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Easy Spring Pasta Recipe: Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme

Easy Spring Pasta Recipe: Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme

by liz · Mar 5, 2019

Fresh pasta with local, organic spring peas, leeks and thyme for an easy, impressive dinner.

Spring has sprung in California – as well as most of the country. To me that means spring vegetable season; asparagus, leeks, peas, artichoke, fennel and fresh herbs are bountiful in farmers markets. Much of this produce is available year-round, but spring is the best time to get the freshest spring vegetables, whether at your local market, grocery store or from your own garden!

fetpeasveg

And those fresh spring flavors really come through in this easy spring pasta recipe, Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme. It’s a cinch to make and it’s packed with flavor and nutrients, plus spring is a great time to get hooked on the Mediterranean way of eating. Adding a bit of the pasta water instead of using sauce is a traditional way to make pasta dishes in Italy. This recipe is a sure way to eat more vegetables and wow your friends with your culinary savvy!

Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme

Recipe courtesy of Buitoni.

fetpeaingred2

Ingredients for 3 servings:

  • 1 package (9 ounces) Refrigerated Fettuccine
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup sliced fresh leek
  • 1/3 cup frozen peas
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 2 thyme sprigs, leaves removed and stems discarded
  • 1/4 cup (1 ounce) freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

PREPARE pasta according to package directions, reserving ½ cup cooking water. While pasta is cooking, prepare leek mixture.

fetpeasstove

HEAT oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add leek; cook, stirring frequently, until softened and golden. Stir in peas; cook for 1 minute or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper, as shown above.

fetpeaslast

ADD reserved pasta cooking water, thyme leaves and cheese; stir in gently. Toss pasta with leek mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Wine Pairing

  • Italian wines can be hard to find, other than the super popular Pinot Grigio. If you can find a Soave wine, it’s a soft, fruity, clean wine with crisp lemon flavors and really complements this dish.
  • Grenache Blanc with its acidity and rounded flavors, or Sauvignon Blanc with its herbaceousness, would also be great wines with this pasta.
Print
Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme
Author: Buitoni
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time:  15 mins
Cook time:  5 mins
Total time:  20 mins
Serves: 2
 
Spring has sprung in California – as well as most of the country. To me that means spring vegetable season; asparagus, leeks, peas, artichoke, fennel and fresh herbs are bountiful in farmers markets. Much of this produce is available year-round, but spring is the best time to get the freshest spring vegetables, whether at your local market, grocery store or from your own garden!
Ingredients
  • 1 package Refrigerated Fettuccine (9 oz.)
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup sliced fresh leek
  • ⅓ cup frozen peas
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 2 thyme sprigs
  • ¼ cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese (5 oz.)
Instructions
  1. PREPARE pasta according to package directions, reserving ½ cup cooking water. While pasta is cooking, prepare leek mixture.
  2. HEAT oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add leek; cook, stirring frequently, until softened and golden. Stir in peas; cook for 1 minute or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. ADD reserved pasta cooking water, thyme leaves and cheese; stir in gently. Toss pasta with leek mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
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Filed Under: Healthy Stuff, Italian Food, Main Dishes, Recipes, Spring Tagged With: fettuccine, herbs, Italian, leek, Pasta, pea, Vegetable, white wine

Cooking with Wine: Roast Chardonnay Chicken Recipe

Cooking with Wine: Roast Chardonnay Chicken Recipe

by liz · Jan 2, 2019

2009 Alta Maria ChardonnayI love French food and wine…and I love eating and drinking local. These two loves inspired me to create a local version of a typical French dish: oven-roasted chicken with vegetables and herbs de Provence. Of course, this is using local Chardonnay – in the dish…and in my glass.

In a Santa Barbara County garden you can find rosemary, lemon thyme, basil and chives. And garlic, of course! Also, fennel is a bountiful crop on California’s central coast, which you can usually substitute for celery, instead of a traditional mirepoix (French base of onion, carrot and celery). Browning the chicken before roasting gives it a richer flavor than more simple roasts and the end result is a savory, delicious one-pot meal that pairs perfectly with the subtle body and flavors of a well-balanced Chardonnay. Think citrus and pear instead of oakey-buttery – find one fermented in steel or concrete if possible.

Also, try this Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto.

