I received 3 lovely bottles of wine from Veramonte as samples of Organic Chilean Wines for our World Wine Travel group this month. I received no monetary compensation and all opinions are strictly my own.
.jpg)
I was having an impromptu dinner party. We, and our Marina and her family from the UK had been invited over to our friend's Steve and Sharon's house for dinner. I was going to bring appetizers. That morning I received a phone call that Sharon wasn't feeling well and everything go moved to our house.
It was a beautiful day so we had our first deck gathering of the year. Here on the Farm that means burgers. Burgers always seem to be our first grill of the year. This year's burgers were made of turkey and I enjoyed the Chardonnay with them as well.
Cam thought it would be nice to celebrate Earth Day with an Organic Wine. I couldn't agree more and I was pleased to have been chosen to receive samples.
The first bottle that I opened was a Pinot Noir that I paired with a spice rubbed pork tenderloin. I will be sharing that recipe and tasting notes with you in another post but I will say that it was a very nice bottle of wine and the pairing was superb.
The Veramonte Chardonnay, grown in Casablanca, is crisp, dry and lovely and left a lingering of creaminess on the tongue. It paired perfectly with the Oysters as well as with the Turkey Burger. I will be posting the Turkey Burger next month so stay tuned for that recipe.
I had chosen to make Oysters in Herb Butter while reading a book about Ancient Rome written by Kate Quinn. I had previously read Mistress of Rome and was slightly disappointed but I had ordered up Daughters of Rome at the same time so decided to listen to it as I took my daily walks.
I enjoyed Daughters of Rome much more than Mistress of Rome. Daughters of Rome spent more time on the historical aspect of Ancient Rome and Historical Fiction is my genre of choice. This novel follows the life of 4 cousins as they live through the succession of 4 emperors in a very short span of time. Each Emperor brings new challenges to the family. Marcella, who is a history buff and a writer, laments that as a female she will never be taken seriously. She is in a loveless marriage arranged by her father and is now stuck living at her brother's home as her father has passed away and her husband refuses to provide her with a home of their own.
He shows up occasionally to freeload from Marcella's family. When he is first introduced in the novel, he flounces in, sits down and proceeds to eat a huge amount of Oysters in Herbs. This was my inspiration for the appetizer I am sharing with you today.
Cam will be hosting a Twitter chat tomorrow at 11 AM ET where we will be discussing our thoughts on Earth Day, Organic Chilean Wines and Food and Wine Pairings. You are welcome to join us and will find us by following #WorldWineTravel. Here are some of the topics we will covering in our chat......
- A Chilean Pinot Noir with Seafood Stuffed Atlantic Salmon by Our Good Life
- Oysters in Herb Butter with a Veramonte Chardonnay and a Book Review by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Prepare for Sauvignon Blanc Day: Chile’s Biodynamic Matetic Paired with Chimichurri Blackened Halibut by Wine Predator...Gwendolyn Alley
- Sheep in the Vineyard, Wine from Organic Grapes in My Glass by My Full Wine Glass
- Wishing You Happy Earth Day with An Organic Pinot Noir from Chile + A Quintessential Pasta from Rome by Culinary Cam
What about the 3rd bottle of wine that I got from Veramonte? It was a Sauvignon Blanc that I was so excited to try. At this deck party, I came inside to get that bottle when our Chardonnay was empty. I took it out of the refrigerator and dropped it.....it exploded....a full bottle of beautiful wine completely wasted. I was so disappointed.
I am sharing this post over at Foodies Read as well. Stop by and see what the other Foodies are reading this month.
If you are looking for a nice appetizer for your next grilling party give these Oysters a try. I think you will love them. I know we did.
Yield: 24 Oysters
Grilled Oysters in Herb Butter
Fresh oysters grilled in the shell and then ladled with hot herb butter. Serve with slices of baguette so none of the buttery herb sauce goes to waste.
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 5 MinTotal time: 10 Min
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter, divided into tablespoons
- handful of fresh parsley leaves, chopped
- handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 24 oysters, scrubbed
Instructions
- Light a gas grill to med high heat.
- Place the butter, parsley, basil, garlic, zest and juice in a small sauce pan. If you have a side grill place the pan on it over medium heat, otherwise place the pan directly onto your grill.
- Place the oysters, cupped side down, directly onto the grill and close the lid. Check the oysters every minute and remove them as they start to open, transferring them to a baking sheet that has been lined with crumpled aluminum foil, cup side down to prevent the juices from spilling. After 4 minutes, remove and discard any oysters that did not open.
- Using an oyster knife, open the oysters completely and cut the oyster from the top shell placing it in the cup with the oyster juice. Carefully return the open oysters to the grill and ladle about 1 Tablespoon of butter over each. Close and cook for a minute until hot and bubbly.
- Return to the crumpled foil and serve immediately with some good bread.
Notes
Adapted from a recipe found at the NY Times.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
35.94Fat (grams)
3.84 gSat. Fat (grams)
2.43 gCarbs (grams)
0.39 gFiber (grams)
0.03 gNet carbs
0.36 gSugar (grams)
0.05 gProtein (grams)
0.17 gSodium (milligrams)
39.76 mgCholesterol (grams)
10.68 mg
Property of A Day in the Life on the Farm
Thank you for joining the event. And though I only eat oysters on rare occasion, I think I would make an exception for this pairing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cam. It was a nice pairing.
DeletePork and Pinot, oysters and Chardonnay - both perfect pairings. Bet these crisp wines were delish with the dishes. Too bad about the Sauvignon Blanc!
ReplyDeleteI know....it broke my heart.
Delete