Our Visit to Youngblood Vineyards and the Weekly Menu #WorldWineTravel

Today I want to share with you a little hidden gem that I found right in my neck of the woods.  Welcome to Youngblood Vineyards located in Ray Township, Michigan.  

It's time for World Wine Travel and I am traveling right into my own neck of the woods......

Let's Celebrate Thanksgiving by Eating and Drinking Locally #WinePW

 Our WinePW group is sharing our thoughts on wine from Under the Radar Regions this month.  I live in Michigan and we have a lot of wineries on the west side of our state.  However, when people think about Michigan they think about lakes, sand dunes, fall colors, boating, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, skating, etc.  We have all of those wonderful things but we also have wine, whiskey and beer.

Fall Harvest Chowder #PumpkinWeek

This chunky, vegetable packed chowder is made extra creamy with the addition of pumpkin puree.  It is one delicious bite of goodness after the other.  A perfect way to enjoy all of the end of season produce before it is gone.

Welcome to the first day of Pumpkin Week 2020......

Grilled Ratatouille #FoodieExtravaganza

This month our Foodie Extravaganza group is celebrating National Fruits and Veggies month.  This party is being hosted by Ellen of Family Around the Table.

I decided to make one of my favorite vegetable dishes, Ratatouille. Ratatouille is normally stewed but for today's event I decided to grill it.

The Thanksgiving Week Menu

Wow.....where did this year go?!  I blinked and it is the start of the Christmas season.  It is mind boggling to me.  I don't have one single Christmas gift bought yet!!  Oh well, it will wait until after Thanksgiving.  Perhaps that's as it should be.

Thanksgiving Day is normally the first day of my Christmas Holidays but this year we are starting early.  Tomorrow we are taking our Little Miss, her Mama and Charlie, her Aunt Amy and Uncle Doug and heading to the Fox Theater for How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  We are very excited.  I am even more excited that our Lili is meeting us for dinner while we are downtown.

Monday we are doing our Thanksgiving Basket Distributions for the Food Pantry. Tuesday and Wednesday I will have the Angel Face here to help me with my Thanksgiving Preparations.

Thanksgiving Dinner will be celebrated later in the evening allowing the kids to see the other side of their families during the day.

Friday morning we are heading up north.  We will be spending the afternoon and night with our TC family.  Saturday morning we are meeting up with our friends, Bob and Cathy, and 4 other couples for the Great Mac and Cheese Bake Off sponsored by the Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula.  It should be a lot of fun.

I am sharing our Weekly Menu including the Thanksgiving Feast.  Please stop by and visit so I can wish you and yours a very Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving Day.  My blogging friends and readers are one of the things for which I will be giving thanks this year.

Saturday
Meatballs in Mushroom Gravy
Egg Noodles
Glazed Carrots

Sunday
Dinner out after Grinch

Monday
Order in Pizzas or Subs for Food Pantry workers

Taco Tuesday
Tacos, of course

Wednesday
Stew over Biscuits

Thanksgiving Day
Crab and Crimini Bisque
Salad with Beets, Dill and Feta
Roast Turkey
Roast Fresh Kielbasa
Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Buttered Corn
Crescent Rolls
Cranberry Sauce
Gravy
Pumpkin Pie
Persimmon and Chestnut Cookies

Friday
Heading North, See you Sunday

Whitefish Bisque #SoupSaturdaySwappers

Our friend, Ashley of Cheese Curd in Paradise, chose the fun theme of  Soups From Your State (Regional and Local Soups) for this month's Soup Saturday Swappers.  What a fantastic theme!!

Soup Saturday Swappers is a group of wonderful people that join together on the 3rd Saturday of each month to share recipes inspired by a theme chosen by one of our members.  

We would love to have you join our group.  If interested, please leave a comment along with the name of your blog in the comments below or email me at wendyklik1517@gmail.com.  

I live in Michigan.  Considered the Midwest but located more Midnorth.  We are about as far north as you can get unless you cross the river into Canada.  Our State was first explored by the French who came over via Canada.  Most of our cities were named by them, often using the names they had for the Native Americans who lived on our shores.  

We are surrounded by the Great Lakes that began as oceans until the ice age arrived and turned them into fresh lakes.  All those icebergs came up onto land creating the terrain that is our State.  Our State Stone is Petoskey, which was obviously ocean coral at one time.   