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Roast Chardonnay Chicken with Santa Barbara Herbs
Author: Liz Dodder
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: French
Prep time:  6 hours 20 mins
Cook time:  80 mins
Total time:  7 hours 40 mins
Serves: 6
 
Cooking with wine makes everything taste better, and Chardonnay is perfect for a French roast chicken made in Santa Barbara.
Ingredients
  • 1 4-pound chicken
  • 3 cups Chardonnay (look for well-balanced, citrusy and flinty)
  • 1 cup olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 8 cloves garlic: 6 whole, 2 diced
  • 3 tablespoons chopped mixed fresh herbs (like lemon thyme, rosemary, basil, chives, marjoram) or 1 tablespoon mixed dried herbs
  • 2 lemons: 1 sliced, 1 juiced
  • ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • Salt, to taste
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 4 carrots, chopped
  • 1 fennel bulb, chopped
  • 1 small green cabbage, cored and quartered
Instructions
  1. In large bowl, combine the Chardonnay, 1 cup olive oil, diced garlic, herbs, lemon juice, pepper and salt. Place chicken in the mixture. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for 6 hours. Turn occasionally.
  2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Heat remaining olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, fennel and garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. When the vegetables are caramelized, spoon them along the sides of the pan.
  3. Remove chicken from marinade and add to the middle of the pan. Sear each side until slightly brown, about 3 minutes per side. Arrange the quartered cabbage around the sides of the chicken and pour the marinade into the pan over the chicken and vegetables.
  4. Cover the pan with a lid and roast in the oven for 60-70 minutes, until the chicken is done (meat is cooked through when cut, leg separates easily from the body, or 170 degrees on meat thermometer). Remove lid and let it rest at room temperature 10 minutes.
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Roast chardonnay chicken with santa barbara herbs recipe

Filed Under: Comfort Food, French Food, Recipes, Winter Tagged With: California, Chardonnay, Cooking with Wine, Roast Chicken, Santa Barbara county, Vegetable, white wine

Cooking with Wine: Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto Recipe

Cooking with Wine: Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto Recipe

by liz · Jan 1, 2019

Every so often, you stumble upon a Chardonnay so refreshing and unique, so unlike typical oaky-buttery-California Chardonnays, that you want to drink it, cook with it, maybe even bathe in it.

You’re lucky if you can find on that is half steel-fermented and half oak-fermented! I love Chardonnay with a creamy freshness and lemon-lime quality that is opposite of oak and butter. That kind of Chardonnay is just as perfect in a rustic dish in front of the fire as a on a warm summer day in the garden. And cooking with wine is just as important as drinking or tasting wine.

Cooking with this kind of Chardonnay adds something special to the dish: a little more citrus, good acid and lots of flavor. And don’t forget to pour a glass to pair the wine to sip with the dish! It’s the perfect pair to either of these winter Chardonnay recipes: Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto below and Chardonnay Roast Chicken with Santa Barbara herbs.

And for dessert, here’s my other favorite way to use winter squash…and summer squash and fall squash and…

Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto recipe

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Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto
Author: Liz Dodder
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time:  20 mins
Cook time:  40 mins
Total time:  1 hour
Serves: 6
 
Cooking with a bright, acidic Chardonnay lends a savory, lemony quality that is perfect with creamy risotto and winter squash.
Ingredients
  • 2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed, peeled winter squash medley
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 cloves minced fresh garlic
  • 2 cups organic vegetable broth
  • 2 cups Chardonnay (brincy, acidic and lemony is best)
  • 1 ounce pancetta or prosciutto
  • 1 medium finely chopped onion
  • 1¼ cups uncooked Arborio rice
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herb mix (like lemon thyme, oregano, rosemary, basil, lavender)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup (1 ounce) shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Combine squash and 1 tablespoon oil, tossing to coat. Arrange squash in a single layer on baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until squash is just tender. Remove from pan; set aside.
  3. Heat a large heavy-bottom stock pot over medium heat. Add pancetta to pot; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently. Remove pancetta and set aside.
  4. Add remaining olive oil to pot, then add onion; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and rice; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  5. Add ½ cup wine; cook 1 minute or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Continue to add remaining wine and broth, ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes total). Stir in squash, herbs, cheese, lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
  6. Top with pancetta.
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Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto recipe

Filed Under: Comfort Food, Italian Food, Recipes, Winter Tagged With: California, Chardonnay, Cooking with Wine, Italian food, Pasta, Risotto, Vegetable, white wine, winter squash

Summer Cocktails, Pitcher Drinks & Cool Sips

Summer Cocktails, Pitcher Drinks & Cool Sips

by liz · Jun 5, 2018

Limoncello Basil Cooler recipe

You may remember from previous posts that I love a little herb in my desserts – well, I also love a little herb in my drinks. Especially basil. And cilantro. And rosemary…ok I love them all. Give me a fennel-infused bloody mary with a touch of cilantro plus all the fixins and I’m a happy girl.

I was an equally happy girl when I found these easy summer cocktail and drink recipes: one uses limoncello and basil and the other uses wine and sparkling orange mineral water. Both can be made by the pitcher for groups and parties, and you can always infuse your own personality into the drink – as I found out at a recent wine cocktail aperitivi party on California’s central coast.

