Celebrating Livermore Valley with the #WinePW Gang and the Weekly Menu

I was given 3 bottles of wine from Livermore Valley as sponsor gifts for tasting purposes in return for an honest review.  I received no monetary compensation and all opinions and writings are strictly my own.

I did a food pairing with each of these wines for this month's Wine Pairing Weekend......

I am going to share my pairings with you as they occurred.  My first pairing was on Easter Sunday when I opened the bottle of McGrail Cabernet Sauvignnon to pair with my Roasted Leg of Lamb.  

This is the recipe that I am sharing with you today.  However, the problem with doing a pairing and recipe on a holiday is that I start off with all good intentions and then get busy and forget to take photos.  Full disclosure.  When I realized that I had completely forgotten to take photos of this pairing I pulled the leftover lamb from the refrigerator and the empty bottle from the recycling bin and the photo above is what I'm left with LOL.

But I'm still sharing the recipe today because it is marvelous and the pairing was soooooo very scrumptious!!  Let's talk about the wine.....

This bottle of  2019 Reserve from McGrail is amazing.  It is fruity and smoky.  So smooth and delicious, I didn't want to share it and was kicking myself for opening it on a holiday when I could have only had to share it with Frank.  It is well worth the $49 price tag.  

You can learn more about this and McGrail's other wines by visiting their website.  You may want to order up a bottle of this wine and try it with the lamb recipe found below.

The next bottle I opened was a L'Autre Cote Cab Franc from the Steven Kent wineries collection.  OH MY YUM!!!  

I didn't have to share this wine with anyone but Frank.  It was opened on Easter Monday and paired with a Biryani made with the leftover lamb.  Holy cow, this is a deep, dark, strong wine.  My personal favorite of the three I was gifted.  

This is the only varietal used for this label by winemaker, Steven Kent, in Livermore Valley.  I think this wine is best described in the words written by Kent on the Tech Sheet.

As the dominant variety in a blend or as the only grape in the wine, really good Cabernet Franc is exponentially more graceful, more sinuous, sexier – and without equal in complexity – compared to any other variety. Cabernet Franc is a variety of dimension – breadth of fruit, depth of tannin, and length of acidity. At its best, it compels the wine lover to return to the glass repeatedly as each sip reveals more profound quality and enjoyment.

I could not agree more.  This was an amazing bottle of wine. Stay tuned for a post containing the Biryani recipe for you to make after the Roasted Leg of Lamb.

My final pairing was enjoyed after a busy day of running errands.  We had stopped and had a larger than usual lunch while we were out and weren't hungry again until much later in the evening.  We didn't want another large meal so I opened a package of frozen chicken and vegetable potstickers that were in the freezer and quickly cooked them up while Frank opened the bottle of Murrieta's Well Sauvignon Blanc that I had been gifted for this event.

This blend of 78% Sauvignon Blanc, 9% Viognier, 8% Orange Muscat, 5% Malvasia Bianca is lightly oaked and very crisp.  It was a very nice wine to pair with the potstickers but we also enjoyed it afterwards, by itself, after a long busy day.

I am in Nashville as you are reading this post.  My great niece Lili moved here about a year ago and Jen (her Mom), Amy and I came out to spend some time with her.  Unfortunately this means that I am not available to meet and greet on the Instagram chat that David of Cooking Chat is hosting this evening at 5 PM ET.  I am very disappointed but you can still join in the fun.   Learn how at David's Invitation Post.

David is also hosting a twitter chat on Saturday at 11 AM ET that everyone is welcome to join.  You will find us by following #WinePW.  Here are some of the topics we will be discussing:

• AMartin from the ENOFYLZ Wine Blog features "Surfing and Turfing with Livermore Valley Wines"
• Camilla from Culinary Cam is sharing "From California's Oldest Wine Region: 2019 L'Autre Côte Cabernet Franc + Chimichurri Lamb Lollipops"
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm is "Celebrating Livermore Valley with the #WinePW Gang"
• Wine Predator Gwendolyn Alley is writing about "Learning More about Livermore: McGrail, Murrieta’s Well, Steven Kent"
• Susannah Gold from Avvinare serves up "Sauvignon Blanc from Livermore Valley Paired with Asparagus Frittata for Spring"
• David from Cooking Chat will share "Beef and Vegetable Stir-Fry with Livermore Valley Wine"

We are flying home early Tuesday morning, so I am sharing an abbreviated Weekly Menu with you underneath which you will find the recipe for the Roasted Leg of Lamb.  Cheers......

Weekly Menu

Taco Tuesday

Californio Enchiladas

Wednesday

Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs

Sweet Potato Planks

Grilled Asparagus

Thursday

Whole Wheat Lasagna

Salad

Garlic Bread

Fish Friday

Grilled Mahi Mahi

Pineapple Rice

Entrees, Lamb, Roasting, Holidays

Entrees

Mediterranean

Yield: 12 servings + leftovers

Author: Wendy Klik

Roast Leg of Lamb

This leg of lamb needs to marinate for a day in the refrigerator before roasting but the results are amazing.

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 1 H & 20 MInactive time: 24 HourTotal time: 25 H & 30 M

Ingredients

• 1 (16 oz) container plain yogurt
• leaves from 8 sprigs rosemary, divided
• 1 bunch parsley leaves, divided
• 12-13 cloves garlic, minced, divided
• zest of 2 large lemons, divided
• 1 (6 lb) leg of lamb
• 2 large onions, cut into chunks
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Combine the yogurt, half of the rosemary, half of the parsley, half of the garlic and half of the lemon zest in a bowl large enough to hold the leg of lamb.
2. Place the lamb in the bowl and turn to coat completely. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
3. Place the remaining rosemary, parsley, garlic and lemon zest into a food processor with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pulse until a smooth paste consistency is formed.
4. Place the onion chunks on the bottom of a roasting pan. Remove the lamb from the marinade and rinse. Pat dry and rub with the processed paste. Place on top of the onions in the pan and roast in a preheated 400* oven for about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 325* and continue to roast until an internal temperature of 145* is reached, about another hour.

Notes

adapted from a recipe found at allrecipes.com

Nutrition Facts

Calories

220.78

Fat (grams)

10.58 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

2.97 g

Carbs (grams)

4.75 g

Fiber (grams)

0.8 g

Net carbs

3.97 g

Sugar (grams)

2.05 g

Protein (grams)

25.75 g

Sodium (milligrams)

103.02 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

78.63 mg

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