We have a huge conglomeration of second and third generation immigrants born here after their parents came to find work in the auto industry.  We had Polish, Greek, Irish, German, Italian and Mexican communities downstate while our Upper Peninsula attracted miners from Norway.  

We are known for our fresh fish, including perch, walleye and white fish.  Our crops include corn, sugar beets, apples, peaches, and soybeans. We hunt venison, ducks, geese, bear and wild mushrooms and berries.  We grow cattle, pork and chickens.  We have Jiffy, Kelloggs, Vernors, Faygo, Better Made and Sanders.  We have wineries, breweries, dairies and cider mills.

And I was stumped.  I mean, there are a lot of soups that I could (and have) shared from the fine State of Michigan. Corn Chowder, Venison Chili, Dill Pickle Soup, Morel Mushroom Bisque. The list goes on and on.  

My problem wasn't thinking of a soup from Michigan, it was finding one that I hadn't already shared. Luckily, for me, I love living in Michigan and I love eating and cooking locally. This means I have a slew of Michigan Cookbooks.  

The recipe that I'm sharing today is from Savor Michigan Cookbook.  This cookbook contains recipes from "Michigan's Finest Restaurants, Their Recipes & Their Histories".  It is an interesting read.  The book is divided by cities, and features recipes from the best restaurants in each one.  I loved reading the histories of restaurants that I have visited or that are on my list to visit.

I have had the privilege of staying and dining at The Grand Hotel, located on the pristine and unspoiled Mackinac Island.  One of the recipes being shared from them was Whitefish Bisque.  Our clear, cold, fresh northern lakes provide us with wonderful whitefish.

I served this as the soup course at a dinner party for some of our diving friends.  I adapted the recipe as the original used coconut milk and one of my guests is allergic to coconut.  I also deleted the lemongrass as I thought that flavor profile was more fitting with the coconut.

It was an elegant, beautiful and delicious first course, especially topped with the smoke trout and fennel ragout.  I was proud to serve it to my friends and pleased when more than one requested seconds.

Whitefish Bisque with Smoked Trout and Fennel Ragout

adapted from Savor Michigan Cookbook, submitted by The Grand Hotel

For the Bisque:

1 T. butter

1/2 an onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, scraped and diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 lbs whitefish, cubed

1 c. white wine

8 c. vegetable stock

2 t. dried thyme

5 baby red skin potatoes, scrubbed and diced

salt and pepper, to taste

2 c. heavy cream

For the Ragout:

1 T. olive oil

1/3 c. smoked trout

1 small fennel bulb, diced

1 tomato, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 c. jagermeister liqueur 

1 T. chopped chives

Bisque:

Melt butter in large soup pot over low heat.  Add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Sauté until softened and fragrant, 4-5 minutes.  Add the whitefish and sauté a few minutes more.

Add the wine, vegetable stock, thyme, potatoes, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.  Let cook until reduced by half, 30 minutes or so.  Pour into a heavy duty blender and puree until smooth. 

Return to pan and stir in cream.  Cook gently until heated through. Do not allow to boil.  Garnish individual bowls with Ragout before serving.

Ragout:

Heat olive oil in sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the fennel and cook for 1-2 minutes until softened.  Stir in the tomato, trout, and garlic. Cook for another minute or two then add the liqueur and chives.  Cook and stir for another minute.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Print Recipe

I am sharing this recipe and cookbook review over at Foodies Read.  Check out what the others are reading this month

More Regional/Local Soups

An InLinkz Link-up

Celebrating the Harvest with Eggplant Lasagna and J Lohr #MerlotMe #WinePW

Each October we celebrate #Merlotme with our Wine Pairing Weekend group.  This event was started by California wineries after the movie, Sideways, disparaged Merlot wines causing  a decline in sales of this wonderful varietal that deserves much more respect than it gets.

The past two years, when celebrating this event, I have served three wine and food pairings in one post.  You can find my Triple Wine and Food pairing from 2015 here and my #Merlotme Trifecta from last year here.

This year I am changing things up a bit.  Today I am showcasing a bottle of J. Lohr Merlot.  I will be showcasing the other wines in upcoming posts so stay tuned.