For the Limoncello Basil Cooler pictured at top, you can easily follow the recipe; it’s oh so refreshing after a long day. Or, to create a South of the Border version, use 1 part margarita mix and 1 part dry white wine instead of limoncello, add fresh lime and lemon juice, and replace the basil with cilantro. You can even add a dash of Tequila! Oh Summer Cocktails how I love you all.

Limoncello Basil Cooler from Meals.com

Ingredients for 6 small servings:

  • 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil sprigs
  • 1 bottle (750 ml) limoncello liqueur, chilled, divided
  • 1 bottle (16.9 fluid ounces) Sparkling Natural Mineral Water
  • Crushed ice cubes
  • 6 basil sprigs for serving

Directions:

MUDDLE or smash 1/2 cup basil with 1/4 cup limoncello with a wooden spoon in a large pitcher. Add remaining limoncello and sparkling water.

FILL glasses half full with ice. Top with limoncello mixture, holding back bruised basil; garnish with basil sprig.

Print
Limoncello Basil Cooler
Author: Meals.com
Recipe type: Drinks
Prep time:  5 mins
Total time:  5 mins
Serves: 6
 
Fun, summery, sparkling punch!
Ingredients
  • ½ cup loosely packed fresh basil sprigs
  • 1 bottle (750 ml) limoncello liqueur, chilled, divided
  • 1 bottle (16.9 fluid ounces) Sparkling Natural Mineral Water
  • Crushed ice cubes
  • 6 basil sprigs for serving
Instructions
  1. Limoncello Basil Cooler from Meals.com
  2. Ingredients for 6 small servings:
  3. /2 cup loosely packed fresh basil sprigs
  4. bottle (750 ml) limoncello liqueur, chilled, divided
  5. bottle (16.9 fluid ounces) Sparkling Natural Mineral Water
  6. Crushed ice cubes
  7. basil sprigs for serving
  8. Directions:
  9. MUDDLE or smash ½ cup basil with ¼ cup limoncello with a wooden spoon in a large pitcher. Add remaining limoncello and sparkling water.
  10. FILL glasses half full with ice. Top with limoncello mixture, holding back bruised basil; garnish with basil sprig.
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Fruity White Wine Spritzers recipe

Another super easy crowd pleaser is this recipe for Fruity White Wine Spritzers. These take no time to put together if you just follow the recipe (a little bit hard for me!) OR you can really go crazy substituting your favorite fruit, juices and herbs to get something totally unique.

Fruity White Wine Spritzers from Meals.com

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups white wine, chilled
  • 1 cup SAN PELLEGRINO Sparkling Orange Beverage
  • Ice cubes
  • Orange slices and fresh mint sprig

Directions:

COMBINE wine and San Pellegrino in pitcher.

PLACE orange slices and mint sprig in tall glasses; fill glasses half full with ice. Top with wine and San Pellegrino mixture.

Filed Under: Drinks & Concoctions, Recipes, Summer Tagged With: herbs, Sparkling Punch, summer, summer drink, summer punch, white sangria, white wine, wine cocktail

Happy New Year Cocktail: Spiced Apple Cider

Happy New Year Cocktail: Spiced Apple Cider

by liz · Dec 9, 2016

Spiced Apple Cider Recipe

When I saw this recipe for Spiced Apple Cider, it reminded me of the Vin Chaud (mulled wine) I’d had and loved in Europe during the holidays. I could often smell it wafting from doorways of small restaurants and upon entering friends’ homes or churches. Even places like train stations and gas stations served it, which cheerily sustained me through the cold winter months.

I remember when Ani got the inspiration for this cider, and I thought it would make a perfect cocktail recipe for a New Year’s celebration in wine country. I could please everyone: plain cider for the mocktail drinkers, spiced wine for the wine country fanatics and cider with vanilla vodka or rum for the most festive of friends.

I tested it out in preparation; following the recipe was easy…so much easier than the homemade eggnog I’d recently tried out. You just need spices and apple juice for the base, and it only takes 15 minutes of cooking time. I also decided to chill some of the plain cider after cooking to satisfy those that might want their cocktail on the rocks.

Here are some cocktail variations you might try:

  • Add vanilla vodka or rum (or your favorite spirit) to the hot cider.
  • Add your favorite spirit to chilled cider along with a splash of carbonated water over ice.
  • For mulled wine, substitute 1 bottle of medium to full-bodied red wine for the apple juice, add 1/4 cup sugar, cover immediately and cook on low (so it never reaches a boil) for 20 minutes.
  • For white wine cider, substitute 1/2 bottle of medium to full-bodied white wine for 1/2 of the apple juice, add 1/8 cup sugar, cover immediately and cook on low (so it never reaches a boil) for 20 minutes.

