I’m a sucker for wine recipes

I got this wine. It had a BBQ sauce recipe to go with it. The wine is aged in bourbon barrels. I love Bourbon, my dolls. I don’t know that this gave too many bourbon-y notes but the only time you’ll hear me say “it has notes of coconut” in positive light is when speaking of things aged in American oak. As Bourbon is.

The grapes? 30% Merlot, 20% Zinfandel, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Pinot Noir, 14% Petite Sirah.

Oh what’s the wine?

1000 Stories Gold Rush Red 2017

The wine and its accompanying recipe gave me a tempeh excuse. I mean a tempting excuse.

After all, the BBQ recipe was meant for ribs. But as a vegetarian I prefer to put meat ON my bones as opposed to sucking it from…okay this is getting graphic. But if you fatten my ribs, do it with red wine and BBQ tempeh.

And/or do it with bread and butter and/or fries but that’s a given.

What does a vegetarian put BBQ sauce on? Tempeh! And fortunately the recipe only uses a half cup of the wine so you and your dining companions can have the rest of the vino.

So I poured the wine, I made the sauce, I sautéed the tempeh, I set the table (lies I have no table) and tucked in.

The wine:

Looks deep but frivolous

On the nose I smelled purple raisins running in vanilla fields. It’s not paradise but it is a happy place.

On the tongue: medium acid med + tannin, high alcohol, full body, medium plus intensity…more prunes. Actually, dried fruits of every sort. But someone smashed them into a fresh plum mush

Dang that’s tasty.

I tossed BBQ sauce coated tempeh into my maw then took a swig and…for two seconds I thought eh it’s okay. I mean the wine IS less sweet than the sauce which is SUPPOSED to suck if the wine is less sweet but this held the floor.

I’m in.

For Zin.

For bbq tempeh.

For ribs. Mine.

oh ps I got this as a sample but I get a boatload of wines as samples. I only write about ones I find worthy.

Oh wait. The sauce:

GOLD RUSH RED BBQ SAUCE

• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced onion (mine was more like diced whatevs)
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated (mine were more like minced but dubs whatevs)
• 1 tsp. cumin (used a smidge more)
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 Tbsp. golden brown sugar
• 1/2 cup 1000 Stories Gold Rush Red
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup ketchupsee-through-is

Heat the oil over medium. Sauté your onion and garlic until onion is see-through-ish. Add cumin and cayenne and stir. Add sugar and wine, stir until sugar dissolves. Add vinegar and ketchup and bring to low boil. Adjust heat to bring sauce to a vigorous simmer (don’t know what that mean but it was somewhere in the simmer-plus range). Keep doin’ it til thickened. At that point I added a packet of tempeh–8 oz I think–that I had chopped up into various sizes (I like bite variation not bit consistency). Then eat. I like using chopsticks but go with fingers forks tongs I don’t care. Neither does your wine. Enjoy it my darling.

 

You can never have too many

…little black dresses, hugs, Reese’s peanut butter cups, laughs, or deviled egg recipes.

Or deviled eggs, for that matter.

Or could you? Actually you probably could and I probably have, on all of the above. Except little black dresses.

But that one last laugh may be the one that busts your gut, or something. Never happened to me but I’m just saying…

Ok, the food. It has been a work-y work-y summer but if I were just chillin’ at BBQ’s (we shall not call them “‘ques”) I’d bring these then be the annoying guest wanting to borrow the friggin’ oven, mid-summer, to toast the crumbs on top of these. A warm, crumbed, deviled egg sounds weird but it’s a bloody revolution.

Not terrible leftover and cold, either.

Horseradish Deviled Eggs adapted from the May 2013 Bon Appetit
3 hard-boiled eggs, cut in half, discard or use one yolk for something else, put other two in a small bowl
2 heaping Tbsp. mayo
1 1/2 tsp. prepared horseradish
1/4 tsp. white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
Pinch of kosher salt
1/2 slice fresh wheat bread, turned into fine crumbs
Olive oil spray
Turn on the broiler. Mix yolks, mayo, horseradish, vinegar, mustard, and salt. Use to stuff whites. Sprinkle bread crumbs over and spritz with olive oil spray. Broil only until crumbs brown, around 2 minutes. Eat hot but they are good chilled too!

I pity the fu

Eat with chopsticks.

We discussed this. It’s real fun n stuff.

I pity the fool who totally rules out tofu.
That fool was me. Don’t let the fu be u.

I admit that tofu dishes generally underwhelm me. But every so often a tofu use stands out as wonderful. To be frank I think most things that get the barbecue sauce treatment probably transcend their usual taste limitations.
Note that I did not say you actually have to BBQ these. I’m not really all that thrilled with grilled food. But BBQ sauce? I love it.

So get some tofu, but eat the fu’, don’t be one.

Feelings about tofu? Do tell. That means you, lurkers. Please?

BBQ Tofu adapted from New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant
One 12oz. Package of firm silken tofu
1/2 c. Finely sliced spring green onions
1/2 Tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
3/4 tsp. ground cumin dash cayenne
1/3 roasted red bell pepper, chopped
SAUCE:
2 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. mustard
2 T. Tomato paste
1/3 c. H2O
A few dashes of Tabasco
Put tofu on plate with paper towels, put another plate on top and weight down to drain out some moisture for about 30 minutes, then cube.
Sautée veggies and spices. Mix sauce ingredients. Combine veggies and tofu and put in a shallow pan, about 8×4 inches. Cover and bake at 350 for about a half hour then uncover for another 30, stirring periodically.