I want to mention right here and right now that I was buying J. Lohr long before they ever sponsored any event in which I participated.  While I love having sponsors and getting free samples, I love my readers more.  I did not get any monetary compensation in this event by J. Lohr or any other sponsor.  My opinions, in this post, and in my entire blog are purely mine.

I am always, always, always excited to have J. Lohr sponsor our events.  Mainly because I love their wines and purchase them quite often.  I know that if I have J. Lohr available in my wine fridge, I can open it for guests or take it with me as a host gift, knowing that it is going to be wonderful.

Their vineyards and winery are located on Paso Robles, California, close to where my brother resides.  A visit to my family in California is not complete without a visit to at least one winery and Paso Robles, more often than not, is where we head.

J. Lohr sent a fact sheet along with their bottle of wine. This wine was harvested over a 2 week period beginning September 10, 2015.  It is fermented in stainless steel tanks and then matured over a 12 month period in barrels made of 22% new oak.  This wine is recommended to be opened upon release but has potential to improve over the next 5 years.

Frank and I enjoyed the wine on a Meatless Monday when I served up this cheesy, ooey, gooey eggplant lasagna.

I had been over Kim's and she gifted me several eggplants from her garden.  I knew, from past experience, that the eggplant/tomato combination has paired well with J. Lohr and I am smart enough not to tamper with success.

This pairing was no exception and did not disappoint.  I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that the eggplant, tomatoes and grapes are all harvested during the same time period.  

The wine was deep, dark and vibrant both in the glass and on the palate.  It complemented the earthy sweetness of the eggplant and tomatoes.  I think this wine would be great with pizza too.  

We enjoyed it well enough that we are hoping to pick up a case and open a bottle every 6 months to see if, in fact, it does improve with age. Stay tuned for that little experiment.

Eggplant Lasagna

2-3 small eggplants, ends cut off and thinly sliced

1 qt. Marinara, homemade or your favorite brand

6 oz. fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

1 c. ricotta cheese

1 egg

1 t. Italian herb seasoning

3 oz. parmesan cheese, shredded or grated

Whisk together the ricotta, egg and Italian herbs. Place a small amount of marinara in the bottom of an 8" square baking pan to cover.  Layer 1/3 of the eggplant slices onto the sauce, followed by 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, 1/3 of the Mozzarella and 1/3 of the Parmesan.  Repeat 3 times.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 350* oven for 45-55 minutes, until eggplant is very tender.  Remove foil and place under the broiler for a few minutes until top is browned and bubbly.  Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing into quarters to serve.  Print Recipe

Let's join the rest of the #WinePW group as we celebrate #Merlotme

• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Celebrating the Harvest with Eggplant Lasagna and J Lohr #MerlotMe” 
• David from Cooking Chat shares “Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Merlot Sauce” 
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “A Paddling of Duck(horn)s” 
• Gwen from Wine Predator shares “3 Merlot from Sonoma with Colorful Fall Pasta #WinePW” 
• Sarah from Curious Cuisiniere shares “Individual Beef Wellington Paired With Merlot Wine” 
• Jeff from FoodWineClick! shares “Grill Braised Brisket with Duckhorn Merlot” 
• Nicole from Somms Table shares “Many Merlots Make Marvelous Mediterranean Meal” 
• Jane from Always Ravenous shares “Roasted Pork Loin with Brandy Prune Sauce Paired with Merlot” 
• Nancy from Pull That Cork shares “A Fall Pairing for Merlot” 
• Jill from L’Occasion shares “Merlot, the Busy One” 
• Cindy from Grape Experiences shares “#MerlotMe and Savory Chicken and Mushrooms”
• Michelle from Rockin Red Blog shares "Celebrating Napa and Sonoma with #MerlotMe"

Eating and Drinking Locally for the Summer Months #WinePW

I love living in Michigan.  I love that we have a variety of weather, sometimes all on the same day.  I love the beauty of our State; the Great Lakes, the multitude of inland lakes, the sand dunes, the farmland, the orchards and the vineyards.  I think we grow the best apples, strawberries, peaches, cherries and corn on the cob that can be found anywhere else in this Country.  I even love the snow and the freezing temperatures of the winter months.

