Our Wine and Dine Experience

Last night we attended a wine and dine at the Springbrook Inn in Prudenville, MI.  The Inn puts on these dinners 6 times a year and we go as often as we can.  

Our friends, Bob and Cathy, live in the neighboring town so it is always fun to join them for the evening.  We start with cocktails at their house, have dinner, return to their house for after dinner drinks and laugh....laugh....laugh  the night away.

This morning they made us two wonderful casseroles for breakfast one savory and one sweet.  The savory casserole is going to make an appearance on this blog in the near future....it was delicious.  The sweet casserole was delicious as well.  It was a French toast casserole and I have shared many of them with you already.

Back to the dinner:

The tables are always beautifully set.  The chef works hard to offer food different for each event.  As you can imagine, this gets harder as time goes by.  This is their 3rd year hosting these events and he has yet to duplicate a dish.

We started off with a Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc from Australia.  This was paired with a goat cheese spread flavored with black pepper and honey with a fig compote.  This was my  favorite bite of the evening.  The pairing was very nice.  The Sauvignon Blanc was reminiscent of biting into a grapefruit.

The second course paired a Blackened Salmon with a Pinot Noir from Meiomi Vineyards in California.  The sommelier explained that Meiomi wines are made from wine grown in several different areas of the Coastal Region of California.  The same vineyards that supply the grapes for their Caymus label.  

Next we were served another wine from the family that gives us Caymus.  This Merlot from Emmolo was paired with Beef Burgundy.  Emmolo Winery is ran by Jenny Wagner in Napa Valley.  This wine was deep, rich and smooth.  We quickly ordered ourselves a case.

Dessert was an amazing Avocado Ice Cream paired with a Cristalino Brut out of Spain.  Sparkling wine is always a good choice with dessert and this was no exception.

We headed out shortly after breakfast because there were weather advisories for snow storms and we wanted to get home before they got here.  I had originally thought we would be stopping for dinner on the way home but we were home well before dinner time. 

This worked out just as well because I had half a slab of ribs in my refrigerator that needed to be used.  The other half had been turned into a Cassoulet that I will be sharing with you later this week.  

Besides the ribs, I had half a head of cabbage, 1 green apple, half a package of mushrooms, half an onion and about a cup of chicken broth in the refrigerator.  These all got thrown into the Instant Pot and an hour later we were enjoying dinner.

After nearly two months of feasting on fancy, fussy foods my body and soul are now craving homey, rustic, casual foods as is evident by this Roasted Veggie Tart that I shared with you on Saturday.

Pork and Cabbage in an Instant Pot

1/2 slab of meaty spare ribs

1 T. olive oil

1/2 head green cabbage, cored and shredded

1/2 Vidalia onion, sliced

1 green, tart apple, peeled and diced

3-4 oz. sliced mushrooms

1 c. chicken broth

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Turn the Instant Pot to the saute setting.  Divide the ribs into individual pieces and season with salt and pepper.  Cook in the Instant Pot until browned on both sides.

Add the cabbage, onion, apple, mushrooms, broth and garlic to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.  Hit the cancel button to stop the saute cycle.  Place the lid on the pot, ensuring that the steam vent is closed.  Press the Meat/Stew button and allow to cook for the preset time of 35 minutes.  Let steam naturally release for 10 minutes when cooking cycle ends before using the quick release method.  Print Recipe