dollop of fat free sour cream. Stir to combine. 

Add chicken back to pan, cover and simmer until chicken cooked through. 

Top with mexican cheese and a small dollop of sour cream. 

I served with black beans and yellow rice. 

Very good! and Very easy! Try it!

So, I may have done this the hard way, but in order to keep any traces of dirt out of the meal, I steamed the clams separately. But before steaming, I let them soak in clean cold water, forcing them to “clean themselves”. (pretty clever suggestion from my husband, Bob!)

First thing: boil the whole wheat linguine as you would normally cook pasta. 

In a large sauce pot, I added the aromatics: white wine, lemon juice, clam juice, a couple finely diced peppers, red pepper flakes, and some water. I squeezed the lemons into this pot and threw the lemon rinds into the steamer pot. Turn heat on medium high to let these juices begin to marry and simmer and reduce a bit. 

In the steamer pot I added the same aromatics: white wine, lemon juice and rinds, a little clam juice, a couple peppers, and some water. Add the clams to the steamer part and steam for about 5 minutes, until they all open. (if they don’t open, discard. they are dead)

Add cooked pasta to sauce pot, and combine. At last minute, add cooked steamed clams to same pot, and combine.

Serve in large bowls, with crusty bread and garnish with fresh parsley. 

Since I am growing peppers, I started this dish with (untraditional) fine dice of bell and hot peppers. Saute in olive oil.

Then add a Sirloin steak, seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook both sides until just browned. Remove from pan.

Add mushrooms, halved. And some frozen pearl onions. Add some baby potatoes, halved, and some carrots, large chunks. Stir to combine and deglaze a bit.

Add 2 cups of red wine (I had to use the good wine I was drinking!) (Top off with some chicken or beef broth, if you don’t want to use all your good wine!). Add in a can of condensed golden mushroom soup. 

Deglaze pan, scraping bottom for bits. Add steak back to pan and simmer for at least 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, cook some whole wheat egg noodles. 

Serve over noodles, with crusty bread / rolls to sop up the delicious sauce!!!

To WTSO.com!!!!

This is the coolest website ever!! If you like / love /buy / drink wine!!! I check it several times a day, looking for wines I know, or wines I may like. They are always marked down at least 50%, and if you buy a couple, the freight is free!!!! 

I get hooked at least a couple times a week!!! They ship the next day, and you get your wine in just 2 days. Then they charge your credit card. Great site! No, I don’t work for them! Just a huge fan!!!

WTSO stands for Wine Till Sold Out… so you gotta watch for the deals, and grab them when you see them, or you’ll miss out!!!

Cook whole wheat spaghetti pasta in boiling water. 

Meanwhile, saute in a little olive oil finely diced peppers of your choice. (I used serrano, cayenne, banana, and bell peppers) for a few minutes. Season with a little salt. 

Then add peeled, deveined shrimps to the pan and cook for a couple minutes, until almost cooked through. (may need to add a touch more olive oil)

Add a healthy shot (almost 1/4 cup) of a good white wine and simmer. 

Add about 2 TBS of Sundried Tomato Pesto (or regular pesto, if you prefer), Stir to combine. 

I added a head of chopped baby bok choy. (I like Shanghai) for something green. (optional. you could add chopped spinach or kale, here)

Add in cooked pasta and about 1 TBS of sundried tomatoes. Stir to comine. (add in some pasta water if needed). Stir to combine. 

Serve in large bowl, top with a little parmesan cheese.

So, in a couple months, I’ll be going back to Wine Country, California! I’m so excited! I have many many wineries booked already, including: Chalk Hill, Lancaster, Gustafson, Skipstone, some random wineries in Dry Creek Valley, Dutcher Crossing, and Ferrari Carano. All of these on the Sonoma County Side. Then, I’ll drive over to Napa Valley to see, among others: Schramsberg, Round Pond, Conn Creek, Swanson, William Cole, Tresspass, Crocker & Star, Jessup Cellars, Barnett, Tamber Bey, Bremer, Cade, Saddleback, Chappelet, Shafer, Pine Ridge, and Laird! Pfew!!! What a whirlwind trip! But I am so excited!!!! Did I miss anyone?

Check out www.tastingroom.com for 50ml tasting sets!! Pretty cool!! And you can carry this size on an airplane! As many as you can cram into a ziplok baggie!!! I’m looking for some good sets now…..