What I don't love is the gray days that we suffer through during the dead of winter and I wistfully look at warmer climates and wish that we, too, could enjoy fresh local bounty year round.  Alas, while we can enjoy all the foods that we have preserved over the winter and I still get fresh eggs, though not as abundantly during the winter.....you aren't hitting up any Farmer's Markets for local produce.  We can still get locally grown meats and if you are a hunter or angler the season is ripe for the picking, so to speak, but we are not getting any fresh fruits and veggies...that's for sure.

So during the season I hit the Farmer's Markets as often as I am able and thank God for the abundance of all the great produce we are able to enjoy now and preserve for later.  My meats are all home grown from the farm of our friends, Dave and Vicki, and are perfect for putting on the grill during the dog days of summer.  Along with those grilled meats, I serve up local, fresh veggies.  I grill them, I turn them into salads, I make cruditè platters with dips made from fresh herbs.  I also use as much local fruit as I can get my hands on...berries are very abundant, peaches are sweet and juicy, apples are tart and crisp, rhubarb is everywhere, and cherries are exploding off the trees.

Michigan also has great wineries and breweries with more popping up each and every day.  I am normally a California red kinda girl but when the weather turns hot I tend towards white wines that are served chilled.  Michigan makes some great white wines.  One of my favorites is this crisp dry white from the little town of Leland called Fishtown White.  Leland is affectionately called Fishtown because it is known for it's fishing.  You can charter a boat and go out after fresh salmon or whitefish. I have been lucky enough to have been the recipient, numerous times, of fresh salmon from our Great Lakes....it is amazing.  Whitefish is extremely popular in Northern Michigan and a treat that I enjoy at least once each visit.

With that thought in mind and no plans of going north before this post was due, I went on a hunt for some smoked whitefish and a bottle of the Fishtown White.  I had a pretty good idea that I could find Michigan White Fish at my favorite local market, Nino Salvaggios, and I was right.  They had both the white fish and the wine.

I turned this whitefish into dip that I served on garlic toasts with cold, crisp, clean glasses of Fishtown White.  The old adage to serve food from the same locale as the wine holds true locally as well as in other States and other Countries.  This pairing was delicious and a perfect start to a lovely dinner enjoyed poolside on a glorious Michigan evening.

I opened up a block of cream cheese, grabbed the sour cream, lemon, dill and fish from the refrigerator, spied a red onion on the counter and decided to add that as well.

This dip is delicious and was a perfect match for the Fishtown White.

Don't miss out on all the other summer wine pairings.  You will find them directly under this recipe.

Smoked White Fish Dip

6-8 oz. smoked white fish meat, picked over, bones and skin removed

1 (8 oz) block Neufchatel Cheese

1/4 c. sour cream

juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 T. diced red onion

handful of fresh dill weed fronds or to taste

dash of hot sauce 

salt and pepper to taste

Place half of the fish, the Neufchatel Cheese, onion,  sour cream, lemon and hot sauce in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth.  Spoon into a bowl and fold in the remaining fish.  Taste and season as desired.  Print Recipe

More Summertime Wine Pairings

• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm will share Eating and Drinking Locally for the Summer Months #WinePW
• Cindy of Grape Experiences will pair Summer Supper: Cool Pasta Salad and Côtes du Rhône Refreshers
• Ellen of Family Around The Table will prepare Hassleback Chicken Cordon Bleu
• Jane of Always Ravenous will prepare Southern Summer Supper with a French Twist
• David of Cooking Chat will pair Grilled Shrimp with Pineapple Salsa and a Summery White Wine
• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla will share Ceviche + Scheid's Albariño #WinePW
• Jade of Tasting Pour will share Sweet Pea Pesto Meets Wines of Summer
• Jeff of FoodWineClick has prepared Cool Kitchen Seafood Rolls for an Easy Summer Supper
• Julie and Edgar of Wine-N-Friends will share Tintilla and Ribs: Superb Summer Pairing #winePW
• Gwendolyn of Wine Predator will share Getting to know Napa: Bison Steak BBQ with Rombauer Atlas and Stice Cabs plus Conn Creek Atlas Rose! #WinePW
• Peter and Nancy of Pull That Cork will share Lamb Gyros and a Super Sauvignon Blanc for #winePW