For me, this will make the cheeriest, easiest and most versatile of winter celebrations. Happy New Year!

Old-Fashioned Eggnog

If you’re looking for something creamier, fancier or more holiday-themed, check out this old-fashioned eggnog adventure (pictured above) and the coffee-creamy-martini or latin-inspired eggnog below.

Links:

  • Spiced Apple Cider Recipe
  • Get a Juicy Juice coupon

More holiday celebration drink recipes:

After Midnight Javatini Recipe
After Midnight Javatini
Costa Rican-Style Eggnog Recipe
Costa Rican-Style Eggnog

Filed Under: Drinks & Concoctions, New Year, Winter Tagged With: christmas cocktail, cocktail, herbs, hot toddy, new year, spicy, white wine, wine cocktail

Pesto Pairs Perfectly with Italian White Wine

Pesto Pairs Perfectly with Italian White Wine

by liz · Sep 30, 2012

September 30 is the last day of California Wine Month so I thought I’d pair one of my favorite Italian sauces with some California white wines made from Italian varietals. And I added a twist to the pesto that I learned from Luce, on a recent trip to Portland.

The Food:

Luce Italian restaurant in Portland

Luce is a very small market and restaurant dedicated to simple Italian cooking in Portland Oregon. Every dish on the menu was so simply made that at first glance, it seems too easy, too sophomoric. But after a bite or two, the flavors this kind of cooking imparts transports you to the traditions of Italy. Bon Appetit called it “bare bones…Italian home cooking at its core.”

Luce Italian cooking in Portland

The pesto at Luce was made with basil, avocado, almonds, walnuts and garlic. This is pesto in Southern Italy. And it was incredible! The avocado replaces the olive oil, making the dish lighter, full of flavor and oh-so-good for your skin. To make this easy on me to make at home, I used store-bought pesto as a base, placing about half the container of pesto in a bowl, then mixing in one whole ripe avocado and serving it over al dente pasta. A perfect late summer meal.

The Wine:

I wanted to pair this with an Italian varietal made in California, and I found 2 wines that worked perfectly. Arneis from Palmina Wines in Lompoc, CA, has a bright lemony quality, and enough acid to zip along your tongue with the pesto, cutting the oils and balancing the meal perfectly.

Luce Italian restaurant in Portland

Another wine, Bianchetto from Moretti Wines in Los Olivos, CA, is a blend of 3 Italian varietals from different regions: Arneis, Malvasia Bianca and Tocai Friulano. You won’t see this blend in Italy, but it’s lovely flowery nose and fruit and acid balance also really enhanced the dish.

Filed Under: Fall, Italian Food, Main Dishes, Restaurants Tagged With: Bon Appétit, Italian, Pasta, pesto, top 10 restaurants, tortellini, white wine

Château Bouscassé: Wine Worthy of a Lover’s Last Night

Château Bouscassé: Wine Worthy of a Lover’s Last Night

by liz · May 28, 2012

Matching the right wine with specific foods/dinners can dramatically enhance both the food and the wine, as well as the dining experience. And sometimes your dinner company too.

To accomplish this, the wine needs some acid, good balance and something interesting to offer for pairing — like a pleasing mix of spice, fruit aromas or bold flavors that don’t overpower other elements. And please, no extra oak or residual sugar designed to trick your palate into liking it. (Which is more than I can say for some of the company I’ve kept.)

Eugénie-les-Bains

This French wine, 2008 Château Bouscassé, Les Jardins de Bouscassé, Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec, was the most local thing on the menu. Literally. Our waiter said it was the wine made closest to the town of Eugénie-les-Bains, the town where famed chef Michel Guerard cooks works of art and improves your figure at his restaurant/spa hotel Les Prés d’Eugénie.

2008 Château Bouscassé Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec Les Jardins de Bouscassé

The beautifully balanced wine was 80% Petite Courbou and 20% Petit Manseng, two grapes indigenous to southwest France, and it paired very well with all courses in this meal and the elegant restaurant itself. Beguiling and lovely in its acidity and floral-ness, understated with the promise of more to come, this wine from this small corner of the world was deserving of much more attention than it ever receives (much like this relationship with the Baker).

Les Prés d'Eugénie

It was perfect. We drank in its beauty, trying to hold the brightness inside ourselves. And we ate gloriously for this one last night, temporarily averting a creeping sadness and slowly devolving palate for each other.

Santé!

Filed Under: France - Southwestern, Restaurants Tagged With: Château Bouscassé, fine dining, French wine, Love, petite courbou, white wine

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